Walked in one day to get an electrical cord for my amplifier (unfortunately mine broke earlier that…read moreday) and walked out with... an electrical cord and acoustic guitar. I do have to say, I walked into a Guitar Center earlier that day and tried out a bunch of guitars, but couldn't find *the* one. The staff at West Valley Music were so incredibly knowledgeable and checked on me as I was playing around with different guitars. I really felt like I was at a personal shopping appointment with the way they spoke to me and answered all my questions. Not sure how busy they get regularly though. However, I'm definitely trusting them with my future music needs. Thanks!

Great service and selection of sheet music is extensive…read more One of the few music stores left.

Best piano school in the Bay Area. My daughters have tried a few different teachers and finally we…read morefound teacher Doris, teacher Ava, and Opus 1. We love: - The quality of our weekly lessons, recitals opportunities throughout the year, and excellent help on exam preparation - flexibility (e.g. offering easy online booking platform, many teachers choices in different level and price ranges to meet your children's needs) - variety of instruments and classes offerings if you'd like to explore more interests Things keep in mind: definitely recommend to take the trial class to find the best fit for you. Good luck!

My daughter has been learning violin with Teacher Luis for 1.5 years. Teacher Luis is great. He…read moretaught very well and laid a solid foundation for my daughter. He is very patient, didn't put too much pressure on students, which is very important for my daughter as a beginner. Communications are smoothly, too. After each lesson, we receive a summary of the class. And our emails to him are always answered in a timely manner. Highly recommended!

With a previous piano teacher, it was a chore to have to tell the kids to practice and to even get…read morethem in the car for lessons. With Alex, my kids are more motivated, practicing on their own without being told and more adventurous in trying out new pieces they hear from the radio/YouTube/etc. My son is now happy playing Joplin and other classical pieces. My daughter is now excited to play for family and friends. The difference I've found with Alex, compared to the previous teacher is that he is patient and adapts to the kids' individual styles. He's supportive of what interests them and as a result, it fosters my kids' self-motivation to play and practice. When that happens, they not only learn faster, but they are happy and enjoying themselves in the process. Alex is able to teach them music theory/concepts and the mechanics of playing sheet music in a way that inspires them. I see a big difference in how they are playing now. I see they are more confident in their abilities and they are having fun when they play. We definitely recommend him! Thanks Alex!

Alex has been teaching our 7 year-old son for about 10 months now and we've been very happy with…read morehis instruction. He is patient, kind and calm with our son, who can be fidgety and easily distracted at times. Alex is always punctual for lessons and communicative when it comes to scheduling, cancellations, fees, etc. In times where we've had to cancel, he has been flexible with rescheduling lessons. Most importantly, our son enjoys his lessons, looks forward to them every week and has progressed significantly since working with Alex. We highly recommend lessons with Alex!

We came here beginning of Summer as my kid wanted a Viola from here. Judy got the correct size and…read moreshared when would be a good time to come back before Fall to pick up a rental. Judy was so patient, funny, informative and kind I wouldn't go anywhere else for instruments again (and we live faaaaaar away). Fast forward to today: we came to the shop and Edmond helped us. He was just as kind, patient and informative as we went through the process of picking between two instruments. I highly recommend this place for instruments!!!

Abraham was very helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable. The turnaround time was quick for getting an…read moreold cello strung for my child. They placed the strings and the bridge for us. We also had bow mites, so I'm glad he told me about them before I ruined another bow. The prices were reasonable, and he communicated clearly the advantages of the different types of string and the pricing tiers.

After I tried many different teachers for over 2 years, I found Dina, she is exactly what I have…read morebeen looking for. She is a perfect teacher, you can easily see she cares about the quality of her teaching and she always remain energetic in her class. She is very nice, and warm hearted, yet strict. sweet and firm:) She cares about the students' progress as much as the parents. Before I found her, even though I did not know anything about piano, I had to follow my daughter's class material so I can help her at home. I always thought that was because teacher did not have enough time to go through everything, and it was necessary for parents to be so involved. With Dina, I realized with a good teacher, parents did not have to struggle at all. Dina set very clear expectations, and she does not hurry things, and she never have the kids play many pieces. With her, both my daughter and I are super comfortable with the amount of work/practice we have to do at home. Dina stays on top of everything. With Dina, We learn theory/sight reading/ear training. She also makes sure the students do not get bored playing one pieces too much. she carefully alternate different songs and different activities. She is also strict. My daughter had very bad finger positions, for over a year, Dina keep trying to correct her, and literally hand in hand, hold her fingers to help her. After A WHOLE year of effort, my daughter now have perfect finger positions thanks Dina's persistence. Dina teaches students music as a whole, and she really focuses on dynamics, The music from my daughter now sound so much better. Dina also requires her students to take CA level test. I initially thought that might be too much a work for us. But Dina not at all added any more stress, she is only using exams to keep track of students progress. I can not believe my daughter not only passed the exams easily, the result were good/excellent. A year ago, this would be unthinkable. From personal side, Since we have Dina, I fought with my daughter much less :) the homework and practice were comfortable amount, in classes, my daughter already practiced to a level that was comfortable for her, I do not need to struggle with learning the new pieces at all. (Strange, with all my past teachers, I had to sit down to learn every new pieces with her). I also enjoy the level of books/music Dina picked for my daughter. One of my previous teachers were either too hard for too easy. Dina has a good suggestion on where my daughter's level is. It has been a year, now my daughter plays like a real musician:) I will stay with Dina as long as I can, I am so lucky to find her. I only wish I found her from the beginning, that would save lots of work and pain. When my son reaches the age, I will start him with Dina for sure.

I was referred by a close friend when I was looking for a piano teach for my girls couple years…read moreago. Until, Dina has been my kids' piano teach about 5 years. She is a patient teacher. My kids love her. For piano lessons, she is the one who is able to push student for bigger potential. We love Dina.

Awesome teacher! I…read morestarted taking guitar lessons with Mike almost two years ago and I can honestly say that I was so pleased to have found a teacher as patient, friendly and as knowledgeable as he is. When I started with Mike I knew a few basics about guitar, and in the two years that I've been with him I've learned so much. Now I can read tablature, play any of my favorite songs, and I understand chord theory. Mike is a great teacher. And he's very professional and punctual as well. I highly recommend him to anyone that wants to learn guitar regardless of age or skill level.

Mike is a wonderful, patient piano teacher. My teenage son started taking piano during covid and…read morecontinued until his senior year in high school. Reliable, friendly! Highly recommend!

The concert hall is elegant and has wonderful acoustics. I held a clarinet student recital there,…read moreand the sound was fantastic. The staff is excellent, especially Despina. She is professional, responsive, and always incredibly helpful. Her support made organizing the concert at CSMA a smooth and enjoyable experience. I truly appreciate the wonderful experience and look forward to performing there again!

Community School of Music and Arts is a great place for learning. The staff is organized, prepared,…read moreknowledgeable, and encouraging. They create a positive and inspiring environment that helps students grow both creatively and confidently.

I've visited Gryphon a couple of times to purchase equipment and also show off my own builds. On…read morethis occasion, I had called Brian the repair manager about diagnosing and repairing an issue in one of my self-built custom instruments-- microphonic pickups. Brian was transparent that they were fully booked for at least two weeks of repair work, but he encouraged me to bring the instrument in anyway. I made it in that afternoon, and Brian unhesitatingly tried out my instrument with an amp and confirmed the issue. Although there was nothing he could do (pickups need to be replaced), his feedback was helpful and he explained why he felt the pickups were probably defective. He just did this as a favor at no charge, which I greatly appreciated. On the way out, I showed the bass to another employee and he loved it, and gave some helpful feedback, as well. I left the store with the impression that these guys just love instruments and everything about them, which is how a musical instrument store should be.

I had a repair done by Alfred of a hairline crack on the neck up by the head stock. He did a…read morefantastic job repairing it and was a pleasure to work with. So was everyone else there. Being a guitarist, it's great to know that Gryphon is there if ever I need any kind of work done on one of my guitars. Thanks guys!

Several years ago my daughter discovered a love (and in turn we saw a talent) for singing and…read moreenrolled her in a choir. While it was good, part of the challenge in allowing her to move to a more advanced level in the other choir was because she hadn't finished pages of a didactic book. This was frustrating because she started a year later than others her age and of similar skill set so obviously had a year less time to complete said book. I started to look for other choirs - we have to travel a bit since there isn't one easily accessible from Hayward - and I came across this one. She auditioned, and the teacher saw an ability in her enough to place her in the level just prior to the touring choir, as a 7th grader. She rose to the challenge and was promoted to the top choir the following year and this is now her 4th year. They challenge you and she has to work hard to memorize multiple pieces of different languages and choreography, but they take the time to tell you the meaning of why sing what they do, and she chose to stay with this choir because of their global and social messages (and being the only kid from her school) despite the comfort of continuing with a choir where she was finally starting to make friends. With their last international tour she has made connections and it was an epic ride seeing them perform at magnificent cathedrals and with global groups. Their voices are magnificent in song together, truly. It has been worth for us driving from Hayward to Los Altos twice a week to get to see her participate and have her enjoy being part of this choir.

Great youth choir! My kids joined last Fall and this is one of the activities that they look…read moreforward to every week. The energy is very positive. They started out with 15 minutes yoga, even through zoom this year, and even though covid put a little damper in the beginning within a few short weeks they are up and running smoothly again. It's nice to hear my kids practice through out the week not because they have too but it's because they enjoy singing in this group. The whole organization is very supportive of each other and if you are new even the students are eager to help you. Love the whole attitude!!

My family take several classes here (piano and violin). All teachers are very professional, either…read morehave Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Performance or are have extensive teaching experiences. The owner hold a high standard of choosing teachers and also a teacher/performer herself. Ms.Qi is a very experienced violin teacher, her sharpness of observing student's places to improve and break down to the manageable pieces is quite impressive for this hard instrument. My kid improved a lot even in a few months. The piano teacher Lywon is also really good at teaching. They are capable of teaching from beginner level to professional level, and adjust the communication/teaching according to the level of the student which is really make this place a gem.

My daughter is taking several classes here for years. Their classes are online before but recently…read morethey have in-person classes. The teachers are very professional. They are pretty nice for beginners and young kids. My daughter have tried piano, violin, percussion and voice classes. We found we could take many music training in one studio which is so convenient. We love this studio! Highly recommend!