Andrew is an incredible teacher. I've grown more as a musician in the last few months of working…read morewith him than I did in the previous year at community music studio and in the entirety of my childhood lessons. He has endless patience, excellent communication skills and his knowledge and passion for music is unparalleled in my experience. He's been open pretty much all Covid 19 and his sense of humor and gentle pushing of me out of my comfort zone has gotten me through this pandemic.

My son takes piano lessons here with Andrew and I can highly recommend this music studio…read more All 3 of my children have taken music lessons so I've seen a lot of different teachers and instructional approaches. Andrew's methodology is very approachable and encouraging for the young learner. He really wants to develop a life long love of music for the child and create a solid foundation on which they can build. He is super patient which is great. I really like Andrew's approach to recitals as well. He holds recitals on a near monthly basis but keeps them very casual. This gives the learner a great opportunity to practice performing in front of people with good frequency but in slightly lower pressure situations than normal (this is coming from an adult who was subjected to "scary" recitals as a child!).

Don't recommend for busy adults that want good service and flexibility…read more 1. Strict, complicated scheduling rules. You can't just cancel, you have to commit to the whole month in advance and making up classes is extremely constrained. You'll pay for classes you don't attend. 2. Trapdoor auto-renew billing. You can sign up easily but there's no easy way to cancel. You have to email them and they're slow to respond. 3. Disorganized. Lessons were meandering and felt improvised. I only signed up for 30min per week and it felt like 10 mins of useful lesson time. Not worth the commute back and forth. 4. Chaotic environment. The student portal is a mess. Lots of email spam. Confusing rules. The studio is noisy (understandable). I had to remain crouched in the lesson room because the ceiling is only 6ft high. Staff seemed generally very nice, but out of their element when dealing with adult students. They value their own time much more than yours. I wanted to make time for developing my musical skills outside of my primary career and this experience ended up wasting time and money and just adding more stress to my life. I learned a little but ultimately not worth the costs. Will go with a private tutor in the future.

We love Little Mission Studio. My son has been a percussion…read morestudent of Christian who is an excellent music teacher. He truly had an amazing impact on Atlas's interest in music. Not only is he patient with him to focus his attention to things, as he is a young kid full of energy, but also he is making his lessons fun, enjoyable and exploratory to let him enjoy music in different ways. Atlas is always looking forward to his lessons!

I've done a couple of band workshops here…read more(http://bluebearmusic.org/blue-bear-programs/adult-music-classes/band-workshop/) as a guitar player. I'd been learning electric guitar with private lessons for a few years, but I wanted to see what it was like playing in a band and have some fun. I love the format. It's a bunch of people, randomly assembled, that know how to play but without the time or confidence or network or whatever to form a band by their own. They pair the band with an instructor, who in my experience has always been great. You're paying $395 for 10 weeks of studio hire, equipment hire (like mics, proper amps, etc), instruction (these are 2.5hr sessions), venue hire (plus lighting and sound etc) for the concert, plus all of the administration around it. It's a great deal. You'll get most out of the band if you put time and energy into it. Practice, challenge yourself, etc, and you'll have more fun and learn more. I know that people's experience may vary depending on what instrument you play, how much time/effort other people in the band put into it, and what they choose for songs... but by the end of it all, it's a great and unique experience and I highly recommend giving it a go.

Everyone at Blue Bear Music is like family! No matter what type of music lessons you are looking…read morefor you can find them all here! All the teachers and staff are amazing. I would highly recommend Blue Bear to learn a new music skill or for a new creative outlet to balance out your work life. You will make life long friends here.

I will be honest: the idea of taking piano lessons for the first time as an adult was both an…read moreexhilarating and frightening prospect. Luckily for me, one of my good friends recommended that I check out the Community Music Center, and overall, I had an excellent experience! My instructor was Erick Peralta, and he covered both music theory and piano technique with patience and great skill. I thought that he paced the classes well, and the only reason I stopped working with him is due to leaving the Bay Area. I also appreciated how he integrated and referenced modern pop music while also making sure I learned piano standards. Finding practice piano rooms can be a challenge during peak instruction periods, but more often than not, I could find an open piano to practice right before my early afternoon classes. There were also some minor communication snafus when I tried to register for classes, but generally, staff at the center were welcoming and friendly.

We've been involved with CMC during various phases in our family. My kids took lessons here but…read moreare not aspiring musicians and one quit after middle school and the other way earlier that that. It's expensive to pay for piano lessons if your child is really not interested and we could've used that money towards kinetic activities which was more in line with what they preferred. Not all the teachers were patient with the kids and our youngest had a bad attitude and went through 3 teachers. The first instructor was a brilliant musician but was curt and impatient with him most of the time. The second instructor, another brilliant musician, asked us not to bring him back on a couple of visits. The 3rd instructor was the most patient with him but it really wasn't his cup of tea and we finally agreed there was no purpose served to keep trying to enlighten him. I have been taking adult choir lessons 4.5 years now with a CMC instructor, Ms. Wilmurt, who is just fabulous and everyone in our group classes adore and love her. She also teaches a young children's choir and the kids love her too. No instructor wants a student who is unmotivated, lacks commitment and is uncooperative. So judge carefully if you think your child or yourself are suited to take music classes. It is a big commitment but well worth the time and effort if you're truly engaged and open-minded to learn music.

Service The classes are carefully administered and the…read moreteacher is punctual and patient. Instrument Wow, the teacher uses a grand piano, I was blown away! Teaching The teacher is detail oriented, and you better be prepared! Cost Excellent, the cost of teaching and quality, I was expecting to pay more.

I thought it might be time to do a little 5 year check in! That's right, I've been taking lessons…read morewith Ciara for 5 years now and have enjoyed every lesson and over the last year have enjoyed watching her business grow and flourish! She now has multiple piano and voice teachers at the school, all of whom are fabulous people and teachers. In the time I've spent with Ciara, I went from having no idea what a C scale was to writing and recording my own songs! Ciara has been there with me every step of the way and has provided me with just as much emotional support as she has musical support. I've also participated in a couple of her other projects: Join a Band SF and Collab (with the fabulous Heather Pierce, voice teacher extraordinaire!), and I really enjoyed both projects and learned a lot, while having a ton of fun. On the business side of things, I appreciate that Ciara is up front with her policies from the beginning and feel like she has always treated me and from what I hear, other clients, very fairly. We're kind of a family, and Ciara has done a great job of keeping that communal spirit with the annual Master Class and the Recital, where our friends and family and our MMS (McAllister Music Studio) family can enjoy and witness the progress we have made during the year. Lizzie and Carlos are true gems, with voices like angels and the patience of Saints. If you are looking for a fun, supportive environment to learn a new instrument or brush up on your skills, I highly recommend Ciara and all of the teachers at MMS!

An obvious 5 stars! I've been taking piano lessons with Ciara every week for almost a year and a…read morehalf, and it's been one of the best experiences (and life choices) I've made since moving to San Francisco. I took piano lessons when I was a kid, but quit when I was 11, and Ciara made me feel like I picked up right where I left off, 11 years later. I'm learning music theory, writing songs, learning covers - she designs your lesson plan around your needs and goals, and makes the entire learning process approachable rather than intimidating. Whether you're a singer, songwriter, piano player looking to explore a new genre, or a piano newbie who can't read sheet music (like me)...McAllister Music Studio is the place to go :)

My daughter has been a piano student and we have been very happy with the teachers and the overall…read moreservice. We had some disagreements with the school about scheduling and they hung in with us and we worked it out. It's nice that there's a person (in our case, Cheri) at the other end of every email who is quick to respond to our concerns, flexible and has partnered well with us on solving problems.

We have tried the younger child / group music class as well as the private lessons. The teachers…read morehave impressive music and teaching credentials and our kids making great progress. I appreciate they have multiple lessons going on all at the same time in different rooms so I can bring all my kids in for lessons at their different skill levels. They host regular recitals in beautiful venues for the kids to showcase their talents. Overall I've been really happy with this music studio.

I have contacted this institute a few weeks ago through submitting the form online. I got reached…read moreout by David and we had a conversation regarding adult violin lessons. He asked the type of work I do and I felt weird why it was necessary as it has nothing to do with learning violin. He then shared how much it would cost for the lessons and I told him I'll think about it and reach out if I decide to move forward (which he agreed on and offered 10-20 mins trial lesson). After few days I emailed him and expressed my interest, but I did not get a response. And then from that moment I tried phone call he gave me, the institute phone number and still got no response. I do not mind if he responds and not taking me as student, but just leaving someone hanging there for weeks is definitely not professional as a business.

I stumbled on this page while searching for something else and had to stop by to leave a note…read more I studied violin with David roughly from 2005 to 2009. Up to that point I had been knocking around community orchestras and had, I thought, a fairly good practice routine based on Galaxian's method, but was frustrated by my lack of progress. Working with David was a completely different story. His dedication to studying the technique of past masters, in particular Nathan Milstein, through existing video recordings was a revelation. I left his studio much more satisfied with my playing than when I entered. I have unfortunately had to stop due to nerve damage (which I earned elsewhere) but cannot say enough good about David. I brought in a friend to accompany me on a Brahms Sonata (the easy one) and he was able to help her to understand and interpret the work.