I started from scratch on the Mandolin 2 years ago, and Tim has been great to work with. In the…read morebeginning, he gave me very clear and motivational direction on how to play specific tunes. Then, as I progressed and developed my own style, Tim was very supportive of showing me how to express my own authentic voice on the Mandolin. Really, a dream come true - I have always wanted to express myself musically, and Tim has helped me do that more than anyone ... Thanks Tim! I highly recommend him for developing your own style and technique!

I studied clawhammer banjo with Tim for six months, when I was just starting off. Now, a year…read morelater, I play actual gigs in a string band! I first reached out to Tim when my wife was interested in starting mandolin. She had no experience with string instruments and Tim was a warm and patient teacher for her. Her experience was so good, I picked up a banjo and headed to Tim's myself! Tim is a Bay Area treasure. Growing up in West Virginia and having played throughout the states, he brings a wealth of knowledge about the history of bluegrass and oldtime music, grounding his lessons in storytelling, the oldtimey way. This helps students develop a deep appreciation for the music and turned me on to players and styles I hadn't heard and might not otherwise have come across. He helped me develop a strong foundation and technique that has carried me through to today. We spent a lot of time honing in on my right hand technique and I still remind myself of his notes when I'm playing. Get on over to Tim's!

He's a great jazz piano instructor. He's patient and obviously very good at what he does.read more

Josh has to be one of the best music instructors in the area…read more I am largely self taught and have tried private lessons over the past 10 years and am usually left disappointed. This is not the case with Josh. I still mostly teach myself but I find myself coming back to him over and over again to check in with my progress so that he could make adjustments. Even though at a certain level I think everyone eventually teaches themselves I now see the value of finding someone who knows his/her stuff to guide you and check in once in awhile. Josh seems to have a natural talent for psychology , which I have found to be one of the most important factors for teaching music. He is able to diagnose habitual errors and try to correct your practicing so that it is productive and fun. He is also one of the few teachers I have had that really tries to get to know what kind of music the student is into, regardless of how simple or complex it is. I could send him tunes ranging from Debussy to folk songs to get him to know the 'sound' I am trying to chase. Needless to say, the guy knows his music inside out. He is best known for klezmer music but I came to him for Jazz. He understands jazz theory and can simplify the concepts (without dumbing it down) to make it practical. He also is trained classically so he brings a deep understanding of the structure of harmony, which can give you insight into your own compositions. All in all if you could afford lessons I highly recommend Josh. If you can't afford weekly lessons I still recommend taking a lesson every once in awhile with him when you are in a rut-- you will be surprised at all the insights he could bring from one lesson.

I've studied guitar with Jenelle Roccaforte and she's an excellent teacher! She was able to quickly…read moreassess my current skill level and stylistic preference and create perfectly tailored lessons for me. Her passion for teaching, the guitar, and music in general is obviously abundant. I highly recommend Roccaforte Music for guitar students of any level and style!

Jonathan is an EXTRAORDINARY voice lesson teacher. He is incredibly well-trained and a very…read morepersonable instructor. In addition, his lessons are very helpful for students of all levels. I am a beginner in singing and truly enjoy his instruction. I highly recommend Jonathan for voice lessons!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!…read more If you want to learn how to sing well, Jonathan is the way to go. Not only does he have impeccable credentials (SF opera, gigs around the world), but he is also a very good teacher. I've been taking lessons from him for almost three years now. I started as a student in Davis, and continued even after graduation. He's very nice, funny, and personable - not hoity toity like you would expect an opera teacher to be. I really appreciate his patience and encouragement. I also appreciate the biannual recitals he organizes for his students. After three years of weekly lessons, I had the chance to perform four times at UC Davis and four times at the Berkeley City Club. I can't recommend him highly enough. He is like the Burj-al-Arab Dubai hotel of voice instructors - 7/5 stars!

I studied flute as a boy and took it up a couple times again as an adult. Encouraged by a concert…read moreflutist friend this year, I took up the instrument again. Buying a better instrument helped a lot, but I soon hit a wall with my amateur technique, and I discovered that Sujatha was teaching nearby in Berkeley. What an extraordinary stroke of luck that was, as Sujatha is by far the best music teacher I've ever had. My flute playing is now growing in leaps and bounds. I am now learning quickly (and unlearning bad habits), and am inspired to practice a half-hour to hour every day. Sujatha's lessons are joyful, enthusiastic, fast-paced, and targeted to just what I need. Despite my amateur abilities, she treats my musical aspirations with deep respect, and challenges me right to the edge of what I'm capable of each week, so that my playing abilities swiftly grow. I'm now able to sight read music--at least on a basic level--and am learning things I never learned from any music teacher before about the phrasing and expression of music (not just the basics of getting the notes and tempo correct). Sujatha herself is an extraordinarily skilled musician, conservatory-trained, who performs regularly in the Bay Area. She studies with her own master teacher, and passes on those insights to her students. I recommend Sujatha highly for anyone who wants to discover the joy of music, and to grow their musical abilities with a joyful, exuberant soul.

I found Sujatha after trying quite a bit to find someone that would teach adult lessons. She was…read morevery kind and warm from the very first conversation to all the lessons I have had over many months now. Most importantly she is very patient and encouraging through the struggles of learning something entirely new at a point in life when learning a new skill is not the easiest thing. In addition to learning from Sujatha I have also been at her performance and she is very skilled and a beautiful flute player herself. After some of my initial hesitations and self doubt of whether I'd be able to learn, whether I would enjoy it or whether I would have the energy to sustain my learning I discovered at the end of three months that I was really enjoying learning and decided to invest in buying a flute and returning my rental flute. She also very graciously helped take me to to a store and shop for my flute at a local store where she is very well known. For anyone looking to learn I can say for sure you are going to enjoy learning from Sujatha if you have the motivation to learn :)

My son and I each started taking music lessons with Mitch several months ago and it has been a…read morewonderful experience for both of us. Mitch has been great with my 5 year old son James- blending just the right amount of music reading with free play while always keeping things fun. James and I always look forward to "music school" each week! I highly recommend Mitch Schrift for piano lessons for young and old! Michael Witwer (510)776-8409

We would like to add our highest recommendation for Mitch. Our son has been taking classes with…read morehim for nearly a year and we could not be happier. When we moved to Albany from Seattle, we tried out a lot of piano teachers before we found Mitch and, once we did, we knew we had found the right teacher for our son. Mitch is an extremely talented and well educated musician and an equally excellent teacher of young people. He not only teaches our son music and piano, he also teaches him how to learn and practice, which are life lessons. Mitch is patient but he also knows how and when to gently nudge and challenge a student to do his or her best. He builds on a student's existing musical interests and abilities while challenging them to reach a little higher. My wife and I can't say enough good things about Mitch who teaches out of his professional home studio.

Kathryn is a wonderful piano teacher! She taught my 15 year old daughter piano for 9 years. My…read moredaughter showed up at age 6 to her first lesson not knowing a single note of music, and over the past 9 years Kathryn helped shape her into a mature pianist who has developed a true love of music. Kathryn has a very gentle, organic approach to teaching piano, and before your child knows it, they are reading music and counting rhythm. It is a tears free approach to teaching and learning! Kathryn does hold her students to high standards, and will expect that your child will practice daily, and it is worth it! http://kathrynwinterpiano.com/

A little over a year ago I read the only review on Yelp of this instructor. I was looking for a…read morepiano teacher close to our house for my 9-year-old son. I figured it would take a while to find the right teacher for him. But we were lucky. Kathryn is the real deal. She lives to teach, and she's really good at it. She and my son seem to have a soul connection; she understands him, finding music that she knows he'll enjoy playing. This keeps his lessons and his practice alive for him--piano is exciting and interesting. There's love and care and time put into everything she does to prepare for lessons with my son. Kathryn has healthy, realistic expectations for him, and I appreciate this. A teacher myself, I see the wisdom in how she works with him. Kathryn taught both piano and music theory in Cal's Gifted Young Musicians program for 30 years--her many years of experience are a BIG asset, and she is whip-smart and fun. I love the twinkle she has in her eye, and the special way she is able to connect with children of all ages (we have strayed a while as she teaches other children who come after us). I also love that she is slow and methodical in her thinking and speech--she works with great intention. If there were a "slow-food" version of piano teaching, my guess is that Kathryn could really market her approach. My son started with her without having any knowledge of musical notation or instruction; a little over a year later he is playing advanced musical pieces, and understanding complicated music theory. My son, as it turns out, has a "gifted" capacity for music. Kathryn knows how to work with all capacities and arranges the lessons so they are appropriate for each child. She doesn't take children under 5 years old normally ... she prefers to start at a more developmentally appropriate age. That said, Kathryn never turns down anyone without meeting them and the parents for a tryout lesson. You can learn more about her on her website: http://kathrynwinterpiano.com/ Or contact her via phone: 510.527.3839

It's about time I write a review for Forrests!…read more After years of buying sub-par student oboe reeds from the neighborhood music store I started buying professionally made reeds. For a few years I was ordering online from a conservatory musician who had great reeds but was unreliable with delivery dates -- the last straw was a missed delivery before an important gig. So I drove out to Forrests to see if they could help. I've been going to Forrests since for the last 3 years and EVERYone at Forrests is so knowledgeable and so helpful! Justin usually helps me and he definitely goes above-and-beyond to adjust my reeds and make sure I'm taking care of. But, really, EVERYONE here has been so great to me and it's such a joy to go in! My husband is a classical guitarist and he loves going with me because, even though they are mostly a double-reed shop, it's a great little music shop with a community of musicians and it's always a fantastic experience! Thanks, Forrests!

Very poor customer service experience as a first time customer!…read more I was told to buy a specific reed that I guess only this store sells. I am not local to this store so I reached out to them via email because I had questions regarding the item. Unfortunately, even after patiently waiting for a week I never got any response! If they are so busy and/or don't care about the emails then why they even have that option available to the customers? I called them during their business hours and finally had a luck on the second time. Phone was picked up by what sounded like an old, Caucasian, male. It also sounded like he was the owner and/or manager. From the beginning this person was not welcoming! He was rude, unfriendly and unprofessional for no reasons! Clearly I felt like he doesn't care about the customers or getting any new businesses. Even if I was asking dumb questions because I am new, does it mean he can be sarcastic, frustrated, and shows attitude? I really didn't want to give them any business after my phone interaction, but since I had to get a specific reed and had no other options available, I just reluctantly continued with the transactions. I also noticed that they charge heavy shipping fees and don't have any free shipping option regardless of the purchase amount like other competitors provides. I really wish I don't have to deal with them again. If I do, I hope this male have learned what a customer service is and how it should be provided.