Quick summary: extremely knowledgable, flexible, tailored to my specific needs, reasonable and affordable pricing... a music teacher who really cares I feel super fortunate to have found Devin as my piano teacher. I was classically trained growing up but in recent years have been craving to learn jazz piano, especially wanting to improvise. It felt like a far-off dream, but through my few lessons with Devin I have been pleasantly surprised at my own ability, which he has helped me unlock. He truly is so knowledgable and delivers that knowledge skillfully -- as in, he doesn't overload you with irrelevant information, and only relays what is relevant to the current subject we are working on. Devine is encouraging but does not give empty praise -- he is very transparent with his feedback and this feels very effective. He keeps me super engaged -- there is a great balance of theory and explanation / allowing me to apply the theory through playing and answering questions on the spot. There have been moments, especially at the beginning, when I felt intimidated and nervous to improvise on the spot (as this is something I'd never really done before). Devin was understanding of these emotions and created a safe space for me to go out of my comfort zone. These moments of being challenged are super invaluable to me and his method of doing so really suits me. The lessons are paced well for me and feel very tailored to my needs. Devin always prioritizes my questions for each lesson, and based on those, creates a lesson plan on the spot to address them all. I really enjoy the fact that I can ask super specific questions and we can go on tangents about music theory and history. Speaking of music history, I also appreciate that Devin is so acknowledging of the fact that we are playing in the realm of Western music, which is only a small fraction of all the musical cultures that exist. As a person of color, this foundation of thinking is really important to me. I searched for a long time to find an in-person teacher because that was what I was used to, and I believed it would work best for me. However, I realized that the online lessons work perfectly well and I can't see any downsides of them. I think this is partially because I have enough background in technique, so I don't need him to be adjusting my hands / seeing my fingering and all the other physical stuff associated with piano. This being said, perhaps if you are a complete beginner, try to start with in-person lessons with Devin to make sure you have all the basic techniques locked in as this will affect your playing later on. I am used to more structure and rigidity -- my classical lessons always centered around learning a piece and playing it during lessons, with very clear homework. So it took some time to get used to the more flexible and free-form nature of learning jazz piano (and perhaps it is also his particular teaching style). I think it has been an excellent practice for me in self-discipline. However, if you benefit a lot from extreme structure, you can always ask Devin to provide that. I am personally enjoying the challenge of improvisation as my homework! Devin has offered me many tools and frameworks for thinking about piano and improvisation, all of which have made piano feel way more approachable and inviting than it used to. I also marvel at his ability to be so enthusiastic, engaged and creative for each and every lesson. I've had many music teachers in my life and he is one of the best! read more

Devin is an amazing music teacher. He's easy to work with, very knowledgeable and professional. It has been a great pleasure to study piano with him since September 2020. I've had many musical breakthroughs since then. Devin is a patient musical guide. His technicality and training helped me to achieve my dream of singing popular songs with full piano accompaniment. I have a deep appreciation for music and my prior music teachers were rigid in their approach, which didn't enable me to grow musically. Devin's flexible, caring approach helped me to immediately tap into my abilities at the keyboard. It has helped immensely that Devin offers remote lessons via Zoom, which make it highly convenient for students living further away. I look forward to more musical breakthroughs with Devin as my guide. Highly recommended! read more

I've been taking piano lessons with Devin since September 2020. It's been over 2 years. I started with zero knowledge of piano or reading music. Basically, I started from scratch. And Devin has been a very patient teacher. In the very first lesson, he tries to understand what I already knew and what my goals were in order to tailor the lessons that help me achieve my goals. He's professional, knowledgeable, and understanding. The lessons are conducted over Zoom which is cool. But it's no different from in-person lessons. Try hitting one note wrong and he'll notice right away. You don't have to follow the Alfred series if you don't want to. Devin always encourages me to learn what I like. We work on pieces that I like of the series. If you're not a beginner like me and you're interested in music production, Devin can totally help with that. Pricing is also reasonable compared to other teachers in the Bay Area. It doesn't hurt to reach out and give it a try to see if he's the right teacher for you :) read more

Devin is the best music teacher I have had in many years of taking lessons off and on. This is because 1. He is extremely flexible: want to get into theory? Great! Want to just make music and learn about music production? Cool. Even though we are in zoom, I look forward to all the lessons. As a bonus, Devin is great with kids. He has been doing some light teaching of my 6yo daughter and he really listens to figure out how she wants to learn. read more

Devin Farney - My daughter on zoom lessons. - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me

I've had the pleasure of working closely with Devin for several years. He is technically proficient, expedient when needed, and highly collaborative. He is skilled in teaching composition, theory best-practices, piano, working on notation projects, and arrangement. Overall Devin is incredibly patient, intuitive, and an excellent creative problem-solver. read more

Devin Farney - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me

I found Devin through yelp and had high hopes because of all the 5-star reviews. I wish I could say my experience lived up to everything I read here. I started teaching myself to play the piano recently. I last played 40 years ago (but only for a short time) so I consider myself a raw beginner. I've been using the Alfred's all-in-one piano course books and recently also picked up their book on theory, but explained to Devin that I didn't want to be limited to only reading sheet music and that I also wanted to eventually have the ability to play music with other people. The main issue I had is that Devin never seemed particularly interested in hearing me play. Over the course of six lessons, I listened to him play much more than the other way around! One of the things I wanted from lessons was feedback on my playing, but I spent most of each hour listening to him talk. When I mentioned that I'd like feedback, he suggested I record myself playing for him instead which I did. But then he continued to either talk or play his own piano rather than listen to the recordings. Other things - when he asked me how things were coming along with practice, I'd tell him about songs that I had an easy time with or a difficult time with and he just sort of took my word for it rather than saying "let me hear" or "let's see where you're having a hard time and work through it" which I would have appreciated. - I asked for a recommendation of a music theory book and he wouldn't give me one. Instead he said that he was planning to write one ... someday. I'm not sure how that was supposed to be helpful to me now, but it gave me some insight into his ego. So I did a search and eventually bought the Alfred's music theory book (which has been hugely helpful) and he said condescendingly, "that's just notation" (in fact, while the book does start with notation, it moves on to more complex concepts pretty quickly). - we used a google doc to keep track of material covered during lessons, which seemed like a great idea in the beginning, but it never felt very organized. we jumped around from one concept to another without a lot of continuity. My sense is that he doesn't remember what it's like to be a beginner, therefore he doesn't have much patience for a beginner. - his location listed here is a bit misleading. He's not In San Francisco (neither is he in Santa Cruz as his area code might suggest), but instead is in the East Bay (Danville? Castro Valley? I can't remember exactly, but definitely too far for me to take in-person lessons). All of our lessons were over zoom - during one lesson, I mentioned that I was feeling bored with my job and he said "try teaching piano for twenty years" read more

I've been studying/working with Devin for the past year and a half, and I think he's an incredible music teacher and producer, who's extremely professional, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and reliable, and willing to work with a person at the level where they are, then bring them further along their musical path. I have a somewhat different experience than others who have written a review, as I'd been a closet songwriter composing pop/adult contemporary songs, yet hadn't done anything with them nor had I intended to. I found Devin on Yelp, because I wanted to learn to play my songs better on the piano. I only knew how to play one chord at a time and knew some music theory, but had no interest in being a classical pianist or virtuoso. During our first lesson on Zoom, he taught me right away how to improve on my playing and my songs started to sound great. He really knows theory and how to play piano and other instruments. We did a few piano lessons, until one day he told me that he also produces music if I ever needed it. When he said that, he revived a dream I had given up on, to produce my music and make an album to share with the world. I had tried to produce with others in the past, but they just didn't have the same skills, experience and creativity, so didn't work out. We pivoted from music lessons to production for several months. Now I have my first 5-song EP, which is on iTunes, Spotify, etc., and I'm also trying to get my songs into shows or movies. Devin patiently took me through every step of this journey, as he has also produced his own and others' music. He's very knowledgeable about this area, and also knows pitfalls to avoid. His consistency (we met every week), expertise, professionalism and unselfishness made this happen, and I'm so thankful to him for this. So now that the album is out, what am I doing? I've gone back to lessons to improve on my piano skills so I can perform my songs better, as I'm starting to slowly play my music live. None of this would have happened, had I not met Devin. I'll continue to study piano and produce more songs with him, and I highly recommend him to everyone. read more

Devin played piano at our wedding and we couldn't have been happier with our choice. We had a lot of specific requests, including 3 specific song requests, one of which was a duet with my husband's sister who's a cellist. Devin was very helpful over the phone, talking through the details of the day and how we'd prepare for and rehearse the duet. We shared sheet music over email ahead of time, then met in person the day before the wedding for a quick rehearsal. He was prepared and had made sure to learn the songs that were in the medley. Day of, it was flawless. The timing of the song with the bridal entrance went off perfectly. We also asked for him to play a pretty tricky Billy Joel tune for a fun dance and he practiced and prepared that as well. To top it all of, we got a surprise when we found Devin had worked with my husband's mother on preparing and rehearsing a musical number for her speech! During the speech, she said "hit it Devin" and then he accompanied her while she sang. So cool that he was willing to do all these special things, in addition to playing beautiful pop and jazz tunes during cocktail hour and dinner. Devin was a huge and memorable part of our wedding day. read more

Devin is an amazing teacher. I have been taking lessons from him for couple years now. He was able to adapt to my changing needs...starting with piano basics and and now helping guide me through composing my own original music. He is patient, knowledgeable and respectful. If you want to improve your skills, Devin will help you get there. read more

I am a mature adult and have had the pleasure to work with Devin periodically over the past 6-7 years. I have found him to be supportive, professional and intuitive. I was a fairly advanced pianist at a young age, and then abandoned my music practice. Devin has helped me restore confidence and explore new options such as digital composition. As a professional coach myself, I can say that Devin takes a "leading from behind" coaching approach to his teaching work with adults. He is a highly accomplished pianist and musician, and he is patient and an excellent teacher. I highly recommend him to all levels of students. read more

Devin is a fantastic teacher. I started taking music theory and composition lessons from Devin a few months ago over Zoom. He is adept at quickly zeroing in on what level your knowledge is at and adjusting to meet you where you are. He's flexible and obliges me when I take our lessons way off course to go explore a question. It's clear that he draws from an incredibly vast amount of skills and experience and yet never comes across as intimidating or condescending. He's great at being a support while trying to build out your foundation, no matter if it's around theory, piano, composition, production or whatever. More than all of that, he's just always upbeat and fun to learn from. No matter what you interested in learning about, you'd be in good hands with Devin as a music teacher. read more

I've been taking music lessons from Devin for a few months now and finally asked him - hey Devin, you on yelp? He's not...so I told him I'd add him. I'm taking music lessons really for the first time in my life (save for an embarrassing stint with the flute in 5th grade - thanks mom, great idea!). I've got a piano in my place that's been giving me the guilt trip look for years, so i broke down and decided to take some lessons. I'm not tone deaf, but I'm close. And I'm an adult - so, old dog, new tricks. I don't have much to compare Devin to, but I'll tell you his style and why I like it. 1. He has you pick the book you want to learn from. This was a little daunting at first, but ended up working out well, as I chose one on amazon that was getting good reviews. 2. He divides lessons into 'work' and 'fun' (my usage). Work is for working through the book. Fun is for working on songs you like - for me, Ben Folds. 3. He comes to you - I don't know much about piano lessons, but I guess that's pretty unique. 4. Great rates - $45 an hour, seems very competitive based on what little research I did. 5. Talent - yeah, of course he's talented - that's what you'd expect from a music teacher. He's also a talented teacher and seems to be able to identify my problems, or the reasons I'm getting stuck, much easier than I am. Sort of hard to explain this - but basically, he's tutored enough to know where people find difficulty and why - so it's easy for him to translate my fumbling to explain what's not working into a solution. Great stuff. *His website needs some work. No matter, you're taking lessons in person, not on the web. Do you want a musician or a web geek? I'll be the latter, Devin is the former. Good for me. **Thanks to Kara for pointing me in his direction. read more

How many composers do you know? He writes the real stuff, not commercials. I thought those guys were all dead. Devin's laid back and flexible. I'm learning classical piano lessons and some more contemporary stuff. He explains things in english, not music lingo. You can he digs what he does and that makes learning from him interesting. read more

Devin Farney has been a wonderful Piano Teacher for me over the last 2-years. He has helped me grow significantly in my piano abilities and continues to keep me interested. I am an adult in my early 30s (late 20s when I started) and under his instruction, I have grown from a beginner who could fumble his way through Alfreds 1 to a strong intermediate player playing pieces like Debussy's Arabesque 1 and Mozart's Ronda Alla Turca. Devin is extremely flexible with scheduling and I am sure he will help you out. Aaron read more

Devin is awesome. Great guy, brilliant musician, talented teacher. I've only been going to him for guitar lessons for a few months now, every other week, and I've already improved more than I thought possible, both in my technical skill and in my understanding of music. All around great. read more

**UPDATE** It's over 2 years now and it's still great. I feel like I can really play the piano and enjoy myself. This is the teacher you want...if you can get him. --- I've been studying with Devin now for about 2 months, and it's been a superb experience. He's a very flexible teacher, and primarily interested in enabling you to enjoy what you play, not just trudge along through a one-size-fits-all approach of learning. Devin's own musicality is delightful to enjoy, and I am learning at a pace I hadn't expected. He's a great teacher for anyone who's interested in learning the piano for the first time, or wants to understand music theory. Absolutely top-notch. You go, Devin! read more

I'm still working with Devin, and he's still helping me get more out of my playing. Also nice that he's been flexible with my increasingly hectic work schedule. read more

I am so happy with Devin's lessons! He seems intuitive as to what information to give me..... to unlock my mental blocks. Just the right amount so I am not overwhelmed and discouraged, nor getting stuck. He will keep you moving right along. I really believe this man can teach anybody, in any style of music, at any level! Patient, kind, and prompt!!! 5 BIG STARS!! read more

Devin is a great teacher. I have been taking piano lessons with him for about 6 months and I can't believe the progress that I've made! I am playing classical pieces that I never thought I would learn. Devin is very flexible and whether you are a beginner just starting out or in my case, picking it up again and several years, Devin is someone who will help you achieve your goals. read more

I've been taking piano lessons from Devin for a couple of months now and I find him both talented, very patient, challenging yet inspiring. I learnt to play piano as a child but then quit. When I retired from work around 10years ago I restarted with lessons from a very talented symphony pianist who had never heard of Hoagy Carmichael. Although I do love many classics, particularly Debussy and Chopin, I do love jazz and particularly jazz piano and have many recordings from the jazz greats: Tyner, Evans, Monk, Hancock, Corea etc. and recently Jessica Williams. After one or two other teachers I found Devin and he's just great. I find practicing, now, although very challenging, is no chore. Every lesson zips by and I have a mountain to climb before the next. Bottom line: If you want a talented teacher well versed in music theory, classics and Jazz Devins your man. Treat him well.. read more

I've been taking piano lessons from Devin for about 6 months now and am thoroughly enjoying it. I don't usually write yelp reviews but felt compelled to here because I'm so happy with my lessons. Devin is very professional and has adapted well to my learning style and musical background (I played tuba for 12 years but don't know anything about the piano). He's also clearly an expert musician. read more

I'm having Jazz piano lesson with Devin right now. I'm very happy with him. I can play songs that I've been wanted to play for a long time in just a few months (actually just a few weeks). Highly recommend. read more

I've been taking lessons from Devon for a couple of months now and found him on yelp. He is great....I'm actually bummed that I had to cancel a lesson today due to our whole family coming down with a nasty sinus infection....he is a fantastic teacher...he is always encouraging, yet is constantly challenging you. He never makes me feel like a moron when I mess up and is always incredibly professional. I'd highy recommend him to anyone looking for any sort of music instruction. read more

Devin is a wonderful piano teacher. I'm an adult with no musical background so it was with some trepidation that I embarked on formal music lessons. I thought that musical theory would be one of the harder elements to master, but Devin has a gift of making it seem really rather simple and the information sticks. He is the consummate professional and has been very accommodating with my work schedule. If you are looking for someone who is going to berate you for not practicing, Devin is not your guy, but perhaps that's why you gave up when you were younger! Highly recommend. read more

A long review. I am somewhat of an oddball in terms of my musical background and knowledge, because while I have spent an enormous amount of time with music, - various styles and directions, on various instruments, also playing in bands as a kid for a long time, I even considered studying music -, I had never quite gotten around to pull all elements together, really developing my own music, due to a large part because of a lack in a more formally structured approach - mostly, I worked by ear, or even if by book, self-taught. Also, I am not a native English speaker, and have learned some or much of my musical theory in German (classical), and some of it in English (pop, etc)... About a year ago, I started taking guitar lessons with Devin (found via craigslist), because I wanted to first basically find the quickest way to understand and play solo my favorite more interesting rock/pop/folk songs, and guitar was one instrument I had dabbled with in the past, and sufficiently simple to pick up again. Get some quick musical validation and gratification, I guess. Devin was amazing at figuring out a song's elements and harmonic and melodic structures - songs he had never heard before, on the fly. Some of this, no doubt, because pop is structurally simple compared to the type of compositions he is analyzing and working on in his own studies. He transcribed songs from other instruments to the guitar on the spot! He was also great at explaining the reasons for some of the approaches, tunings, etc in ways that connected bits and pieces of knowledge I had. He would understand and accept my own imperatives, as to what was important to me about a song, and how I would like or need to do it. And he was able to clearly tell me what I did wrong, and why something wouldn't sound the way I wanted it to sound, and which choices worked or not. After only a few months of weekly lessons, I was basically able to play through most of the repertoire I had set out to cover, no problem. Eventually, I realized several things: too many songs I am interested in were written on or for piano, that being able to understand, play, and maybe construct (compose) songs on piano would widen my options, and further guitar lessons might have required more of a specialization - eg into fast finger picking - than I was really willing to go with or found of interest (at 16, you may have the time to play eight hours a day for weeks to get one pattern, or picking, or some quirk your favorite guitarist's pinky was able to do, right - as a working adult, what you can put in, and what you should shoot for, is different). And it might have meant looking for more of a guitar-slinging teacher. I also clearly realized that Devin is a great, realiable and communicative teacher I can work with - which is not a given... so, at that point I decided to stay with Devin, but switch to piano - which I had also dabbled with before, but again with little formal training. Now - that was one of the best things I ever did - and I should have done a long time ago - and with a teacher exactly like Devin! While it was kind of painful, this time around I wanted to start systematically, and we went back to musical square zero, with an (adult) beginner's book, back to middle C... Within the past months, even with my somewhat limited practicing time (loong commute, lotsa work, and a kid), we still went through almost the entire first book, with Devin always being supportive and helping me along the way, insisting on working out the important aspects of a new piece, moving on at the right points in time... well, at the current speed, give me a year, and I should be able to play some of the things I am interested in in jazz and classical, and probably most things outside those areas, in some fashion. And I know that there is a lot of space for me to develop, with Devin, because he has a wide range of interests, experiences, and sound musical knowledge, and will be able to support, guide and develop me. So - if you need guitar or piano lessons, specifically if you need someone who can connect and make sense of music, whatever your current knowledge, Devin is The Man! read more

I have been taking weekly piano lessons from Devin for about 9 months, and started taking guitar lessons from him as well about 2 months ago. For anyone who may be interested, he is more than willing to split an hour lesson into 30 minutes of piano and 30 minutes of guitar. I would recommend (and I HAVE recommended) Devin to others without hesitation. First of all, he really knows his stuff. I had taken piano lessons for 10 years, with a 10 year hiatus, before starting with Devin. He is more than able to handle all of my theoretical questions without missing a beat. He really understands, and is good at explaining, all of the nuances of music theory. Second of all, Devin is extremely encouraging and positive, and really makes learning fun, no matter what your level may be. Third, he is great at identifying strengths and weaknesses and working to tailor his lessons to cater to your individual needs. And lastly, he really works to make the experience into what YOU want it to be. He understands that some of us work long hours and do not always have time to practice each week, and he absolutely will not guilt trip you if you do not show improvement during a specific week. Devin really appreciates that some of us are taking lessons for the sheer luxury of having just 1 hour per week to focus on music, and he is perfectly fine with it! I feel that I have experienced the range of Devin's abilities as a music teacher, being an intermediate to advanced piano student and also a beginner guitar student, and I can confidently say that Devin can handle the full range. If you are considering making music a part of your life for the first time, or getting back into music after a long period away, I highly recommend Devin. Also, from a procedural standpoint, Devin is very flexible - he comes to your home if you like, he charges very reasonable rates, and he is consistent, punctual and reliable! Overall, it would be very difficult to do better. read more

I had the most wonderful experience with Devin recently and I am grateful for his fast, professional, and super high quality services- all for a really fair (if not low) fee. I hired him to transcribe a recording of my Mom singing a song that she had written. She had written down the lyrics and I recorded her singing it. I emailed these to Devin. He had a few questions for me, and then, in a very short period of time, he sent me a draft final of the sheet music (or lead sheet as he called it). I had him add one bit of info to the final, based on his recommendation. VOILA! Done! I could even pay him quickly and easily via PayPal. The whole experience of working with Devin - start to finish - FAR exceeded my expectations (and I have high expectations)! I am thrilled with the finished product. Thank you so much Devin! This is going to be a truly magical Mother's Day gift and I could not have done it without you! read more

I've been taking piano lessons from Devin for almost a year and he has really helped me raise my level from a novice beginner to someone who can pretty confidently take a decent shot at all the Alfred's basic adult piano course compositions , some of which are pretty complex, I must say. I did one-hour lessons once a week but the hour was compact and intense and really gratifying. What I like about Devin is he teaches across the whole gamut - from theory, notes, piano fingering to actually playing compositions. Besides being able to read notes from the staff and learning about the various scales and chords, the practice and pace of teaching was just right. I feel like I could have improved a lot more if only I spent some time practicing at home during the week. Even though I didn't due to my hectic work schedule - just the one hour class was a great session. I would highly recommend Devin to anyone who wishes to learn piano - he is friendly, relaxed, flexible, adapts to your pace of learning and tailors the lesson according to your need and level. read more