Cool vibe here. We're taking guitar and ukelele lessons -- playing and singing. Nick Vecchio is a…read moregreat combo of laid back, fun, and good instructor. He's a super interesting person too, and it makes sense why all of his students enjoy him so much.

I have two boys in the program and both have picked up so much so quickly! Their teachers, Pat and…read moreMartin, are well informed and amazing musicians in their own right. We are now in our third or fourth year with Nick's group. One of the biggest advantages of Nick's program is that the kids are not only picking up basic music skills, which they will enjoy for the rest of their lives, but they are learning about how to perform with other people. That was a skill that I had never been taught when I was taking lessons. Both Pat and Martin have a teaching style that I wish my old teachers had. My kids enjoy practicing and it is never a fight to get it done. Another great perk of Band-Gig is that they put on student concerts a number of time per year in a local venue, with the proceeds going to a local charity. It has always been a well attended event and you get to hear lots of talented people doing what they love.

Our daughter has been taking drum lessons for 4 months and we love our instructor. He take his…read moretime and has a great way of teaching my daughter music. Eric Friedberg

What a disappointment. I went to have my daughter's clarinet corks replaced and when I returned 2…read moredays later, not only were the corks replaced, but pads were replaced as well - the pads, which I didn't order, cost double what the corks cost - so a whopping $113 later, I was more than frustrated. The gentleman, Paul, who I placed the order with, and who was the person I picked it up from, said that I had ordered the pads as well, which I didn't. I wouldn't even know to ask about the pads. When I told him that I didn't order the pads, his response was "well, it will play now", to which I responded with "it played before". There were no apologies, no trying to come to a resolution, nothing. I just had to pay the money. This experience left me feeling ripped off and left me feeling as though their business practice is questionable, if not unethical. A total disappointment.

My son's oboe was jammed with the cleaning cloth, on a Saturday (today!), with a High School…read moreconcert only hours away. Needless to say, it was difficult to find anybody with the expertise and willingness to help on such short notice, but when I happened to call John, he cheerfully assured me "I can take care of that, come on by!" Sure enough, I was in and out within about 10 minutes. A closer music store without as much expertise had offered to "give it a try for 30 minutes." Today? "Maybe ..." It didn't instill confidence. It was clear to me from this first experience with John that he is both capable and kind, and that he really enjoys being great at fixing people's instruments. Thanks, John!

I took a vintage French alto saxophone and then a student model Japanese alto saxophone to John for…read moremaintenance and to fix issues a previous technician had not solved (and also created). John did well with the student model instrument. Unfortunately, the French alto saxophone was left in an unplayable condition; the octave key was not working. I had John take another look at it, but he seemed to just keep it at his shop for another week without doing anything. He also called me repeatedly to pick it up, even though I told him multiple times that I was out of town (I was away for a week, and he called as if I had left it there a much longer time). When I picked it up, he gave me a discount, but I should've been suspicious. I had had enough, so even though the octave key still wasn't working, I took it home. I later noticed a poor solder job and burnt lacquer on a key. When I took the French saxophone to a different repair shop, they fixed the octave key problem, solder, leaks, and adjustment issues he missed. The only reason I would give John two stars instead of one is that he quickly fixed the student instrument; however, I would not trust him with a vintage or professional instrument.

"The Perfect Pair"…read more Hey, that's the Vic Firth Logo. There was a time when one had to spend an entire day pulling drum sticks out of a display case and painstakingly roll them across the glass counter at the drum shop to find a pair that wasn't warped. Once several straight pairs were established, the next step was to find a surface to slap out some rudiments on until you found a pair that felt good together. This was always a labor of love. Ask any drummer. Still, it was labor, and one didn't always have time to do the QC that should have been done at the factory. Fast forward to the other day when I found myself at guitar center looking for a bass drum pedal because I had left my only one at the practice studio like a genius and didn't have one to use to practice at home. After finding the pedal, and a decent cymbal, I noticed the Vic Firth drumstick display, almost as an afterthought. Hmmmm, what's this. Why are all these sticks paired up and lovingly put together into little cardboard holders? How nice and clean! It's a display with a variety of their signature series sticks! They have all been warp tested, balanced, and even pitch-paired. I've been using Vic Firth Harvey Mason signature series sticks for years but they were out. In fact the guitar center dude had never even heard of Harvey Mason. ACK! So I decided to go for the Dave Weckl signature series instead. I lovingly brought them home and laid them down on my kit. Such a lovely golden color. So organic against the rubberiness of the electronic pads. (I have my acoustic kit out but it's too loud to play). I popped on my iPod and headphones and gave them a go. Immediately I could feel the difference. These were just better tools for me. Sorry Harvey! The thing is that Vic Firth is not playing around. I stuck with the HM series for so long because the quality has always been consistent, and this has been proven again to me with this new pair. But even beyond that, I couldn't fathom how a different stick could make such a difference, and Vic Firth has so many varieties, that are so well made, well, they just deserve some kudos! There's no way someone couldn't find their perfect stick match. And it's so damn easy now because of pre-selection process, and the cardboard band that holds the sticks slides right off so that you can still roll em, and tap out a paradiddle or two - hey, it's your duty to! But at least you won't need an hour, a basket, and a square foot of counter space to get a decent pair. And, they have a great website too. Check out some great clips of your favorite drummers. www.vicfirth.com and a picture of my coffee table ;) http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/kw-IUXGcop3z4CVD1-KHBw?select=aTzZGvAwrRz4jOK1csaG9A

Came in for strings. What a shop. So many beautiful, high quality guitars. Price for strings was…read morereasonable and I'll be back. Wish they had lessons.

I went in to buy a new Martin acoustic, but the staff's bored snarkiness made me think they learned…read moretheir social skills in high school, and stopped there. The good news is I bought exactly the guitar I was looking for, the bad news (for them) is that I bought it at a different guitar store that had much better service.

The School of Rock in Norwood is decent, but a bit expensive. Some of the teachers are average and…read morethe receptionist is rude, but my son has Joe in the Rock 101 class and he's great with the students. The School of Rock seems fun for the kids, and if they keep getting teachers like Joe, the school will only get better. I would still recommend it.

From the owner: School of Rock Norwood/Walpole provides both in-person and online music lessons for students of all…read moreages. Our programs, camps and workshops for toddlers, kids, teens and adults make learning to play music fun and create great communities of musicians. School of Rock is the leader in performance-based music education. We combine one-on-one drum, bass, keyboard, vocal, and guitar lessons with group practices. Students learn to play music from day one and put on live performances at local venues. Our experienced instructors are local musicians themselves who combine the performance-based School of Rock Method and programs with individual music lessons to get results for your student.