I found Leonard in my Yelp search for a piano teacher, so it's only fair that I give back to the…read moreYelp community and let everyone know that his five star rating is very well deserved. I've been going to Leonard twice a week for the past few months, and my progress in piano is a clear reflection of the great instruction I've received. I've not only learned to play music through sight reading (and practice, of course), but Leonard teaches me theory along the way. He's incredibly patient, and he makes it clear that his primary concern is that I'm making progress from week to week. It is a very comfortable environment, and despite his obvious talent and experience in music, I never feel as though he is condescending with my beginner's skills. I would highly recommend Leonard to anyone seeking music lessons, regardless of his or her current level of expertise.

Leonard is awesome!…read more He teaches music theory at my college (E'xpression College for the Digital Arts). He really knows his stuff, and is extremely clear. He makes music theory and concepts easy and FUN to learn!

Surya is amazing in so many different ways. Not only is a great musician but his patience as a…read moreteacher is beyond my comprehension. Our 7 year old son started by learning drums 1.5 years ago and fell in love. After about 8 months, Surya suggested adding piano and it has been a grand success. He has made learning rhythm, reading music and playing both instruments so much fun. Now my very shy 5 year old who has started singing lessons with Surya and it has been so delightful to see her blossom both in her ability to understand pitch and notes but more importantly in her willingness to take risk and her confidence in herself. Surya has just made her so comfortable, even in virtual classes during SIP, that she looks forward to her lesson and giggles and jumps up and down with excitement as her lesson starts. She's excited to sing to him and with him and we never imagined they would have such lovely a relationship. We feel so lucky to have found Surya and are so grateful to how much he cares about our kids. He has instilled in them a love for music that is priceless.

Surya is a great teacher! I'm in my mid-thirties, and learning drumming for the first time. Surya…read moreis very patient with me. He is able to meet me exactly where I'm at, and then help me take one step further. He always finds just the right rhythm and pace for me to feel challenged but not frustrated. After every session, I feel empowered and excited about learning more. I go home with a few simple things to practice that feel manageable. Surya also includes some deeper aspects of drumming. I'm a yoga teacher and somatic therapist. I appreciate the way Surya invites me to feel the rhythm in my body: feeling the bass in my legs and trunk, the mid-tones in my torso, the higher tones in my upper chest and head, for example. I'm learning to sing and drum at the same time, and he always has great activities to break it down and make it feel possible. Overall, I highly recommend Surya for drum lessons of all types!

Fiat Music has been serving Pinole for a very long time. I remember their old location in the same…read morelocation. Fiat has been in Pinole since Lucky was there and with Traders Joe it is still in business. I never took lesson at Fiat but I have gotten piano music sheets and information on piano. The woman that owns Fiat is very nice. Fiat Music Co serving Pinole for a long time and is a historic landmark.

I really love this shop. It is all the history of the valleys music in one small spot. However, the…read moreparking is terrible for the whole shopping center, and while the hours of the store are fantastic, they need to get a better organization system for returning instruments that have been worked on. They did fantastic work on my guitar and for a good price, but I had to go three times after my guitar had been fixed, and even then they could not find the receipt to give me information on how much it was (even though I had my copy of the receipt), and at least once they refused to return my guitar, even though I could see it behind the counter only because they could not find the receipt. I wish nothing but the best for the store and I will definitely be back because of its fantastic service for instruments and lessons for music enthusiasts. I just wish they had a better organizational system for the tickets.

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 have been taking piano lessons with Laura Ponti at Albany Music School for the last 2-3months…read more Lessons are offered to both kids and adults from beginner to intermediate skill levels. If you are looking to take piano lessons, I highly recommend Laura. She is kind, patient, passionate and dedicated to teaching you how to play the piano the right way. This is a nice music school. It's not too big or too small. They have 5 rooms for lessons and they offer a variety of lessons with musical instruments including the piano, violin, drum, voice, and guitar. Both Lina (owner) and Judy (receptionist) run the school quite well and they are organized and professional. The only problem is that this studio doesnt have adequate insulation, which feels even hotter than it is (especially during the heat wave we are going through). I hope the building managers take this seriously and get the problem fixed soon. I recommend dressing light and drinking lots of water to stay hydrated. I highly recommend Albany Music School. Great piano teacher and staff.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!! I finally did it!!!! I finally started…read moreplaying the piano...and you know what...I LOVE IT!!!!!! I've passed this place several times since it's in my neighborhood and I kept saying I have to call, I have to call. Finally I did :) The place is located in an upstairs studio. Very nice place and well lite. There are 3 piano rooms and a nice waiting area :) I take private lessons w/Lina who is such a cutie pie. Since this is my first time taking lessons she is soooooo helpful and very pleasant. She goes over everything with you and reassures you :) I love her!!!!! The monthly fee to attend the school is $240. That includes the private lessons, the materials and they opportunity to come in any time and practice and listen to others. They also have other lessons available. I know for sure when I go, there's this little boy who plays the violin. He's really good too :)

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!

Isaac is a music teacher extraordinaire. He taught my daughter sax and piano and got her into drums…read moreand recording/mixing her own music. It saved her during the pandemic-- when other teens didn't know what to do with all that downtime, she was happily in her own world, and lessons continued on Zoom. Isaac is mellow and lets students follow their interests, but he also gently introduces new genres and techniques. It's just a magical environment in which students can discover their own musicality. Can't recommend him highly enough.

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