I was a drum set student of René's starting when I was 10, through high school, and I came back…read moreafter graduating college when I wanted to keep my skills up! Rene made sure I learned rock, Latin, swing, and blues right out of the gate and this combined with weekly snare drum music reading set me up with an amazing foundation to build on. I've never, ever felt underprepared when I wanted to try something new because of this background. After a couple years of lessons in middle school I was hooked and went on to be the section leader in my high schools audition band, I tried out and enjoyed drum line and pit orchestra also in high school, I played in the orchestra, jazz bands, and musicals in college, and I started volunteering teaching drums which lead me to my current career path as a teacher! If you or your child wants to be a well-rounded, confident, and passionate musician, this is the studio where you want to study.

Rene' is a wonderful, patient teacher who knows how to keep a student's interest up. I have taken…read moreboth drum and piano lessons from her and I can't recommend her enough. Elisabeth G.

Absolutely horrible customer service!…read more I purchased a new guitar that was shipped to me, and when it arrived, it was not built to the specifications provided by the manufacturer, Breedlove Guitars. I was a little disappointed as this made the guitar unplayable for me, I'm missing my fingertips and needed the guitar to be as advertised, but it wasn't the end of the world, things happen. I reached out to Lawk Star for assistance, I sent them an email and called, I have yet to have them ever answer a phone, that should have been a red flag before my purchase. I explained the issue and my understanding that this was an as built issue, offered my assistance in dealing with Breedlove if needed, and kindly asked how to proceed. Instead of kind response, I was told it was a setup issue and it was my problem to deal with, I was shocked to say the least! I reached back out re-explaining that it was an as built issue and have yet to receive any response, that was 3 days ago. I reached back out again today both by email and phone, and have yet to receive a response. My only request at this time was to simply return the guitar as it was not built to specification. I can't believe I'm going to have to file a dispute with my credit card company to resolve what should have been an easy issue to resolve. If I had received any kind of respectful initial response, I would have been open to any reasonable resolution, but that is not what I received. The fact that they won't respond at all after the initial response is baffling. My advice, shop elsewhere. I'm stunned to be treated this was especially when I was trying to be open and helpful in resolving the issue. Beware!

I bought a prs kingfisher. They shipped it out right away, and gave me a great deal! I would…read moredefinitely buy from them again. The bass is awesome!! Thanks LAWK STAR

Don't hesitate to try this business. Owner is willing to work with anyone to learn guitar. He…read moreaccommodates your style and will teach, rock, classics, pop. I unfortunately had circumstances beyond my control and had to quit, but I will go back to enhance my skills and training sessions. Look forward to a great lesson.

I happened to be in town and had a gift certificate to spend . I was happy to see various music for…read moretrombone and ended up buying a book in addition to slide oil , which was in copious stock . I did want to inquire about the used Edwards straight trombone on display, seemed the employee in back was tied up with another customer so I left . Hmm wouldn't have minded looking it over and trying it out . Anyway , very well stocked store and a treasure for the music community .

The price of a public school education is higher than you'd think. I'm pleased to report that my…read morelocal schools still have music and arts programs, although sometimes it feels like they are hanging on by a fraying thread. What was a little surprise as a parent was the cost of participation. If you don't have a trumpet or clarinet lying around, you need to rent one and the monthly fee is quite high. Our school recommends Wally's in Oregon City and they visited our school for the rental process. I made follow-up trips to their store to pick up accessories. Unfortunately they didn't have everything we needed in stock and I was looking for pretty basic items. Wally's qualifies as an O.C. institution since they've been in business since 1947. The building and interior are quite worn, but I loved the old time murals. I'll probably be doing business with them for at least the next five or six years, so hopefully my rating will improve with time.

I have been a student of William for over 2 years. I consider myself an intermediate guitarist and…read moreWilliam's knowledge of both music theory (he has a degree in jazz guitar from UofO) and practical experience as a working musician are invaluable. He developed exercises that focused on areas that would move me forward on the instrument. I have a much better understanding of what is going on when I play and my fluidity and comfort level have improved dramatically with his support. I highly recommend William for anyone who wants to progress further on their instrument.

Bill is a blast to learn with even as a beginner adult. He has deep musicianship and a love for the…read morewhole craft. Most importantly, he knows how to break down new skills into bite-sized components so you know what's essential and how to build upon it. As a beginner, this has helped me to avoid unnecessary frustration. I had been frustrated with 2 prior teachers as I would leave feeling defeated and like my head was spinning. Bill is the first teacher who doesn't flood me with excessive amounts of new skills each lesson and no knowledge of how to make each skill simple at first to grasp. With Bill, I leave lessons knowing there's something I have improved upon as well as knowing what skill I am working towards and how to isolate it for more focused work. Thanks Bill!

My child attends this school, she also gets bored easily, she has Olly as her music teacher, and…read moreshe is so wonderful always coming up with ways not only for my child to thrive, but to really bring out her individual creative side. I recommend this school to anyone who wants there kid to thrive in an amazing environment!

Hello, I started playing the Violin in the 4th. grade at Gilham Elementary school in Eugene,…read moreOre.Later, I moved to Salem, Ore. I got in a fairly severe auto accident 4 months later. Forcing me to relearn everything. At first, I had to string my Violin/Fiddle backwards and played it that way. The Orchestra teacher at Sprague high was so jealous that I had successfully done this he told me "You are not good enough for my Orchestra." So, I did not play in High school. However, I had a surgery usually only done on Parkensens Patients where, there is a lesion in my brain so, yep, now I can and do play the correct way again. I originally learned in Eugene, Ore. the Suzuki method so, I won't be near as difficult to teach. Just please let me know about how much it may cost and any other info you may feel I need to know. Thank-you very much!!!!

Mike has single-handedly kept my guitars in shape for over a decade…read more I wouldn't consider letting anyone else touch them. We've all had our bad experiences with instrument repair, not many things can be so frustrating and demoralizing, which is why I've stuck with Mike and followed him through his many stops. He takes extra care to make sure I'm happy with the work, from explaining what I'll need upfront, to minor tweaks to suit my needs before the guitar leaves the shop. He even helped me figure out a few songs my cement fingers were having trouble with. I am fully confident in recommending Sound Service to you.

I met Mike when he bought a piece of gear off of me and he informed me that he also does tech work…read more I was immediately interested, not only because Mike is a super nice guy, but after having lived in SF for some time, I had become disenchanted with most of the guitar techs in the city. In my experience most charge an arm and a leg for routine work, and don't have much time on their hands to interact with their customers. After doing some inquiry into Mike's reputation (which was stellar) I decided to give him a call about refretting what was probably my most prized guitar. We spoke for almost an hour in person going back and forth about my options and his recommendations. Ultimately, his recommendation is what I decided to go with. I could not be happier with both Mike's work and his advice. My guitar has never played better and his refret job was superb. In addition his prices were fair and reasonable. Mike is a stand-up guy, excellent tech, and I wouldn't hesitate to call him for any work in the future.

Nevada is not only an incredibly gifted vocal coach, he is an all-around great person who truly…read morecares about helping you achieve your goals. I had never taken lessons before and was hesitant going into them, but he made me feel comfortable and helped me gain confidence from our first lesson on. Nevada is patient, thoughtful, and extremely knowledgable when it comes to vocal techniques. If you work with him, he'll bring the best out of your voice. I couldn't recommend him more highly.

I currently work with Nevada on a bi-weekly basis--we started out with weekly lessons for a couple…read moreof years. He's helped me in a tremendous amount of ways..for example: real time help with real time problems that you experience when you're singing is invaluable. We all can hear and see ourselves when we're singing, but there are so many things we miss when we're alone. When you have a guide to pick up on those things and to notice your own specific patterns of behavior that tend to get in your way, you feel much more prepared to challenge yourself. I've gone from feeling embarrassed of how I sang at times to now feeling proud of what my voice can actually accomplish when all the gears are working properly. Anyway, Nevada's among the nicest guys I know (I've now known him for years and think of him as a friend) and still have no plans on ending our lessons. I really consider them more like an hour with someone who really wants you to be great--not there to just show you all he knows. He gets excited when he hears new things you've discovered in your own voice during lessons--it's all very positive. Being vulnerable is a huge part of voice lessons (a good thing to be when you're singing). Being shy is different, and something you can get over very quickly when working with someone like Nevada. Fantastic teacher.