Steve and Kristy Smith are great owners and really kind people. Steve is very knowledgable and his…read morejoy in helping his students succeed as drummers is apparent in every lesson. He is also an excellent player and that translates 200% into his teaching. In my years studying with him I learned an incredible amount in terms of complex musical concepts applied to percussion, simple straight ahead groove and feel, and the art and science of professionalism. Everything he taught me is extremely valuable and directly applicable to being a better drummer. 35+ years after taking my first lesson with him and I am still using his original material religiously in ways that I never dreamed of. I just can't offer enough praise.

I've been taking drum lessons here for years and love it!! Steve Smith is an amazing instructor!…read more He's a talented drummer and does an excellent job teaching and coaching me. I enjoy my lessons because Steve challenges me and my drumming skills have improved exponentially over the years. I recently started taking voice lessons with Natalie and she is also an awesome instructor! I've really enjoyed her teaching style. I'm not the most confident singer and was a bit nervous when I first started; however, Natalie has helped build my confidence. Even though It's only been a few months, I feel a lot more confident and am a better singer. The staff at the school is top-notch! KZ handles everything at the Georgetown location. She's very patient, super smart and funny! She adds a fun energy to the school.

I took about 5 months of online vocal lessons with Kristin and it was really good. I wanted to…read moreimprove my singing skills to do a song at my wedding, and to improve my karaoke abilities in general. And I think it helped me tremendously. As a bonus, I also got an opportunity to perform in one of the recitals hosted by Kirsten and it was a great experience. She's very flexible and knowledgeable, and knows how to pace yourself to improve your skills over time.

It was a wonderful experience having Kristen as a vocal coach. The bottom line is that I improved…read morein my singing, my confidence increased significantly, and Kristen was a really multifaceted person with a lot of flexibility to meet my goals. I enjoyed my meetings with her. She always so the positives and the possibilities, even when it came to my own songs. She was extremely supportive of working on my original music and helped me feel confident with the few songs I wrote that were pretty high on my range. She's also a very real person, so we could focus but we could also laugh or acknowledge if we were struggling a bit that day. She offers all of her students, piano and singing, to participate in a recital that is hosted by an elderly care facility for which she volunteers her time, I believe to do singing or choir. I suggest for any potential student to take that opportunity in that low stress environment with Kristen's support and other supportive students to practice being in front of people. Also, the residents really appreciated it. While meeting in person would have been nice and probably has some advantages, working remotely was really convenient and still quite effective. I highly recommend Seattle City Music with Kristen for your vocal or piano lessons!

Makes learning guitar fun. Mike is a great guy, teaches from the heart, has passion and endless…read moreknowledge about music, guitar and the industry. He can teach teach all types of music and really focuses on what you want to learn and how to get you going with something that will motivate you to learn. He's created his own teaching materials and walks you patiently through them even though I can tell he's done this a million times. This studio on Westlake right on the water of Lake Union is a short walk from Amazon in South Lake Union. It's a cozy space part of Mike Hillman's studio that has a doorbell rigged up to a guitar, rock posters and a waiting bench. Other students range from high level tech execs to kids and everything in between. There are those that dedicated fiends looking to shred and those of us taking a slower route given our career focus. Mike is patient with all types and can accommodate. He also does hilarious voices. It's tough to have the courage to learn new things when you suck at first but Mike makes it feel like it's not an issue.

Mike is a great teacher who knows how to tailor a lesson to how each student learns. He is patient…read moreand has opened up creativity I wasn't aware I possessed. Not only is he a great teacher but extremely knowledgeable about the music industry. I had never played guitar before but always wanted to learn. I come out of each lesson excited to practice what I've learned.

I've been taking drum lessons with Sam Esecson for well over a year now - and while he works mostly…read morewith younger students, Sam is a great teacher for adults as well. In particular, he helped me move from getting down the basics on my own to being comfortable playing in several different live band and group situations. I'd recommend him not only for kids and novice adult students, but also for more experienced drummers looking to improve their hand technique, their musical feel (especially in jazz and latin), and their dynamics and finesse. His studio is large so it never feels cramped and set up so it's not super-loud during a lesson, which is a bonus!

Sam is a phenomenal Instructor. You can not find a better, more effective teacher in the area…read more I've been working with him for about 9 months. I've been drumming for 15 years. I've played in active bands in a variety of genres (pop, rock, jazz, metal, fusion etc...). I've done a music theory degree, and studied music both a serious industry member (live audio reinforcement) and as a performer. I can say, without any doubts, that Sam has been one of the greatest musical mentor's I've ever had the pleasure of working with. His knowledge of musical genres is unparalleled - he can seamlessly move between contemporary pop, classic jazz, world music (afro-cuban, afrobeat etc..) and more, all the while giving deep insights into the musical relationships between them. Sam's technical skill is exceptional, and his ability to distill complex techniques which he's refined over the course of years into small teachable lessons is exquisite. He possess the ability to identify strengths and weaknesses in a performer, and can use that insight to drive your development forward in ways which will truly expand your playing. Sam possess a calm, friendly personality that creates a comfortable, safe environment in which to learn. When working with him I feel like I am part of a team dedicated to furthering my musical development. His attitude is one of always looking forward for ways to improve while focusing on making lessons fun and engaging. As a drummer of over a decade, who had recently sought to push himself to new levels, Sam has been everything I had hoped to find in a teacher.

I've been taking lessons from Ben for almost a year now and he is amazing! Very adaptable to my…read moreinterests, and creating exercises on the fly, if needed. Has good and challenging curriculum! Prior to taking lessons, I've played bass in bands for several years, and he's been helping me grow from where my skill already was. Highly recommended!

Although I have been playing guitar for decades and bass since 2009 and have been playing bass in a…read morehorn band since 2010 and a rock 'n roll band since 2014, it was not until I started taking weekly lessons from Jed in June 2023 that I learned about both techniques and music theory. One doesn't know what they don't know until they have a professional showing them not only how, but why things are played the way they should be. Jed started the lessons by showing me playing techniques that built on one another as the weeks went by, and within about three or four lessons I realized how analytically structured the lessons were. Jed also provides me songs or parts of songs to work on (songs that I know, love, and enjoy playing), and the songs he gives to me and the way he advises that I work on the song requires me to use the techniques he has been teaching me. I didn't realize until I met Jed the importance of fully understanding music theory and how that understanding allows you to know what to play and why the song should be played in a certain manner. Jed is also an excellent, professional bass player, and shows me licks and techniques on his bass that I have tried to replicate. Although I will never be as good a player as Jed, watching him play and having him explain how he is playing a song gives me an understanding of how professional bass players use their instrument. He is also very happy to discuss how bands he plays in operate, and what bass players should do in relation to other band members. Lastly, Jed is a remarkably nice person, and I very much enjoy the time I spend with him. The lessons are fun, and I very much look forward to the next lesson. If you are lucky enough to have Jed instructing you, you will only ask yourself why you did not do this years ago. Rob K.

I have been working with Bob for the better part of this year and I cannot recommend him highly…read moreenough. This is my second teacher and second year of lessons. I have made appreciable progress and am enjoying both my playing and my knowledge of music under his instruction. He is patient, funny, very knowledgeable and showed keen interest in teaching me what I wanted to know. I wish I was staying in Seattle to work with him in his studio in Ballard.

One lesson with JT and I knew he was The One Teacher I wanted. After going from one guitar teacher…read moreto another, I was so happy I had finally found the best. I've been taking guitar lessons with JT for a couple of years and I'm so thankful to him because he's given me the gift of music. I would recommend JT to anybody that's serious about learning guitar.

This is my favorite violin shop. They are very friendly and accommodating and always make me feel…read moreat home. They have worked on my violins and I have always been satisfied. It's also wonderful that they have a female luthier, Jessica.. and the shop represents 4 generations of the family now, I think that's pretty incredible

We used this shop for a school violin rental and had a frustrating experience overall…read more Over the course of the rental, we ended up paying around $1,500 for an instrument with an approximate value of $800. I understand rentals can cost more over time, but there didn't seem to be a clear or meaningful path toward ownership, which made the value feel questionable in hindsight. The bigger issue came at return, when we were charged an additional $150 for a bridge replacement that had to be done for my son to play it after it broke during orchestra class upon normal use (confirmed by orchestra teacher). For a student instrument used by a child, this felt more like normal wear and tear than something that should result in a significant extra charge. Not to mention they didn't offer to give us the replacement bridge back but demanded we wait for the new one. Customer service also felt fairly rigid and not particularly accommodating, especially for families navigating school music programs. Overall, the experience felt expensive and lacking transparency. We went out of our way for this ship and sure wish we hadn't! I'm sure they are great for those that live in this world, but I would highly recommend other families look closely at rental terms and consider alternatives that are more straightforward and family-friendly.