Smooth process. Rented a violin for 2 years and will be back for this school year. Very helpful and…read morethey take the time to make sure sizing is correct.

For a few years now, I had been wanting to either get my viola bow re-haired (if possible) or…read morepurchase a new viola bow - and had called a few music stores around for pricing for a possible re-hair of the bow. Since I have had my viola for quite awhile now, it was a first for me since I only played in school orchestras. Been wanting to get back into just practicing, but then the pandemic happened and I just put this thought off to the side. A few weeks ago, I called up a few of the same stores, where I had gotten quotes a few years ago, and my fav one seemed to have closed down during the pandemic. I found contact information again for J. Brown Violin Maker and called to inquire and to reserve a time to come into the store. Debbie picked up the phone and provided lots of valuable information and I quickly set up a time, as I know from personal experience, always better to set up a reservation. Good thing I did as well, because they were in and out for the month of July and were also busy with school instrument repairs. When I arrived to the shop, I did not know there was a small parking lot up front, so I drove around the building (due to the one-way street on the side) and then parked in a "J. Brown Violin Maker" Reserved parking spot. I was a few minutes early, but knocked on the door to announce my arrival. Good thing I made a reservation as 2 more families (without a reservation) came in after me! The second family after me probably had to wait over an hour since I was just a few minutes into my reserved time and the family after me needed to look into renting a viola. Debbie explained and showed me that my current bow was unable to be re-haired and also showed me a few areas where I could "repair" for better sounds and etc. I opted to get new strings along with a new carbon composite bow. Yes, prices online may be cheaper, but I love supporting local businesses! Since they know that they cannot beat online prices, Debbie did restring my viola for me, and even helped lubricate the viola pegs! I learned a lot that day, especially since I have never had private lessons. For one of the families after me, Debbie even said that they had just made the viola for the student's viola teacher the year before. I love how connected they are to the community and I even asked for recs for a piano tuner. The second family after me seemed to have purchased multiple violins from here as well. The store certainly keeps busy, and I hope that they continue to do so, as one does not usually see many Master Luthiers around anymore.

My daughter has been taking piano lessons for a few months now with Vanessa, and she definitely has…read morelearned so much! Vanessa is very patient, talented, and so good with kids. The studio is always clean and quiet. Occasionally the parking spaces are full, so we end up parking on the opposite street, but usually we are able to find a spot in-front. Prices are very reasonable, and it is so easy to communicate with both Jody (studio owner) as well as Vanessa. The studio offers lessons for several instruments and voice lessons as well, but my daughter has only taken piano so far. My daughter loves her weekly lessons here and her teacher as well!

My daughter took voice lessons with Montana here for a few years. She really enjoyed her time there…read moreand Montana was super fun and nice. She always looked forward to her lesson each week.

PLEASE READ! Protect your children and keep them away from the owners at Applause Music Academy…read more They recently posted a disturbing picture of my 6 YEAR OLD GRANDDAUGHTER on their social media. It was heavily filtered and made her look OLDER ! They gave her cleavage ! . Her lips are fuller and made to look as if she has make up on. She's half Filipino and half Mexican and the filter also made her look completely Asian. When I contacted the owners through email they took the picture down immediately but did NOT apologize. The next day, my daughter and I met the owners in person through my request and it did not go well. He and his wife Dr. Tig were not apologetic at all. He would not tell me who edited the picture and he would not admit that it was wrong. I asked him point blank 3 times if it was wrong in which he stood silent. I was blown away by his refusal to admit it which made me think that HE was the one who did the editing . He claimed that it was done to clear up the background of the picture which is a total lie. This same picture was posted a few months ago without being changed. Another reason it's false is because there are actually 3 people in the picture and all 3 were made to look more Asian. One person was actually a white male and was completely changed into an Asian woman. He kept saying it was not intentional and he would not apologize. After 25 minutes of the meeting going nowhere, my daughter and I got up to leave in which Dr Tig finally admitted some regret but it was too late because it was like pulling teeth to make them feel sorry for what they or their employee) had done. They did not empathize nor did they realize the seriousness of the picture that was posted. Two days later, my daughter received an email stating that my granddaughters were both being terminated from the academy. It was easier for them to terminate them instead of saying sorry. This is very upsetting about how they handled this situation. They need to take posting children's pictures seriously! Children are precious and should be treated like it! 0 stars for Applause Music Academy

Our kids have been at Applause Music Academy for 5 years…read more Dr. Tig is truly amazing -- caring, kind, professional, and so creative in the way she teaches. She encourages every student with patience and positivity, making learning music fun and inspiring. You can truly feel how much she cares about her students and their growth. Ms. Victoria, the violin teacher, is wonderful as well -- positive, energetic, patient, and very professional. She creates such a warm and encouraging learning environment for her students. Overall, this academy is a very special place filled with talented teachers who truly teach from the heart. I'm so glad they have 3 locations so more families can experience such an amazing music academy. More than 5 stars!

I'm so so happy I found this place! I am taking voice and guitar here with Kevin and so far have…read morejust been focusing on voice. I have had many voice lessons in the past, and I can tell Kevin really a) knows what he's talking about b) gets the most possible done with me in the lesson minutes (timely and efficient) c) is very fun and upbeat d) such an amazing musician e) highly qualified, having majored in music pedagogy in university, and traveled the world performing f) communicates clearly and effectively! I chose a random song, "Peaches" from Super Mario Bros and he knew it, and was able to play it in the correct key on the keyboard for me to sing to. I had so much fun and I surprised myself when following his modeling. He used his voice so skillfully and brings the passion through the dynamics. Such a good price for how much I'm getting out of it! I know voice lessons in general aren't cheap. I hope he gets nicely compensated, because he deserves it.

My time spent in this studio was epic. Each person was truly a thrill to play with, I wouldn't…read morechange a thing. Thanks Guys

Wow, well I'm not sure what Jerome was trying to achieve with his retort, which comes a full 2…read moreyears after my initial review. After thinking about what he wrote, he's quite right about a couple of things. Yes, not all of his students will be happy with the way he teaches. As mentioned, there were several times where he showed up to my lessons unprepared & where he used my instruction time as his own personal practice time. I don't imagine too many paying students would be happy with such an arrangement. So, yes, it was hard to see eye-to-eye when that became his approach to teaching. And, yes, our friendship & student/teacher relationship ended on a sour note as a result & because he also constantly tried to discourage me from taking on challenges to help me grow. I'm not sure what he expected when that became his teaching style. It's sad he chose to revisit this after 2 years. The last I heard from him was actually in the form of an apology about 1 1/2 years ago. At that time, he told me he had just been diagnosed with cancer & used that as his rationale for his attitude & behavior. He then said he'd reach back out in a few months, after his cancer treatment was over, in hopes we could patch things up. I gave him the time & space he asked for but he never reached out until a few days ago via his response here. Jerome claims to be Christian, so I suppose only he & his deity know, for sure, what his intent here is or if that cancer diagnosis was ever even real. Two years after he chose to end my lessons, after he got a bunch of his friends to write all those positive reviews for him here, after speaking ill of me to anyone who'd listen this all just comes across as sad & gives off needy ex vibes on his part. I wish the man peace & hope to finally put this issue to rest. Time to move on, Jerome. There's no reason or need to reach out or revisit things after all this time.

I highly recommend Jerome for anyone looking to start or take guitar lessons. I took up the bass…read moreguitar a few years ago and Jerome has been amazing guiding me in music theory, creativity and technique. Jerome caters lessons so I feel like I'm moving forward skill wise while still having fun. You can tell Jerome is very passionate about music and has a wealth of knowledge to share. My musical journey has soared greatly because of Jerome, thank you!

This music academy is awesome! Ms.Vikki and Ms.Sissi are professional and patient! I am an adults…read morepiano leaner for 5 years and I have tried many music school and nothing compares to the level of care, professionalism and patience like Fantasy music academy . I really enjoy learning piano lesson with them !

Sean is the best! I've been taking acoustic guitar lessons with him for the past year having…read morestarted out as a complete beginner. As a teacher, Sean is patient, encouraging, and a natural when it comes to helping distill ideas and make them easy for you to understand, even if it doesn't come naturally. As a person, he is equally cool. Kind and funny and his love of music is infectious. I would highly recommend him to anyone interested in learning or honing their skills. And his house is easy to get to and a great place to practice.

I played guitar off and on as a teenager and recently started picking it back up. Sean broke down…read moresomething I've been trying to grasp via youtube videos for literally years like, ten minutes into our first lesson. I've only just started lessons with him, but really love his teaching style, vibe, and patience. Do 60 minutes if you can, it FLIES by!! Also, finding parking in Atwater near his space is really, really, realllllly easy, so bonus points for that. :)

Nice enough guy. But "tuned piano" and didn't finish on first visit, although I paid. He was…read moresupposed to come back and fix a sticking key. I found out later piano wasn't in tune. Scheduled a second visit, no call no show. I went with a different piano tuner and am glad I did.

Excellent service, George is very skilled & knowledgable and worked diligently to bring my…read moremuch-ignored and sad little Yamaha back to life. Highly recommend!