Great place to rent or buy musical instruments! My oldest decided to learn violin at her school in…read morefirst grade and we came over to inquire about their different instruments and whether it's better to buy or rent. Jayson helped us out and provided us all the answers to the many questions we had. We decided to rent since she was starting out on the smallest size and their rental instruments are perfect. We just wrapped up year 2 of violin and will be coming back in the fall when school starts.

The only reason why I give this place a 5-stars is because of the teacher. I worked under Tony for…read more3 years and it was a stellar experience. He was super encouraging and I really enjoyed taking lessons under him... too bad I'm graduating this year and had to discontinue. I think the repairs on this place are nice but a bit slow. Jason does great work and makes sure that everything is in working order but it takes a long time. My only negative experience with this place: I took my clarinet in for repair. They gave me an estimated date of a week. I called them around the 5-day mark to ask if it was ready and they told me an extra 2-days (as expected). I ended up being busy at that time so I couldn't check-in on the one week mark. When I went in to visit though, they said that it would need another week. Overall though, I really like this place! It's local and the people inside are friendly. They do charge a premium on reeds though.... ordering online is better.

Music depot is the best store in the east bay!! They got great deals and their guitar selection is…read moremassive!! I been coming here since 2012 and it's amazing to see how far they have come as a store and as a business. You cannot go wrong with visiting this store and browsing without leaving out with something to buy! 5 star customer service. You will not regret it

Best music store in the area. ABC is Ok and Music unlimited is still around,…read morebut Music Depot is my spot. Just bought some cables, prices are good.... I've stopped buying music stuff from Amazon, Sweetwater, etc. and have opted instead to support local businesses like Music Depot. Matthew is a great guy, so's his Dad. If you haven't been to Music Depot, head on down to B Street and check it out. I guarantee you're going to like it.

Quick summary: extremely knowledgable, flexible, tailored to my specific needs, reasonable and…read moreaffordable pricing... a music teacher who really cares I feel super fortunate to have found Devin as my piano teacher. I was classically trained growing up but in recent years have been craving to learn jazz piano, especially wanting to improvise. It felt like a far-off dream, but through my few lessons with Devin I have been pleasantly surprised at my own ability, which he has helped me unlock. He truly is so knowledgable and delivers that knowledge skillfully -- as in, he doesn't overload you with irrelevant information, and only relays what is relevant to the current subject we are working on. Devine is encouraging but does not give empty praise -- he is very transparent with his feedback and this feels very effective. He keeps me super engaged -- there is a great balance of theory and explanation / allowing me to apply the theory through playing and answering questions on the spot. There have been moments, especially at the beginning, when I felt intimidated and nervous to improvise on the spot (as this is something I'd never really done before). Devin was understanding of these emotions and created a safe space for me to go out of my comfort zone. These moments of being challenged are super invaluable to me and his method of doing so really suits me. The lessons are paced well for me and feel very tailored to my needs. Devin always prioritizes my questions for each lesson, and based on those, creates a lesson plan on the spot to address them all. I really enjoy the fact that I can ask super specific questions and we can go on tangents about music theory and history. Speaking of music history, I also appreciate that Devin is so acknowledging of the fact that we are playing in the realm of Western music, which is only a small fraction of all the musical cultures that exist. As a person of color, this foundation of thinking is really important to me. I searched for a long time to find an in-person teacher because that was what I was used to, and I believed it would work best for me. However, I realized that the online lessons work perfectly well and I can't see any downsides of them. I think this is partially because I have enough background in technique, so I don't need him to be adjusting my hands / seeing my fingering and all the other physical stuff associated with piano. This being said, perhaps if you are a complete beginner, try to start with in-person lessons with Devin to make sure you have all the basic techniques locked in as this will affect your playing later on. I am used to more structure and rigidity -- my classical lessons always centered around learning a piece and playing it during lessons, with very clear homework. So it took some time to get used to the more flexible and free-form nature of learning jazz piano (and perhaps it is also his particular teaching style). I think it has been an excellent practice for me in self-discipline. However, if you benefit a lot from extreme structure, you can always ask Devin to provide that. I am personally enjoying the challenge of improvisation as my homework! Devin has offered me many tools and frameworks for thinking about piano and improvisation, all of which have made piano feel way more approachable and inviting than it used to. I also marvel at his ability to be so enthusiastic, engaged and creative for each and every lesson. I've had many music teachers in my life and he is one of the best!

Devin is an amazing music teacher. He's easy to work with, very knowledgeable and professional. It…read morehas been a great pleasure to study piano with him since September 2020. I've had many musical breakthroughs since then. Devin is a patient musical guide. His technicality and training helped me to achieve my dream of singing popular songs with full piano accompaniment. I have a deep appreciation for music and my prior music teachers were rigid in their approach, which didn't enable me to grow musically. Devin's flexible, caring approach helped me to immediately tap into my abilities at the keyboard. It has helped immensely that Devin offers remote lessons via Zoom, which make it highly convenient for students living further away. I look forward to more musical breakthroughs with Devin as my guide. Highly recommended!

Mrs Shana is a caring, talented, and trustworthy teacher. She taught my daughter, nieces, and…read morenephew how to sign, dance, and play the ukulele. They had so much fun! Their laughter echoed the room. She has a tender heart and will teach your child as if she/he were her own.

Great learning from Shana. The techniques I learn help me improve myself in a better musician.read more

My 11 year old son has had private guitar lessons with Jim Bedford for a little over a year now and…read morehe really enjoys Jim's instruction. He is thriving and next week he will begin vocal lessons as well. Jim is attentive to each student and pushes my son to do his best. He has been a resource to our family in picking the right instruments for our son and his professional guidance has been a blessing. We would definitely recommend Jim as a music instructor and we look forward to the relationship growing as we move forward.

I've been taking vocal and guitar lessons from Jim for 20 years now, (man time flies), and he is…read morereally an amazing musican, performer and teacher. There are few people in this world that have his level of talent in all three of these areas. He can figure out just about any song, and he has been amazing in helping me develop as a musician/singer. The guy is a badass and he can hear stuff and make suggestions that really make a huge difference in creating a song, or making a cover song more interesting, beautiful and sonically spot on. Jim is a great friend and mentor, and I can't imagine a better teacher for me, as we are on the same page when it comes to working on what sounds good in my originals and covers that I play. He is a musician, but he listens like the audience.

LJ is an inspiring, encouraging vocal coach who knows the voice. He listens intently for nuanced…read morevariations in breath support, pitch, vowel shape, and tone, and gives supportive feedback. After just two lessons, I can hear and feel the difference in my singing. LJ is an amazing instructor.

LJ definitely changed the way I sing for the better. He's incredibly encouraging and he believes in…read morehis students! I'm more confident in my ability to sing and understand my range a lot better. As a pianist LJ has an incredibly sharp sense for notes and it is super helpful to learn a bit of piano for anyone singing. Highly recommend!

Genuinely a horrible store to buy anything related to instruments. They tell you something is…read moreavailable over call and tell you when you get there that it was sold out last week . This store is actually pathetic, I genuinely don't understand how this establishment is still here. Waste of time don't come here.

Amazing service! Just bought a new guitar from this place, was helped by Chuck. Super cool guy,…read morefunny as hell. Thanks Chuck for adjusting my new guitar and installing new strings. I will be definitely coming back for an adjustment on my other telecaster.