Keenan is an amazing teacher, incredibly skilled at both the pedagogy of teaching and the music…read moreitself. He is a pleasure to deal with, and my daughter has finally started to practice and progress with her guitar.

In Austin, a town brimming with amazing musicians and teachers, Keenan is an absolute standout as a…read moreplayer and a teacher. He's a touring veteran that I've had the pleasure of seeing many times to which I've never been anything less than speechless. As a teacher he's patient and precise, clear to the point, and most important, fun! I've also never had a teacher genuinely care so much about my well being outside of the lesson than him. Because of Keenan, I feel confident in front of anyone I pick up a guitar around and that's a gift I can carry with me for the rest of my life.

Let me just start this review off by saying, I've had 3 different guitar instructors over the…read morecourse of my life, and Keith absolutely takes the cake. I kicked off lessons with Keith over a year ago amidst another one of my "I need to channel my creative energy into a hobby" crises and I have not looked back ever since. I've had instructors who sit me down in front of a guitar chord chart and a beginner'a guitar song book each week we play songs that I don't want to learn. Keith not only finds way to integrate learning into songs that I actually enjoy but he makes the repetition of learning guitar fun. He works with my crazy work schedule, he's patient, he frickin ROCKS at guitar (and drums and god knows what other instruments!) and he knows what he's talking about! The amount of progress that I have made since starting lessons with Keith has been phenomenal. I highly recommend him to any and all looking for a guitar instructor!

My son and husband took guitar lessons from Keith for 2 years. They were both beginners, and I…read morecan't speak highly enough about the experience they had. Keith is great, teaching at all skill levels. He has the patience of a saint. They both enjoyed his mellow, yet encouraging attitude. He went out of his way to find music that was interesting for each of them. His musical enthusiasm inspired Benjamin (my 14 year old son ) to the extent of choosing music as a major in school. Keith encouraged growth as a musician. He was always accommodating for class times. He has been a pleasure to work with." We were a sad family when he moved away.

Steven was my daughter's guitar teacher for about a year. He is great, very patient, and most…read moreimportantly, he taught my daughter how to play the guitar when that seemed like an impossible task. I would definitely recommend his services. We had a great experience with him.

Steve is an excellent teacher & musician. He has a wide breadth of knowledge, both practically and…read moretheoretically. His lessons are a great value relative to the quality of instruction you receive. I have made great progress in my playing throughout our lessons and would highly recommend him to anyone. Just ask him to rip it up and you will be in awe, feel inspired, and probably realize how far you have to go! Particularly helpful is his willingness to tailor learning pathways to your specific goals and tie in your favorite musicians and styles while also exposing you to cool, obscure, and interesting artists and genres. As a bonus, he will give you that good guitar wisdom, funny anecdotes, and show you that the instrument is a life-long passion project that requires curiosity about yourself and the world around you. Pretty helpful stuff!

Behrens Guitar Studio is run by Sean Behrens, a local musician who specializes in teaching…read moreclassical guitar to children using the Suzuki method. My older son (now almost 6) started taking lessons from Sean about two years ago, and my younger son (almost 4) just started lessons a few months ago. Sean is a wonderful teacher, and he has a really special knack for teaching very young children. He is incredibly patient, cheerful but firm, and has an endless bag of tricks for keeping kids engaged in learning guitar. Wooden balancing clowns, Tic-Tac-Tony, dice, plastic dinosaurs, Hot Wheels, stickers - all are pressed into service to sustain interest. I'm seriously impressed by his teaching technique and how he has instilled (some) discipline and focus in my wild boys. Having your child take guitar lessons from Sean entails a significant commitment. Sean wants at least one parent of every student to either already know how to play guitar, or to learn to play guitar alongside the child. He also expects that a parent will work with his or her child in daily practices - both with playing and on music theory. There are two weekly classes required- one private lesson and one group lesson. If your child is already in ballet and Little League and piano and soccer, you probably aren't going to have the time or energy to take on classical guitar with Sean. If you are looking for an excellent, engaging classical guitar teacher for your child, and you have the time to commit to working with your child to learn guitar, look no further than Sean Behrens.

Sean's not just for the kids! While he has an active Suzuki practice he also teaches adult students…read morein a more traditional way. I approached Sean as a mostly self taught amateur adult guitarist about two years ago with the desire to improve my classical musicianship and began a course of study that's lasted to the present day. Over the years I'd reinforced a lot of bad habits in my playing while studying on my own and Sean has been able to help me identify areas to focus on. My playing has improved dramatically during this time and Sean's patience, encouragement, flexibility, and insight have been the key. Sean is an excellent guitarist in many styles with impressive academic credentials in classical performance (he received his Masters studying under Ricardo Iznaola). More importantly, he's a pleasure to work with and has a deep understanding of the obstacles that can hold you back from your best work. I've learned a lot about focused practicing, working through technical challenges, the mechanics of producing good tone, and playing in consort with others... among many other things. If you're looking for a talented classical guitar teacher, I highly recommend Sean Behrens.

I wanted to home-record a doo-wop song as a gift to my father, singing all the backup parts. Since…read moreI have musical experience (keyboards) I thought it would be easy. Once I started I discovered I was out of my element and my first attempt sounded like crap. So I booked two lessons with Alyssa and that made all the difference. She had specific suggestions and tips that took my project to the next level. That was a lot of bang for the buck, and I'm grateful that Eastside Music and Alyssa were available to me.

I was a piano student at Eastside Music School for nearly 9 months. I joined the music school to…read morefind mentors to hold me accountable and keep me disciplined in my craft. I have never joined a music school before. My teacher at the music school was an incredible mentor. The music school is in the process of soundproofing some of their rooms, and the instructors schedule students back-to-back (which I'm aware is common). I voiced some frustrations when hearing a vocalist overpower the sound in my lesson. I expressed that it was difficult to focus as both me and my instructor were frustrated. I voiced frustrations about losing minutes when students are scheduled back-to-back. I have had minimal encounters with the owner, Alex, but my first impression of him was disappointing as he announced names at the recitals and completely butchered my name, calling me someone else. He responded to my email explaining that there will always be sounds in each room, which I can understand, and offered to speak with the instructor. In return, I asked him to allow for the person before me to have more time to transition out (built into her own lesson). She is new and her parents wanted a summary of the lesson at the end of each lesson. This somehow translated to him that I wanted him to change his entire business model and allow five minute breaks after each student. His solution was to cut my lesson time instead, which when asking for support on how to maximize my own time, felt like a slap in the face. When he asked me if that worked for me, I said no. His response was this: "Ok well. I'm not going to change my business model for you. I offered a compromise and you declined. At this point I think it's best to discontinue your lessons at Eastside Music School. I haven't charged you for May tuition. I won't charge you for yesterday to make up for all the time you didn't receive that you paid for. And I'll take you off the calendar moving forward. Best of luck to you." I immediately went to the music school to speak with him and his response was explaining that he had 300 students and 25 teachers and will not make any accommodations for me. His also stated that my instructor will be gone for two months anyway. As a person in a leadership role, mentoring students to be the best they can be, teaching others the importance of feedback, accountability, and compassion, I am so disappointed with my experience at Eastside Music. In his second response, he dismissed me, minimized my experience, and told me I'm the type of person who would be benefit from private lessons. Despite the mission statement "Find Your Voice," If you chose this school, do not voice any concerns or feedback to the owner unless you have a back up plan for lessons. Talk to the instructor directly. When I approached this, my intent was to feel heard and resolve a conflict that many students are experiencing, which at the time seemed like a simple fix. He took the opportunity to be a leader and mentor of one student that is enrolled at his school to learn and grow...1 of 300 he made clear.. to prioritize his own arrogance and disregard for students he does not know personally. Updating: adding screenshots. The first solution was talking to the instructor (which seemed like a solution I didn't even have the chance to accept since he was so quick to kick me out of the school), the second solution was reducing my time to accommodate the other students, and the third solution was terminating me from the music school.

We had a great experience here. The groups are always less than ten and the teachers are not only…read morecompassionate and good with kids but also highly talented musicians who are actively playing in Austin-area bands. Our daughter played piano her first semester, which ended with a live performance of three songs at the Saxon Pub, presenting to over 100. The next semester she switched to vocals, with a live performance at the Far Out Lounge with her super fun band buddies. The students and teachers take the lessons very seriously but also have a lot of fun. There is one on one instruction blended with small-group instruction. I would say that the instructions provided for instruments (guitar, bass, drums, piano) are a little stronger than the instructions provided for vocals. But no private/one-on-one instructor can provide the super fun, motivating experience of playing in front of a large audience in an iconic Austin venue. That's what makes School of Rock so special for its students.

My kids had summer camp at this location, and are signing up for private classes. The staff we…read moreencountered have been friendly and helpful. The teachers are cool and energetic, and my kids walk away excited to keep learning.

My daughter absolutely loves her group classes at Songbird Rising Suzuki School! The teachers are…read moreall so wonderful and highly skilled. One thing she really likes is that the teachers offer a lot of guidance on style and the way the piece of music should be played. I, as a parent, really appreciate how responsive the owners and teachers are to any questions we have and also how welcoming they are. The sense of community that Songbird Rising Suzuki School offers is so important to our family and we are thankful to be part of it!

High quality violin instruction!…read more We take lessons with Ms. Laura. She's an excellent teacher and knows when to push and when to use games or movement to keep students engaged. The school has great communication with parents, very organized scheduling, and easy payment options. They have regular informal performances in Hyde Park for students to get experience playing in public. If you're looking for child-friendly suzuki violin lessons, this is one of the best schools in town!

Amazing program to get your kids to play music. Jacob does a fabulous job working with kids,…read moreteaching them, and guiding them in their love of rock music. The gigs are an added bonus. We highly recommend Rock Lab.