This is a bit out my usual track of restaurant reviews, however, I just had such a wonderful…read moreexperience with this shop that I needed to write about it somewhere! My first encounter with this shop was a total accident. I needed a new set of viola strings and did a GPS search for the nearest violin shop to my home. The GPS came up with Gregory Singer's shop, so I called and he told me to come on up. When I got there I got the strings, and Gregory asks me if I'm any good at viola. I tell him I'm decent, and the next thing I know I'm playing for him on one of his fiddles. Apparently I was sufficiently proficient, because the next thing I know he's inviting me to come by the following evening to read Schubert Octet with him and his friends. He comped me the strings. Since then he's done a terrific bow re-hair for me (also comped) read chamber with me a couple other times, and had me play in his orchestra for a 9/11 concert of Dvorak 9. He also hired a friend of mine to sing opera on a tour of China this winter. Tomorrow I plan to go in to try out his violas (mine was just stolen by a NYC cab driver. @$$H0L3.) and will be more than happy to make that rather large purchase from his wide selection if I find something good. Obviously, I had an unusual experience with this shop, but I consider this connection to be one of the luckiest I've made in years, so stop by with confidence, and hey, you never know!

This is a review I owe them for a long time. I have nothing but great words to say about this place…read moreand the owner. About a year ago, I went without an appointment because I didn't really know that they encourage appointments. Lucky I was, he still met with me. It was actually an impulse to get a new violin since I haven't been playing for around 10 years, and to be honest, I was only thinking to buy one and wanted only to try out. Gregory was very kind and patient with me, he let me try this very nice 3/4 violin (I have small hands) which I very soon fell in love with. This violin totally went beyond my budget and I didn't have that much cash with me. But then he offered me to just take the violin home and then come back later to pay him. How nice he was!!!!!! Actually 2 other amazing things happening in his store that I thought it was one of the best and warmest things I've ever encountered in NYC. It's so not like something that would happen in NYC at all!! But for the sake of his business, I probably shouldn't say much more about this - he's just soooo kind that he's not really running a business here, more like a place to help people who likes music! Anyway, when I get a chance, I'd love to visit the store again. But for anyone who wants to experience a warm humane way of getting a violin, this is definitely the place! I'm still playing my violin right now!! I just loooooooove the sound of it and I'm sure it's the best deal I could get anywhere! Thank you Gregory,

Spencer is seriously THE BEST…read more He's patient and kind and knows what he's talking about. Highly recommend!

HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION…read more Spencer makes learning the ukulele very accessible and a lot of fun! With his guidance I am liberating my inner musician and having a blast while I do it! My friends and family all are quite impressed with my quick progress too. Each lesson includes me playing and singing what I'm working on while Spencer plays his ukulele and sings along with me. This is truly a joyful experience and precisely what I wanted from studying ukulele, though I didn't know I would get to this kind of experience so quickly. I can't quite believe I actually play and sing duets with a musical theatre actor who has been on Broadway! I am able to take the confidence and experience gained with him out into the world and connect with others by singing and playing music. Really, I think this is what I like best about Spencer's teaching -- the fact that connecting to self and others through music is the point. Spencer is the perfect teacher for me, as a late- in-life beginner with lifelong musical interest, but no previous musical training. When I started my lessons, I had a lot of fear about whether I could really learn the ukulele --and also whether I could tolerate the feelings of awkwardness that go with being a beginner. I needn't have been afraid. He really has a gift for making you feel okay about making mistakes, even as he helps you to do things the right way and to feel ambitious about what you can do. I always feel supported and validated-- never criticized or pushed. Spencer has a system, but also allows me space to explore things in my own way. I like this interplay. Maybe some people can learn ukulele from the internet, a DVD or a group class, but I find the individual attention and guidance, as well as the structure of a weekly private lesson, invaluable I thought music lessons might be tedious and while I admit that some things feel hard to do at first, I now see that just sticking with it and practicing really pays off. I find the weekly lessons motivating and helpful in making steady progress. Spencer is a very down-to-earth, trustworthy, enthusiastic and generous person, who is an absolute pleasure to know. He loves music and he shares his joy, expertise and knowledge in a way that feels very attuned to my needs and interests . I feel extremely lucky and grateful to have found Spencer as my ukulele teacher and as my guide to understanding more about singing and musical theory too!

I started playing guitar one year ago and Dan has helped me to the point today where I am writing…read moresongs, singing, and playing guitar on stage. I had no prior musical or performance experience. There are many guitar teachers in New York, but what really stands out about Dan is that he is truly a teacher. Each time I struggle with something new (chords, vocals, performing on stage), Dan has seen the pattern before and knows how to guide me through it. He listens, builds the right foundation, then knows when to challenge me further. I highly recommend Dan as someone who is fun to play with and gets the results you deserve.

Do not fall for his free intro class advertisements - HE IS A LIAR!!!…read more After taking what he advertised on his site and on the phone as a free introductory course, he blocked the way way from leaving his studio and told my bf that he owed him $100 and that intro's aren't free and he had to pay in cash or check. He obviously didn't bring any money with him since this was offered as free and had to go to an ATM that wasn't in network and pay an ATM fee to withdraw a $100 that he demanded I pay for the free lesson he offered. Do NOT take lessons from him - INTRO CLASSES ARE NOT FREE AS ADVERTISED. HE WANTS $100 AND HE WANTS IT IN CASH RIGHT AWAY.

Ive been taking lessons with Rianne and would highly recommend. You get a great combo of learning…read moreto read music with cutting through all the technicalities to just literally play music from the get-go. So, it's not a frustrating or esoteric experience but a great blend of musicianship and entertainment. Rianne is also very flexible and accommodating of your time and it feels cozy coming to guitar lessons at the studio.

I decided to finally take guitar lessons to add a deeper understanding to my playing. Rianne has…read morebeen great in breaking down music theory and answering the dozens of questions I have about how something works. My playing has definitely gone to the next level!

Nancy is a skillfull teacher. I love working with her. I find endless repetition difficult. Nancy…read morehas re-branded piano learning completely by eliminating unnecessary repetition for me. It works so well that her niche age group is actually the 3 year old toddlers. With Nancy I learned fast especially when compared with my previous teachers. My understanding of music is deeper and so I don't have to practice as much just to get something right. I can remember most of the material while learning in class. Most of the time, I can master two-thirds of the fluency during lesson and so when I practice my pieces at home, it feels more like I am "playing the piano" instead of practicing meaningless repetitive phrases. This way it is more inspiring. If I don't practice at all, I can still progress a great deal. Nancy has a no-practice curriculum. I spend about 15 to 45 minutes per week on my piano. She usually only requires 8 minutes of practice time. It's a very high-purposeful way of learning. No BS. No more aimless practicing which would take too much time to have only a little bit of progress. Overall it's worked out well for me! I highly recommend her.

Effective teaching. Warm personality. Easy learning experience. Toddler age 3 and half can apply…read morefor admission. Love it!

Jim is a very dedicated classical guitar teacher. I was a student of his back in the late…read more70's/early 80's and credit his attention to detail and deep understanding of his craft with giving me a solid foundation from which to build on as a musician. He is also very patient and great at communicating his ideas and methods which can benefit aspiring guitarists of all levels. I highly recommend him.

We love City Strings. Our 7-year-old daughter has been learning violin from Dominic and then Hannah…read moresince February 2016. She's grown tremendously skill-wise but is also so much more confident than before. She continues to love lessons and the twice a year recitals give her great exposure to playing for others. I'd highly recommend them. Also, we rent our violin from them so when it was time for our daughter to change sizes -- they brought the new violin and picked up the smaller one. Aside from being convenient, the teachers I have met are warm and welcoming.

My daughter has been learning to play the violin from City Strings for about 6 weeks now. Her…read moreteacher, Hannah, is wonderful. She is patient, gentle and very encouraging! The teacher comes to our place and teaches her in our home. A nice bonus is that we are able to rent a violin from them, instead of having to invest in one that she may our grow in the future. Recently they had a recital for all their students. It was great because all the kids played, no matter their age or skill, and I think it really gave the kids a goal to work towards and display how far they have come!

Jon Geist is a a wonderful teacher and a great guy. A talented teacher with great insights,…read moreexperience and suggestions you won't get anywhere else. Highly recommended !

I'm excited to be working with Jon Geist again. We're going to finish all the songs he helped me…read morewrite back music to when I started writing songs again about 5years ago. I had gone to my first guitar lesson with him and he asked me why I wanted to learn guitar. I said cause I write songs and it would be nice to not have to sing them alone with no accompaniment in my living room. So he said why don't you bring in a song next week and I did. He worked out some chords and music and laid down a vocal, guitar and drum track on garage band right there and then and emailed the song to me by the end of the lesson. I was listening to it on my iPhone walking home that day! I have never been so high as when I heard my first song come alive. He got me to the point where I was writing a song a week, he would write the music, brought in great musicians, we started rehearsing weekly and I did my first gig ever with him of all original songs in April 2013. It was a terrific experience.