I have an autistic son. My mom called and asked if they would take him as a student, they said yes, to do a trial lesson and if he passed they would take him. I took him and he "passed" his trial lesson. The next time we went over, my four year old wanted to sit on the instructor's lap. She refused several times, which confused him because at home I let him practice while sitting on my lap. Finally she allowed him to sit on her lap for maybe 3-4 minutes and then told him he had to sit on the bench. Later, my son wanted to copy something we did at home, wrote the names of the keys on the keyboard with an expo marker (those wipe off easily with alcohol). The teacher said absolutely not, took the expo marker from him. So my son started crying. While he was crying, the teacher was lecturing me on keeping the piano clean and neat, and to focus on just two keys. She wanted to show him fat cat, but he was so upset he just kept crying. At one point he said he wanted to play the birthday song, the teacher's response, "It's not your birthday." There were zero accommodations or open mindedness when it came to my son. Then she was lecturing me about how I overwhelmed him by introducing all the keys. He's autistic. Lectures don t go well. Finally, it was time to leave. She wrote the fat cat song down and was talking to him while he was crying so he cried louder. When we left the individual room, the owner was outside the door and told us that my four year old son's crying was bothering the other students. She said this in front of my son, he understands. And she said that if he cried again next time, he would no longer be allowed to take classes there. I told her we don't want to bother anyone, we will never stay somewhere we are not welcome. And that based on what she said we didn't need to come back a third time and deal with the rigid instructor we were assigned. 1 thing: I was under the impression the individual rooms were soundproof, I guess they're not. 2nd: four year olds cry. He's not a robot. 3rd: getting irritated and threatening to kick us of the school while giving me negative feedback on my son should not have been done in his presence. If you come to this school expect to be treated with coldness and harshness. Unless you're perfect. Definitely not a place for neurodivergent kids. Expensive as heck. The very same day a found a wonderful piano instructor who will work with neurodivergent kids. We met him today and he made us feel welcomed and valued as human beings. The complete opposite of how we were treated at golden key piano school. I asked for a receipt, I got an unofficial email that I was forced to accept. Heartless. Lacks humanity, basic decency and kindness toward a child with special needs that they accepted only to humiliate him on our way out. I hope this school goes bankrupt for hurting me and my child the way they did. Not one ounce of tactfulness or kindness. I wish I had never set foot in their "perfect" school that only accepts "perfect" people. You can shove your school up your nose. One day my son will be a great pianist, in spite of his disability. And I hope you see him in concert you judgemental, rigid jerks. Please don't support this school. And to the teachers grow the hell up. You're dealing with humans not robots. read more

One teacher scolded my kids to leave the piano classroom for touching the piano while waiting for the instructor. I was so shocked and told the main instructor what happened and she told me that she only gives this lady teenagers because of this problem. This place is not a kid-friendly place at all!! and my daughter is now scared and doesn't get excited every time I bring up piano class. now I'm looking into another piano class in the area and I hope she won't be unmotivated as she is now. read more

I live in Richmond, Virginia, and have taught piano privately for many years. I have encountered and met Katrin Arefy many times in masterclasses, recitals, competitions, and other musical events as a Pedagogue, and she is an extremely warm, kind, personable individual. My students have also met and interacted with her numerous times, with positive memories of her. read more

Golden Key offers a nice, conveniently located facility that is clean and well-maintained. My daughter attended for about a year. The caliber of the teachers (we tried 3) is highly variable and some of the teachers are minimally invested and largely disinterested. Ultimately we ended up leaving because my daughter was uninspired. We are now with a private piano teacher whose joy and love of music are contagious. The administration/office at Golden Key is very inflexible in regards to re-scheduling lessons and demand payment for vacations or absences scheduled in advance. When the teacher is absent, there is also no refund, they demand that a makeup lesson be scheduled but do not offer flexible rescheduling options. read more

My son has just started to learn by zoom since March 2020. He improves alot and he can play 5,6 songs already. Thats imazing. Teacher is very patient and nice. He loves it. read more

I've tried 3 teachers from the school. Not as good as they advertised. My main teacher has no idea how to teach advanced level students. She didn't even know Czerny etude op740, nor did she know how to use that book. She asked me to practice the etudes as Hanon, and play left hand same as right hand, without any suggestions of the fingering and teaching me the techniques. She could spend 6 months just teaching the first movement of a Mozart sonata given that I practiced piano for 2 hours every day. Sometimes she didn't explain a piece in detail and asked me to move on to a new piece. When I asked her why, she yelled at me asking me to follow her. She also had no idea about the difficulty of Bach pieces and let me learn the whole set of partita without teaching me some easier pieces like French suites, English suites, WTC. She didn't allow me to play pieces that I'm interested in, but forced me to follow her. For romantic pieces, she only taught Chopin, never touching other composers. I played Chopin waltzes for more than one year and then moved on to Chopin nocturne... By the way, she also had no idea about the difficulty of Chopin nocturnes because the first piece she taught me is op 48 no1... Also, she's not clear about when the student can finish a piece and move on to a new one. She made me play a Chopin waltz for 6 months and still didn't move on. I insisted on moving on and recorded that waltz for fun. After she heard my recording, she asked me to post it on the school's social media, which means she thought I played pretty well... By the way, that waltz has places of repetitions with slight difference, but she didn't teach me how to make the repetitions sound different and interesting. She just asked me to skip that part because it's a repetition... When I felt nervous before the recital, she never encouraged me. Instead, when I made several mistakes in the recital, she said my performance was a failure. I was very interested in piano, but when I took her lessons, I felt very scared and bored. Every time we had zoom lesson, she would be late for 5-8 minutes because she didn't know how to use the devices. She always finished the lesson one minute earlier and never made up the missing 5 minutes in the beginning of the lessons because she said it's not her fault, it's the internet's fault. The other two are substitute teachers. One teacher taught first three measures of a Mozart piece for one hour. The other teacher just asked me to play without giving me any suggestions. read more

Hands down the best piano school in the East Bay. My child has been coming to this school for 4 years and his piano playing ability skyrocketed! I highly recommend Katrin and Sadegh! read more

My daughter has had a wonderful experience at the Golden Key piano school. The teachers are highly adaptive and well-versed in teaching methods. Their rigorous hiring process ensures that only the most suitable candidates are hired. While their emphasis is on the Russian method, they are able to tailor their teaching to individual students' needs. Not only are their abilities versatile, but their personalities as well. I find that incredibly valuable considering each individual students' personalities may coordinate better with a given teacher based on their similarities or differences. Thus, they are truly able to accommodate students' individual characters. They provide ample assistance in certification preparation, work outside of the classroom, and music choices. They constantly encourage students to do their homework to ensure its completion and therefore the students' improvement. Their philosophy is that "[they are] being paid to teach. Thus, you practice on your own time." Katrin, the owner and my daughters' teacher, is truly wonderful. She is both patient and firm when necessary. She encourages students to focus in unique ways that promote creativity. She has helped my daughter work with many methods through mastering different songs. The institution itself has one individual and one duet performance a year, as well as one top ten performance. Also, they sometimes host an animal-based recital where the song performed has to be related to animals. The children wear animal costumes. There are other recitals, as well. Therefore, there is diversity within the themes of these recitals. I am grateful to the school and the community of peers and families I have met through Katrin and the Golden Key piano school, and I am especially thankful for all of the knowledge and experience my daughter has gained throughout her time with this remarkable institution. read more

My son has been a student of Katrin for years. He enjoys playing piano immensely and we, too, enjoy listening to his practicing at home. He started piano with a different teacher before we discovered the Golden Key Piano School. That teacher was good with piano, but she was not good with children and my son was about to quit playing. Katrin has made piano fun! My son really enjoys playing piano now and is getting very good at it. We are very thankful to Katrin. read more

My daughter has been with Golden Key Piano School since she was 3.5 years old. She started out in their group class then has continued with the weekly private lessons. It is hard to imagine children engaged with something as difficult as learning piano and remaining focused for an hour-long lesson. And yet, not only do the teachers at Golden Key manage to do that, they also make it fun and easy for children to learn music. Though my daughter does not like practicing at home, she loves going to lessons with the teachers. My daughter is now eight years old. This year she is playing a Bethoven sonatina and recognzing chords in the other songs she practices. She also has regular performance recitals every month at the school. Yes, every month -- not just every year. So the children at this school get to practice performing in front of other people quite often and regularly. Ear training and music listening are also parts of the curriculum. Should she like, my daughter can also choose to study the pieces other than traditional classical music. Occasionally she also participates in special workshops that the school offers. These workshops are run by masters in the fields and they are extremely helpful, relevant, and engaging. Needless to say, we are very happy with this school and feel very fortunate that we live close enough to it so that our daughter can attend to the school. The price for the lessons is not inexpensive. We are not wealthy. Yet, we feel it is worth every penny to send our daughter here. She is getting the best music education at Golden Key Piano School, world class I dare say. I highly recommend this school to anyone who wants to learn and enjoy the piano. read more

Sadly our daughter had to stop taking lessons at Golden Key Piano School due to the long commute. It is outstanding school with excellent teachers, whose passion for music is contagious. Very highly recommended place for all levels and all age groups. read more

My daughter started this school at 5, when she started with the group lessons. Golden Key provides very loving learning environment. The teachers are very patient with the young kids. The teaching methodology is lively and individualized. My daughter never feels the piano class is boring, and is always looking forward to it. read more

We've had our children at Golden Key Piano School for 4 years now. My son went in half heartedly and has come to love to play. The school has dedicated teachers, great opportunities for students to perform on stage, good support network, understanding and caring adults who gently nudge and prod the students to do their best. I only have wonderful things to say about them. When we only had a keyboard at home, the school welcomed us to practice any time at the school so the kids always had a piano to practice on. Great management and communication as well. We get monthly newsletters and there is someone who picks up the phone when we call. Not an automated message! Keep it up Golden Key Piano! read more