I've been a long time student of Rebecca's and highly recommend her for anyone who wants to learn…read morepiano. She is very skilled at assessing and correcting technical difficulties and is equally talented in teaching expressive technique. In addition she fosters a warm and supportive community by hosting regular workshops where her students meet to perform for one another.

She is a great teacher but only takes advanced adults but her videos online are great tooread more

Umida is one of the best teachers out there…read more She's been teaching both our girls for a year+ now, and we've been incredibly impressed how she's been able to cultivate the love for music and desire to play piano (our 7 year old would practice on her own!). Umida found a common language with them despite their very different personalities. Umida uses empathy and compassion in her approach and coached us as parents on how to develop them as budding musicians. The girls come back from class excited about the next song they chose to learn together. Our older daughter who's usually very shy to perform in front of others even won her first competition!

The previous piano teacher who taught my kids for 7 years can't teach anymore due to personal…read morereason. She didn't want my kids to just go to any teacher. She only recommended Dr Umida after hearing one of her students performed. I think that says a lot about Dr Umida when the word comes from another piano teacher. We have been with Dr Umida since 3 years ago, and I see tremendous result in my sons' piano learning. Dr Umida is probably the most patient and encouraging teacher I have ever seen. She never showed the slightest frustration in any lesson, even when my sons did not put in enough effort at practice occasionally. She always encouraged them and helped them to come back on track. She also showed them different techniques of improving the songs. I am really impressed by how she can make the songs so much better with her unique way of teaching. Both my kids had won several competitions in the past few years and they enjoyed this piano journey very much. My older son has completed all the CM levels and no longer with Dr Umida since a few months ago. But I hear him plays his favorite songs almost every week at home. My younger son is still with Dr Umida. He practices his piano happily everyday, and I never have to ask. Dr Umida is really a gem and I would highly recommend her to any parents who are looking for a great piano teacher.

Having taken voice lessons off and on for many years, I am amazed at how Christa's techniques for…read moreteaching correct breathing and emphasis on vowels has improved my voice and allowed me to sing songs with more clarity. She is supportive, honest, helps me to find the best songs for my voice, and has found ways to get rid of my bad habits. I hadn't taken lessons for 15 years. Decided it was my last chance at age 81. That was a year ago and I'm so glad I did. And it's on Zoom!

Christa has been my voice teacher for a year and a half. Though she is a professional, she is also…read morepatient and human. I wanted to learn to sing because I felt connected to my voice. She has helped me deal with the emotional baggage and enjoy knowing my range while learning songs I love, and I have attempted without her guidance. Also, Christa helps me speak more clearly and develop vocal awareness. I love working with Christa!

As a child I took piano lessons for nearly 11 years but as a grew older I gradually stopped playing…read morethe piano. Over the years I've had the desire to start learning again and I'm thankful I've found Mariam. Although she's a very educated and professional pianist, she's an extremely talented teacher as well. She's caring, she's incredibly patient, and she knows how to focus on the individual needs of her students. Mariam is truly an incredible pianist and an even better instructor. She has the ability of teaching all age levels and all skill levels. If you're a beginner looking to learn, she's more than willing and capable. On the other hand, if you're a professional pianist and your desire is to further your professional career, she's more than capable of helping you.

Mariam is an incredible, European conservatory trained concert pianist and fabulous teacher. She…read moreis patient, encouraging and straightforward in a quiet way with criticism. She teaches you how to practice, gives clear lessons on how to improve technique, is helpful in customizing fingering for your hand and knows how to bring you along through the phases of learning a piece. Its not only about playing the notes. Mariam explains the composer's intentions, the dynamics, mood, and tempo of a work. I took piano through high school and have had a couple of teachers as an adult over the decades. More than ever, I am enjoying and learning piano because of Mariam's teaching ability and her undeniable expertise and knowledge. You are a lucky person if you become her student.

Miriam is wonderful!! Both my kids love her piano lessons…read more Here is my 10 years old daughter's words: "Miriam is a kind and sweet lady who will help you tremendously with her piano lessons! Miriam has been my teacher for 4 years and she has helped me learn piano from the bottom up. She has a slow but steady pace and will never rush you. She finds your speed and will go as slowly or as fast possible to give you the best learning experience. She has such a kind and bubbly personality and it makes me look forward to every lesson. And she even does Halloween and Christmas songs during the holidays. She has had 20+ years of experience and I don't think I could ever find a better teacher than her."

My 3 boys have been working with Miriam over 5 years now. We are SuperFans. My kids like that they…read moreget to choose the music they learn...she will offer Charlie Brown's Christmas to one and Mission Impossible to the other. She is flexible and teaches To The Child. My boys are different, very different....she supports, encourages, and inspires each one of them in a unique way. She's fun loving, patient, and punctual! She strikes a perfect balance of cheerful and can be serious (when needed). Miriam is a Truly Gifted Teacher and bright soul. I can't imagine a better fit for our family. She has lifer students...that tells you something! Good luck getting a time slot in her busy schedule!

Cristina teaches both of our sons -- our twelve-year-old, who came to her after several years…read moreelsewhere, and our six-year-old, who started piano with her from scratch. Watching her work with two kids six years apart has been the best possible demonstration of how good she is. With our older son, she came in and diagnosed in a single evaluation lesson what years of previous instruction had missed -- hand position, posture, his whole physical relationship to the instrument, and the fact that he had never been taught how to bring the character of a piece out. She was direct about it without being discouraging, and she had a plan before we left the room. That plan was thoughtful: Level 1 for technique to rebuild his foundation, but Level 3 for sight reading and Level 4 for theory, because she had correctly read where his actual strengths were. Six months in, he plays differently. There is real musicality now -- phrasing, dynamics, actual emotion -- where before there were just correct notes. The clearest sign it is working: he sits down and plays on his own at home, without being asked. With our six-year-old she is a completely different teacher, and that is the point. Shorter lessons, a pace suited to a beginner, and enormous patience. She meets each child exactly where they are and somehow gets both of them genuinely committed to the work. She is kind, warm, and understanding -- with the kids and with us as parents. She is also rigorous, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Every lesson comes with written assignments and specific instructions. She is clear that real progress takes five days a week of practice and says so up front rather than letting families drift. She steered us to a local music shop rather than letting us order poor-quality used books online, and made copies herself so our son wouldn't lose a week waiting on a shipment. She has been genuinely flexible with scheduling when life gets complicated. Our older son is now preparing for his Certificate of Merit evaluation -- something that was not remotely on the table before he started with her. If you are looking for a teacher who will build your child into a musician rather than just move them through books, at any age, Cristina is the one.

My daughter has loved taking lessons with Cristina for the last few years. She does a great job…read moreteaching music theory, posture, and performance, and she really cares about the creative parts of studying piano. She cares equally about expression and technique. She is goal-oriented which is has been great for my daughter, and she makes practicing make sense - it's not about the minutes, it's about having an intention and following through. I really appreciate how Cristina celebrates not only my kid's successes but the times when she has found her way through challenges. And I am sure I'll look back on this teaching when my daughter's old and think not just about music but about all the other skills that come with it - independence, creativity, focus. I highly recommend this teacher.

Pollyanna is a great talent and educator. Her classes are a joy. She offers many formats. Soar…read moreSong is great fun and very e pressure. Her workshops are top notch individual training

Let's start with the bottom line: I can't recommend Pollyanna highly enough. I am learning so…read moremuch, and I have gone from disliking my voice and thinking that I would never sing to anyone other than my wife and dog, to craving opportunities to sing. It is kind of a miracle. I decided to take voice lessons after many years of "just singing" as best I could. I wasn't happy with my tone, I couldn't hold notes worth a hoot, and I was getting really frustrated with my limited range. I had read a few books, but found them unhelpful. I chose Pollyanna Bush/Alleycats Music School because I had had a little bit of contact with her socially, and she seemed approachable and smart (and I had heard some of her performances, and was impressed with her singing...but teaching is different than performing, so I was adopting a "wait and see" attitude). And her studio is near my house, which is nice. But before I went for my first lesson, I discovered that a friend's daughter had travelled from the East Bay to take lessons with Pollyanna, and LOVED working with Pollyanna (and my friend told me his daughter is an amazing singer who has won some competitions). My first two or three lessons were challenging, because I felt so badly about how little I knew, and even though I was making progress, I still found lots of things to dislike about my singing. But I turned a corner after a couple of more lessons, and things started to change rather quickly. And after a dozen sessions, I was REALLY pleased, and started to sing for friends, and felt much more comfortable singing in jams. Of course, a dozen lessons is not very much...I have had to take a lot more guitar lessons than that to make any reasonable progress. The more I think about it, the more impressed I am. I had to stop lessons for a few months, but I maintained my gains pretty well despite limited practice on my part. I resumed lessons with Pollyanna a couple of weeks ago, and I am blown away. I think her teaching is getting noticeably better (she was certainly no slouch before...but sh has shared that she is participating in a multi-year training program for teaching singing, and she seems very excited about it; I think I am just benefitting from her growth as a professional). And, I think I have finally learned enough so that the horizons are really expanding for me. I've heard some stories of people having to do lots of practice and drills to improve their singing, and how laborious it can be...and I feel very lucky that Pollyanna's is so effective, which makes the learning process exciting and very pleasurable. I wish I had done this years ago...AND, I am very happy that I am doing it now.

With all of this time on our hands, I HIGHLY recommend Cassie and Musica Bella. I've known Cassie…read morefor many, many years, and just started taking guitar lessons from her. She is WUNderful! It's so fun to pick up my guitar again after so many years. All done remotely at this time. It's very simple - she helps you select a video option. And it is just SO much fun to play my guitar with her each week. Cassie has been a music teacher for many, many years. She teaches piano, voice, guitar, and pretty much any other music you want to pursue. She is right here in El Sobrante! So give her a call at (510) 409-8487.

Cassie has been such a gift for our kids. We found her during COVID. She created a safe way to…read moreintroduce our children to new musical instruments, and for once, they stuck with it! It has a lot to do with Cassie's kind approach, meeting kids where their interests are, and incredible patience. With Cassie, the kids were consistent with their lessons, and it now shows in their comfort with their instruments and even experimenting with new instruments at home. My kids FINALLY love playing music! Sadly we have to move away. We'll miss Cassie's lovely disposition. It will be difficult to find another teacher like her. If you have or are someone, who might be a little shy or reluctant about trying a new instrument, give Cassie a try. She teaches students of all ages and makes music accessible to everyone.