Exploring Music

I had a great experience with Joel as my guitar teacher. He knows everything, I’m so impressed by him. Every time I was there he blew my mind. I feel like I have the good foundation I was looking for and learned more that I even expected to.

This review is for the Piano teacher Rebecca. She is a good instructor who teaches music in a way that supports you. Depending on what you want to learn, she knows her stuff. I have been there a few times and have improved a lot since. Now, music requires a lot of practice and without it, no matter who teaches you, you won’t get anywhere. Have patience and practice as you will see in no time the improvement. Rebecca has been very good at understanding my struggles at times and have good exercises to overcome difficulties in learning the songs I wanted to play. I would recommend her if you are starting out and want someone that understands your level of music.

I don’t usually write such positive reviews, but this instructor, Sophia Steinberg, must be recognized. I wanted to introduce music lessons to my son and thought learning how to play a violin would have long term benefits. Since I am not a musician, far from it actually, I did not realize how difficult learning how to play an instrument can be. Ms. Sophia Steinberg has been so extremely patient and kind with my son that not only is he learning how to play the violin, he is enjoying the beauty of music. He is really loving the lessons and the challenge of the violin and looks forward to our Sunday lessons all week long. I am so proud of my child, and although I am biased as his mom, I do think he plays beautifully and it is not because of his musical genetics but because of this wonderful instructor. Thank you Ms. Sophia Steinberg for such a wonderful experience.

High quality instruments at reasonable price, occasional showcase of talents, coupled with excellent service. The staff there are friendly and seems passionate in music themselves– particularly Catherine (if I remember correctly) who found a great flute for me– very pleasant attitude and seems to always handle the whole store herself– i don’t know how she does it. Many thanks to her, and to this store for providing a refuge for music lovers. 10 stars out of 5!

Great place to shop for a guitar. I like the selection here and the staff is very friendly and helpful. Make sure you look for Catherine. She is very patient and knowledgeable. She answered all my questions. Thank you and would come again!

I happened to pass by this store last year when they had a mini concert, I liked the concept of it trying to bring talent together. This year I visit the area again and just wanted to stop by and check out some guitars, they have much more collection and things are more organised there. The sales girl there was very helpful and was knowledgeable about the instrument, I believe her name was Catherine. Definitely a little gem, because the customer service will not let you down:)

This place is fantastic; in particular, Catherine was AMAZING! I came in looking for a piano and a piano class. Catherine not only clearly explained what are the features you want to look for but also helped me find the perfect one for my budget! She was intelligent and well spoken, and is actually studying music too! I walked out with the perfect electric piano.
On top of that, this place is pet friendly! My corgi got plenty of love here. I cannot love this place more.

I wanted to get an ukulele for my sister after she graduated from high school, but I’m not sure where to get one.
So when I finished lunch on Clement yesterday, this place caught my attention. It wasn’t a really big store and it was actually quite old fashioned, but I was looking at their display and saw some of the instruments were on sale.
The girl Jennifer greeted me with a big smile and helped me in choosing the perfect ukulele for my sister. Even when I was clueless about tuning the ukulele, she explained it to me how it works and tuned it for me.
The price was very reasonable and I will definitely recommend this store for anyone who wants to get instruments without paying excessssssive amount!
Oh and I think they offer lessons for singing and instruments as well?

It looked like they had a small selection of ukeleles. We walked in, but were completely ignored by the person behind the counter. She was on the phone, and didn’t even attempt eye contact! So we walked out! Next stop, Aloha Warehouse!

This is a review for the Yamaha piano lessons (not the retail store). Was recommended the Yamaha system through my son’s preschool teacher. I remember quitting piano after my teacher hit my hand everytime I played incorrectly. I wanted to find a different way to learn for my son. It is really amazing how Ms Sue is able to manage a class of 3.5 to 5 year olds for almost an hour. She spends a good amount of time training their ear to recognize notes and chords. She uses different instruments to show rhythms. There is a great animated dvd with songs for kids to play along with at home.
After about 10 classes, my 4 yr old son was able to play with both hands in different keys, read some notes on both bass & treble clef. Amazing when this is the age where they’re still learning how to write letters. Ms Sue told us that the main goal is to make sure the child enjoys music. He definitely enjoys playing & even starting to try to play songs from the radio by ear. I wish I had this class when I was growing up but I am enjoying learning together with him. He loves going there & he loves Ms Sue.

Excellent and helpful, no pressure sales, friendly and fanatical about service. Got a great deal on a Yamaha FG730S guitar here. Not Yamaha’s top guitar by any means, but a very playable street and chill guitar. I’m pretty sure they sold me the guitar at or slightly below cost, which leads me to believe they are in the business to move product and provide an excellent customer experience rather than gouge customers so they can be über profitable. Bought a Ukulele another time that has served me well. Also bought bongo drums, harmonica, kazoo, picks, strings and shakers. All have been excellent quality.
Since my purchase experiences have been so good and I feel I have been offered fair prices for great products along with very good service, I will treat this as a neighborhood establishment where I will refer all of my musical friends when they need a road or park instrument.

Great store, knowledgable HELPFUL and friendly staff. Decent and eclectic selection of instruments. Reasonable prices, and overall a very ‘good vibe’.

Can’t imagine a better piano teacher than Michael Thomas. Interesting guy too. And ladies… he’s SINGLE!!! :)))) This place definitely looks a bit run down, though. Needs some remodeling.

I bought a Xinghai tenor saxophone from this store, and most recently I tried to check the value on it, there was no value. this mistake cost 550.00 plus tax. I will never ever go here again and I will tell all my music friends about this as well.

After submitting my not so positive review, Exploring Music responded in kind and offered to refund or exchange my instrument. Congratulations and great response to keep your customers happy.

Who would have guessed that Exploring Music offers Yamaha Piano lessons. We have always heard good things about Yamaha Piano lessons and were thrilled to find one in the city.
Enrolled them two years ago and the lessons are simply amazing. Our two sons love it, the teacher (Sue) is great. She cares a great deal about the students and makes the lessons extremely entertaining. She has her own unique way to capture each and every student’s attention. It is really not easy to keep kids as young as 3 engaged for the entire 1 hour.
Our sons attend the group lesson at their sunset location. The students keep each other motivated and they learn not only piano but music appreciation, ear training, singing and composition as well.
A parent knows the teacher is doing something right when the kids ask to go to class and practice piano without asking. Now, every kid is different, ours really love Yamaha Piano lesson and the other students in the same class seem to love it as well.

My son takes private piano lessons here with Rebecca McCabe. She is wonderful. We were absolutely beginners level when we started 2 years ago. He had an oppotunity to change piano teachers recently and I left the decision up to him. He said «No way.» Pricing is very reasonable and she teaches students of all ages. I definitely recommend her if your want to take up piano lessons.
Oh and the staff here had always been friendly & helpful as well.

Dropped by here because I heard they did guitar repairs and sure enough they were more than willing the help me. Jake was really helpful in explaining everything and even chased me down when I forgot a pack of guitar strings that I bought. My guitar should be ready by the end of the week and the process was both cheap and painless — exactly what I was hoping for.

I bought a guitar here last April and that was a great experience in and of itself. The guy there was a big guitar guru and was able to give me great advice about which guitar would be perfect for me. I got this little Revival acoustic and loved it!
Then a few months later, I noticed that there was a small crack in the back of the guitar. The guitar was built from one whole piece of mahogany so I was a little worried. Then I looked at it again a month later and saw the crack had spread a lot! I was so scared.
So I called Exploring Music and asked them what I could do since it hadn’t been a year yet since I had purchased the guitar. They were so nice. They told me to come in and bring the guitar in to see what could be done.
The next day I brought in my little cracked baby and they said it could just be a natural reaction of the wood or weather as I had never taken it out of my bedroom since I got it. And that since it hadn’t been a year it was covered under the warranty. And they replaced my guitar with another of the exact same kind! I am so excited! Plus the manufacturer apparently is discontinuing that model, and I got one of the last ones in the shop! No fuss, no weirdness, no suspicion. They stand behind their instruments here and really care about their customers.
I can’t thank them enough.

I have to walk past this music store a million times. I was curious because I’ve read some negative reviews about the store which have since disappeared. I should have figured not to come here for when I saw the rotting corpses of instruments in the window. But I was looking for a music accessory for my ever expanding home recording studio, so I wanted to give a local merchant a shot.
Big mistake! The store is so messy that it looks like it’s been through a tsunami. It’s one of those nasty stores where the inside is as filthy as the outside. When I was in the store I swear I was breathing in dust that must have been Charlie Chaplin’s skin flakes from the silent era.
I found out how unhelpful the employees are the hard way. It took a few minutes before I could get an employee’s attention though I was the only person in the store. I’m sure the employees know musical instruments, but I don’t think they want to be bothered to help a customer. .
The store could be geared for giving music lessons because I can’t imagine anyone buying the old crap they have in the store. My other theory is that the employees may only want to help people who are buying products that are way overpriced so they can make their margin. But when a Guitar Center employee gives you 100 times better service than a local merchant you know you should stay away.