If you're looking for a music teacher who makes students feel comfortable and excited to play,…read moreColin is fantastic. My son can be a bit shy, but Colin's friendly and patient approach immediately put him at ease. Miles was up and playing something he recognized in just one lesson, which was way faster than I expected! Colin explains things clearly and gives great technique tips. My son left the lesson genuinely excited about playing. We're so grateful we found such a great teacher.

As a mandolin player, I wasn't sure how helpful a lesson would be with someone who doesn't actually…read moreplay mandolin but I had heard such great things from fellow musicians about Colin I had to give it a try. I'm really glad I did! Colin is an excellent music teacher who explains music theory in a clear, practical way that immediately applies to your instrument. He quickly helped me see keys and scales differently and gave me tools to approach improvisation with much more confidence. I was honestly surprised by how much progress I made so quickly. If you're looking for help with music theory, improvisation, or just becoming a more versatile musician, I highly recommend taking lessons with Colin.

Best guitar teacher in Santa Cruz!!!! He's patient, and insanely knowledgeable. I'm a better…read moreguitarist and musician because I worked with Rory. Thanks!

From the owner: As a private guitar instructor, Rory Cloud has given over 6 thousand one-on-one guitar lessons…read moresince 2005 to students of all ages and backgrounds, children to adults from absolute beginners to advanced students entering into college programs. Rory has a diverse background as a both a performer and an educator, with over 30 years experience as a guitarist and over 20 years working professionally in the industry. His performance background includes experience across many genres of music, from rock, to folk, indie-songwriter, hip-hop, jazz, funk, reggae, as not only an electric and acoustic guitarist, but also as a drummer, percussionist and vocalist. Rory tailors lessons to meet your individual goals and aspirations, whether you're just starting out or more experienced and seeking to elevate your skills. Feel free to reach out with any additional questions or to book a lesson, either by phone or through the website. Lesson packages are also available for a discount.

Question...........Do you have vocal lessons? ubein@yahoo.com…read more I have a 9 year old granddaughter who is anxious for vocal lessons. Do you teach vocal or can recommend someone who can in Santa Cruz?

I have been taking piano lessons for a little over a year with Diana Brown through Santa Cruz Music…read moreAcademy. I'm in my thirties and had often thought I missed the boat by not studying piano earlier in life. But, I've been feeling extremely happy with the progress (starting as a complete beginner) that we've made over this time so I thought I'd post a review. Diana has a structured but flexible teaching style that has helped me to efficiently develop a well-rounded set of skills. We've focused on learning scales / arpeggios, proper technique, and building a repertoire - sometimes we delve a little further into theory or even some vocal lessons here and there. I've found that she goes above and beyond in tailoring the pace and content of the curriculum to her individual students. I would absolutely recommend Diana as a teacher without hesitation to anyone hoping to start learning piano!

My son and I both take private lessons at Sharp. I am studying voice with Sydney and my 11 year old…read moreboy studies drumming with Elliott. I just love what we are both learning! Low-pressure, high-attention to detail. Just my style. Sydney is really helping me, a 50 year old woman who NEVER SANG and would never dream of doing it in front of anyone, find my natural voice and it's starting to sound pretty good! I also like that Elliott plays accopaniment to Sebastian's drumming so they are making music together that gets him excited beyond the basics. They also have a beautiful location.

I study singing with Sydney and my 11 year old studies drumming with Elliott. We love our lessons!…read moreThey are both so knowledgeable and encouraging. I have studied with many teachers of performing arts over the years and these are very special teachers! Beautiful location,too!

Ginny is incredibly effective voice teacher. She has a deep understanding of what it takes to sing…read morewell and to perform. She provides her students with actionable feedback, exercises to do at home between the lessons and invaluable insights of how to up level their natural abilities through hard work and practice. I can't recommend her highly enough!

I'm so grateful to have worked with Ginny. I went to her feeling unsure of my voice. She helped…read moreme develop my confidence, range, projection, and a clear sense of the vibrations of sound moving through my body. I'm now singing in 2 choirs! As a bonus, she also helped me with guitar. She's an incredibly talented musician and cares about her students. Thank you so much Ginny!

I walked in and I told him I had two desires: to buy their cheapest decent guitar and to play their…read moremost expensive guitars. He pointed to the cheap guitar and then to several racks of wonderful expensive guitars made by Martin, Santa Cruz and other small guitar makers with big reputations. I sat there joyfully for a couple hours. I think playing guitars that cost $10,000 and up. then I played and bought a $250 Fender acoustic. This is one of my favorite music stores and i hope they hang on. when i eventually buy a very expensive guitar-- I really want to deserve it first---I will buy it from this fine establishment. I love visiting guitar stores, and it's becoming a rarity because of the internet. I've watched my favorite guitar stores go out of business. I hope sylvan lives on forever.

This place was amazing. Really nicely curated collection of instruments and accessories. Friendly…read morestaff, and accessible instruments. Reminded me of Gryphon Stringed Instruments in Palo Alto. Highly recommended for acoustic instruments, ukes, mandos, guitars, oh my!

I bought a used Taylor Academy 12e from a private seller, but the action was very high. Took it in…read morefor a setup, and it was a great price, as their very accomplished luthier Frank (45+ yrs experience) charged only $20/hr, and had it done the next day. Frank let me know that he could only take the action down so far without losing tone (via the usual method of sanding down the saddle), and the action ended up still being to high for me. As a former Taylor certified luthier, he said that he could remove and adjust the neck to bring the action down without losing tone, but that would take a couple hours more work. It ended up taking him only 1.5 hrs, and $30 later my Taylor has action as low as on some of my electric guitars, and still sounds great. Thanks Frank! My future business is yours.

Frank is the best! He knows everything I needed to repair my guitar's neck that needed an artistic…read moretouch. He is one of the best luthier's around.

Too cool for school. Signed my kiddo up for singing lessons. He has a couple learning…read moredisabilities-dyslexia and auditory processing. Really not too big of a deal, just needs to take his time learning. Told the owner that when we signed up. He told me to tell the instructor. Tried to talk to the instructor about his needs before his first class, and she blew me off saying "It's singing. He won't need to read." A week later she prints out lyrics to read on the spot. I watch him freeze up and just stare at the paper. My kid learns by listening and needs to take his time reading. She would know that if she didn't blow me off. A few weeks later, after the lesson she reminds him to practice, and as he says he will, the owner, who was in the room, laughs out loud at him. My husband even calls him out on it. No response or apology. We never went back. Here's the thing. Many artists have quirks that are actual gifts. But society often deems them as not enough because they are not neurotypical. I thought for sure this business was about lifting up ALL kids. They project as a laid back cool musician business, but really aren't.

Great place for the kids. COVID safe and Awesome people. My…read moredaughter has made long term friends there who share passion for music and understands her on a different level. I do recommend this program. They really work with each student to help develop the confidence to preform and be thier best selves. I have seen positive changes in my daughter that I am very thankful for. They do shows everywhere. You get a band page with videos and pictures. So many wonderful memories in such a positive experience.

Well, where do I begin? I've been coming to the starving musician for years and I've NEVER been…read moresteered in the wrong direction. I mostly play drums, but recently got back into playing guitar, so I knew exactly where to go when to buy a cable to plug into to my practice amp. These guys are truly the BEST, no ego, so welcoming and very knowledgeable. But I also recommend knowing or have a clear idea what you want it's just easier to communicate your needs and NOT seem like officer Doofy from the Scary Movie franchise (haha) Always helpful, had what I needed, offered other alternatives and suggestions, but in the end sold me what I was hoping for when I went in, both price-wise and product wise. The instruments and chock full of gear, plus the players that come in here don't affect the way they treat people. They will let you test before buying (which majority of music stores don't do) I'll keep supporting these guys, thank you for the hospitality!

Always have exactly what I need and their gear rental comes in so clutch!!! We rented a bass head…read morefrom them 15 minutes before closing and it saved the show . Great deal as well for a 3 day rental!