I started taking drum lessons as an adult and Raphi is the best! I tried a few instructors before I…read morefound him, and he is patient, reliable, and makes learning fun. If you are looking for a fun music instructor, I highly recommend Raphi!

I've been taking guitar lessons for 2 years with Raphi and am having a great time! I was a total…read morebeginner and have progressed a lot. Raphi makes the lessons and learning fun. Could not recommend him more highly!

Emery is currently teaching our 13-year-old son acoustic guitar, and he is phenomenal. He is warm,…read morefriendly, encouraging and an amazing teacher and musician. Emery lets our son choose the songs he wants to learn (while supplying helpful suggestions and feedback on the choices), and he then uses each song to teach and reinforce skills and technique. Incorporating fundamentals in this way keeps our son engaged and excited. It is always a delight to hear the two of them playing together--Emery is instilling a deep love of music and a sense of accomplishment and confidence in our son that is so valuable at this age. Emery is a wonderful teacher and a truly kind soul.

Emery has been teaching our son guitar for over a year, and -- simply put -- he is FANTASTIC. Emery…read moreis both a very talented musician and a natural-born teacher. His method with our ninth grade son is to let him pick the song which he wants to learn on guitar and then use it as a vehicle for teaching technique and music theory. This pedagogy seems to be working very well since our son (1) loves to practice the guitar (since it is always a song of his choosing) and (2) has significantly grown in his musicianship since his time with Emery. As a teacher, Emery blends his Oberlin College Conservatory training with an innate ability to connect with young people. I think you would be hard-pressed to find a better guitar teacher than Emery. He has our 100% endorsement.

Paul is a great classical guitar teacher. He's helped me a lot with my technique and musicality and…read moreis extremely patient, thorough, kind, knowledgeable and a really nice guy. His expertise in baroque music (Bach, Weiss, etc) is impressive and really helpful with interpretation and phrasing. He very clearly knows the instrument and the repertoire very well and knows how to give relevant and helpful tips and exercises for improving technique and musicality. I'd definitely recommend Paul to anyone looking for a classical guitar teacher.

Paul is fantastic! He was recommended to us by our son's improv jazz piano teacher and we have been…read moreextremely lucky to have him as a teacher. He has been teaching bouzouki to our son for the last few months. He is a very talented musician, an excellent teacher, and has wonderful rapport with kids. Our son has made great progress and, more importantly, has quickly cultivated a deep love and appreciation for this special instrument. We most highly recommend him!

My daughter has been in lessons with Cynthia for about three years. It is obvious, from hearing…read moreher more long-standing and accomplished students, that she has the experience and knowledge to prepare her students for a serious future in music. For us though, it it more about building competency and appreciation. My daughter enjoys the lessons (more than she likes practicing, according to her) and it has definitely helped develop both her ear, and her enthusiasm. From my perspective though, the main benefit it gives is for my daughter to learn to accept criticism and high expectations. Cynthia will hold your child (or you) to what is on the page. All of it: the notes, the rhythm, the tempo, the dynamics, the articulation...(plus some other stuff that I don't even know the name for), all at the same time...So it's a great opportunity for my kid to learn focus and multi-tasking. It can be a bit harrowing at times, as the all-of-it-right-all-at-the-same-time is not the approach taken in school, (or at home) but honestly, I'm grateful that my daughter can experience this, as discipline/hard work/humility/practice /all those cliches are obviously going to be required for whatever she chooses to pursue. Cynthia is strict, but also rejoices when the student does finally find success. She knows the student is capable of more than they themselves, or the parents might initially believe. My daughter definitely gets frustrated during practice at home, but she keeps working on it, and eventually gets the satisfaction of learning and getting it right. Also, the songs in the books get good pretty quickly! They are a good mix of pretty, fun, energetic without much dreck...super helpful when you hear it many times over.

If are looking for a piano teacher for an energetic child, run away from this woman and never look…read moreback. She was monstrous. I do not recommend Cynthia for piano lessons for young children. We had an absolutely awful experience. She humiliated and rejected my 7-year-old son, who genuinely loves piano and was trying his best. When he began to grow emotional, she continued to criticize him while speaking to me in front of him. I have never encountered such an unkind or unprofessional approach from someone who chooses to work children. At one point, she even asked me, "Is he in special ed or something?" -- an absolutely offensive and inappropriate question on so many levels. To act like this in front of a young child who was doing his best is unconscionable. While she uses stickers and small prizes as motivation, her teaching style relies on constant criticism rather than balanced feedback. Instead of combining positive reinforcement with gentle correction, she fixates on mistakes and ignores effort or progress. Our experience with her was deeply upsetting and the opposite of what learning music should be.

If you're looking for a professional, principled, and practical guitar teacher Ila is the one you…read moreshould be taking lessons from. She's as knowledgeable as they come and her genuine approach towards a fulfilling learning experience is quite a rare quality. She doesn't take short cuts in her teaching methods and you'll find yourself seriously loving the guitar under her guidance even if you start learning with a casual mindset. I enjoy every class ever since I started six months ago and adore Ila and her sincerity.

Ila is such an amazing guitar instructor! I have been going to class almost every week for the…read morelast 3 months and never did I imagine I'd be able to play a song and a half! Through her patience and attention to detail, Ila will coach you through how to play guitar and help you to understand the music theory behind it if necessary. I've never been so pleased with learning how to play and having an instructor who can stay calm and patient makes all the difference. If you choose Ila, I'm pretty certain you will be just as pleased too!

Oh I had Danielle as an ensemble teachers many years ago. It was such a wonderful experience, we…read more laughed a lot and I learned so much. I am thinking of joining a quartet soon. Hopefully she needs a cellist!

Jeff is a fantastic guitar instructor…read more I have been taking lessons with Jeff for 6 years. I played guitar for many years and then stopped playing for a long time and began to miss it. Jeff has helped me find my love of playing again. Jeff's lessons are tailored to his students and what you want to learn. If you want to learn music theory Jeff will focus the lessons on that. If you'd like to learn how to play songs, you can do that. When I first started taking lessons I told him I only wanted to play rhythm guitar not lead because I wasn't good at it. The more we played together, the more I started to gain confidence through our work together. Now I am learning both rhythm and lead and having a great time playing both. Also, through the songs I'm learning I'm learning theory as well. Jeff has pushed me out of my comfort zone, in the best way. I am learning and playing things I never thought I could. His confidence in me has caused me to believe I can be a good lead player as well. He is very patient and will take doesn't mind going over things more than once. He makes sure you understand the correct technique in addition to the music on the page. Jeff understands busy lives. I work full-time and often find getting enough practice time challenging. He understands and works with my progress level. I can say my playing has improved from taking lessons with Jeff. I would highly recommend him to anyone, at any level, wanting to learn to play guitar.

I've been taking lessons from Jeff for about...5 or 6 years now. I was a total start from scratch…read morebeginner on the guitar, and Jeff is the most incredible teacher. I would rate myself today as an average-ish skilled guitar player, only because I don't practice NEARLY as much as a good and prudent student would. I play purely for hobby. I'm sure if I applied myself on that level, I would be HELLA good.... because that is how phenomenal a teacher Jeff is. He will individualize your lesson to be whatever you are seeking to experience on your guitar journey. My absolute favorite thing is asking him to teach me any random song of my choice and then proceed to watch him re-compose it in tabs or sheet music...by ear. In less than an hour. To witness his process is like watching live musical genius at work. It's so cool and fun. He is more than qualified to teach and has an impressive music education. His grasp on the classical, technical, structural aspects of music theory boggles my mind. Literally. His actual skill is quite remarkable as well. He gigs in a band, he composes his own music, his vibe is progressive east bay ARTISTÉ, funny and sarcastic as hell, patient, cool as shit and a good human being. I've seen him play live a few times, and he is entertaining to watch and always kills on the guitar. He really should be famous...and he would humbly disagree... But he's an underrated musician and I would definitely watch for this dude. If you need a guitar teacher, beginner or seeking to hone existing skills, take a chance on Jeff. You wont regret it.

I hired Jonathan to lead music at my school in San Diego, and he was awesome to work with. Very…read moretalented musician, and the kids loved him. I would definitely hire Jonathan again!