Great friendly local shop. Take my kid for lessons every week and he loves it. I'm happy to support our local music shop that has been here for years. Highly Recommended!! read more

Dropped by here because I heard they did guitar repairs and sure enough they were more than willing the help me. Jake was really helpful in explaining everything and even chased me down when I forgot a pack of guitar strings that I bought. My guitar should be ready by the end of the week and the process was both cheap and painless - exactly what I was hoping for. read more

I didn't find EXACTLY the harmonica that I was looking for, but still ended up buying two because I was given a 20% discount. The people here are AWESOME! read more

I always try to support smaller local music shops and this is a great reason why. I came in to purchase an acoustic/electric ukulele and got great service from them. They cut me a deal even and I walked out the happiest girl! They even gave me a new set of strings for my uke and offered to string it for me when the time comes. Great place to shop for instruments or accessories. read more

My kids attend piano class here. Teachers are patient and very knowledgeable. My son who is 9 years old have tried many instruments and did not like it after the first week. The teachers made sure he go at his own pace. My 5 year old daughter absolutely loves the Yamaha piano class. They look forward to attending class and practice when they are asked to at home. Parking is hard and that is the only draw back. read more

I came here looking for sheet music and technique books for piano when I took up playing again recently. One of the staff members helped me to find a book that was right where I needed to start and was really helpful in showing me where I should go after I finished that one. It's nice to have this store so close by, and with such kind people to help you out! read more

This is a review for the Yamaha piano lessons (not the retail store). Was recommended the Yamaha system through my son's preschool teacher. I remember quitting piano after my teacher hit my hand everytime I played incorrectly. I wanted to find a different way to learn for my son. It is really amazing how Ms Sue is able to manage a class of 3.5 to 5 year olds for almost an hour. She spends a good amount of time training their ear to recognize notes and chords. She uses different instruments to show rhythms. There is a great animated dvd with songs for kids to play along with at home. After about 10 classes, my 4 yr old son was able to play with both hands in different keys, read some notes on both bass & treble clef. Amazing when this is the age where they're still learning how to write letters. Ms Sue told us that the main goal is to make sure the child enjoys music. He definitely enjoys playing & even starting to try to play songs from the radio by ear. I wish I had this class when I was growing up but I am enjoying learning together with him. He loves going there & he loves Ms Sue. read more

I happened to pass by this store last year when they had a mini concert , I liked the concept of it trying to bring talent together. This year I visit the area again and just wanted to stop by and check out some guitars, they have much more collection and things are more organised there.The sales girl there was very helpful and was knowledgeable about the instrument, I believe her name was Catherine. Definitely a little gem, because the customer service will not let you down:) read more

Michael Thomas is a great violin teacher, very patient and encouraging. As an adult student who had never played the violin before, I found his style very effective, particularly the manner in which he explains the fundamentals and his emphasis on the importance of reading music. Despite his strict adherence to the importance of understanding the theory and structure of music, he is approachable, friendly and flexible in working with students of different abilities and skills. I really enjoyed my lessons and made a huge amount of progress in just a few months, going from not being able to play anything on the violin to taking on a number of complicated pieces. I would recommend Michael to anyone looking to try violin or piano lessons. read more

This review is for the Piano teacher Rebecca. She is a good instructor who teaches music in a way that supports you. Depending on what you want to learn, she knows her stuff. I have been there a few times and have improved a lot since. Now, music requires a lot of practice and without it, no matter who teaches you, you won't get anywhere. Have patience and practice as you will see in no time the improvement. Rebecca has been very good at understanding my struggles at times and have good exercises to overcome difficulties in learning the songs I wanted to play. I would recommend her if you are starting out and want someone that understands your level of music. read more

This place is very nice. The teachers are wonderful and helpful. They have lots of guitars and pianos you can try out. Cool!

My daughter took drum lessons here from one of their teachers, Avishai, and he was great. He kept her on track and developed her skills well. read more

Who would have guessed that Exploring Music offers Yamaha Piano lessons. We have always heard good things about Yamaha Piano lessons and were thrilled to find one in the city. Enrolled them two years ago and the lessons are simply amazing. Our two sons love it, the teacher (Sue) is great. She cares a great deal about the students and makes the lessons extremely entertaining. She has her own unique way to capture each and every student's attention. It is really not easy to keep kids as young as 3 engaged for the entire 1 hour. Our sons attend the group lesson at their sunset location. The students keep each other motivated and they learn not only piano but music appreciation, ear training, singing and composition as well. A parent knows the teacher is doing something right when the kids ask to go to class and practice piano without asking. Now, every kid is different, ours really love Yamaha Piano lesson and the other students in the same class seem to love it as well. read more

After submitting my not so positive review, Exploring Music responded in kind and offered to refund or exchange my instrument. Congratulations and great response to keep your customers happy. read more

My children have loved coming to this music store over the years, and after shopping around, my oldest son bought a great guitar for an incredibly low price here at Exploring Music a few years ago, that was much more expensive elsewhere. The staff has always been helpful and knowledgeable, and not pushy either. They want you to be happy and get a good instrument, but have great sales all the time so you can afford to get something well-made in your budget. Our oldest boys have also rented music instruments for their school's 4th and 5th grade music classes here, and I have always bought the insurance policy which is reasonable, and hoped I would never need to use it. Well, my middle son's flute went missing at school in mid-May, and he searched for it daily, but it never was found. I dreaded that I would be stuck with having to pay for that missing flute, but was so pleased that our insurance policy was honored, and the staff were very understanding. I cannot tell you how pleased I was, and they gave us our deposit back without any hassles. To families that are going to rent an instrument, go to this store for your instrument, and get that insurance policy! It is not that expensive, and worth every penny, as they do keep their end of the deal on it, and that is wonderful. I was told also that their shop has seen a rise in people coming in with instruments, claiming they are returning them for their child,to try to get the deposit money. Exploring Music has been very careful, as they have a copy of your info and photo identification, etc so they check things, so no one can scam you or them out of your deposit! I am sorry to hear that people are doing this, but am pleased that this store has been on top of things to protect the customer's identity and deposit. I hope that this mean crime will stop, as stealing children's instruments is really a horrid thing to do, and taints a child's musical education experience. I am glad that Exploring Music is doing their best for children to have the opportunity to rent a good instrument at a reasonable price, and that they offer this insurance policy too. Please go there for your instrument needs for your children-the staff is excellent and very caring. They truly want children to develop a love of music and skills with an instrument! read more

Can't imagine a better piano teacher than Michael Thomas. Interesting guy too. And ladies.....he's SINGLE!!! :)))) This place definitely looks a bit run down, though. Needs some remodeling. read more

My son takes violin lessons here. We actually bought his 3/4 sized violin used here last year - it was very reasonable and I was thrilled to find out that they also give lessons. He's been at his lessons for a year and loves his teacher and the violin. They have been through some ownership changes that have been a bit confusing for me, but we've gotten through it just fine. I love that it is a neighborhood place and that they offer a wide variety of instruments, accessories, sheet music and a couple of lesson rooms. I do agree with one reviewer that it could be cleaned up a bit, but if anyone has every been in a really music studio they would say the same thing. It's all about the music! read more

I bought a Xinghai tenor saxophone from this store,and most recently I tried to check the value on it, there was no value.this mistake cost 550.00 plus tax. I will never ever go here again and I will tell all my music friends about this as well. read more

Great store with very knowledgable and friendly staff. I popped in a while back to purchase some replacement strings for my wife's guitar. Although all I purchased were some strings, the guy behind the counter took the time to explain the stringing process and even offered to string and tune the guitar if I brought it in. We were so impressed with the level of customer service that my wife ended taking guitar lessons there. read more

My son came of-age to receive free music lessons through his school last Fall (2015). After researching various recommended stores in SF online, I took a gamble and decided to try Exploring Music since it was closest to our house. It has been a series of positive experiences ever since. It was a crowded Saturday afternoon when we went - but Betty greeted us kindly and guided us smoothly through the rental process. This is quite a $ investment for our household, so I took my time making sure I understood any costs associated with this type of transaction. And Betty laid everything out clearly. Additionally, I was impressed & thankful for her encouraging words to my son (who was reluctant towards learning to play in the 1st place.) My son learned about how to properly care for his instrument in school, but the lessons he received there were sub-standard. So I went back to Exploring Music, and Betty connected us with a wonderful trumpet teacher (Matthew), who has been inspiring and instructing my son ever since (at the store). *We decided to buy our trumpet that we had been leasing at the end of the school year. Matthew (who is also a professional trumpet player/musician), kindly inspected it for us to ensure us that it would be a wise investment. For anyone looking into starting their child on a path in music (or just looking into it for themselves...), I would highly recommend Exploring Music. read more

Great store and service. Went there to buy a Revival guitar. Travis was very professional, knowledgeable and friendly. No push or rush to close the deal. Would recommend the store to anyone. read more

It looked like they had a small selection of ukeleles. We walked in, but were completely ignored by the person behind the counter. She was on the phone, and didn't even attempt eye contact! So we walked out! Next stop, Aloha Warehouse! read more

Avishai is great!!! He's experienced and passionate about music. I've been taking drum lessons from him since ~November, and it has been a personal journey(on my part). He encourages me to go further, always challenging me, which is really important because i like a challenge. He's really good about letting me figure things out.....PLUS....he comes up with some really nice-sounding beats...i'm always impressed :-). All in all, he's an amazing teacher who breaks everything down, so there is no room for confusion. I truly do appreciate him! In addition to Avishai being such a great teacher... Exploring Music is a great place! Everyone's welcoming...the guys are cool, down-to-earth, and funny. Great place... read more

When you are looking for a drum teacher, you are looking for a person who has excellent rhythm, skill, style and of course patience and kindness to his students. and that is all about Avishai - he is your man!! Great teacher by all means!! read more

I love this music store. All staff members w/o exceptions are so friendly and helpful. Our son takes guitar lessons there. Recently he needed replacement for his guitar. Travis fixed our sons guitar free of charge. He later helped him to pick out a new instrument that our son is very happy with it. Thanks guys, you are the best! read more

Very friendly and helpful staff. I never thought of buying a piano from a store of this size but was really impressed by their professionalism and passion. The store manager, Budi, is a super nice guy. He seems to be a very honest person and I trust him completely. You don't really feel he is the store manager since he is not pushy in making sales. He tried almost all the pianos for me very patiently and made very honest comment on each of them. I heard him said "Don't buy this one." " I don't like this." "This one is not good." The other staff are also very helpful. One of them is Travis. Honestly, initially he is the reason why we came back to the store. He is the first person we talked to in this store. Again, he is not like the typical sales associate. I feel like he is there to help but not to just make sales. So far, we had bought a piano and a violon from them. Very happy. After sales service is also good. When the mover picked up the piano from the store for delivery, the store gave us a call. I was only expecting the mover to call. When I called Budi about some accessories for the violin that I thought should have been included in part of what I paid for, he patiently explained to me those are not included but at the end kindly gave it to us for free. Last but not least, I think their pricing is very competitive. Also, don't underestimate the "capacity" of this store. They can have many pianos here for you to choose from. read more

My son has been here learning piano for several months for both group and private lessons. Yuri is his favorite teacher. She' s smart and knows how to stimulate kids on practicing piano in the class and at home. The staff at reception are also nice, patient and not benefit-driven. They organized shows of students learning different instrument periodically and it's really fabulous. read more

This is a review for instrument rental for my son for the school year. DO NOT RENT INSTRUMENTS HERE.They don't regularly service the equipment they rent so the condition is crap to begin with. They dug around just to find something they could pawn off on us for the year and make their money. They didn't care anything about the quality of the rental. My son's music teacher told us that the instrument was broken so we missed a week of class and had to bring the trumpet back to be traded. All they said they could do was try to repair it so they greased it up in front of us and gave it back within 10-15 mins. By the next week it was hard to push down on the buttons again. It was so difficult my son gave up the free lessons at his school. For rentals, avoid this place at all costs. The woman who runs the place lies about giving credits or refunds saying that her system doesn't allow her to do it after a certain date has passed. I know how systems work and hers was definitely not intelligent enough to not let her manually input a credit or refund. She has the worst customer service skills. I have to admit the other folks in their are pretty good and at least try. --update Hello Sue, thank you for your response. Whomever your employee was that told you that the instrument was dented and missing parts lied to cover her actions. There was absolutely nothing missing and whatever condition the instrument was returned in was how it was rented to me. This is very upsetting. read more

Purchased a Groupon for 4 private piano lessons at Exploring Music just over a month ago. So far I've seen incredible improvement in my piano skills in a brief period of time, so happy I made that purchase. My instructor Betty is excellent!!! I look forward to my lessons every week. read more

Great place to shop for a guitar. I like the selection here and the staff is very friendly and helpful. Make sure you look for Catherine. She is very patient and knowledgeable. She answered all my questions. Thank you and would come again! read more

High quality instruments at reasonable price, occasional showcase of talents, coupled with excellent service. The staff there are friendly and seems passionate in music themselves- particularly Catherine (if I remember correctly) who found a great flute for me- very pleasant attitude and seems to always handle the whole store herself- i don't know how she does it . Many thanks to her, and to this store for providing a refuge for music lovers. 10 stars out of 5! read more

The owner contacted me and apologized. She promised to train her employees better in the future. I added 2 extra stars. Still won't go back there, but at least they acknowledged their wrong doing. read more

I go in here to buy guitar strings for my Martin acoustic. They have a good selection. It's only a block from my apt and it's nice supporting a smaller business. I went in there today to buy a guitar strap and they had a bunch for only .99 cents. You can't beat that. read more

I don't usually write such positive reviews, but this instructor, Sophia Steinberg, must be recognized. I wanted to introduce music lessons to my son and thought learning how to play a violin would have long term benefits. Since I am not a musician, far from it actually, I did not realize how difficult learning how to play an instrument can be. Ms. Sophia Steinberg has been so extremely patient and kind with my son that not only is he learning how to play the violin, he is enjoying the beauty of music. He is really loving the lessons and the challenge of the violin and looks forward to our Sunday lessons all week long. I am so proud of my child, and although I am biased as his mom, I do think he plays beautifully and it is not because of his musical genetics but because of this wonderful instructor. Thank you Ms. Sophia Steinberg for such a wonderful experience. read more

This is a great place to learn music. I was keen on my daughter joining the Yamaha program because it tries to engage small kids (3-6) in a group environment with much more than just sitting across the piano. We have been very fortunate to find Ms. Sue. In my opinion she is EXCEPTIONAL. I don't know if we can find anyone else like her! Her teaching style is the IDEAL style. She connects to the kids immediately. She is empathetic, encouraging, and very entertaining! Kids just love her style. She is constantly reinforcing the kids to participate in class with rewards which she presents to them in such a fun way. Almost all her students participate and hence feel confident to speak out. We have been in the class for nearly 2 months now (~9 classes) and my daughter has progressed way beyond our expectation. When she started she was playing with just her right hand and in just 2 months, she is comfortable with both hands and she is also playing chords with ease. I can attribute her progress to Ms. Sue who is very focused on choosing the right lessons and techniques that can advance a kid quickly. I can recommend Ms. Sue to anyone out there who wants to learn the piano. read more

I heard Yamaha Group Music Lesson from the website. This group lesson is designed for children from 3-8 for piano lesson, ear training, singing, appreciation, and fundamental of music. I enrolled my 5-year-old daughter to the class right away after we attended a half class in January, 2012 because we liked Yamaha course methods used in the class by teacher Sue. My daughter likes this class and she's had fun during an-hour training with other kids. Teacher Sue is a humor and experienced teacher, who can draw those little kids' attention to her and make them laugh as they learn. We had a great Christmas concert in 2012; all kids had a chance to perform their favorite songs on the stage. This class is located at 20th Ave. and Irving Street in Sunset. read more

Usually mom and pop type music stores are on the expensive side. Not so here -- there's a lot of really good values. Student instruments and rentals are especially reasonable. Knowledgeable and easygoing staff. No super-expensive gear, more oriented to families, students, and working folks. I usually try these folks first before going to a chain music store. read more

What can I say? This place is great! You wouldn't think it from the outside displays, but hope on inside and you'll find a friendly staff, a very wide array of instruments from cellos to pianos to wind instruments, books, accessories, and some very friendly salespeople. They helped me pick out a nifty ukulele and got me a great deal. I'll be back again, at the very least to say hello. read more

I had a great experience with Joel as my guitar teacher. He knows everything, I'm so impressed by him. Every time I was there he blew my mind. I feel like I have the good foundation I was looking for and learned more that I even expected to. read more

About 2 months ago, I started taking my 4-years-old daughter to Yamaha Music School. In the beginning, I was skeptical that my daughter would stay focused for a 50 minutes music lesson. Teacher Sue has done an amazing job and she knows how to keep little kids motivated. Since my daughter started Yamaha music course, she mentioned several times that she had fun learning music with Teacher Sue and looked forward to the lessons every week. I am happy that she is learning piano and having fun at the same time. read more