My two children have been attending Cornerstone Music Studios for close to five years now. As a…read morefamily, we understand the multitude of benefits a musical education awards a child. My husband and I originally began music lessons for my son at age 6 to help him with his fine motor skills and focus as these areas seemed to overwhelm him on an every day basis. Music seemed to be a natural place to help him as he enjoyed music very much. It was also important to us as parents for our children to learn a lifelong skill that was practical yet fulfilling, as well as the character training that goes along with musical discipline. My son chose the guitar and my daughter the piano. We also know the investment in time, money, and perseverance a musical education takes. When we began searching for a school, there were many other options available and it was overwhelming trying to sift through all the reviews and comparing one to another. For any parent who is at that starting point as we were, I hope this review will save you much unnecessary time, money, and heartache because there is nothing worse than investing in music lessons and an instrument only for your child to lose heart and give up after a few months. Cornerstone Music Studios is, we believe, the bar in which other schools and teachers would want to aspire to. The school has expanded to two studios and is located in Millstone which is convenient to many surrounding towns like Manalapan, Monroe, Allentown, Hightstown, East Windsor, Jackson, and more. It is run by Laura Whitman, a talented musician in her own right, but most of all, one of those people that you know upon first meeting her as just a really good person who truly has you and your child's best interest at heart. She makes you feel like you're part of a family, and never part of a business. To put it plainly, it doesn't get better than Cornerstone. In my research, I found the cost at Cornerstone to be comparable to other schools, but the quality goes far beyond. You get so much more for your money. The faculty is a well selected group of musically trained individuals, most of whom are working musicians themselves. Ms. Whitman and her faculty support their students not just in private lessons, but in a rich curriculum of offerings from musical theater, to theory and composition, to summer camps, to Musikgarten for the littles, to Rock Out Loud for children with special needs, to my son's personal favorite class, rock band. There really is a large menu of offerings for all types of children to develop and nurture their own personal musical path. Another unique and really cool feature about Cornerstone is how they support the musical performance of their students. The school offers mini recital nights in intimate settings for students to get comfortable with performance, as well as Open Mic and Coffee House nights for tweens and teens to get together and perform in a peer setting, all of which nurtures the child's self-esteem and confidence as a performer. Ms. Whitman also offers many opportunities for the students to play in community outreach performances. For my son, the performance aspect made his skill and confidence skyrocket. Not only can he take a rock band class at Cornerstone, but he can rock out with his band in front of a bunch of peers and feel really good doing it. It blows me away every time to see my child up there at a performance and putting together all he's learned in a supportive and encouraging environment. What Ms. Whitman and Cornerstone do with these children is priceless.

Cornerstone Music Studios offers excellent private lessons and group classes for all ages! My…read morechildren have participated in their Mini Music Makers class and are now taking private lessons! We love it here!

Jon and the team at Lakehouse have really created something incredible. It's a great music school…read morefor both people who've never played a note of music in their lives but want to learn and people who've been playing forever and just need to polish their already existent knowledge. Plus all the music teachers are experts in their instruments and most are in their own bands and gig. There's really no other music school like this one for young people; the Core program puts kids in the spotlight and has them perform on stage as opposed to just learning an instrument and never getting to apply the knowledge. When I did the Core program it really got me out of my shell and pushed me to sing on stage, which is something I never would have gotten the courage to do before. Jon, Albie, and the Lakehouse teachers cultivated the musical potential that my three sisters and I had and I'm grateful for this because it made us aware of our musical inclination. I've seen so many kids enter Lakehouse timid and nervous about performing on stage, who end up blossoming during their time at the school and end up playing as well as professional musicians. So if you're thinking of bringing your kids to Lakehouse - do it.

My son Chris really enjoys the music production classes with Chill Smith. He is eager to attend…read moreclasses and is learning valuable information. He even came to watch Chris perform at his last Wonder Bar performance. Genuine care means a lot. Excellent experience thus far.

I've been playing bass guitar for over 20 years and have received lessons off and on from many…read moredifferent teachers. Ryan is one of the best instructions I've ever had. He reads people well and has a such a vast knowledge of theory.

I would give 10 stars if I could. They are the nicest kindest people you'd ever want to meet…read more Clearly they love what they do. Since the services they offer are rare, they could be ridiculously expensive and unhelpful. They are the extreme opposite of that. I wish I had more reason to do business with them. This is a one-of-a-kind shop.

A pleasure dealing with Erica. She did a great job refreshing my father's violin. All my dealings…read morewith this organization have been excellent.

My 7 year old son has been taking lessons with Mrs Schmidt for over a year. She is great with young…read morechildren - very patient, and knows how to keep them interested and motivated. He can't wait for his lessons with her, and has been making great progress! She knows how to communicate fundamentals such as rhythm, reading music, and proper technique very effectively. However she will go out of her way to make piano fun - for instance she translated his favorite song, the Star Spangled Banner into easy to follow fingering for him. We highly recommend lessons with Mrs Schmidt!

Ocean County Music is great. They offer wonderful music instruction and provide a venue for their…read morestudents to perform and work together as a band. The products they offer are wide ranging and top Quality. Mike, Vinny and Sal are wonderful people and a lot of fun to work with. Their recording studio is excellent and they work with the customer to find whatever you need.

Went to look to see if they sold records, which they do. Not a large selection of newer but quite a…read moreselection of older artists. Lots of 45s, too many to look at and quite a selection of cds. You can watch bands in their recording studio. Employees were friendly and talkative. Prices on used records were actually pretty good.

These guys are top notch in the business of guitar repairs and restoration. I have a '92 American…read moreStrat with a Floyd Rose which I am extremely protective of, as it is a rare model and difficult to find for sale, and it is my favorite guitar that I own. Naturally, I'm apprehensive about leaving it with anyone, but back when i first bought it in 2001 i brought it here because the frets were very unevenly worn and they did a superb job with leveling and crowning... Fast forward to 2018 (held up after all this time and lots of gigs) and it was time to do it again. They suggested i have it re-fretted at this point. I was a bit apprehensive but agreed and couldn't be more pleased with the work. You can't even tell anything was done other than it looked like someone waved a magic wand and made the frets brand new again! I even waited a few months before writing this review and they are still perfect. They also did a nice job with the setup and i had them replace the bolts on the Floyd to freshen it up. I normally do all my own setups, re-strings, and electronics work, but when it comes to intricate fret work i don't have the right tools and certainly would not attempt to re-fret a valuable guitar myself. I have not had any amps re-tubed or repaired here, so i cannot comment on that. But whatever services you have done on your guitar, you will not be disappointed. Best guitar repair shop in the area, period.

Since changing ownership, the care and customer service from the new owner has declined since CJ…read moreowned the shop. Several other musicians I know have had the same experience. For example, I brought in a Telecaster for a setup. The owner takes my guitar, spews out upcharges for work he says is needed (nope, did not need work), tags the guitar, hands me a ticket and only then tells me that the shop is backlogged and it will take 6-8 weeks for the set up. HUH? Other musician buddies shared the same experience. So, always ask how long will it take to get your instrument back..Better yet, go somewhere else!

I absolutely love my guitar lessons with Joe, he is kind, friendly and patient. Joe is extremely…read moreknowledgeable about music theory, he can answer any question and teach you to play any song. He is very adamant that lesson and practice be fun. I love that he is a private instructor, not a corporate franchise. His hour long lessons are extremely reasonably priced, he offers lessons in multiple instruments and even organizes bands of varying skills. I would highly recommend this music teacher.

I am a guitarist in Joe Salk's band program for over a year now....great musical experience, he…read moreknows his stuff.