If you are learning guitar, or maybe just looking to advance your playing to the next level, look no further! I bought a guitar right before COVID and really wanted to learn it right (not just from YouTube and IG). Jerry had the highest reviews on Yelp, so I signed up. We do sessions once a week and it's been an AMAZING journey. What I expected it so get better and better at guitar. What I didn't expect (as a trumpet music major back in college, I thought I knew it all) was to deeply learn about music. Jerry is well respected Bay Area musician and has played for decades in amazing band as well as releasing his own album and has a YouTube channel. His grasp of technical guitar playing and music history is crazy (check out his YouTube videos!) While journeying through rhythm, rock, funk and jazz guitar; rock and blues solos, Jerry showed me that what I've learned about music is missing a ton. The progression of our lessons is to learn artists and their history, some theory, and step-by-step how to play influential pieces starting with the early days of blues and rock and roll and who influenced who and why (fascinating stuff!) As a result I've learned a TON of great songs (way too many to list here) from Blues: BB King to Jimi; Rock, Pop and Heavy Metal from Zeppelin to Clapton; Jazz from Charlie Christian to Pat Metheny; Modern music like Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, Black Crowes, Pink, Ariana Grande; we've even hit up J-pop and K-pop! It's been 3 years now and going strong. Jerry has instilled in me a sense of curiosity about what makes music sound great and why some of the best music in history came from the 60's to 90s (he even wrote a book about it). Jerry has taught so much about the guitar and music in general. Every day is a journey. read more

I took both bass guitar and guitar lessons from Jerry in high school, and I will always consider those lessons to be one of the most fun things that I did during my otherwise studious and extremely nerdy teenage years. As his student, you will discover very quickly that Jerry is not only passionate about teaching guitar, but also about teaching music. This goes beyond just teaching music theory (which he doesn't skimp on, by the way, thank you Jerry!). I always loved hearing him talk about the backstory of each song I learned to play; not just the what, but the how and the why - the lifeblood of music itself. His teaching curriculum is very structured and intentional but never feels restrictive or impersonal, probably because Jerry as a person is very chill and relaxed, and you will immediately want to be friends with him. If you are looking for a guitar/bass teacher who is not only insanely talented but also has a true gift for teaching and makes lessons fun and exciting, look no further, because Jerry is your man! read more

I play various instruments, which has inspired my older son to play. He chose electric bass after trying mine. After seeing him show consistent interest in it, I decided to find a teacher so he wouldn't get stuck with some bad habits from the start. After searching Yelp, I found Jerry Baiden. I chose him because he has real onstage performance experience (which I believe is ongoing). My son and I are very happy with that choice. Jerry has been great in teaching my son the basics of physically playing the bass, playing to tabs, and overall music theory. The thing that really impressed me the most, however, was how Jerry has really broadened my son's musical tastes. My boy first walked in the door as a rap and techno fan, but now he's also listening to the Beatles, Elvis, Rage Against the Machine, etc. This alone has been well worth the lessons with Jerry. Besides being a great musical mentor for my son, I like the physical location of his studio. It's in Canon Music, which is easy to get to and has tons of parking available. Jerry has a private space inside there, and the noise pollution isn't too bad. There are also lots of restaurants and a drugstore nearby, in case you want a snack before or after your lesson. Taking lessons from Jerry Baiden has literally changed my son's life for the better, and for that I will be forever grateful. read more

I was a guitar student of Jerry's from 2008 to 2012, and I cannot recommend his music instruction more highly. Nine years later, I still have a folder of his transcriptions and CDs that he has provided me with over the years. Jerry is both a ridiculously phenomenal musician and an easy, comfortable instructor -- while incredibly talented, he also had the ability of connecting with the newest of students. If you have the chance to learn from Jerry, take it. He will provide you with lifelong skills and a music appreciation you will not shake off! read more

This review is way long overdue and this is the first business review I've ever written because it was such bad and humiliating experience. I took guitar lessons with Jerry and that was the biggest mistake of my life. I regret wasting my money and time on someone who is so arrogant and lacks knowledge in teaching. After a couple of lessons, I figured I could learn music theory on my own by reading books and whatnot, so I politely asked him if he could teach me how to play this guitar solo that I've been practicing instead because that's something i couldn't learn at home since I couldn't figure out which notes were being played on rhythm. I even showed him the videos of the person playing the solo many times and guess what, he had no idea what notes were being played. I was completely fine with the fact that he lacked the knowledge in this area but he got really defensive. He showed his true colors and started belittled me for the way I approach learning and enjoying plying, probably because I exposed him. He kept mentioning he has 40 years of experience playing guitar but I just wanted to say it doesn't matter how many years you've been playing. You could be playing 1 minute a day for 40 years and that doesn't mean much. It's quality of the practice that matters, not the number of years. If you just started learning the guitar or if you're not interested in learning how to play something advanced, Jerry could help you with that. However, If people want to learn how to play something advanced, Jerry Baiden is not the right person for the job. I highly suggest that you learn from someone else or you'll be wasting your time and money. By the way how can you call someone arrogant just because the person doesn't learn and enjoy the guitar the same way you do Jerry? It's such statement that makes you look like an arrogant instructor. There would be no reason for me to write something negative about you if what you claim is true. You discouraged me and I almost stopped playing because of it but I shook it off and here I am today. P.S. Jerry makes it sound like he chose not to teach me but the fact is he didn't have a clue how to play and teach what I wanted to learn. He asked me to show him the video several times and I did. He still couldn't figure it out. He then with arrogance, challenged my ability to play the first part of the solo because he didn't know how and he probably thought I couldn't. I remember his face turned red and he was speechless when I showed him that I could play. He should've just been honest and told me he couldn't figure it out and I would've been fine with it. But he had to get defensive instead to mock and laugh at the student for his incompetence. I know when I see someone who's arrogant and so full of himself. Jerry is not good at adapting to what students want to learn. I'm doing much better now that I stopped taking lessons from him. By the way, I gave you one extra star for the discount. It might be hard for you to admit you don't know how to play something because you have 40 years of experience. However making fun of how an individual wants to learn guitar because of your incompetence is just wrong. I didn't have a bad experience with you not because you didn't want to teach me. I didn't appreciate you being dishonest about your knowledge and belittling me for the way I enjoy learning and playing. Everyone has different ways and approaches to playing and learning the guitar. I told him that as long as I'm having fun and enjoying playing and learning the guitar that's what matters, and guess what? He laughed and made fun of me for the way I enjoy playing. Not everyone has to enjoy playing the guitar the same way you do Jerry. Who are you to judge and disrespect people on how they want to enjoy playing the guitar Jerry? read more

I've been playing guitar for more than ten years... or at least I thought I'd been playing guitar. After a crazy few months earlier this year I decided I actually wanted to start dedicating some real time to studying the instrument. A yelp search, a few e-mails, and I had lessons scheduled with Jerry. The first lesson was an assessment of where I currently fell on the spectrum of abilities. Jerry walked me through some basic strumming exercises and then into some more complicated riffs and leads. He gave me a CD with a bunch of leads to listen to and told me to come back in a week. Fast forward, I've been under Jerry's tutelage for about four months, and I've grown more as a player than I ever expected. He always notices when I start falling back into my old bad habits from trying to teach myself and calls my attention to them. He's been working them out of me slowly, from my inconsistent applications of vibrato and mechanically inefficient bends, my hand position on the neck, reducing my uncontrolled flailing right hand to a controlled strum. So far he's had me learning solos from a variety of classic sources, each of them with some obvious musical or technical importance. He's had me transcribe stuff on my own, helped me through the tricky parts, stressed the importance of learning licks up and down the neck, gone through basic modal theory, and all kinds of other cool stuff. Beyond that, it's obvious that Jerry is not just a great guitarist, but a musician. He gets the idea of feel, groove, the little things that add up to make a guitar part unique. He knows when players break technical rules to get cool sounds. Finally, he has always been encouraging, and the rewards are pretty obvious to me. My friends now joke that I'm a "professional guitarist" which is of course a subtle ribbing, but I've gotten comments from guitar playing friends on how much my right hand has tightened up, how my leads are more melodic, that I can now "play every song" (which is NOT true!), and people have been wanting to make more music with me. Easy five stars! Thanks Jerry. read more

I've been studying with Jerry for about six months and have both enjoyed and improved. I came to Jerry having played guitar for 20+ years and with reasonable knowledge about music theory, but never having played for anybody outside my family. Jerry helped me prepare for my brother's wedding, where I had to play guitar and sing during the ceremony for 200+ people. It went really well. Jerry helped me arrange my song and focus on a few key aspects of the performance which helped me pull it off. Jerry has a good mix of technical skills, knowledge and passion for music, and insights into theory. I like that we can focus on a variety of aspects of guitar depending on what I am interested in: performance, technique, listening to guitar greats, etc. I tend to over-complicate things, and Jerry keeps me grounded and focused on what will actually make me play better. Often times simple is better. Jerry is very easy going, but also willing to push me which I appreciate! If I make a mistake I want to know so that I can learn. Before and after my lessons, I see Jerry with both adult and child students. I would recommend him as a teacher for any age. read more

Jerry is the most awesome guitar teacher! After being raised by the shrewdest piano teachers for most of my life, going to Jerry for guitar lessons is refreshing. He's always upbeat, enthusiastic, and encouraging. I'm not a fast learner, and even with practice my notes are all over the place, but Jerry is extremely helpful in improving style and technique. I'd definitely recommend him for anyone learning or advancing in guitar! read more

I've been taking guitar lessons with Jerry for a little under a year and a half. I reached out to him to work on getting back into guitar after putting the instrument down during college. I can't recommend him enough. Jerry is patient, fun, and an extremely skilled guitarist. Sometimes people who are skilled at their craft aren't necessarily good at explaining how they got there, but Jerry puts a lot of time into breaking down his techniques, music theory, and practice methods into terms and exercises that students can understand. He even writes his own methodologies to help guitarists learn sheet music. Over the last year, I've gone from having a novice understanding of jazz music to being able to confidently flip to any page in my Real Book and being able to play through the chords and even solo through it with a band. If you're looking for a guitar teacher, definitely connect with Jerry. read more

Jerry was a huge inspiration for me and he helped steer my music career for many years. I recently moved back to the bay area, after spending time in Brooklyn, and one of the first things I did was schedule a lesson with Jerry. I hadn't seen him in almost 20yrs! He's a very patient instructor and his enthusiasm for music (and the guitar in particular) is infectious - it infected me for 20yrs! Jerry is a great teacher for beginners and idle tinkerers, as well as professionals who hope to make music an integral part of their lives. You will learn a foundation which will serve you well for the rest of your musical life - whether or not you spend it playing guitar. read more

I have never sat closer to a better guitar player in my life. At my first lesson, I told Jerry that I wanted to play like this person or that person. After that lesson, the only person I wanted to play like was Jerry. I used to stop him and say, "show me how to play that lick!", or "what made you decide to play that." He would alway remind me to take it slow, yet practice more. When I was his student I practiced around 6-8 hours a day, everyday, for years. Now 20 years later, I am pretty much able to do/play whatever I want with the instrument, controlling sound with emotion. Jerry really takes his students to the next level. He explains more than just theory and licks, and slowly lets you into his approach on music, visualizing the fret board, playing with dynamics, etc. One of the best pieces of advice jerry gave me was to learn the opposites. I would ask, "should i fingerpick this or flat pick it? Should I use economy picking or alternate? Should I think theoretically, play licks, or just play whatever comes out ". His reply was, learn them all. so very true. read more

I hadn't played my bass guitar in quite a while since all of my musician friends have long since moved out of the area and I had no one to play with anymore. But that all changed recently. So I took a series of refresher lessons from Jerry Baiden. Jerry immediately got me up and running, and pointed out some (many, actually) bad habits I've held on to for years (like playing with a pick instead of my fingers) since I was initially self-taught (not recommended). I was amazed at how quickly it all came back with his teaching technique. One thing I really like about Jerry is that not only do you learn the basics, but you learn to play songs along the way. That makes you feel as if you're making progress rather than just playing scales or chords. Jerry is a really nice guy and uses positive motivation to teach. He's also a first rate guitar player. I would highly recommend Jerry Baiden as an instructor, whether you are a beginning, advanced, or returning player. According to his website, he teaches guitar, bass, and ukulele. Personal note to new students: Learning to play a musical instrument can be a daunting task at first. But stick with it, and one day you'll wake up and find that you're able to play. read more

I had the pleasure of meeting Jerry back in 2006. I wanted to learn how to play electric guitar, and my mom went online to find guitar teachers, and Jerry's name came up as one of the best (with good reason). I ended up taking lessons for nearly 7 years. Jerry knows about every type of music under the sun, and can play them with his own style. His musicianship is unbelievable! Every lesson was different, even if some days it was just jamming together with a backing track (and those days can be just as important as going over scales). Jerry instilled in me a lifelong love of music, a passion for discovery, and has continued to be an inspiration to myself as well as his fellow students. Jerry is not only a great teacher, but a great guy, and one amazing musician! He has a variety of teaching techniques that'll keep students interested. He introduced me to a number of my favorite bands, and hopefully students will find the same. He is totally the guy everyone should be taking lessons from! So do yourselves a favor and look no further! Jerry Baiden is your dude!!! read more

I recently picked up bass guitar oh a whim and have been "playing it" for 2 years. However, after 10 months of lessons with Jerry, I became more like a proper musician than another bass player. Jerry was more than just an instructor for me. He taught me how to set-up my guitar, gave recommendations for shops and pick-ups, patiently (sorry! :) )taught me music theory, and even helped me tab out songs I wanted to play by ear on non-lesson time. Even with my limited free time due to work and my commute, Jerry was very flexible with my lessons. The only con(?) I can think of is that he is a very busy instructor. This means that he has set song list/lesson plan for you; so if you're looking to just play the 5 songs you like, it probably won't happen. However, this is probably for the best as each song he chose tries to teach different techniques. read more

Jerry taught me guitar and bass for seven years, through junior high and high school. Through that entire time I experienced him as a dependable and loyal teacher as well as a friend to whom I could relate from my time as an immature sixth grader to when I was an arguably more mature high school senior. Then, in my second year of college, I was asked to play in a friend's band. I wasn't sure how it would go considering I had only been casually keeping up with music, but, and I credit this to the quality of Jerry's teaching, I had the foundation that allowed me to impress them and am now a permanent member. In summary, Jerry's distinctiveness as a teacher is his versatility. Whatever the age, intention, instrument, or music style of the student, he can teach it and he can teach it well. read more

Jerry Baiden's love for the guitar (and bass) is contagious and unstoppable. Beginning in my freshman year of high school Jerry taught me rhythm guitar, starting with easy popular songs across several genres, and when I graduated from that, I brought in lots of Beatles songs and he taught me the rhythm guitar parts to them. I moved up to the lead guitar CD's, which spanned genres from Yngwie Malmsteen to T-Bone Walker, introducing me to so many new styles of playing guitar, and the techniques and mindset going on in each of these solos. In my senior year, the top jazz combo's bass player and guitar player were taught by Jerry, in the second-tier combo, the other guitar player and I were taught by Jerry, as was the bassist in the next combo below us. What can I say? He produces quality students : ) Jerry is a remarkable person and an excellent teacher. He listens to your playing and he listens to you. I am truly glad that Jerry Baiden was my first guitar teacher. He gave me a deep understanding about how to make music with a guitar, and he did it with such compassion. Thank you, Jerry. read more

I've been taking lessons from Jerry for over half a year now, and he is the best guitar teacher out of all the ones I've had. He is incredibly knowledgeable in rock and jazz, and very experienced too. I feel like his teaching style is very different from other guitar teachers I've had who just teaches out of the book. He definitely helped me improve a lot, despite only taking his lessons for less than a year. I would definitely recommend anyone interested in guitar to take his lessons read more

Jerry is the most AMAZING guitar teacher. He helped me go from strumming a few chords to be able to recognize notes, see patterns in the music, and even write my own songs. Jerry is cool, approachable and a truly exceptionally talented player. He is patient and fun, let me ask millions of questions, and I looked forward to my lessons every week. read more

Jerry has been teaching my teenage son for about 2 years now. He loves going every single time! Jerry is so inspiring and fun it is amazing. He has taught my son all the basics and now they are having fun sampling all sorts of favorites while learning more and more. Right now Beatles is the focus and my son LOVES it. The wonderful thing about Jerry is that he knows so much about all sorts of different guitar styles that he can customize the lessons toward what you need to learn while keeping you interested in the music at the same time. Jerry is also flexible with timing of the lessons and is understanding that our kids are busy. As long as we have some notice of conflicts we can easily negotiate a new time. read more

Jerry was my guitar teacher all through high school and played and essential role in my musical development. Not just an amazing player, he is able to really connect with and elaborate upon each persons individual needs/interests as students and show them the best way to progress towards their musical goals. I would tell my friends about Jerry as well as fans who asked my about my musical past after playing shows. Many of these people proceeded to take lessons from Jerry, and not a single one was left unsatisfied. I had several guitar instructors before learning from Jerry, all of whom he far surpassed in both skill and teaching. If you are looking for a great guitar teacher, you can't do better than Jerry Baiden. read more