Baxter Northup is located on the bustling Ventura Blvd, but unless you're looking for it, it's…read morereally easy to miss! For starters, the windows and posters have seen their days that one might think that it is out of business, but it is in fact not and quite the opposite - tons of space inside! They have a variety of instruments and supplies, including a cleaning swab which I was looking for. And the plus is that they also offer music lessons in private rooms - even same day! I had an initial same-day oboe lesson with Phil, and we had great conversation. However, I have to admit that I didn't learn too much, and that we spent most of the time talking. The person working at the front was pretty chill, but paying for lessons wasn't very clear from the beginning - recommend being more specific with those. Their website is via Tumblr (?) which is a surprise. Lessons were $40 / session, and they recommend one session per week (but how long is a session?). Overall, I wish that there was more clarity on this side from time to payment the moment that we signed up. Parking was fairly easy to find on the street or in the lot in the back. However, do note that parking on the street is via metered parking and not free most hours. Return? Potentially for some music books!

This is my go to place for Instrument fixing and tuning. There is a wonderful gentleman who is very…read morenice and knowledgeable who helps us. It usually fast :)

My daughter has been attending their piano lessons for kids, and the experience has been nothing…read moreshort of fantastic. The instructors are incredibly professional and truly have a gift for working with children. They create a nurturing environment that fosters both skill development and a love for music. If you're looking for top-notch piano lessons for your child, Ava Music Academy is the place to go! I tried many classes around us, but I highly recommend this class.

I've been attending Ava Music Academy for over a year now. I have been taking private voice lessons…read morewith Ostad Edris Foroughi. The school has exceeded my expectations. Very happy with my progress.

I've been taking voice lessons here for the past 2 years and have had such an amazing time! The…read morestaff is so friendly and the instructors are so knowledgeable and helpful.

The best place for lessons! My eight year old daughter is learning the guitar here because one day…read moreshe wants to play like Taylor Swift. Everyone here is so friendly and professional!

Been doing zoom banjo lessons with Ethan and couldn't be happier! Was skeptical of the zoom aspect…read moreat first, but I've learned so much in such a short time and the convenience of being able to take classes from anywhere that I have an internet connection and a laptop has been great for my crazy schedule. Ethan is super patient. He structures his lessons around learning songs, which I love. I tried to learn clawhammer on my own for years with little progress. The fact that I can play several short songs already is just crazy. Couldn't recommend Red Pelican more.

I took my first clarinet lesson forty-six days before my sixty-fifth birthday. Yep, out of the…read moreblue, at sixty-four, without any music experience at all, I decided to learn to play the clarinet. Does that sound crazy to you? It did to me. I wasn't even sure if it was possible. I searched online for clarinet instructions. Keep in mind, this was the middle of the current COVID-19 quarantine, so I wasn't surprised that all lessons were being held on zoom. My Google search gave me a couple of options, including Red Pelican Music. A couple of emails and phone calls. Later, I had my first class scheduled through Red Pelican with Ari Silberman, zoom lesson, of course. And it turned out great. Ari is engaging, supportive, patient. We've had twelve one hour lessons. I've gone from having never played a note to learning songs. In between classes, Ari is available to answer email questions, even over the phone, when my practice sessions became especially frustrating. When I started with Ari, he asked me what my goals were. I told him since I could not play at all right now, I'd like to be able to play badly in a year. Ari thought I was kidding, I wasn't, and he was confident he could have me playing badly in a short period of time and then we would work on playing well. So, what happened? I've made more progress than I thought I could. I won't be auditioning for the New York Philharmonic anytime soon, but now if anyone asks me if I can play an instrument, I can say "yes." In twelve short weeks, Ari has gotten me from learning notes to learning songs. This is a long review with a short point, Ari is great.

My teacher is awesome and so nice she really is helping me with my vocal skills and everyone is so…read morenice I would recommend if you are looking for music lessons

I wouldn't recommend this place to adults or for voice lessons…read more First of all there is no communication at the beginning that they are available to help you if you aren't happy with your assigned instructor. Since I wanted to learn how to sing but didn't know how to get there, it was very difficult for me to determine if what the person was teaching me was effective or not. I had one instructor that talked too much about herself and didn't seem focused. Then I had another teacher that only knew how to sing opera, also not focused and easily distracted, then I tried another instructor who did help me learn how to sing with the piano and how to approach singing many different songs and I made some good progress, but then I found out that he really couldn't teach me technique which is what I needed all along! I have a breathy voice and wanted to be able to sing in a more connected powerful way. Unfortunately no one at Angeles ever helped me choose the right instructor from the beginning and I paid for 10 months of lesson, over $3000 only to realize at the end (the last 2 lessons I had), when the teacher knew how to teach technique and address my issue. Since the teachers are not likely paid well, if you are an adult, I would recommend getting lessons from a teacher that you are paying directly so they will have more investment in giving you what you need.

Our daughter has attended Suzuki Academy for almost 3 years now and we could not be happier with…read moreour time here. Sensei Hannah is a talented, engaging, all around lovely instructor who our daughter adores and looks forward to seeing every week. Lessons have always been appropriate for her age, handled with great patience, never too much or too little for our kiddo to take on, and always joyful. Hannah has also guided us every step of the way in supporting our daughter on her journey as neither of us are pianists. We hope to be here for many more years to come and look forward to seeing our kid continue to grow in confidence and musicality.

Fantastic! Our daughter has lessons with Sensei Jose and we are so very happy with her progress…read moreand excitement for playing! Thank you so much Suzuki Academy!

My experience was in reverse. Returning the item was more pleasant than purchasing the item. We…read morewent there to buy a speaker for our son. Buying it was a bit stressful, the answer to our questions were hard to come by and we had to carry this big speaker to the car. That said the experience wasn't bad, but, I believe for someone like me who doesn't have knowledge of speakers, a little more education would have been helpful. I am sure this an ideal place for musicians who know what they want. Unfortunately, I bought the wrong speaker. When I returned it, the staff member was pleasant and didn't make a fuss about it.

I went in to buy my very first instrument, a ukulele. The staff were all super nice and…read moreencouraging, not intimidating. One of the staff Nick congratulated me on purchasing my first ukulele, which meant a lot! The staff that rang me up also kindly offered to tune my ukulele, and informed me about discounts. Would love to work here!

I hired the BeatBuds for my son Leo B.'s third birthday and I cannot recommend these guys enough…read more They made the party a total banger, and one that required minimal work from me and my husband. This was the first kid birthday we had to plan that more than a house party that was child-friendly but honestly mostly for adults. Now that our son is in school, with friends and opinions, we realized we needed to figure out some form of entertainment for all the three-year-olds that would be gathering in our backyard. I had a panicked moment of late-night googling before I just asked an experienced mom friend for ideas that didn't involve making themed decorations inspired by Pinterest. She suggested the BeatBuds. I'd heard of the BeatBuds, but had assumed they were too expensive to justify hiring, given that no one remembers their third birthday party. It turns out they charge $450 for the whole interactive performance, with the option to add instrument kits that double as party favors for $10 apiece. By the time they left our house, I felt like I would've been happy to pay double. They were certainly worth every penny. I contacted the BeatBuds a few weeks in advance and was happy when they still had availability for the second Saturday of April. I emailed with Matty and he was nice and responsive. I paid their fee and waited until I had all our RSVPs in before adding on some party favors. The only other prep I had to do for them was to show Leo their YouTube videos so he'd be excited for their visit. Mark and Johnny came the day of and just absolutely rocked Leo's world. They were professional with us, arriving early to set up and getting situated in our yard. (They require some shade and a little bit of space, but I don't think you need that big an area to accommodate them.) With the kids, they were basically Beyoncé, BTS, and Taylor Swift. Their set was about 45-50 minutes as promised, and included several fantastic songs that had every child at our house completely riveted. They knew how to appeal to small children, and engaged them with various instruments and activities connected to the music. Most of our tiny guests were three years old, but there were a few slightly older kids and I think they got even more out of the experience. Leo is a shy kid, and he had a hard time at the beginning of his party, despite being super stoked to see the BeatBuds (I think he'd been hoping for more of a private show, for him and maybe his best friend). He cried and didn't want to come outside until the show got going, and even then, he spent most of the party apart from the rest of the kids. The BeatBuds were wonderful about paying attention to him and making him feel special but also part of the same party everyone else was attending. They also stuck around after their show to accompany the happy birthday song. The booking fee included twelve tambourines, but we did opt to get the full instrument bags, each of which came with four percussion instruments, an activity leaflet, and crayon pack (the price of the tambourines was deducted from our total). I'm guessing the Buds make a decent profit from these goodie bags, but they saved us the kids loved them and they saved us the headache of figuring out party favors, so again, I'd say worth it. I really have nothing but unequivocal praise for the BeatBuds. I'd hire them again in a heartbeat, and probably will when Leo is old enough to make actual memories.

Five stars are just NOT ENOUGH! Matty and Jonny don't meet up to any expectations you might have,…read moreTHEY EXCEED ANYTHING YOU COULD EVEN IMAGINE! They totally captivated a group of two year olds and had them singing and dancing and grooving to the music!. Parachute, bubbles, singing along, the parents had as much fun as the kids. Extremely professional and organized, book the BeatBuds in advance to make certain they are available on the date of your event!

My 14-year-old aspiring drummer son did one of the weeklong summer camps and had the absolute best…read moretime of his life. He loved the teachers, he loved the vibe of the place. He loved the other students, and he really loved learning to play in a band. The staff is kind, cool and quickly responsive to emails and phone calls . My son has signed up for the Sunday performance group this fall. And he had so much fun. I was inspired to sign up for guitar lessons starting next week.

DO NOT ENROLE YOUR CHILDREN HERE!!!!... I'm a music business professional ..... this place is…read morecomplete rip off.... I enrolled my son here in the ensemble group .... it was beyond terrible , hardly any kids showed up .... and when they did , it was like a baby sitting service ..... i asked for the money back for the remaining sessions ..... and essentially they told me to F&#^ off ..... Nice , huh ?

I took my guitar in for a little tuneup on my fret board. He was very nice as professional. Had it…read moredone the same day. Only a couple of hours. Came back exactly how I wanted it. You can tell they take pride in their work. Definitely coming back for any future guitar needs

I came here to get my old banjo fixed and he did such a great job with the strings and loose screws…read moreand cleaned / polished the guitar and strings after Works great now!