I am currently taking virtual cello lessons and needed a cello. My teacher told me about Calliope…read more I called the store and spoke with George and arranged to pick up a cello for rent and then on Saturday, met Julia who was very knowledgeable about cellos as she plays the violin and helped me with my rental contract. They had new adult cello that comes with several accessories like the case, rosin, and base for the bottom peg for a very affordable monthly rate. It was very easy to pick up at the store. When I had a question about tuning it since I was working with a virtual instructor, I called and asked if I could bring it back the next Saturday and I had no issue to bring it back and have Julia look at it. The store itself is filled with sheet music of every kind. It looks like various instruments are represented and all kinds of genre of music from classic to modern. I can't read music yet, but maybe one day when I do and can play cello, I can come back and pick up a piece to learn.

What a great resource for music teachers in the Philadelphia area! Calliope Music Store is the…read moreanswer to my sheet music prayers! As a private piano teacher who has only lived in Philadelphia for 2 years, I have been frustrated. Until now, I've thought that JW Pepper was the only sheet music store around--not only is the commute from the city quite far but, worse yet, they keep a minimal (and unreliable) stock of books in their store front. I assume that JW Pepper relies more on their online sales than foot traffic nowadays--but as a music teacher, I find it very important to go to the store and "browse" when trying to find books specific to a student's individual needs. After trying a plethora of word combinations in an internet search, I finally found Calliope Music. The drive from University City is about 15 minutes--not bad! Even better, there's a train station right across the street. Calliope is run by a husband & wife team: George and Julia. I had the pleasure of meeting Julia while there and not only did she help me find everything I needed, she gave me suggestions and made me feel like I had found my new sheet music home. Warm, friendly and personalized service. The store itself is quite small, but they fit a lot of music into their small space. The piano method section was quite extensive--they had everything that I needed in stock (except for one book, which they happily ordered for me). They also had a nice selection of classical piano repertoire and even some pop sheet music--something that JW Pepper doesn't keep in their store front AT ALL. I didn't look at the other sections very much, but it seems that they have a nice selection of guitar and vocal music, as well. Besides sheet music, they carry accessories (metronomes, reeds, etc) & music-related gifts and also offer instrument rentals and repairs. Once a month, they also hold free performances of local musicians in their store front! So happy to have found Calliope Music--this is where I plan on purchasing all of my sheet music from now on! Support your local music store!!

I found A & G personal Knowledgeable and fair. I have bought 2 guitars there in the last year and I…read moream well satisfied.

Great customer service. Best in the area for music needs. Getting out of the parking lot is a bit…read moreof a hassle.

I have been playing stringed instruments for about 20+ years. I'm self taught and mediocre at best,…read morebut I love to play and find myself "stuck" some times and need some help pushing through challenges that I find. To resolve this, I take lessons from a local instructor for a few weeks. As I have said, I've been doing this for 20+ years. I have also lived in many different cities and states, so I have had a lot of different instructors. With all of that said, I have to say that Chet Makowski is my absolute favorite instructor. He got what I was doing and why. He he showed me that music theory is not as mysterious as so many instructors claim. After four Saturdays, I was able to go back to my band and have my improvement recognized by the other guys. I was able to stay better in key and improvise more smoothly. Chet understands that as an adult I have responsibilities and commitments and sometimes I just don't have time to practice. He doesn't judge, and doesn't admonish. Granted, with the style of classes we had together, there really weren't rigid practice assignments that could be defined. I would recommend Chet very highly. The school is just as comfortable and welcoming. It makes for a great learning environment.

These are true Professionals who have made learning FUN!…read more My son has been a student of Chet for many years..He has learned to play and most important, always looks forward to his next lesson. Chet keeps the learning process fun, my son has learned the chords, theory, etc. that make a good guitarist, but unlike my music education, they would immediately apply the knowledge to a song, something current that he could relate too..This is so very different from going up and down scales and just playing meaningless chords, as was done "back in the day" and probably is still the norm in many places..All that info has stuck with my son and he (as are we) is delighted that he can actually play along with something that he may have on his portable player- from my observation, this technique seems to keep the boredom out of music school and keeps the interest and attention focused..and practicing is no longer dull! My son has also attended their summer music camp, which he really enjoyed!!. All I can say is that my son will be going to college next year, he will take his guitar with him, and he will probably enjoy playing for himself and others. Playing music is something one is able to do for most of their lifetime, it's a great outlet and balance from the day-to-day "stuff". It has had a really positive affect on our son!!!! We thank Chet profusely for this!! As far as I know, various strings, keyboards and drums are offered. There may be other types of instruments as well as voice, as well.. Obviously, we have only the highest recommendation for Harcum Music School!!!

I gave them my guitar on a Friday and the person in there said it would be done by Saturday. I got…read moreit back on Wednesday and all they had to do was change the strings. I would not recommend going to this place.

I've been searching for a new guitar for months. I went to this store because they had an exact…read moremodel of what I was looking for. The gentleman running the counter seemed generally annoyed that I was there and wanted to take the guitar for a test ride before I spent 1000 dollars on it. Every time I stopped playing for a second he would say "So what do you think" sort of like it was a conversation ender. I played for total of 5 minutes was in the store for 10 to 15 minutes. We said maybe two words to each other, normally that wouldn't bother me, but the store is small and it's pretty awkward to not speak in that situation. And for the record I'm generally an easy guy to talk to who tried to initiate conversation (Former Bartender). I will say some kids came in when I was about to leave and he was very friendly to them. My search for a friendly guitar shop in the Philly area continues.

Both of my children took piano lessons at the Nelly Berman School for years, and I myself restarted…read moreplaying the cello (after decades away from the instrument!) by taking lessons there, too. The standards of musicianship at NBS are very high, and the school does a great job of combining those standards with a supportive and encouraging community ethos. I strongly recommend it for families who are seeking a serious and fulfilling musical education/experience. Quite a few of the students there aspire to and achieve careers in music, but it is also a great place for children (and adults!) who want instrumental music to be an important part, but not the biggest part, of their lives.

Excellent teachers, difficult management and inflexible schedules…read more The teachers are wonderful. The director is extremely talented at music and teaching, but managing a business is not her talent. We had to discontinue our lessons here for a number of reasons. First, it was extremely expensive. Second, it was very difficult to reschedule lessons, and you end up losing money if you can't reschedule within the semester because you still have to pay, even if you didn't get all your lessons. Third, it was very disturbing to receive disrespectful voicemail and email messages from management. It was also annoying to receive multiple emails a day in all caps for lessons and performances that do not even apply to you. All parents receive emails for all instruments and age groups, so it's really annoying to see multiple mass emails a day. You also get nickeled and dimed for every second. There's not even time to chat with the teacher for a few minutes after the lesson because there's another student scheduled and waiting until the second your lesson is over. Some personal anecdotes from this school include being lectured and screamed at over the phone about taking a family trip and having to miss a class, instead of waiting for when the director was in Florida on her vacation.... not only was this disrespectful, but we didn't even miss class or go on vacation, as they mixed us up with a different family. Another anecdote is being charged for lessons that were rescheduled due to the teacher's schedule, only to find that unbeknownst to us, the director hired a substitute teacher 24 hours before the lesson, but we had no idea and then received rude emails and voicemails. Fantastic teachers, but we couldn't handle paying that much money for all the harassment and stress. I'd recommend this school for very serious students who want the teachers enough and are willing to pay top dollar and deal with the management.

I used to shop at Bridgeset and they were always polite to me - until they found out that I'm a…read moreprofessional musician and then the flood of rudeness bagean. Mind you, they were incredibly rude to me on three occasions until I finally gave up and quit going back. I know for a fact that they don't take issue with men who are pros. Interesting.

EDIT: since posting this review, the owner has reached out to resolve issues with store/staff…read more This music store is horrible. I'm a professional guitar player who was visiting Philadelphia from the west coast and decided to check out local music stores. The store was clean but beyond appearances this place was terrible. All the guitars I tried were dirty and out of tune; I told an employee that the truss rod needed to be adjusted on one and he didn't know what that was (a music store employee should know what that means). I couldn't hear myself try the guitar because the sole employee was signing and playing at the top of his lungs. I then asked him about how the teacher employment worked at their store and not only could he not answer, but he couldn't give me anyone's email or phone number to contact with questions. Very rude in general. Ive been in hundreds of music stores and this was among the worst

They did not give me a return slip when I returned the saxophone (I had no idea I needed this) and…read morethen proceeded to lose it and charge my credit card $1200. The issue is not resolved after over 5 phone calls.

Great lessons for my two kids. They make it very playful. My 4 year old daughter now sings around…read morethe house.

I came here looking for a new cello end-pin thinking it would solve my issues with my hand cramping…read moreand spoke with Paul and he told me that there are much better/cheaper solutions and was more concerned with figuring out why my hand was cramping instead of trying to get a quick buck out of me by just agreeing to switch out the end pin. I have a bent end-pin with a strange extension mechanism that I assumed was a broken mechanism because I could never get it to lock in it's extended form. Paul took a look and figured out how to make the mechanism work and told me a new end-pin wouldn't be necessary. I asked him to look at my bow and see if there could be a cause for concern there and he educated me briefly about the importance of a bow's balance and how if the bow's hair were not properly maintained, it could ruin the feel of an expensive bow/any bow, really. I got to compare my bow's current feel against a cheaper bow that was properly balanced and instantly felt the difference (took the bow home to test, and of course the hand cramps seemed to go away with a properly balanced bow). He broke down the costs of what could be fixed and was not pushy to sell anything to me which I greatly appreciated. Looking forward to coming here next time any issue/concern with my instrument arises. The only "issue" I had is that I did not call before my first visit, so I came to a locked door. Paul isn't always in this location so please make an appointment to save yourself the same confusion I faced.

He does great work at a fair price. It's a local spot for string players and a unique place!read more

She is amazing, Leslie has transformed both of my daughters piano playing into something to be…read moreproud of, she is kind, gentle but firm and Lilli and Sophia want to practice, they love when she comes every thursday and the girls cannot wait. They both learn differently, one by ear and one by reading music and she easily adapts to both, my daughter whom plays by ear also reads music because of Leslie, before she would only play by ear now she can do both. I reccomend her completely

From the owner: Concierge piano lessons for adults. Modern studio located in Ardmore, PA. read more