Philip B.

I always wanted to learn how to play the piano but as a middle-aged man with no appreciable musical experience, I was nervous about how I'd fare. I opted not to self-teach as I didn't want to pick up bad habits. Last January I began looking for a piano teacher. I chose Toby primarily for her credentials and experience. Her composition work (an area I want to later explore) and selection of keyboards also influenced my decision as one day I'd love to be able to play the numerous synthesizers I've accumulated! We began with a trial lesson, which was relaxed and enjoyable. We determined that a weekly, one hour lesson would work well. Over six months in, any initial fears I had have been allayed and I'm overjoyed with my progress. I quickly discovered that playing with two hands wasn't the insurmountable challenge I imagined it to be and that I do indeed have rhythm. I'm playing pieces from the Piano Adventures Level 3A book and am on my way to tackling some beginner/intermediate songs. A recent exercise involved improvisation around Greensleeves. Improvisation is one of Toby's great strengths and I learned a number of valuable techniques from her. Toby encourages steady progress, offers constructive feedback and puts great emphasis on aspects such as dynamics and sight reading, often overlooked by beginners and the self-taught. Each music piece is carefully chosen to advance my learning and technique and I enjoy them immensely. Toby keeps me accountable and I have found that practicing at home for 45 minutes to an hour each day has yielded great results. Toby is responsive and she has offered flexibility when needed.  Just three months in, I was already confident enough to play at Toby's formal recital held at Union Church of Cupertino. I performed beyond my expectations and I was amazed and delighted by the performances of both her child and adult students. Toby also holds informal adult recitals at her home, which are a great opportunity to meet like-minded folk and share positive feedback and affirmations in a relaxed setting. Toby will also perform some of her compositions, such as Chasing Circles, which are very impressive. Overall, I highly recommend her. Playing the piano has become my favourite hobby, which is surely a testament to her teaching abilities.

Pam B.

Alan Cross is an excellent piano teacher. He has very good understanding and is very talented. He is very patient and friendly. My son has been taking piano lessons from Alan for the last 2 years now and he is really behind to enjoy learning and playing piano now. I would highly recommend Alan Cross for piano lessons.

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I am a tech worker in Bay Area. Jonathan is an excellent coach for me. He understands the limited practicing time I have, so he helps me optimize my practice strategy. He is also very patient and encouraging. He gives useful suggestions on improving my sight reading, technique and musicality. I enjoy my lessons with him so far.

Brad F.

Ahmad is an easy going teacher who kicks my butt at the same time. He's a stickler for the foundational elements, which is exactly what I need to take my guitar playing to the next level. He is truly interested in seeing me improve. I'm a songwriter and I need to up my game to be able to hang with co-writers who are more advanced musically, and I also have the goal to play out at writers rounds and open mics and I need to get a little more proficient for that. We're playing acoustic. We've done both Skype and in-person lessons. Highly recommended. Good location.

- Justin U.

“Dr. Seong has been one of my most influential teachers I’ve had in my piano instruction and playing. She reinforced my foundation of understanding and truly brought out expressivity in my playing that I had never considered myself capable of performing. Patient, kind, and nurturing, Dr. Seong helped to foster my love of piano playing and her expert guidance is inspiring. I grew leaps and bounds in the time that I took lessons with Dr. Seong, and still refer back to things she taught me in our lessons years later.”

Arundhati N.

I highly recommend lessons with Tatiana. She is not only an excellent teacher but is also patient and shows best techniques to master the songs. Learning with her is enjoyable!

Jamie M.

Leah Drake is the teacher and creator of Vibrant Valley Music Studio where I now attend. I put my granddaughter in her school 2 years ago and then recently discovered that she also has small group lessons for adults. I had always enjoyed playing the piano for recreation but didn't want to take solo lessons that come with a lot of practice pressure. These group sessions are just what I wanted. Leah does an amazing job with her music business; and the concept of Recreational Music Making is brilliant.

Kimmi H.

I feel incredibly blessed to have had Nora's musical influence through out my life. Nora is deeply committed to instilling a deep understanding of music through historical context, music theory as well as the expression of music through her students' connection with music. From Nora's experiences growing up in Russia, her understanding of European history and her natural curiosity for historical culture, her life experiences culminates in the practice room to bring meaning to the music that were written in times of Bach, Beethoven, Schummann, Prokofiev, to the comtemporary. I remember it to be a colorful depiction of what life was like back then, the social revolutionary movements and it's effects on music. She is then able to translate that into the musical notes on the page from form and structure to music progressions to chromatic development to style of playing and articulations. But the most important lesson I learn from her is how to express emotions through music as this is what connects us to the sounds that is being created. Although I have won awards from competitions during Nora teachings, I cannot tell you where those certificates lie but what stays with me in the last 20 years is the love of music, the trained ears for appreciating classical music, the spirit of beauty in the world by valuing music and last but not least the ability to express myself in a deeply satisfying way without using words.