The J-B Piano

I know negative about guitars. I have a nephew graduating from high school this spring and I…read morewanted to get him something meaningful and useful. He plays bass in one of those School of Rock type places and is passionate about it. I called my sister to see if there was anything he could use and she sent me a blurry photo of some kind of board he uses and told me he needs a carrying case. I went to Bananas at Large because of their reputation for being kind and knowledgeable. Their reputation is well deserved. I was greeted right when I walked in, I decided to look around a bit before asking for help because while I don't know anything about guitars, some of the instruments they had on the wall were works of art and I enjoy looking at art. When I was ready, I found the first employee, showed him the photo and explained the situation. He knew exactly what it was and where to find what I was looking for. He then took the case over to where they had the exact thing in the photo to show me how well it fit and other features of the case. He explained the 14-day return policy if it turned out to be the wrong thing and let me decide what I wanted to do. I wound up purchasing the case. I loved that I was nicely greeted when I walked in but left alone to browse. I loved that I didn't have to hunt down someone to help me when I was ready. I loved the general vibe of the place. I loved that they had what I needed and clearly a ton of things I might need if I ever decide to get into playing. I loved that parking was easy. I loved that they were excited to help someone who had no idea what they were doing in a guitar shop, were in no hurry to get me out of the store and patient enough to answer all my questions. I even loved that they accept Venmo for payments. Great place to go if you don't know anything about guitars but love someone who does.

This place is everything a music store should be. Yes they have great selection, and yes their…read moreprices match anything you can find online (even Reverb, often) but it's their service and relationships they build with you that's special. True stories of what they've done for me even in just the last month: My guitar needed some repairs before a gig, and they fast tracked the service and ordered an uber to bring the guitar to my house! I wanted a tuner pedal that was out of stock basically everywhere in the country, and they took their last one from Santa Rosa and shipped it to San Rafael store for free for me to pick up the next day. Best of all, I was unhappy with my guitar tone and Dan spent nearly 2 hours sitting with me trying different pedals and setups, before settling on showing me some different settings on my own amp, some different plectrums and swapping a pedal I'd bought recently for only a $10 difference! It would have been so easy to have sold me another pedal or 2 that I didn't really need, but the fact he didn't builds complete trust and makes me a customer for life!

A Marin Piano & Organ

(1 review)

It is never easy to buy a big ticket item such as a piano, but you can trust Don and Marin Piano…read more They offer many choices at very reasonable prices (just call, or search, and compare). I am especially impressed with Stuart, he is not a salesman but a wonderful artist, He prepares each piano to its perfection, plays a few pieces himself, and you can always feel his passion about these beautiful instruments.

The Magic Flute

4.6

(101 reviews)

The Magic Flute has been providing solid instruction for a myriad of instruments for decades…read more Currently, Chris Collins is an insanely talented musician who is a wonderful piano teacher. He is able to tailor his lessons so the material is relevant and age-appropriate and engaging. His ability to not only play music by ear but to create sheet music from that is brilliant. Highly recommend!

A hub for learning! Violin teacher Sharron Drake is outstanding! HIghly recommend for beginner or…read moreexperienced. Great vibes, private lesson rooms, Ezra Palmer-Person is an exceptional trumpet teacher as well. Recommend both teachers without reservation.

Marin Community Music School

(8 reviews)

I can't say enough good things about MCMS. With no musical experience, I came to MCMS as an adult…read morebeginning cello student. My teacher, David, has patiently and thoughtfully worked with me as I very slowly progress. When I'm in the school before and after lessons I get to listen to other students, or all ages, with David and the other wonderful teachers. There is a great sense of community and the interest and enthusiasm the instructors have for each of their very different students is heartwarming. From talented mini-rock n' rollers to older students, everyone is treated with care.

I am 66yo with long forgotten high school music experience and wanted, if I could, pick up were I…read moreleft off. What was I to do? I found MCMS and it was exactly my answer. This small but loaded school caters to the young and older alike. It has a bevy of accomplished and practicing musicians; teaching drums, guitars, piano, violin, cello. I see it as a place to perhaps learn to be a multi-instrumentalist. My first inquiry to the school was answered quickly and then put in touch with it's cello instructor (the instrument I wanted to learn). I was given a complementary hour of introduction and was sold after that. I appreciated the instructor's encouragement and that he did not sugar coat the road ahead to learn; I liked the challenge of that. This school has checked off all the boxes for me to learn. It is conveniently located in not quite down town San Anselmo and has a neighborhood feel about it. It is San Anselmo's very own School of Rock and Bach!

Music Exchange

(348 reviews)

•$$$

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.

Ris Piano - Christopher Ris

(10 reviews)

Christopher was fantastic! I have a 2000 Young Chang Baby Grand Piano and Christopher brought…read moregreat balance to the sound on my little grand. His attention to detail was fantastic. I had recently purchased the piano when Christopher works don it and the piano had just come out of 3 years of storage. He did a fantastic job and was great to work with. I highly recommend him. As a side bar, I am a music teacher, so though I am not a piano expert, I do have a good understanding of how the instrument should sound and play and Christopher exceeded my expectations.

We recently purchased a grand piano from Chris. Chris was patient and full of good information…read morewhen we visited his workshop to play his different pianos. We chose a used Grotrian Steinweg, whose sound we liked, price was quite reasonable, and didn't seem to need work for the next 20 years. Chris was accommodating and agreed to let us return the piano if the movers could not get it upstairs to our new music room. The hardest part of buying a used piano (for us) was knowing the true quality of the piano; Chris wrote up an assessment, and we shared that with the piano technician we worked with who personally knew Chris and said he is "honest and reliable". We have had our piano now for a few months, and enjoy playing it. The piano looked more washed out in Chris' workshop, which he explained was due to the fluorescent lighting. Sure enough, in our home the piano has a warm look.

San Mateo Piano

(96 reviews)

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.

Piano with Cristina Marcu

(2 reviews)

Cristina is a brilliant piano teacher. She is very experienced and truly cares about the student;…read moreshe provides an enriching and instructional environment for learning piano. We adore her both as a professional and as a human. She is very communicative with parents as well!

Cristina is a magical and wonderful teacher. Her teaching is highly creative and fun -- she uses…read morethe piano to help you explore your own creativity and applies super innovative techniques that help you learn how to read music, feel the rhythm, listen to the colors of sound, and express your voice through the piano. While she is highly creative, she is also highly educated and went to USC for her degree, graduated magna cum laude and is on the faculty for San Domenico Music Conservatory. She is the perfect blend of creative thinking and hard core experienced, driven expert. I have been working with her for just about a year now, and as a 49 year old who stopped playing piano at 15, I never thought I could learn, or that it would be this fun! I know Cristina teaches adults, but she also teaches many kids too! She can come to your home -- but I visit her adorable home in San Anselmo where she has a glorious grand piano!

Rhoda Gravador Piano & Voice

4.6

(10 reviews)

I LOVE Rhoda. I started voice lessons with her over 7 months ago. My thoughtful cousin gifted me…read moretwo lessons for my birthday and I haven't stopped going. I think I've always secretly loved singing but didn't think I was any good. I enjoy karaoke and wanted to learn to be a better singer. Rhoda has helped me find parts of my voice that I didn't know where there (hello, high notes!). She has helped me breathe through songs (I can make it through Hamilton rapping without running out of breath!). She has given me more confidence in my voice and expanded my repertoire to songs I didn't have the technique to sing before. She is funny, talented and has been so encouraging to help me fine tune a tool I really didn't understand. Even as complicated as our voices are, she somehow makes sense of all of it. I look forward to our sessions and can't wait to keep up this progress. Thank you for everything, Rhoda!

She's great - she's taught both of my daughters piano lessons for several years now and we couldn't…read morebe more pleased with the relationship she develops with each pupil and how positive she always is - ensuring they will only grow to love the instrument more.

Geist Piano Tuning

(32 reviews)

An update to my review of 6/21/2024: After I contacted Geist…read moreand complained about the double charge he refunded $190 to me. So all is well and I would use him again. He did a good job tuning an out of tune piano.

John is truly a professional,friendly and knowledgeable. I…read morehaven't my piano turned for long time. After tuning, the sounds were tremendously better and beautiful. For preparing to return to my home country in the near future he helped me with many suggestion's for sale of the piano. Definitely Five stars !

The Magic Flute

4.6

(101 reviews)

Rocky's Moving

4.9

(125 reviews)

I hired Rocky's Moving back in August to move me from Rincon Valley out to Guerneville. After…read moretalking with Michael on the phone, and letting him know the details of the move (single bedroom Apt to a two floor townhome), he gave me an estimate and told me his guys will be in contact morning of the move. Chase and Javy came exactly when they said they would and after a quick walk around got to work. Their supervisor, Michael showed up about 20 minutes after they arrived to make sure everything was going smoothly but then was called off to go to another job site 50 minutes away to handle another customers needs. Fortunately for me, the team that was there kicked ass. Both Javy and Chase were courteous, friendly and I never felt uncomfortable with any of the process. Hiring movers can be toss up, but the team that was assigned to my job were great! If you live in Marin or Sonoma County and you arent looking at Rocky's Moving first, you are doing a disservice to yourself and your family!

We couldn't be happier with Rocky's moving. The guys did an excellent job and worked extremely hard…read moreand had the best attitudes. Very peasant guys to be around! The boss, Michael, was extremely professional and was there throughout the move as well. They worked great as a team and got all our stuff moved without a blemish. Highly recommend !

Kelly Moving

4.3

(44 reviews)

I hired Ryan and his crew to move a piano and he did an excellent job. Definitely knows what he's…read moredoing!!. I wouldn't hesitate to call him for any piano help. Ryan is the best and very reliable person.

I worried over every aspect of this move and NONE of those worries came true! Every little thing…read moreyou could hope for from a moving company was what I got from Ryan and his crew of piano movers. It was abundantly clear from the beginning and confirmed all throughout the move that Ryan knows exactly what he's doing. His 20 years of experience and friendly service made the experience smooth as silk for me. And at literally 1/4 of the price another mover quoted me.

Geist Piano Tuning