Rick loves music and pianos and you can tell by how much love and care he puts into tuning pianos. He spent a lot of time tuning our neglected piano. There's a tremendous difference and I highly recommend using him. He charges about $300 which is well worth it. He will travel a decent distant outside of Napa as well. read more

Perfect Pitch Piano Tuning - Rick tuning our piano - Piano Services Near Me - Napa, California

The man is totally unprofessional, full of himself and VERY rude. He does know pianos but he is dying for business. This guy was so rude to me when I called him after he tuned my piano just to ask a question. He said he would answer me only if I gave him a classic music book, he saw in my collection!?? What?? A total CON MAN - steer Clear of this joker. read more

Rick has brought my piano back to life and is incredible at both tuning and more importantly giving lessons!! He is fun, entertaining and gives the material in a way that is easy to understand and make progress with :) He is very outgoing and was trained by one of the legends Alan Swain - He's a genius, beyond talented and highly recommend to anyone for both and all services!!! read more

I have a Christmas party next week and scheduled a piano tuning for this morning. When Rick no showed, I called him. He told me: "We were scheduled for last weekend. I called you several times and your voicemail was full. I have a lesson today and can't come by." In today's day and age, we have cell phones that tell us who has called - none from him. I have messages left by others this week, so my voicemail is not full. If he had come to the house, why wouldn't he have left a note? Perhaps the wind blew it away. He tried to turn it back on me: "I don't understand why someone would schedule a tuning then not be there and not call me." Indeed, I don't understand how someone could have scheduled a tuning, no showed, not left a note and then pretended to have called. I'm trying to think the best: perhaps he got the date wrong, took the address down wrong, and miscopied the phone number. In any event, his hostility on the phone this morning prohibits trying to reschedule with him, and leaves me scrambling to find another tuner this week. Caveat emptor. read more

A friend of mine gave me a used grand Piano called Rick for a tuneup spent about two hours and got it playing great I took lessons from him to play chords two weeks later I was playing the piano again Rick sings and plays all types of music is very reasonable and a outstanding teacher Randy Stegman read more

Rick Esser has patiently worked with me for 2 years. He is a flexible, compassionate and knowledgeable teacher. Ad an adult student who has taken beginner lessons for over 20 years with little success, I was somewhat skeptical, however Rick's enthusiasm and ability to teach has allowed me to surprise myself! I highly recommend his teaching and tuning services for all levels of students. Tina read more

After the Napa Earthquake 8/24/2015 my family piano was damaged. Called Rick and he did great repair. Next he tuned my piano and it sounds great. Have been taking adult piano lessons 2-4 times per month since. Great patient teacher. Having lots of fun playing piano again after many years which I used to play as a child. Great teacher! Highly recommended! read more

Avoid this guy at all costs. After he tuned my piano I started taking lessons from him and after a few lessons I realized I'd made a big mistake. He spent about 10 minutes of every hour lesson just showing off, pounding on the piano and singing at the top of his voice. Not a methodology to help someone learn to play. Also, he demands payment in advance and when I decided to quit the lessons he refused to refund my $140, telling me it was a "dead issue" and then hung up on me. He even came to my house (after I quit) on what would have been my regular lesson day and pounded on the door for 15 minutes before he finally left. Really creepy. read more

I spent about 45 minutes on the phone getting free expert advice from Rick before I engage in a deal for a used piano. Honest. A bit rough around the edges, but that's what you call personality! I enjoyed getting to know Rick and I won't hesitate to call if I need his services. read more

We called today to see if he could come by and look at a piano we were left with. The guy was beyond unprofessional. He laughed hysterically at our questions, made snide comments, cut us off while speaking saying he didnt have 'time' to listen to our 'stories,' When we were just explaining the situation with the piano. The guy clearly has something wrong with him and made it very apparent he didn't want our business. read more

unfortunately I can not recommend this business. I made an appointment with him on the phone to meet me at the office complex of my cousin who needed repairs done. I waited outside and apparently he waited inside. while inside he told the office staff that he would tune their piano for free if they gave him a good review. when they told him they would not do that he started yelling at them and left. meanwhile I thought I had missed him so I called him again and left a message. He called back and proceeded to tell me that it was my fault for the miscommunication and he would now charge me 100.00 to come back. Because of his overall tone and attitude you can be assured I would not do business with him. The blessing in this is that he didnt get any where near my blind and mentally handicapped cousin! read more

We have been using Rick for twelve years. He keeps the lessons fun and entertaining for his students while continuously challenging them to do their best. He is always rearranging his schedule to fit the needs of students as they transition through various sports schedules, practices, family needs, etc. He also supports students when they choose to play multiple instruments. read more

Rick showed up on time, knew what he was doing and plays the piano like a master. I highly recommend his services! My piano sounds great!

Rick, I'm sure he is a very talented musician and tried to make an experience with my grandchildren good. I just bought a piano for my house and wanted to enrich my grandchildren's life with piano lessons. I came upon rick in on the internet. He fixed my piano very well but with the lessons... he acted more like a salesman. Telling me more lessons are essential to their success. My grandchildren had about 3 lessons with him and on the last lesson we were not able to be at the house... ( since he does not have a cell phone, it was impossible to change or cancel the time). When I finally got a hold of him, I apologized for the inconvenience... he was condescending and expressed to me that "Its ok, Im just responsible and conscientious". I was very insulted, being an RN and responsible for lives... He took no consideration or even asked what could be the reason. We settled that and were going through with the rest of the lessons. On the final lesson, Rick was late... which was very unusual for him. I still did give him respect for his work ethic. I mentioned I was going to call him because I was surprised that he was late... but he didn't give me time to finish. He walked straight into my house and recited "Do you want to go there!"... at first I didn't realize he was offended. We were in front of my GRANDCHILDREN.. so I asked him if we could talk outside. He ignored me 3 times. "IN FRONT OF MY GRANDCHILDREN' age 6 and 10. Finally he responded "NO" ... I asked him to leave and he stormed out with a few comments. I am appalled that he works with children when he acts like a child himself! Very talented and but needs to teach adults. Considering he wants his money up front... that is probably the reason he didn't mind leaving... he already got paid. read more

I have had the opportunity to work with Rick both as a client and a student. As a client I contacted Rick to tune my piano, which had been sitting for years untouched. He responded quickly to my request for service, arrived when he said he would and did an excellent job. I would not hesitate to have him tune the piano again. As a student, I have worked with Rick for over a year. I highly recommend him as a teacher. He listened to what I hoped to accomplish and has stayed focused on that ever since we started working together. I took piano lessons as a child and they were as rote as lessons can be. I was taught how, but not why. What I appreciate with Rick is that he helps me understand the why. I can read music and play it, but I cannot "make music". Rick has worked with me to understand how the composer has structured the music and why it was done as it was. On a personal level, I find Rick to be a very giving person, who would shortchange himself on my behalf rather than vice versa. . Thanks, Rick. read more

Rick came highly recommended to us as a music teacher for our teenage daughters. He has proven to be an amazingly gifted musician and instructor. Both my daughters love working with him. My husband and I asked him to locate a used piano for us and he arranged for us to check out a piano which turned out to be a perfect match for us. We use Rick to tune and maintain the piano and we are so glad to have Rick in our "family circle". I highly recommend his services. read more

Rick is an excellent music teacher. I recommend him for several reasons, including that: (1) He remains keenly focused throughout the lesson no matter how often I may have to repeat a passage to get it right. His analysis is prompt and specific. For example, if I keep making the same mistake in the same musical passage, he systematically determines whether the miscue is attributable to incorrect fingering, note or chord misreading or an incorrect hand position, among other possibilities. (2) If no other student is waiting, he routinely allows my lessons to run overtime -- never suggesting additional compensation for his time -- in order to confirm my understanding and execution of a particular passage. (3) He typically ends my sessions with candid, overall commentary as to whether I played well, just okay or sub-par during the overall lesson; at the same time, he makes specific practice suggestions for improved execution of any passage with which I was having trouble. Such specific feedback stimulates my own thinking and inquiries. (4) Lessons are kept interesting in general because Rick usually includes a blues, jazz or popular composition to complement the study pieces and exercises that are important for building up skills overall. (5) If a particular piece that I wish to learn is not beyond my current playing or reading abilities, Rick often includes the piece in future lessons. On occasion, he has re-arranged a difficult popular piece in which I am interested to make it easier to play at my present level, with the caveat that we will attack the original, more difficult, arrangement as I progress. In sum, my lessons with Rick are typically educational and enjoyable. His only demands have been that I diligently practice, respect both his and my time, and appreciate that while learning to play piano well is not easy or quick, the steady improvement will be rewarding. I have found that to be true and I readily recommend Rick as a piano teacher. read more