He's a great jazz piano instructor. He's patient and obviously very good at what he does.read more

Josh has to be one of the best music instructors in the area…read more I am largely self taught and have tried private lessons over the past 10 years and am usually left disappointed. This is not the case with Josh. I still mostly teach myself but I find myself coming back to him over and over again to check in with my progress so that he could make adjustments. Even though at a certain level I think everyone eventually teaches themselves I now see the value of finding someone who knows his/her stuff to guide you and check in once in awhile. Josh seems to have a natural talent for psychology , which I have found to be one of the most important factors for teaching music. He is able to diagnose habitual errors and try to correct your practicing so that it is productive and fun. He is also one of the few teachers I have had that really tries to get to know what kind of music the student is into, regardless of how simple or complex it is. I could send him tunes ranging from Debussy to folk songs to get him to know the 'sound' I am trying to chase. Needless to say, the guy knows his music inside out. He is best known for klezmer music but I came to him for Jazz. He understands jazz theory and can simplify the concepts (without dumbing it down) to make it practical. He also is trained classically so he brings a deep understanding of the structure of harmony, which can give you insight into your own compositions. All in all if you could afford lessons I highly recommend Josh. If you can't afford weekly lessons I still recommend taking a lesson every once in awhile with him when you are in a rut-- you will be surprised at all the insights he could bring from one lesson.

My 4 1/2 year old son (Mason) has been taking weekly lessons from Dylan for a few months now. Dylan…read moreis incredibly patient, treats Mason with respect and humor, and has been super thoughtful about coming up with creative ways to teach such a young kid. Mason has committed about 20 chords to memory and has even started to play along (poorly, mind you ) while we sing kids' songs together. It has been a lot of fun to watch Dylan and Mason working together; I would definitely recommend him for anybody looking for a thoughtful and extremely talented guitar teacher. Mason's review: "Dylan is a GREAT guitar teacher - I learned chords! And he has bunnies that look cool and are black."

Updating to say that now both my 10.5YO son and I each take lessons with Dylan twice/week, and I…read morestill have only the best things to say about him. He's very patient, and adapts to the individual student while still emphasizing music theory and technique. My son focuses on electric guitar and bass, while I'm obsessed with acoustic.

Hard to decide whether it's the attitude, mediocre work, long waits and/or the inflated prices…read morethat's the problem. He damaged a vintage guitar and bragged endlessly about a mediocre job with another. He's been kicked out of the Bay Area Guitar Show and the expensive guitars he builds, to my ears, sound like crap. Am sure that, with a little bit of effort, you can find someone much better to fix your guitar.

If your guitar has issues, and you need it sorted out sharpish, John is the man to see.read more

My 9-year-old son loves School of Rock. He looks forward to his keyboard lessons with Jo every…read moreweek, and the Rock Band experiences with Mike and Angel are always a blast. The school strikes a great balance between following each kid's interests and building real teamwork skills. Everyone belongs at SOR!

This place seems to be poorly run. We scheduled a lesson, organized our Saturday around it, and…read moredrove 15 min. for it. When we got there, they said they saw they had confirmed over email but it "didn't make it into their system." Rather than apologizing, the person tending the front desk shrugged and said, "Mistakes happen."

So glad to see Jim active as he is the best news in progressive jazz modes…read more.. It is so simply put with no charades and judgmental posturing I have encountered before. I passed on my experiences to others who were mystified by some of the rhetoric and needed help with ear training... I was relieved to see how much could be cleared up. His courses helped me communicate better to other soloists in my band.

Jim Grantham writes the books the musicians play. He is "The Source" for Jazz Theory and Practice…read moreand presents clearly, concisely and with precision. He spans a 40+ year career as a player and teacher, and plays with the best. If you are serious about music and love Jazz, study w/ Jim. He's the best!

Matthew is, hands down, the best music instructor I've ever had, on any topic…read more My musical background - both in theory and technique - is pretty scattered. After college, I decided I wanted to learn the cello, so I searched Craigslist to find a teacher. I recognized Matthew's name from Ifshin's and he had a good review from the Berkeley Parents Network, so I decided to schlep up to El Cerrito (from South Berkeley, without a car, with a large instrument) to attend a lesson. Matthew was able to quickly, accurately, fluidly gauge what topics I understood and which I needed help on, and immediately cobbled together a lesson in which I felt not a single minute was wasted. I came away from that lesson feeling like I'd learned more from him in an hour that I'd learned from other teachers in six months. I was hooked. Since I already had a basic background in music theory, Matthew jumped pretty quickly into teaching me straight from repertoire. Matthew himself is quite an excellent musician - very artistic and expressive - and gives similarly excellent instruction on musicianship. He has the unusual ability of being extremely precise about what he wants you, the student, to do to achieve a given effect. (And is very good at being precise from several different approaches until you have that 'a-ha!' moment.) He's been very patient with me on the days that my head just hasn't been in the game and very persistent in making sure I get something out of those lessons, anyhow. Because of his high degree of achievement in cello and his patience, innovation, and keen intellect, Matthew would probably be a wonderful teacher from everyone from complete novices to seasoned professionals. (He does, in fact, teach both these levels, but I can only speak from my own experience. :P ) I have moved towns twice since I started taking lessons with him and, six years later, he is still absolutely worth the transbay drive.

I am very lucky to have found Matthew as a cello teacher. I started to learn to play the cello as a…read morebeginner since almost a year and can strongly recommend him as a teacher. It has been an amazing experience for me to play the cello ever since I started my lessons with Matthew. He is amazing, extremely patient and explains musical concepts and the cello as an instrument to an adult with great precision. In addition, he has a great ability to communicate and can provide explanations to you that suits perfectly well to the way you can understand, which is essential for learning. He always has an analogy to an everyday movement when you learn a new technique that is a great help. Matthew is a remarkable person and has a great personality. He can combine his understanding of humans with his teaching extremely well. Although sometimes your own performance might not be the best (e.g. because you could not practice enough for the lesson) at each lesson you learn a lot and have a smile on your face after you leave the lesson. What I like the most about Matthew's teaching is that he has an exceptional sense of creativity and tries to unmask this ability in his students.

As good as it gets...simply world class musical instruments…read more I own three! (Now four, as of 6/30/15

This guy really does make the best Ukes in the world. If you ever wanted a hand crafted ukulele…read moremade my a master luthier, check this guy out. He is at the top of his game.

I've been taking lessons with Damon for a little while now and it has been a great experience. His…read moreteaching style does not seem to revolve around a routine or lesson plan, but each lesson adds just the right new element to help me progress to another level I did not think I'd be able to understand or do. As new elements or techniques are added, he focuses on ways to learn them without being overwhelmed and to make it manageable. If I need to miss a lesson for any reason, Damon offers the chance to switch to an upload lesson, where I am able to make a video of what I am working on, and he responds with a video. These video responses are gems where he might go deeper into how I can work to improve my technique or understanding of the thing I am working on. Overall, I highly recommend Damon and Axes of E'ville.

Damon is a fantastic teacher - he puts so much thought into finding the perfect balance between…read moreteaching songs I'm interested in and the theory behind them, so I actually improve with each new song we work on. I've been taking lessons with Damon for a year and half, and it's had a huge impact on my playing. I've gone from fumbling through tabs in my living room to feeling totally comfortable playing in a band, and he's tailored our lessons to fit my abilities and interests. Beyond the music, Damon has also taught me a ton about guitars, pedals, and amps, and is an incredible font of knowledge in the quest for tone. He helped me select and test drive my new amp, and even taught me how to work on my guitar - including meeting in-person to teach me how to replace pickups, install copper shielding, and generally spiff up my guitar. Can't recommend lessons with Damon highly enough!