Conor at Acorn Music is a wonderful teacher! It's no exaggeration to say that he reignited my…read morepassion for music. I took music lessons on and off as a kid, but never stuck with it long enough to get good at any one instrument. I had no patience for music theory and practice always made me frustrated. I'm glad that I gave it another shot with Conor. What I like most about his approach is how fun and effortless it feels to learn under his guidance--his enthusiasm for playing and teaching are infectious. I'm excited for my lesson each week. I found Conor through a friend who knew I was looking to get back into guitar, and I've been taking weekly lessons with him for a year now. My original goal was to learn a few campfire songs, so he tailored his approach to this, but rather than simply showing me some chords, he makes sure that I understand the "why" behind what I'm doing. I actually started to get more interested in music theory as a result--Conor explains it all in context, making it easy to understand and apply. And he has a knack for identifying what's giving me trouble in a particular song or section, not just telling me what to do but showing me how to do it (it also helps that he's super patient). I've got a few songs under my belt now, but I'm definitely sticking with my lessons for the foreseeable future, and getting psyched about setting more ambitious goals for myself.

I've been taking guitar lessons with Conor at Acorn Music for 2 years. I can proudly say that I'd…read morenow actually consider myself a guitarist! I started out trying to teach myself, but like many people that go that road, I keep hitting roadblocks. When I began lessons, I could barely even play a few simple chords. Now I can write my own songs, jam with friends, improvise over many different chord progressions, read lead sheets and chord charts, and read music... it's pretty incredible what I've been able to accomplish in 2 years with Conor. He is a super talented musician and a great teacher - his approach clear, enjoyable and very effective. He's got a real knack for how to isolate my individual needs as a student and zero in on exactly what i need to practice to meet my goals. Most importantly, he provides me with skills that I can use to begin to "teach myself". Thanks to his guidance, I now get more out of a 30 minute practice than I used to get out of 2 hours. Not only have the lessons been super awesome, but the entire experience has been very "together". They provide in-home lessons and have really put a lot of work into the over all experience . All aspects of Acorn Music are well very professional - from the email communications to the website, scheduling, policies, billing, and invoicing. I can't recommend this business enough!

I've been taking lessons with Jonathan Herrera for several months, and I'm continually impressed by…read morehis deep understanding of the mechanics of jazz improvisation. His knowledge of theory is exceptional. I've grown tremendously as a player thanks to his guidance. In my first lesson with Jonathan, he identified and pointed me in the direction of two key tools that I was missing, having learned mostly from orchestral players who gave me many valuable tools but who don't improvise for a living. If you want deep knowledge of the fundamentals that you need to learn (and then forget) to improvise well, Jon's your guy.

This guy is as good as it gets - friendly, patient, experienced, an absolute expert in his fields!read more

I'm going to echo previous reviews as I find them completely accurate…read more I've been taking lessons with Jason for about 6 months now. I'm in my late thirties and have no previous experience with music. I had been wanting to learn to play the drums for a while, but the idea of starting from nothing at this age was daunting. I couldn't be happier that I reached out to Jason. He's really good at what he does. Each lesson plan is well thought out and engaging. He does a great job of explaining the exercises and how they fit into the macroscopic viewpoint of drumming. Jason's an amazing drummer and a kind, genuine human being. He creates a great environment that provides for a safe space to learn, all while challenging you to grow. I highly recommend Jason if you're looking for an instructor. I trust his process and always look forward to the next lesson.

Highly recommended for both adults and kids. My daughter had such an amazing experience with Jason…read more He is a jaw-droppingly talented professional drummer, a skilled and patient teacher, and a wonderful, down-to-earth human being. Jason didn't just teach my 9-year-old daughter how to play drums, he exposed her to new musical genres and both classic and contemporary songs. I can't stress enough how great he is with kids; he really knows how to make the lessons fun and tailor the experience to individual students and their interests.

I've been taking lessons with Damon for a little while now and it has been a great experience. His…read moreteaching style does not seem to revolve around a routine or lesson plan, but each lesson adds just the right new element to help me progress to another level I did not think I'd be able to understand or do. As new elements or techniques are added, he focuses on ways to learn them without being overwhelmed and to make it manageable. If I need to miss a lesson for any reason, Damon offers the chance to switch to an upload lesson, where I am able to make a video of what I am working on, and he responds with a video. These video responses are gems where he might go deeper into how I can work to improve my technique or understanding of the thing I am working on. Overall, I highly recommend Damon and Axes of E'ville.

Damon is a fantastic teacher - he puts so much thought into finding the perfect balance between…read moreteaching songs I'm interested in and the theory behind them, so I actually improve with each new song we work on. I've been taking lessons with Damon for a year and half, and it's had a huge impact on my playing. I've gone from fumbling through tabs in my living room to feeling totally comfortable playing in a band, and he's tailored our lessons to fit my abilities and interests. Beyond the music, Damon has also taught me a ton about guitars, pedals, and amps, and is an incredible font of knowledge in the quest for tone. He helped me select and test drive my new amp, and even taught me how to work on my guitar - including meeting in-person to teach me how to replace pickups, install copper shielding, and generally spiff up my guitar. Can't recommend lessons with Damon highly enough!

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!

I attended Jon's music class with my 4-year-old for about six months or so, and it was such a…read morewonderful experience for both of us. Jon is kind, fun and weird in the most delightful way. He exudes enthusiasm and positivity. He also has a clear gift for making music fun and accessible for young kids. He uses little toy doggies, dinos, and action figures to teach musical concepts like how "D the dog lives inside the two black notes". I also remember him getting into this weird story arc about how a monster was trying to eat him and the kids needed to play the right note to save him. Jon brought in a variety of real instruments for the kids to explore during class -- electric guitar, a mini cello, some woodwinds, and more. This is in addition to the many instruments that are in class every week. The drum set was definitely my kid's fave. Jon was thoughtful about including every child in the activities and he had a gentle way of encouraging the shyer kids to participate without pressuring them. He'd end each class with a dance party and a call and response: "I am so proud of you!" and the kids would respond "That's me!" After class, Jon would play with the kids out on the playground, and they would laugh and laugh and chase Jon around and then get chased around by him. My son absolutely adored him to the point where he would incessantly wrap himself around one of Jon's legs when they were playing.. It's not often you get to see someone doing a thing that seems so perfectly tailored to their deepest selves, but that is definitely the vibe you get watching Jon at Jon's School of Music. It is a great time playing music with a great guy. Highly recommend :)

I have noticed that class since I started taking my LO to Totland. My LO was showing signs of…read morecuriosity every time he was doing his class. However, I must say that those parents who want to take their children to his class, you need to make sure your LO follow John's instructions. I have noticed that John has good chemistry with bigger kids, since I saw him many times playing with them after class. If your kid is extrovert, energetic, social and good at following instructions, his could be a nice place for your child.I have been in the child care field for two decades taking babies and toddlers to private class in music, sports and even art classes and I have never experienced a teacher who had less empathy specially for those who does not have similar personality like him. I am pretty sure that he doesn't know how to work with smaller children: how can you make a baby or toddler follow instructions if this is a phase when they want to be free to explore and LEARN? This was my experience, one day my LO and I were in Totland as usual and John came to us and invited us to go to his class for a trial. I did t ask and he offered his trial class. The first thing he asked was that my LO pick musical instrument. She picked one and started to play it for a few secs and then he asked her to change the musical instrument (thing that my LO didn't want to do because she was 2.5 and was very curious about the instrument in that moment and didn't want to change). It has not passed even 30 secs and my LO got very upset and he "invited" us to leave the class!! Can you imagine that? You got invited and after even 30 secs you had to leave?? I was very disappointed and frustrated. I left the room hearing him saying: " I am sorry, you have to leave" . I was so confused, how a teacher I'm up you and your little to enjoy his music class and then ask you to leave in 30 secs. It didn't make sense to me.I am not saying that he is not a good teacher but he does not know how to approach to LO or toddlers. I must say that John is better with bigger kids (probably kindergarten and up) in my 20 years experience in child care, I have never saw a lack of empathy in a teacher and that situation happened to my own little one broke my heart! Just be aware ! If you think your child can follow instructions and be straight the whole class go for it. But if not, please don't do it , because John doesn'tt know how to manage the situation and your kid might have a bad impression with music classes. He must be a good musician but that day show me a ZERO knowledge of child development. If he reads this, please take some ChDevelop classes... urgently! Not all adults have the same chemistry with all children's ages! And every child is different and different way to learn, each one has their own pace.

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 started taking bass because I wanted to learn an instrument...no real plan or goal. I've not…read morepicked up an instrument since middle school which was....a while ago. I emailed two bass instructors and I'm so glad Adam got back to me first! He is a terrific teacher and this has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in a long time. I appreciate his thoughtful, patient, and through nature. He has some serious knowledge of music theory and a wide variety of musical styles. He always has a plan for us to learn some skill but he's totally down to work on what you are interested in learning. Best of all, what I appreciate about him is that he clearly loves his craft and he brings that joy to every lesson and every lesson is pretty fun. If you want to learn an instrument and have a good time doing it...Adam is your teacher.

I found Adam via Yelp after looking through all the reviews for an upright bass teacher. There…read morewere a few closer to my location (within 10 miles) but I chose to go with Adam (25 miles away) based upon reviews. I have played woodwind instruments and piano since the early 80's so I have some musical background so I was not starting from ground zero musically. I am an older student (more than 40 years and less than 50) and have been taking lessons from Adam for the past 3-4 months -- no knowledge of string instruments. I talked with Adam for my first lesson to get a taste of his musical background and personality. He is easy going, very positive about learning music and really got a sense of where I was with music. To keep me from lugging my upright bass in a car from 26 miles away, storing it in the heat for most of the day (my lesson was at 5pm) Adam offered the use of his upright bass to take my lessons on. That was very much appreciated. As for Adam's musical background -- he is still active in the Bay Area and beyond. I was particularly interested in his Jazz background as I am trying to focus on playing more jazz but also wanting to know how to "bow" classicaly. Adam pretty much covered what I was looking for and much more. Unanswered questions for what you may be wondering: How is Adam as a teacher? I think he is a wonderful teacher. I have had a great experience learning from him. He breaks things down into simple pieces that I can learn from. We went through what to look for in an upright bass (before I purchased mine), how to hold the bass, how to pluck the strings, terminology, right hand and left hand techniques -- all at my own pace. Adam answers all my questions (in person, over text messages, via email). He also provides plenty of material for me to review and to practice. Cost? Comparable to many of the teachers I researched out there in the Bay Area Other information -- Adam does teach both upright bass and electric bass. I have walked in on other students (young and old) a few minutes early before my lesson and have observed Adam's style with the other students. Again -- very positive and very professional. You will get something out of taking lessons with Adam as long as you are willing to put in the time. Set your expectations for learning bass (electric or upright) -- give Adam a call -- and get ready to do some great learning (and plenty of practicing at home...)!