Great spot to chill and grab a beer. The establishment had an interesting look about it with plates…read moreof patrons on the walls. Some with funny sayings. Service and selection of beers was very good. I didn't try the food so i can't comment.

I can't tell you how pleased I was when I brought my flute to Flying Squirrel for repair. The woman…read more(sorry I did not catch your name) was so competent and knew her way around a flute. She was able to quickly identify the problem, fixed it and proceeded to do a thorough evaluation of my flute, making sure it was in good order all around. To my pleasant surprise, the cost was very reasonable and I left with a flute in perfect working condition. I highly recommend Flying Squirrel Music as the place to go if your flute needs a "tune up", pun intended.

We hired Adam to play at our small backyard wedding. After searching and contacting almost every…read moreviolinst we could find in San Diego, he offered us the most reasonable price and even offered to have a guitarist accompany him for half of what most solo violinist were asking for. We had specific songs in mind that we wanted for the ceremony and he was able to play them beautifully. They were so adaptable to the speed of the ceremony (i.e. my 16 month old niece was the flower girl and was having some difficulties making it down the isle and they adjusted). Extremely professional and very good quality! Highly recommend for any event.

Adam has been teaching our 13-year-old son lessons for a few months now, and he is simply amazing!…read moreWe've tried several instructors in the area and he is by far the most interesting, fun, professional, and inspiring! We love him!

Kirk is an amazing guitarist and teacher. He breaks down concepts if you don't and understand them…read moreand tries to find different explanations to clear things up. I would definitely recommend him to anybody wanting to learn how to play the guitar.

Kirk is the bomb. I started taking lessons with him years ago and his lessons have made a huge,…read morelasting impact my guitar playing. His rates are reasonable, he is a nice guy. I would recommend him to anyone from beginner to advanced.

Wonderful music school with reasonable prices. I am so glad I found this place. They have an…read moreextensive list of instruments they can help you work on. I might even take more than one class here someday. Amazing staff. Very responsive. Highly recommend. Such a blessing.

This is a very cool music store, adjacent to the music store is a coffee house, in fact they are…read moretogether. The coffee house has a stage with gear and it looks like they are ready to go. A musician just has to plug in and play. Open mic on Tuesdays. They have an array of used guitars and consignment instruments. I played a few guitars and talked with Steve. As I was playing a number of people came in and signed up for lessons. I had a coffee with a shot of espresso for $3.17. Free Wifi here also.

Top-notch luthier John Montgomery and his staff are professional and helpful. Great selection of…read morestringed instruments and accessories on hand. The store has many interesting musical artifacts, books and sheet music. I recently purchased a bench made violin from JM after a long grueling process of trial and error trying to find the perfect instrument. John made a recommendation and it turned out to be the perfect fit for me. Great quality does not come cheaply but it was worth every penny and was superior in sound and performance to others in the same price range. I was able to find outstanding service, quality and value. I'd like to recognize Freda for always being friendly and responsive. Thanks Y'all!

John Montgomery is an excellent Luthier and we are very fortunate to have someone as knowledgeable…read moreas Mr. Montgomery as a resource here in North Carolina. However, because Mr. Montgomery has such a superb reputation, he has a tendency to charge much much more than Luthiers for comparable work in other markets. Our family has had several violins worked on by top notch luthiers in major markets such as Chicago, LA, and New York. The costs for repair done by Mr. Montgomery is nearly twice what you would expect to pay if you went to a comparable luthier in another location. I suppose it would be a case of supply and demand. We have attempted to sell 2 violins on consignment through Mr. Montgomery. Not only did he inform us that we would need to sink 1500 into a $7500 violin in order to make it "marketable", after having the violin in the shop for over 5 years now, there has been no sale. So at this point, we have to pay 1500 to get the violin back or continue to let it continue to age with absolutely no communication or status updates from Mr. Montgomery. If you need to purchase an instrument, you will be able to find excellent "high-end" instruments and accessories. However, if you are looking for repairs and/or to sell your instrument, you would be better off either selling at auction or taking it to a luthier in a different market who will not take advantage of the seller in terms of repairs and sales commission.

I have been working with Dr. Steve Fiess of High Range Piano for the last 10 months as an adult…read morepiano student, and I have been extremely satisfied with his instruction. I have been making great progress, and I've been improving faster than I have in the past with other teachers. Overall, Steve is a quiet, calm, all-around kind person. He is always encouraging, even when offering constructive criticism of my playing. I always look forward to my next lesson. After each lesson, I leave feeling good about my playing, and also like I received good feedback, so I know where I need to improve. Steve has been great at helping me select songs to play. As we move on to new pieces, the next one is always just the right difficulty--challenging enough to help me progress but always within reach with a little bit of work. He's also always open to me bringing in pieces that I want to work on. I usually bring a few in, and he helps me decide which piece will be the best fit for my current skills. Steve's depth and breadth of piano knowledge is also impressive. I often ask him questions about why a particular piece is written a particular way or some other detail about a piece. He always has a thorough answer that covers the relevant areas of music history, theory, and practice. I've never met another piano teacher who is so knowledgeable about the piano and piano music. It really helps to give some context to the music I'm playing and helps me understand it better. Overall, I've been very pleased, and I would not hesitate to recommend High Range Piano to anyone looking for a piano teacher.

My husband and I have been in the adult group for many years (7 for me and 10 for my husband)…read more Steve and Neal are extremely gifted musicians and as teachers they are patient and kind. They instill in all of their students a love for music. If there is a piece I want to play because it speaks to my heart, they will find the music and help me learn it. When my left hand was injured and unable to play for over a year, Neal played the left hand of my pieces and later when I had the use of that hand back, we continued to incorporate duets and a trio (with my sister on the violin) into our music lessons. They knit all of the adult students together in adult studio class, an informal pot luck at which we played for each other. It has been wonderful. We are continuing with on line lessons and adult studio class by Skype.

Been taking guitar lessons here for a while. My instructor is the owner, Paul Warren. So…read moreobviously I have good things to say about him. But the other instructors on a multitude of instruments including guitar, bass, banjo, drums, piano, voice, fiddle, and others are beyond top notch. The price is the average for any instrument lesson business in the area, currently $95 a month, which gets you 4 thirty minute sessions a month. Here is what I really think makes RMA stand out above the others in the area. If you have a young child wanting to learn guitar, the primary youth instructor is Mary Ann. Her students never fail to amaze me with the skills they have at such a young age, and how fast they progress and improve. For the adults wanting to learn, you can put all of the instructors names in a hat and pull one out and you will not be disappointed in the expertise and quality of instruction you get. And to further separate the RMA from others in the area, each month there is a student show for those students who want to play live and show what they have learned and gain the experience of performing live in front of a crowd. And if you want some icing on the cake that you truly can not find at any other local place, the RMA regularly brings in musical legends such as Jennifer Battan, Doyle Dykes, John Pettrucci, Greg Howe, Vinnie Moore, Bumblefoot, Paul Gilbert, and Andy Wood. Read those names again and find me another musical instrument lesson business in the area that brings such people in and provide their students an opportunity to learn from them and watch them perform. You can't do it.

The Raleigh Music Academy is a well established business that provides music lessons, clinics,…read moreperformances, and workshops. The staff is the most professional and talented in town, and the opportunities to enhance your music skills are great. I think they are the only school in town that has a student show or recital every single month. You can usually play for friends and family without going on a waiting list - usually whenever you are ready. You can play with other students (like a band), alone, or just with your instructor. The shows are popular so get there early for a good seat!

If you're rusty and aren't exactly sure what you need, don't go here until you figure it out…read more Marsh is a decent store with obvious professionals, but they aren't so stellar on the retail customer service. Reeds. I needed reeds for my saxophone. I stopped by Marsh hoping to restock. Typically, I buy several boxes at a time, a relatively expensive venture. No typical purchase this time, though. For some reason the store was diverting customers for the retail side through the repair shop. With instruments in various stages of repair, and sheet music crowding the small aisle, navigating to the retail side is a bit confusing to a first-time customer like me. So, I waited for one of the two repair shop employees to wave me past. While I waited, I overheard one of them explaining to another customer the best repair technique to use for his trumpet and why the option the customer wanted wouldn't work. I was impressed enough with how well he explained it, that I may keep Marsh in mind for an upcoming repair. The retail side? Totally different. Because I buy so many boxes of reeds at a time, it'd been a while. I was a bit rusty on the brands available, and I noticed they didn't carry the one I wanted. The gentleman available to help -- didn't. I could have dealt with his rote indifference in the questions he asked, except when he started to laugh. Wow. Nothing like laughing at a customer who's expecting you to be a bit more forthcoming with information. Total turnoff. I ended up buying only one box of whatever brand he mentioned just so I could get out before I lost my temper. Admittedly, the question I led with was similar to going into a bookstore and asking for the "book with the soft cover and having a picture of some sort" on the cover. Total doofus move. But still, the condescension in his voice from then on, was unnecessary. Customer service on the retail side: 1 star. Because I was partly to blame for not being prepared, I'll give it 2 stars. Repair side: 4 stars.

What can I say about Marsh...Hm…read more Since I have never actually utilized their retail function as a store, I will say that this review is for the repair work that they have done on my instruments. First time going I had an issue with a clarinet. No note could be produced except for G (for those of you who don't know, to make that note, all you have to do is blow air into the horn. No fingerings or anything special like that). Took the instrument to Marsh expecting to have to pay money out the wazoo to have the clarinet repaired. Guy took one look at the instrument and adjusted a screw. Suddenly, it worked again as if it was never "broken." Since it was such a small thing, there was no charge, which I thought was really awesome. For the second visit, we brought in an old C Melody saxophone that could be dated to just about one hundred years. I had tried to produce notes on it before with little success. Nothing could be done about the aesthetics, but after the guys at Marsh were through with it, they had the instrument working again properly, all notes produced and everything. They even threw in a new mouthpiece and reeds so it could be fiddled with (that is, in the right hands). Last week, we brought a used (but new to me) Yamaha tenor sax in just to see if there was anything that needed to be done. A couple of the pads were replaced, but for the sake of making the instrument "easier to play." Most other places I have gone to would have claimed that if all notes could come out, then nothing needed to be done. They gave up some lacquer polish, and the instrument sounds great. I am always proud of the work that Marsh does. I have been told for years that it's the place to go. So if you're looking for a woodwind repair shop, look no further than this fantastic shop.