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.

Christopher Austin L.

Ken Aram’s professionalism, knowledge, expertise, and consistency as an instructor of vocals has been a great pleasure to work with and allowed me to go to another level of vocal ability that I kept dreaming of until I started seeing results thanks to him. Ken has always shown great enthusiasm and patience throughout my difficult journey to grow as a vocal student. Also, Ken is very friendly, and I got to know him as a great friend.

Evelyn O.

Camille is incredibly knowledgeable, patient and accommodating. My daughter enjoys her class and has learned so much!

Clayton N.

Aaron has helped me a lot. Especially improving my left hand capabilities. He is familiar with many different styles of music. He is also very good at figuring out how to play pieces that were not written for accordion.

Tom M.

In the course of a year Ben has introduced me to a variety of ukulele playing techniques (strumming patterns, fingering, muting, hammer-ons, hammer-offs, overtones, slides, pinching etc.) some of which I've been able to learn and execute with some proficiency. He's also taught me how to look at sheet music and puzzle out for myself fingering for melodies and chord fragments based on the chord structures to which these melodies and chord fragments are associated. In this time I've gone from being a nearly 60-year old complete beginner to being someone able to competently play melody and/or chord lines for the following songs "Fly Me to the Moon", "Walk Don't Run", "Sounds of Silence", "Kawika", "The Entertainer", "Hide Away", "Crazy", "Sweet Lelani", "Tears on My Pillow", "Behind Blue Eyes" "Breakdown", "Killing Me Softly" "White Christmas", "Mele Kalikimaka" "Vietnam", and some others.

Tom S.

Easy to work with. Gave me great advice in my first lesson. Time flew by and I gained confidence in my playing