So far so good! My son is in our trial month for piano lessons. His teacher is Akiko, and she's…read morebeen great so far! She's been fun and engaging, and very patient. The stickers help. :) To start, I had a phone consultation with Jamie, who was very sweet and we had a good conversation about our goals. She recommended Akiko and I think she was spot on. We're excited to continue!

My teenage son took lessons with Nish for three years and it has been a phenomenal learning…read moreexperience for him. He learned not just the mechanics of playing, but music theory, song writing, blending his style with other instruments and endless advice about guitar, music, and performing. Nish was able to guide my son through so many aspects of guitar and music, I'm truly impressed. We're moving, otherwise the lessons would continue.

I can't recommend Myles highly enough as a guitar teacher. He's a deeply knowledgeable musician…read morewith a real talent for assessing where you are as a learner and tailoring lessons to your goals. From the start, he took the time to understand what I wanted to achieve and structured our sessions accordingly. Myles is friendly, patient, and explains concepts in a way that actually makes them stick. He has a great ability to break down complex ideas into clear, manageable steps, which significantly accelerated my understanding of the fretboard. I always left lessons feeling more confident and motivated, with practical tools I could immediately apply. If you're looking for an instructor who combines technical expertise with an approachable teaching style and a genuine investment in your progress, Myles is an excellent choice--for beginners and more experienced players alike.

I sort of stumbled onto Melodies for Life after a poorly researched internet search for guitar…read morelessons in Alameda. What a great find! Myles keeps my goals in mind better than I do. He teaches to my level. He knows what it takes for me to be a better musician and guitar player. I would recommend him to anyone looking for an lessons on any rock band type instrument or vocals. He might teach other instruments, too. He seems to be able to play anything. I signed up my wife a for a month of vocal lessons for a gift. Now she sings better. Win win

Don is an awesome teacher. He has a deep knowledge of music and explains things super clearly…read more Lessons are tailored to my goals and style. Best music teacher I found!

From the owner: The main goal of learning any instrument should be to have fun and achieve the results that you…read moredesire whether you are a beginner or a professional looking to continue your skills. Our mindful approach to fretted instrument playing is simple...to offer friendly, professional coaching and advice for young people and adults – whether they are brand new to their instrument or seasoned pro's – wishing to embrace the spirit of their instrument, playing skill and musicianship, without the pressures of a formal music program. Acoustic or electric, Blues, Classical, Jazz, Rock, Reggae, Bluegrass, Country, Folk, Hawaiian; Guitar, Ukulele & Electric Bass are all offered as styles of musical development, as well as Songwriting.

I've been taking my son for piano lessons with Ms. Litzky for two and a quarter years now. My son…read moreis nearly 10 and enjoys learning with Ariel. She is gentle, yet firm with kids and is kind through and through. What I like is her welcoming nature. Parents may stay during their child's lesson or leave, either way is OK. The one-on-one time is half an hour, and for kids, it is just the right amount of time. Ms. Litzky's students learn at their own pace; she is no drill sergeant! Now that my son is playing more complicated music, he enjoys it more and more, now that he has an excellent foundation to build upon. We have Ariel to thank for that!

Just simply the best piano teacher. Extremely patient especially with my son who has speech and…read morelearning difficulties. Ariel has also been the most reasonably priced because she loves what she does..... music

My children love the School of Rock! No matter their mood coming into their lessons / rehearsals,…read morethey always leave beaming, inspired, and excited for their next visit! The staff are friendly, helpful, kind, and on top of everything; the teachers are intelligent and fun and are great at accommodating the needs of all the students no matter their age or level! The concerts the kids put on at the end of each season are fantastic! I'm so thankful for this place, and I can't recommend it high enough!

From the owner: School of Rock Alameda is the leader in performance-based music education. We provide in-person…read moremusic lessons and group rehearsals (bands) for students ages 6+ through adults. Our bands rehearsal weekly to put on seasonal live performances at local venues. Reach out to schedule a free lesson!

I'm so pleased with the service I've received from this wonderful local shop. Adam ( the owner )…read moreset up my new Stratocaster and fixed my Martin so perfectly. I feel like I can play so much better now. It's nice to practice without the stress of knowing the guitar is just not right. Extremely happy!! The entire staff is friendly and very helpful. Definitely getting my next guitar from Mountain Music!! I know they will help me get the perfect guitar.

Craig and Gregory both so lovely and kind as I walked in and quickly bought a guitar to learn on,…read morenot even remembering which way to hold it ("are you left handed?" - Craig) Gently mentioning lessons, picks, etc... yes, please, and I promise I'll be back. A very cool space run by nice people who help, don't push, and don't make you feel dumb for not knowing anything. Love a local business too.

I'll boil it down for you. I have been going to Chelsea for a few months now, and it is absolutely…read morethe best investment I have ever made in myself. I'm not a professional singer, I'm just doing it for fun. I want to do Karaoke but wanted to work on my voice a little first. She lets me bring in rock and pop songs and takes it seriously. She helps me with my technique by explaining the physiology of my voice, but also uses kind of abstract but seriously helpful analogies to make everything makes sense for a novice like me. Not only does she do the technical stuff, but also works with me on my confidence and attitude. I always leave class on cloud nine even if I kind of sucked that week. It's like my personal weekly confidence building lessons on top of singing lessons. She's flexible, personable, and seems to really enjoy her job. Bottom line, is chelsea rocks and I highly recommend her classes.

Chelsea is an excellent vocal teacher-she knows her stuff! Her lessons have given me a better…read moregrasp of the technical side of singing, and she has also helped me to find more confidence in my voice. She has a real love for the art form and teaches from a place of great generosity and patience. If you're looking to give yourself more permission to find your voice and sing from your heart, Chelsea is the teacher for you.

I have been taking piano lessons from Heidi for the last 1.5 years. She is an outstanding teacher…read moreand has been instrumental in bringing music back into my life. Heidi identified what type of music I enjoy and has introduced me to some lovely compositions which I would never have had the opportunity to hear, much less learn. She is patient and identifies a student's strengths as well as weaknesses. She provides encouragement and effective strategies to work through the challenging sections in a piece. She also emphasizes on attention to dynamics. Her lessons are fun and in a relaxed learning environment. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning from her and she is extremely hard to replace.

Ms Heidi Saario is an expert pianist as well as a passionate teacher of budding musicians. She…read moretakes her teaching very seriously and is heavily invested in the musical growth of her students. Our 9 year old daughter has been a student of Ms Saario for the last one year. Ms Saario is very well organized in the way she plans and structures the class, the homework that she gives out, and in following up on how the student did on their homework. She recognizes that practice outside of class is a major factor in student growth, and to that end is always seeking new ways to motivate her students. In one such instance, she introduced an incentive program over a period of 75 days for all her students and this program had a very positive impact on our daughter's desire to practice music at home every single day without any urging from us. This in turn drastically increased the rate at which she was learning new songs and improving her piano skills. Ms Saario also provides several opportunities during the course of a year for her students to perform in front of a wider audience in a formal setting. These events establish target milestones for students in addition to fostering confidence in them. We have been fortunate to have Miss Saario as our daughter's musical inspiration, and have been amazed to see her musical ability grow over the last year.

I love Caitlin…read more When I was a senior in high school, I went to take violin lessons with her for a year. She was cheerful, bubbly, smart. The thing that stood out to me was that she tuned my violin in a couple of seconds while my last violin teacher would literally take 15-20 minutes to tune! (no joke, she was awful). I learned a lot from Caitlin. How to tune my violin correctly, what kind of violin to buy, what a joy it is to play music with another person. I made it to the part where I started learning vibratos, but had to leave to go to college before I could continue that. I contacted her once more during college to see if she wanted to catch up, and she was down! Caitlin is friendly and warm, and I would definitely go back to her right now, if I still had that same passion that drove me to the violin again.

Our daughter loved Caitilin for over two years. Caitlin decided it was time for her to move to…read moreanother teacher for her sake. She told us in an email after her last class. Mind you she had agreed to us paying to hold a space during the summer instead of taking a break and losing the spot which would have begun days AFTER the email. So it makes me wonder why she would have agreed if she was thinking it was time for our daughter to move on. My husband and I like transperancy more than fake niceness. We don't have an issue with kids needing new teachers. It doesn't make Caitlin or our daughter wrong or bad. Our problem (and the low review of Caitlin) is that after two years without warning you could do this with so little grace and refuse to take responsibility on how it came acrross. She is "super sorry" it happened but not responsible. I just ran into her at the grocery store and she doesn't see anything wrong in telling us after the fact and not communicating with in her words "great supportive family that I love". All I wanted to hear from her is that she could have communicated better. I was told in the store that is what I want. Clearly not what she can give. So be aware that after two years it could happen to you.