Richard Kalman is an soulful jazz and blues singer in the San Francisco Bay Area and sings and…read moreplays the piano at various locations in East Bay and throughout the SF Bay Area. I saw him when he was hired by my friend as a musician for a private event and he was terrific! Arrived early, started on time, a total pro the whole way through and delivered some amazing jazz and blues and popular music . All the guests were really happy. If you're looking for jazz, blues, and old school pop musicians and musical acts in the San Francisco Bay Area, don't go to a booking agent or agency because they take money off the top and the prices are more expensive. Just hit Rich up for some samples and if you're like me, you'll love the soulfulness of his delivery and he'll make your life a lot less stressed the day of! He does brunches, wine and cheese places, and stuff like that. He also does work as a singing coach and piano teacher (beginning piano) with specialties of jazz & blues. Vocal Coach, Piano Lessons, Live jazz and blues - hit up Richard! He was so good I spoke with him at length. I'm a jazz musician myself so consider this your #ProTip of the day! :D

Richard was running a terrific Jazz Vocals class when I first met him--there I found my voice!…read more Later he came to my middle school classroom and got lots of recalcitrant students singing. His spirited vocal group "Con Alma" performs all over town, and I try to catch them every time, because they're so much fun!

Jonathan is an EXTRAORDINARY voice lesson teacher. He is incredibly well-trained and a very…read morepersonable instructor. In addition, his lessons are very helpful for students of all levels. I am a beginner in singing and truly enjoy his instruction. I highly recommend Jonathan for voice lessons!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!…read more If you want to learn how to sing well, Jonathan is the way to go. Not only does he have impeccable credentials (SF opera, gigs around the world), but he is also a very good teacher. I've been taking lessons from him for almost three years now. I started as a student in Davis, and continued even after graduation. He's very nice, funny, and personable - not hoity toity like you would expect an opera teacher to be. I really appreciate his patience and encouragement. I also appreciate the biannual recitals he organizes for his students. After three years of weekly lessons, I had the chance to perform four times at UC Davis and four times at the Berkeley City Club. I can't recommend him highly enough. He is like the Burj-al-Arab Dubai hotel of voice instructors - 7/5 stars!

I'm a professional vocalist and I've had the pleasure of working with Michael for about 2 decades…read morenow. His knowledge of all things music is as deep as his insights on arrangements I've asked him to comment on, as intricate as his mind-blowing compositions, his quirks as endearing as any musical genius'!

I am a current student studying piano with Michael. I really appreciated his emphasis on basics…read more(e.g. breathe, removing tension in the body, posture, and even how to set up the piano bench). He also doesn't just teach piano playing but also the broader music education: composers / pianists to listen to, music theory, etc. One caveat is that expect the pace of learning to be a bit slower compared to other teachers potentially but I think it's a worthwhile tradeoff to build solid foundations.

Harry is clearly a very talented pianist, but not suited for teaching in my opinion. Granted that I…read morehave had only had one lesson with him and am not making this decision off of much personal experience, I think it is important that I share this experience with others so that they may take any of the given information into consideration when selecting a piano instructor. I think it's important to preface this by saying that quality instructors, regardless of the subject matter that they are teaching, will share a common set of characteristics that make them so. They will be good listeners and adjust their teaching style to the student's needs. They work with the student to understand the student's goals and devise a structured plan to help them get to that point. An effective student-teacher relationship cannot be achieved without sufficient student-teacher interaction. Just as the teacher questions the student on his/her current skill level and goals in an effort to gain a solid understanding of how he/she can help the student, the student should question the teacher and ask about the teacher's background, skill level, and how he/she will help the student achieve his/her goals. This is not the experience I had with Harry during our first lesson. As a college student, I am financially limited and thus have to make the best use of the money that I have. This means I have to put a lot of effort into finding a quality instructor, which further implies that I must spend time working to understand the instructor's methods, techniques, and plan for helping me eventually get to the point where I want to be. During our lesson, I asked Harry a lot of questions, to say the least. I told him my goals with learning the piano and throughout our lesson kept asking questions about whether I will be able to do ___ or achieve ___ given the path that we were going to follow. Harry wanted to stick to the absolute basics during our first lesson, which is completely normal and fair, but interpreted my questions as my "being a very resistant and skeptical learner", and that I "didn't trust his methods". I kept trying to clarify that this wasn't the case and that I trusted his methods but I was rather trying to gauge him as an instructor, our curriculum, and thus get a more structured and comprehensive idea of how we were going to proceed with future lessons. He kept cutting me off and I had to repeatedly (3 or 4 times) request him to let me finish my train of thought before he let me do so. When I repeated myself to try and clarify that I wasn't trying to be rude or skeptical, he replied "Yeah, that's about the tenth time you've mentioned that today" in quite a snarky manner. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I felt as though he crossed the line for basic human decency and behavior. He was rude and off-putting, which is rather unacceptable even outside of professional or student-teacher contexts. The worst remark that he made, in my opinion, wasn't even rude but was rather shocking to hear a teacher say. I told him that if I sounded skeptical, it was because I was trying to make the best use of my money and find an instructor that suits my personality and learning style. He complained that all of my questions were eating into our time, and when I mentioned how I would have been okay with not even touching the piano given that it is our first lesson and I wanted to use it to get a solid understanding of the teacher, his style, and how we would progress throughout our learning journey, he replied "well that's just a waste of money". Just as one should not select a cosmetic surgeon without understanding the procedure, the surgeon's personality, and how they will help you achieve the look you desire, one should not select an instructor without gaining a comprehensive understanding of the teacher, his/her teaching style, and their method of helping you achieve your goals. Given my experience, I would strongly recommend that individuals looking to receive piano instruction look elsewhere.

Harry is a passionate and knowledgeable teacher. With decades of experience as a performer and…read moreeducator his love for playing is contagious and inspiring. I thoroughly enjoyed studying with him and he has provided me with a refreshed foundation in jazz and a wealth of information that I'll continue to build upon for many years to come. Highly recommended!

I have been taking piano lessons with Ernie for a few years now and I'd highly recommend him as a…read moreteacher, especially if you are beginning to learn an instrument in adulthood as I have. He's very knowledgable, insightful, and most importantly, a very supportive and friendly instructor. He's also full of stories from a life lived in music and has a helpful anecdote for every occasion. Ernie is always reliable and punctual about lesson dates and times but always understanding if I need to reschedule, given the proper notice in accordance with his posted policies. I look forward to continuing my lessons with Ernie and I'm grateful for his instruction.

I have known Ernie for about 5 years. His passion is music and he is very talented! When I hear…read moreErnie play, I get goose bumps. He knows how to hit the notes that create emotion. I like his music a lot. Ernie shares his talent with people of all ages. He teaches piano, guitar, flute and clarinet. He also helps people learn composition and arranging. It is never to late to learn a musical instrument! And with Ernie as a teacher, you will have a lot of fun too!

Dylan is a very talented teacher…read more As an adult beginner, it's hard to find the balance between having fun and playing some songs, while also learning the less fun but necessary stuff like theory, chord construction, triads, major, minor, dominant chords, etc. Dylan was really able to right away hone in on what level I'm at. We worked together to figure out how to motivate an adult beginner, which is very different from motivating kids. As adults, we tend to be more self-critical. You can hear that it doesn't sound as good as what you know sounds good even after months of practicing, and that is discouraging. His strengths are that he's very patient, good at meeting you where you're at, and finding ways to help you progress without overwhelming you. He's also teaching you enough theory that you're not just parroting a song. His goal is for you to become a true musician, someone who can play with other people, improvise, and not just karaoke through a guitar song. He and I also had similar musical tastes so his song options aligned with songs I loved such as Beatles, Chili Peppers, & Ozzy Osbourne. I highly recommend giving him a shot and seeing if he's a good fit for you.

My daughter Lyla has been taking guitar lessons from Dylan DiMartini for a year-and-a-half, since…read moreFebruary of 2025. In that time, she has embraced the guitar as never before and is in the process of becoming a complete musician. Maestro DiMartini is the whole package: a superb and superbly trained performing guitarist, musician, and composer, someone who leads by example. But even more than his musicianship, it is Dylan's empathy and psychological insight that make him a true teacher. He understands when to push and when to pull back; when to compliment and when to challenge. And perhaps most importantly, he knows how to listen: to my daughter's playing, yes, but also to what's going on in her life and heart at any particular time, and to adjust her lessons accordingly. As a professional musician myself (a composer and pianist) who, among other gigs, was a professor at the San Francisco Conservatory for 16 years, I know a good music teacher when I see one. And Dylan DiMartini is more than that: he is a great teacher. We are so, so glad to have found him.

I've been a long time student of Rebecca's and highly recommend her for anyone who wants to learn…read morepiano. She is very skilled at assessing and correcting technical difficulties and is equally talented in teaching expressive technique. In addition she fosters a warm and supportive community by hosting regular workshops where her students meet to perform for one another.

She is a great teacher but only takes advanced adults but her videos online are great tooread more

Phoenix's Voice and Drum class was fun and challenging. Over summer and into fall this year, I took…read moretwo -10 week class series, back to back, and really enjoyed them. Although it was the same class repeated, she offered enough variation and creativity to inspire a continuum of engagement and learning. Phoenix is truly talented as a musician and facilitator who knows how to create a safe space in which students are able to let down their guard and get into the flow of drum circle magic.

Amber will truly help you "Free Your Voice"! I've taken their Free Your Voice classes in various…read moreforms, both in-person twice as single-class experiences in the last two years and recently as an online, 8-week class over Zoom. Every time, Amber has brought amazing creativity to the content and a genuine ability to help participants develop both as singers and human beings. The classes are always a safe space to push one's own boundaries and learn new superpowers you didn't know you had! I would highly recommend Amber's class especially to anyone who wants to develop their voice and become more confident, but as well to anyone who wants to just explore new sides of themselves and do something very fun, cathartic and liberating.