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!

I left a message I was interested in adult piano lessons and had no return call. It would have been…read moreconvenient and no doubt cheaper than the $100/hr I ended up paying.

Music Repertoire is the place to be if you're looking for a top notch place for music…read more The owner and instructor, Henry, is intent on providing anyone with musical knowledge. Music Repertoire specializes in providing lessons for voice, piano and guitar, with a variety of genres, from classical to contemporary. I've been here for 4 years and I do not regret it, Henry is patient, and easy to work with it, he'll be a great instructor and friend.

I'd been wanting to buy a guitar for awhile... Walked in late this morning and Brad spent the…read morebetter part of an hour walking me through options and talking to me about strings, capos, picks and music lessons! All around a great experience. Brad is knowledgeable, super friendly and helpful. He listened to what I had to say and, based on our conversation, I left with a lovely parlor guitar, case, capo, picks and signed up for guitar lessons. Plus, his dog Rick is super sweet... :-) My new, favorite music store... and only about a 1/2 mile from our house! I highly recommend Brad and his wonderful store... (and Rick!)

The owner, Brad was super friendly and helpful and finding my daughter a nice clarinet. We will…read moredefinitely be back if we have any more music needs.

Saved By The Magic Flute!…read more My newish Nord Electro 6 took a major tumble and several of the lower keys were mangled, ugh..I thought I needed to plan a keyboard funeral. Needless to say, I was DEVASTATED when I discovered my baby at the beginning of a gig.. The Magic Flute repair rep didn't guarantee a successful fix, BUT TOTALLY DELIVERED IN LESS THAN ONE WEEK!! My keyboard funeral was canceled. THANKS MAGIC FLUTE!

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!

I'm always excited to come here and always manage to find what I need. The staff have been lovely…read moreand very knowledgeable. I got my first electric guitar and classical guitar here. The prices are good and selection is fairly good, especially for accessories. As a local, this place has everything I need for my guitars and it's just down the street.

Great music shop right on San Pablo. Parking on the street out front. My dad needed a screw…read morereplaced on his bass and wanted new strings. The guitar repair person doesn't work on Saturdays but we were able to get it checked in and took a tour around the store. Nice selection of guitars, ukuleles, guitar straps, amps. Everything seemed reasonably priced considering this isn't a mega chain or Amazon. Knowledgable staff.

Great, honest music shop! The owner(?) gave is a few different options when quoting a guitar fix…read moreand was very clear about what we needed to have done.

If you want your guitar set up correctly then this is the place. Dan is the man. I really…read moreappreciate his knowledge of guitars and how easy it is to work with him. Thank you!

Follow-up: My son Dylan gained more from his experience at Live Music Center than I can put into…read morewords. Now in 11th grade, he plays tuba in his school's Honors Band and enjoys making music with friends on the side. His years in the Junior Rock Bands and Jazz Band were invaluable, playing a crucial role in shaping his musical education and deepening his love for music. We look back on those times fondly, knowing they helped him grow both as a musician and as a person.

Our daughter has been doing lessons with live music center for a few years now. She does guitar,…read morepiano, and rockband! Megan and her staff are amazing. And I'm going to plug her amazing teachers Tori is am amazing piano teacher, she is very patient, and know what she is doing Megan, Damion, Max and Elizabeth are amazing rockband instructors, the kids love them and they push the kids to be thier best Sevrin has been working with her only 4 months on guitar and she has learned so much so fast. They really are an amazing group of humans the really are passionate about music, they love what they do, and it shows

The staff is very knowledgeable , and they have a variety quality used instruments at good prices.read more

Love this place! Great personal service. They always do an amazing job efficiently and with very…read morereasonable prices. Bonus, the place has a great vibe but maybe because it's filled with beautiful instruments

Went today; noonish, walked in and there was a gentleman sitting on a stool by the counter and…read moredoor. He was on playing on his cell phone. He nodded to me as I walked in; I said Hi, and he returned to his phone. I stood at the counter; he continued on his phone and ignored me. I left after a minute or so.... Took my business to a music shop in a close by town.

This place offers both great service and a wonderful selection of toys, games, instruments,…read morepuzzles, educational activities, and unique gifts. We tried some of the musical instruments on display. And enjoyed deciding what puzzle to purchase, as they had a lot of colorful and quirky options. Ended up getting a playful 1000-piece Ravensburger (with bunnies in the art), though we took some time exploring the many other interesting items in the store too, as they have multiple rooms as you go further into the back, including a music room. Awesome shop for both kids and adults alike.

Fiat Music has been serving Pinole for a very long time. I remember their old location in the same…read morelocation. Fiat has been in Pinole since Lucky was there and with Traders Joe it is still in business. I never took lesson at Fiat but I have gotten piano music sheets and information on piano. The woman that owns Fiat is very nice. Fiat Music Co serving Pinole for a long time and is a historic landmark.

I really love this shop. It is all the history of the valleys music in one small spot. However, the…read moreparking is terrible for the whole shopping center, and while the hours of the store are fantastic, they need to get a better organization system for returning instruments that have been worked on. They did fantastic work on my guitar and for a good price, but I had to go three times after my guitar had been fixed, and even then they could not find the receipt to give me information on how much it was (even though I had my copy of the receipt), and at least once they refused to return my guitar, even though I could see it behind the counter only because they could not find the receipt. I wish nothing but the best for the store and I will definitely be back because of its fantastic service for instruments and lessons for music enthusiasts. I just wish they had a better organizational system for the tickets.