The Music Shop is a great neighborhood music store focused on lessons with a retail and repair…read morebusiness on the side. We have taken guitar and piano lessons here for the last two years and could not be happier. The teachers are engaged and interested in teaching kids things that enhance their skills and keep them interested. The range of music you hear them teaching demonstrates their commitment to the student - not their own interests. I wish my parents sent me to this kind of place growing up instead of learning to read music for "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Bad enough for piano, imagine it for a kid that wanted to learn rock guitar. The space was recently spruced up and has a nice vibe. If you are interested in lessons for guitar, bass, uke, drums, piano and a few other instruments this place is definitely worth checking out.

My 8 year old son has been taking music lessons at LB for almost a year and I can't tell you how…read morehappy it has made him. Little background, my son has autism and adhd. To say he struggles is putting it mildly. He strives to be like his peers and do the things they do, but unfortunately some of his struggles just make that too difficult for him. We tried soccer and t-ball. Those just ended with him in tears feeling defeated. Music has always been something that interests and soothes him. So, we thought we'd give lessons(he likes to sing)a try if he was on board. Since our initial email the teachers and staff at LB have accepted my son with open arms. I can 100% guarantee the half hour he is in his lesson he is striving. He is happy and gets to express himself without being judged. He is included and pushed to shine. He gets to be himself and the rewards we get from that are priceless!

I am the founder of The Vocalist Studio International and I know Lauren Bateman personally, as a…read moremusician, as a business owner and as a voice coach. I have been to the LB Music School. This school has excellent facilities and qualified teachers. As for Lauren, she is flat out one of the best teachers I have ever met. Here command of vocal technique and understanding of how to teach students how to train voice and therefore, how to apply it to singing better is world class. She flat out is one of the most qualified voice teachers in the Boston region. Anyone that participates in this school is going to get a great experience.

Best guitars and best owners and so welcoming and so open to help and I got a free shirtread more

Highlights: - Friendly and helpful staff…read more- Lots of guitars to check out and try - Melodicas!!! I stumbled into Mr. Music while visiting Boston. I was really excited to check out Allston, and this place caught my eye as I was walking around the neighborhood. I've been playing bass for about 4 months now. I was really excited to finally be able to walk into a music store and be able to actually try out the guitars and see which ones I liked. The staff were very helpful - right away they asked if I needed help finding anything. They pointed me in the direction of the bass guitars, specifically acoustic basses (which I was interested in hearing/playing). Their bass guitar section is awesome! They have a handful of acoustics that you can try out, which is really cool. If you're looking to purchase a bass guitar and want to make sure you're comfortable with it first - this is the place. They have a variety of pics that you can try, too. I've only played with two different pic styles before, so being able to try a handful made me realize what I really liked. They also have a great little corner for trying out electric guitars, complete with a little amp. I tried a lot of different electric basses, and found the ones I really liked. It was so much fun to try out the guitars and find out what I want to save up for. Besides guitars, they have a cute little percussion section and a bunch of melodicas!! The melodica is such a cool instrument, so I was happy to see it getting some love in this store. All-in-all, I walked away from the store with a handful of new pics and a smile on my face. This is such an authentic little shop, you can tell they really care a lot about music. I would love to go back!

I've been taking my two kids ages 10 & 13 to this place off and on for the past 2 years and felt…read morethe need to yelp about it. This place offers guitar, drums, bass, piano & vocals. In addition to private one on one teaching they offer ensemble classes as well. The studio is clean, modern and has a great decor. The whole aura/vibe is laid-back and casual. I really like that Greg the owner stays involved with the teaching and clearly has a passion for what he does. They are very flexible about scheduling and the prices are terrific. I've personally attended other schools and had other teachers, but none delved into theory and the history of whatever music it was you were learning. In addition they offer video recordings of your lesson, meaning you can revisit everything you just learned by popping it into your computer. Greg the owner is an apple lover, but the dvd's work in your pc as well! So if you are looking for lessons I suggest going no place but here.... Keep on rocking! Oh and you're welcome!!!!

My 10-year-old daughter has been taking voice lessons at GS Music Center for approx. 7 months…read more Jeanine the voice teacher has been fantastic!! She is well trained, professional, enthusiastic and great with my daughter. Greg the owner is very personable and accommodating. The studio is clean, organized and in a great location in Medford. I am extremely happy with the GS Music Center and would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for music lessons for a child or an adult.

A friend told me about Guitar Stop so I brought in my acoustic which had a bad case of fret buzz. I…read morethought it needed an entire setup (I'm still very much a beginner player). However, Jeanne made a minor adjustment to the truss rod and fixed my lousy stringing error and the buzz was gone. This cost me $5. I returned to the store the next day and Annette was extremely helpful and very patient with all my questions about a new electric guitar. I ended up purchasing my first electric with a great amp. They even include a free gig bag and six picks! Very cool. Overall, I'm very pleased with this family-owned store and will visit them again for my guitar needs. Thanks for reading and rock on!

I had a strange experience there with a guitar repair…read more Ten years ago I bought an acoustic guitar with a pickup at GuitarStop. A few months ago the pickup stoped working. I brought it in to Guitar Stop. Their technician examined the guitar, cleaned the dust out, and came to the conclusion that the pickup/preamp would need to be replaced. They gave me the customer service phone number of the guitar manufacturer, and said that because they were no longer distributing that brand, there was no way they could get the parts, or do anything else to help me. Even though I bought the guitar there, they told me I'm on my own. One odd experience was that the technician didn't talk to me. All this info was mediated to me by the people behind the counter. When I had a question, they would ask the tech, the tech would tell them, they'd tell me. It was odd to have a middleman coordinating. I then did what I didn't want to do: I brought the guitar to Guitar Center on Mass Ave, across from Berklee. The guitar technician came out, introduced himself to me, and walked me through all the options. A couple days later they called me and said the guitar was completely fixed. It was the wiring, the very thing that Guitar Stop claimed it wasn't. There was NOTHING WRONG with the pickup or preamp. It works/sounds beautiful now. When I brought this to the attention of Guitar Stop, they told me how "filthy" my guitar was, how their tech tried every everything, etc. They offered to refund me the $20 bench fee, but it feels picayune to accept that. I always want to support local business and not the "big retailers," but in this case, if I need any work on any guitar, I won't feel confident bringing it to Guitar Stop.

I just wanted to thank you SO SO much for fixing my Gibson Les Paul. You did SUCH a good job that…read moreit sounds like it did when it was brand new nearly 20 years ago, NO ONE has done such a great job as you have. A thousand thank yous, I got completely lost in the moment playing it and it's been years since I experience that unless I was onstage in the zone. I'm thrilled my step father found you, your going to be my forever go to for anything regarding fixing my guitars. Price was VERY reasonable- in a world where everything is to much, you certainly are priced fair. Thank you.

I walked into Mike's, because I was in the market for an electric and live in the neighborhood…read more This was my first electric, but I knew I wanted something decent with good tone. I told the store owner what I was looking for, and he showed me what was in my price range. He also very kindly told me that I was welcome to try any of the guitars--even though I very clearly could not afford them! I thought that was cool! He left me alone to play the guitars. I was able to take my time--as I didn't really know what I was looking for. I was so happy with one of them, that I went ahead and bought it! I've had it for about 2 or 3 years now, and I still love it!

What an amazing service. Brought in a guitar that wasn't in the best shape and they did a…read moremagnificent job on getting it playing beautifully. 10/10 will always come back here for any work.

Domenic did a fantastic job setting up an acoustic guitar for me. Fast and friendly service at a…read moregreat price.

I have found the perfect piano teacher!! My son started taking lessons when he was about 5 with a…read moretraditional, classical teacher. He progressed very fast but by the end of the year it was a chore for him to play. We eventually stopped taking lessons and I was at a loss. I wanted him to take classes and explore and grow his love for music, but I didn't want to sacrifice form and technique for fun. So what's a parent to do? I wanted it all or nothing. So, we went a couple years with nothing. And then I stumbled across an ad for Jingjing. She asked what we were looking to do in the lessons and told us she could mold the class into what we wanted it to be. My main objective was for him to learn and be challenged, expand his love for the piano, and have fun. I don't have an agenda - there isn't a concert that he needs to know a song for. I just want the lesson to flow and she's happy to accommodate that. However, if I did have an agenda and timeline I wanted to meet, I feel she would accommodate that as well. My son is now 9, is beyond inquisitive, and quite a bit fidgety. None of this seems to faze her. He asks non-stop questions about the strings and mechanics of the piano. She actually opened up the top of the piano to show him the strings and explained what happens between hitting the key and hearing the sound. For my son, this was HUGE! She follows his lead, answers his questions and then, without him even realizing, redirects him back to the lesson. Miraculous! He really enjoys classical music but Jingjing is open to playing whatever style they prefer. On his second class he asked her if she could teach him Moonlight Sonata and she smiled and agreed. There was no doubt or hesitation - just belief that he could. She watches his technique, points out nuances in the music, challenges him, applauds him, encourages him to write his own songs and has him practicing!! I can't possibly explain what a great teacher she is and how perfect she is for my son. Originally submitted a while back by my wife, Carol S., here on Yelp!

Jingjing is incredibly talented and lovely to work with...she has gotten my 6-year old daughter…read moreexcited to play the piano...and to practice on her own! She can engage children in ways I've never experienced with piano teachers before...I feel very lucky to have found Jingjing!!!

Incredible sales folks ! Hard to find items . Prices are better than guitar center . What a neat…read moreplace to hang out and find your next guitar

I went in to buy a new Martin acoustic, but the staff's bored snarkiness made me think they learned…read moretheir social skills in high school, and stopped there. The good news is I bought exactly the guitar I was looking for, the bad news (for them) is that I bought it at a different guitar store that had much better service.