I'm a professional vocalist and I've had the pleasure of working with Michael for about 2 decades…read morenow. His knowledge of all things music is as deep as his insights on arrangements I've asked him to comment on, as intricate as his mind-blowing compositions, his quirks as endearing as any musical genius'!

I am a current student studying piano with Michael. I really appreciated his emphasis on basics…read more(e.g. breathe, removing tension in the body, posture, and even how to set up the piano bench). He also doesn't just teach piano playing but also the broader music education: composers / pianists to listen to, music theory, etc. One caveat is that expect the pace of learning to be a bit slower compared to other teachers potentially but I think it's a worthwhile tradeoff to build solid foundations.

Love this local, intimate setting for amazing jazz! The hosts are friendly and welcoming, the…read moreperformances stellar. Parking easy. I highly recommend.

Everyone is nice except the owner. He is very rude and will burst into the practice room and yell…read moreat you without knocking on the door first if your name hasn't been printed out on the schedule yet even if you've prepaid hundreds of dollars in advance, questioning if you just sneak into the building and 'steal' their practice time. If you are looking for somewhere to practice piano and dont want to be yelled at l, I would recommend soundwave or blue bear music school, first come first serve, $5 per hour, no reservations, no drama. You can enjoy music itself in a nice mode

Looking at reviews of the previous owner R Kassman, brought me back to complete my review. I was…read morehelping a friend on a tight budget of no more than 2,500.00 He told us maybe we should try the Price Club. We stuck around just to annoy him a bit, while checking out the low budget clinkers. When we we're leaving, I should have said "When I'm ready to buy my $30,000+ piano, it won't be here - even if you have the piano of my dreams." It's nice to see there's a new and much improved owner!

Like other viewers, our experience with the old owner was unpleasant, but this piano store has a…read moregreat selection of pianos - from affordable used pianos, upright pianos to full concert Steinway and European pianos. So when we found out it's owned by someone else now, we decided to give it a try. First of all, it was very easy to make a private viewing appointment here. The new owner Rico, called us back within 24 hours, and patiently listened to what we were looking for. When we arrived to our appointment, Rico followed the Covid-19 protocol: 6 feet social distancing, masks and a large bottle hand sanitizer by the door. During our piano viewing, Rico spent 2 hours helping my 12 year old. He's very patient, courteous and knowledgeable. He knows the stories behind each of his used pianos and explained where the pianos were made and the stories behind some of the piano manufactories with detail. Rico is honest and very professional. Even we still in search for my daughter's piano, but I would like to let people know about our pleasant experience with new owner Rico. This is a great place for piano shoppers/enthusiasts.

We purchased our very first piano from here at the beginning of the pandemic. We figured that…read moresince we'd be staying home more often, why not purchase a real piano!? We made an appointment to come in and Ulysses helped us out. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and helped us through the process. He didn't rush us or pressure us to buy a piano, and he was patient in answering all our questions. We went home that same day to think about which piano we wanted to get and returned a week later to purchase a Yamaha upright piano. Overall, it was a great experience and we now have a beautiful piano!

Update: Gary responded to this review... and then deleted his response a day later…read more After reading it, I actually understand and respect the appointment-only business model. If customers want a private showroom experience, that's completely reasonable. Plenty of luxury businesses operate that way. The problem was never the appointment policy. The problem was how a potential customer was treated. I live next door and have been curious about this store for a long time. I finally saw you at the business and thought I'd ask about purchasing a piano. Instead of a simple, "We're appointment-only, but here's my card--I'd be happy to schedule you," I was dismissed while you waited for your DoorDash order. As someone who works in marketing and customer experience, this felt like a textbook example of turning a warm lead into a lost customer. Your original response then spent paragraphs explaining why I shouldn't have expected service, but not one sentence expressing regret that a genuinely interested buyer walked away with a bad experience. That said, I'm adjusting this to a 2-star rating because I did see some effort to acknowledge my post, even if it ultimately fell short. Businesses don't earn loyal customers by proving they're technically correct. They earn them by making people feel welcome. A 30-second conversation could have turned me into a customer. Instead, it turned me into someone who will be buying a piano elsewhere. If you already have an appointment, I'm sure the experience may be perfectly fine. But if you're hoping to stop in, ask a question, or get a feel for the place before committing, don't expect much hospitality. That's ultimately why I'm leaving this review--not because the business is appointment-only, but because customer service begins long before the appointment ever does.

Robert came to my house to repair and tune a Baldwin baby grand. He improved the action on some…read moresticky keys, repaired the music shelf guide rail and fine tuned the entire piano. Easy to work with. High level of expertise and affordable. Thanks again Robert!

Bob is a charming guy. He did a nice job tuning the piano. We appreciated his flexibility and the…read moreprice was OK for the service. We are very pleased.

From the very first conversation to the final delivery, the level of care and attention I received…read morewas truly exceptional. Justin didn't just help us choose a piano--he took the time to understand our preferences, guide us thoughtfully through options, and ensure every detail felt personalized to me. His knowledge, patience, and genuine passion made the entire experience enjoyable and reassuring. What stood out most was hiscommitment to going above and beyond. From fine-tuning the selection to coordinating a seamless delivery, every step was handled with precision and care. It's rare to find this level of dedication and craftsmanship in customer service, and we are deeply grateful for it. We couldn't be happier with both our piano and the experience that came with it. Thank you for the special creation , Steinway !

As a frugal dad, I was hesitant to buy a piano outright when my kids had never touched one. But my…read moredaughter started lessons and we got a rent-to-own piano with Justin's help. Six months later, my daughter loves playing the piano and we are buying the piano. Justin was wonderful to work with. Professional and zero pressure.

Having grown up playing a Kawai, I knew I wanted to revisit the brand as an adult. I called on a…read moreSaturday and was able to swing by the showroom that day. The floor had all of the upright and grand models we were interested in; Chris gave us plenty of time to explore them. He also plays beautifully, and was able to bring out the differences in various models. We had some issues with delivery of the piano, to include the states of its initial arrival. Those were beyond the direct control of San Mateo Piano, but they were very responsive and reasonable in finding timely resolutions. Ultimately we are quite happy with our purchase, and would readily buy from San Mateo Piano again.

Andrew was super accommodating when I inquired about purchasing a baby grand. He was also very…read morepersonable and told me about all the services they offered along with differences in the models of pianos. Allowed me to try as many as I wanted to my hearts content, and I'll definitely be back once I'm ready to make my purchase.

We got our first piano recently from the Walnut Creek Music Exchange. Before we made this purchase,…read morewe visited a few piano shops and explored online listings. We ended up going with Walnut Creek Music Exchange for a number of reasons. First of all, their price is highly competitive. We purchased a used piano. The price offered was very good for a super well maintained used piano (they certified it before putting it on the floor). They also have a 10 year trade up program that we may apply every dollar that we spent on this piano to trade up for a different piano within the next 10 years, as long as the second piano is at least 2 times the price of the first piano. Their moving cost is super affordable, about 25% the price compared to other piano moving companies. Secondly, customer service is excellent. Store manager Carson blocked out one hour to spend with our family and patiently explained each piano to us. He even played songs on a few pianos that we were interested in so we could hear difference of the sounds from each piano brand. Lastly, their professionalism is unbeatable. The piano came within 2 days after purchase, tuned! They also gave us a free voucher to have the piano tuned again whenever we like within one year! We highly recommend Music Exchange Walnut Creek!

Disclaimer: I am musically challenged and know NOTHING about pianos! All I know is they play pretty…read moremusic and cost a lot of money, but we sold our daughter's piano before moving to California so we "had" to buy a new one. We walked into Music Exchange to look at their used upright pianos. We were immediately blown away by their large selection of new and used grand and baby grand pianos, upright pianos, and digital pianos. Of course some pianos costed upwards of $45,000 but others were very affordable between $1,000 - $5,000. Salesman Buddy showed us several affordable options and he truthfully told us the one we fell in love with was badly out of tune and offered to have it tuned for free before we made a final decision. As I was writing down my contact information for him, my husband and daughter fell out of love with the old piano and in love with a brand new digital piano which was priced $ 3,000 below retail price!!! No, Buddy didn't tell me this price difference we knew it as it was the new version of the old digital we just sold and did our homework lol The piano was delivered with white glove service to our house in less than 24 hours after purchase and now my house is filled with beautiful music again.