Great teacher! Patient, organized, updates lesson plans and your practice lessons - in real time. You can access your learned songs via notes, audio and even self learning through his YouTube channel: Fiddlehed. I've never met an artist/musician that puts so much thought into a students learning and makes it accessible for students to sign in to their page to see their progress. The lessons are on-time and parking is available which helps in SF! It's a very relaxed setting. I went from having violin / fiddle lessons on my aspiration list to playing over 20 songs. I've been going for a year and look forward to starting up with the group lessons to learn to play with others to change the perspective. Even better that Jason is a proven and professional musician in a gypsy rock band. I'm impressed! read more

Fiddle & Violin Lessons - In the lessons, it's all about the student pacing and playing. Great seeing instructor play in band - 2015 SF - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - San Francisco, California

Jason won't just teach you how to play the fiddle; he'll instill a joy and passion for the instrument into you. On our first lesson, while I awkwardly bowed a single note, he picked up his own fiddle and played something marvelous in accompaniment. Therefore, from the very beginning I felt like I was "making music," not just learning scales and drills, and I was hooked! This is the secret to Jason's teaching method - to get you playing as quickly as possible so that you will love it and practice your heart out just to get more of it. He's patient and encouraging and teaches by ear rather than reading music, which makes me feel like I'm making my brain smarter in an altogether new way, too. Jason's more than just a fiddle teacher - he's a spirited and talented musician in his own right, and is active in the SF music scene. If you have any doubts about the kind of fiddle player he's training you to be, go see him perform live. He'll blow you away! read more

Never had a lesson in person with Jason but his fiddle instruction site is awesome and gives me hope I may be playing this onerous instrument one day. read more

My daughter has been working with Jason for almost a year now and we're both very pleased. She has improved so much and is hooked on the fiddle! She enjoys how Jason teaches, and the wiki pages with recordings have been most helpful. Jason is a very prepared and thoughtful teacher. Communication is easy as is scheduling lessons. We couldn't be more pleased. Highly recommend! read more

Jason is great. Way exceeded my expectations. He's super on top of it and such a patient and thoughtful teacher!

I took fiddle lessons with Jason for over a year before I had to stop because we moved away. It was heartbreaking to lose such a dedicated, fun, and laid back teacher and I will really, really miss working with Jason on a weekly basis. I should preface the rest of this by saying that as a childhood trained (basic) pianist, vocalist, and terrible guitar player, I was pretty nervous to begin instrument instruction as a grown adult with a full-time job, but I am so, so glad that I did. It has been incredibly rewarding, has re-opened a whole piece of my life that I let fall by the wayside, and has made me happier and more well-rounded overall. If you're thinking about going back and learning an instrument as an adult, do it! And sign up with Jason because he makes the experience wonderful. As a teacher Jason goes above and beyond the basic requirements. He understands that life obligations sometimes get in the way of one's passion for music, and he is upbeat, encouraging, never disappointed with you and makes learning and exploring the instrument fun. Even better, he gets sincerely excited when he sees you progress and improve, and he has an endless enthusiasm for taking you music recommendations, creating lesson resources for you, and ensuring you're learning music you feel a connection to. He is open to helping you explore genres, and has a particular love for untraditional approaches to traditional music, so it's just a lot of fun to work with him. In his spare time he has created a really phenomenal website resource for all of his students with notes on their individual lessons, links to mp3s of the songs you're learning, and so many other invaluable resources for instruction and to help when you're practicing at home. I don't know any other teacher who does this- it is completely critical and was a lifesaver to me! Aside from all this, Jason is an immensely talented musician, playing with a great band, so you get to hear about his latest gigs and go to see his shows and be a part of the community he creates. I'm going to close this very long review by saying that Jason became not only a teacher but a friend to me, and in addition to the world-class teaching I received from him, I will miss his friendship and our weekly chats as part of the lesson. Do not miss out on your opportunity to hire Jason as your teacher- you will never look back, and he will change your life! read more

I am taking his lessons online and what a wonderful thing this is. I am an adult and reclaiming my first love, the violin, that was taken from me as a child. I wanted a way to just start playing now and after finding his YouTube channel it's been a JOY. THANK YOU read more

Jason has a great approach to teaching what could be a difficult instrument. As other reviews have said, he's exceedingly patient, but more important, very positive, even when you may not be. While he is an amazing fiddler, he seems to enjoy music so much that he doesn't seem bored or disinterested, even though you know he must have done these tunes a million times. He finds a way to keep it interesting. I've spoken to a few of his other students, who feel much the same way. Having had other instruments and teachers in the past, this is the experience I wish I had from the very start. Not sure why the other 9 reviews are not listed here. There's a reason they are all 5 stars! read more

Jason is a fantastic fiddle teacher! I had little musical instrument experience before starting lessons, and had never even picked up a fiddle before showing up to my first lesson. I learned a ton my first 3 months, and had a blast doing it. Jason is organized, and available- if you have questions or need more material to practice between lessons, he is happy to send more. He has a fantastic website that allows you to track your lessons, and his Youtube videos are so fun and helpful. I would recommend his lessons to anyone! read more

I am so excited that Jason has a Yelp page! Jason is THE absolute BEST teacher I've ever had. I took guitar lessons from Jason almost 10 years ago, and he even created a webpage for me to check in anytime I needed to! Jason you are truly a gift. I treasure, and feel honored I was able to take guitar lessons from you! I learned so much a lot. read more

Not to be too redundant, but everything everyone has said is true. I've played a few instruments and taken lessons from a bunch of different people, and Jason really gets how to teach. He has a plan and the tools to back it up, but he really just meets you where you are at. For me, he knows when to slow me down and keep me sticking to the fundamentals. But I'm sure he'd just as quickly speed me up if he knew that's what I needed. A+ teaching all the way through. If you are interested in fiddle, he's your guy, read more

Taking fiddle lessons from Jason has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my past two years. I was a complete beginner and he really encouraged me to keep going. I have learned scales, songs, how to play variations, how to play by ear and with music and so much more. He has a great balance of challenging you to learn while not putting too much pressure on you. He is also an awesome musician and exposed me to a lot of great music and styles. He also teaches out of his home and the atmosphere is very calm and relaxing. It is the first time I have taken music lessons when I walk out feeling better when I leave then when I came in. I would highly recommend him to anyone! read more

If you are reading this to find a violin/fiddle teacher, then you need to look NO further. Here's my story: I decided to learn the violin/fiddle well into my adult life. Why not, right? I have zero experience with the instrument and no prior musical training of any kind. A recommendation lead me to Jason and I could not have asked for a better teacher. I've been taking regular lessons from Jason for 7 months and the progress is astounding! Jason is an amazing musician with a plan. He gets you started nice and easy, building your confidence and a solid foundation with each and every lesson. He provides a very relaxed environment to learn and give excellent practice tips. For me, practice of any kind has always been an issue. However, Jason's suggestions on how to practice make it easy. Now I find myself practicing for hours and loving it! Just as the previous reviews mentioned, there are no judgements. Jason is there to guide you to the wonderful world of fiddle music. My lessons are always at the end of my work day and I feel rejuvenated after a lesson. Jason's calm, cool and collected teaching style is remarkable. There are no accurate words to describe the skill, patience and understanding he has when teaching. Absolutely and without a doubt amazing! For my money, the best violin/fiddle teacher around. And a truly kind and good person. So do yourself a favor and start taking lessons with Jason, now. You'll be happy you did and wonder why you didn't start earlier. read more

I have been attending fiddle lessons with Jason for a year now and started as an absolute beginner. If you want to learn to play or are unsure if the fiddle/violin is for you this is a great place to start. The lessons are normally for an hour and generally breakdown into three sections. They begin with warm-up exercises, move on to review of tunes and then learning a new tune when relevant. Jason teaches by ear and it is a total buzz when you walk into a lesson, hear a tune you haven't heard before and walk out able to play it and all by just listening. It's brill and if you feel this could be scary don't stress, he breaks it down step by step. It is a lot easier than it sounds. The lessons are in a relaxed environment and can appear to be quite casual but are in fact totally planned. This becomes obvious as the weeks progress when it is clear that the new exercises/tunes are all the time building to the next step. After the lesson you have access to his wiki page with recordings of the tunes you are learning and at different tempos for beginners, intermediate, advanced etc. The lessons are fun and friendly and I highly recommend him as a teacher. read more

Jason has been teaching my son, now 10, for close to two years. Jason has made the experience consistently positive. He is so even-keeled, positive, and encouraging. He has a great way of balancing his passion for the music with his enjoyment of the lesson and the interaction with the student, so the music is weaved in to the experience. He is a practicing, performing artist, so he knows and models hard work, but he can attune his demands to the readiness of the student. We are lucky to have him as a teacher for my son! read more

Jason is an excellent fiddle & violin teacher in the neighborhood. I chose him because of his relaxed demeanor, his organized online resources, and because the lesson style made me feel like I was playing something interesting from day 1. His learning materials are online on a wiki and with videos, and he is diligent about documenting my sessions on my own web page where he provides a practice plan for the time between lessons. He is very accessible by Muni in Noe Valley (the 24 and 48 buses run by his house, which connect to Muni Metro and BART). He also organizes optional group classes for his students, which provide an opportunity to play with in a group, meet other adults learning violin, and experiment with the songs you all know in a new way. One last reason he is great: you get to play at his house, not yours. SF living is tight, and having a place to play away from home when you are gaining competence and confidence is a great benefit! read more