Lydia is a fantastic piano teacher. She takes care to focus on not just playing the “correct notes”, but also playing musically and with artistry. This initially took some getting used to but now I can confidently say that the overall sound of my piano playing has greatly improved as a well. Lydia also takes great care to focus on the needs and interests of each student and to suggest material that will best help them improve and that they enjoy playing. I look forward to continuing to learn from Lydia in the future
I have wanted to play piano since I was about six years old, but other things kept getting in the way. Instead, I played classical guitar and taught myself composition. However, after retirement, I bought a piano and took the plunge. I’ve been taking lessons from Lydia for about a year now, and I highly, highly recommend her, especially for adult students.
Several things stand out to me. First Lydia has been very flexible about choice of material. For example, I came in knowing that I especially like contrapuntal music (Bach, Scarlatti, e.g.). Lydia helped me find a set of piano-method books that are very well suited to learning to play that style of music. She has also supplemented those method books with more varied material — her own arrangements and compositions, for example.
Second, Lydia always emphasizes making *music*, rather than just hitting the right notes quickly. Concentrating on getting the phrasing and tone right has improved my overall musicianship a lot.
Finally, Lydia has always provided the right amount of motivation. I know from experience with guitar teachers that it is possible to err in both directions: being too demanding or too undemanding. For me, Lydia strikes the happy medium: she doesn’t let me get sloppy, but she also doesn’t make me feel like I’m a hopeless case when I don’t get something right away.
Five stars!
Lydia is a wonderful teacher for aspiring pianists of all ages and all skill levels!
I started taking lessons to pursue a new hobby as an adult, and she has helped me work toward my own goals in learning musicianship, music theory, and even composition skills. Her lessons are personalized to your needs/goals, and are worth every penny.
6. Piano Studio of Alita Lake
Address: 1105 Marcussen Dr, Menlo Park, CA 94025 , Menlo Park , California , United States
Our two young children take piano lessons with Alita and enjoy her teaching. We appreciate that she caters to each child’s personality and interest. We definitely recommend the studio for young piano learners!
Alita is fabulous! Our son has grown and learned a ton under her guidance. He looks forward to every lesson and is proud of his progress. Alita is a truly gifted, enthusiastic, and inspiring teacher!
I took piano lessons from a few other teachers, but they simply didn’t make learning interesting and made piano feel like a chore. Alita made piano feel fun and rewarding from the very first day. She goes out of her way to make learning interesting for the student, which keeps them engaged and happy to learn. She is experienced with teaching both adults and children, as well as beginner and advanced skill levels. I stayed with her for several years, progressing from a beginner to an advanced player, and classes stayed fun and engaging the entire time. I feel it speaks to her skill as a teacher that she managed to turn me from someone who was disinterested in piano to someone who is interested in it.
I brought my 1976 Martin HD28 in for a neck reset, new frets and a set up. The poor guitar sat in its case barely playable for many years until I finally decided to get it back in shape. It is now one of the most playable guitars I own. The work was THE best I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot over the years. Frank, Richard and all the rest of the gang at Gryphon, I salute you!
Awesome place for high quality, mostly acoustic, guitars and guitar repair.
Today is my fourth trip to this shop. On my first trip I was wary of… what one could call the smug guitar shop. That is not the case here at Griffon. Great service and amazing guitars. Today I went in looking for parts for a 78 Gibson. They were out of parts for retail use, but they sold me a few of their service stash. I am fully aware how hard it is to keep some of these parts in stock right now. So the willingness to sell me ones they keep for shop repairs really impressed me. I will now be a devoted patron as long as I am around. And then some!
Great customer service and good selection of guitars, accessories and other instruments.
There is no place for hateful ideology at Gryphon Strings.
Very friendly. Super knowledgeable.
Trashy employees
Don’t have the guitar I wanted
Nicely done Parkey way to bully an old retired American! Behavior like this would and will never happen in Russia!
10. Gelb Music
Address: 722 El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94063 , Menlo Park , California , United States
Been shopping here forever, a valuable bay area institution. Bought my first guitar here and still have it. If I’m looking for gear (guitars,strings, pedals, etc.) I buy here first. The staff is Hella cool and really knowledgeable.
Friendly service, basically the only cool place in RWC
If you love musical instruments, you’ll love Gelb.
Good
Good choice of instruments, not a lot of parking. The staff is not very nice at all.
Helpful staff. Nice selection of guitars.
As someone who has been going to Gelb since I was a teenager all I have to say is “Please make it go away”.
What was once a well known piece of the music community of the bay area has become totally useless.
What was once a family of musicians active in the local music scene is now the Kmart of music stores, disorganized…impersonal…just another guitar store.
A couple of weeks ago I went there to get a couple of packs of strings and they couldn’t find them???
Today I went in to see if they had a couple of guitar boxes to ship a guitar I was selling, in the past the response was sure how many do you need, today the response was “We sell them for $15”, if they had said 5$ sure but $15? what exactly am I paying for? your stellar customer service?
Since the change this place has steadily gone downhill, please just let it go, make it go away, or at least change the name so you aren’t tarnishing the name of what was once an institution of the bay area music scene.
Just another music store now since being under new management. Not much left in high end equipment.
Drum Section SUCKS. Don Frank is a Crapy Drummer and a Total QUACK. He guilt trips you if you don’t buy anything. He’s exactly like the former owner of Drum World, Don Sfarzo who was rude and treated customers like Garbage. They rush you out of the shop if you don’t buy anything. Worse place with no Parking.
11. Peninsula Music – Palo Alto Instrument Rentals, Repairs, Lessons
Address: 4333 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306 , Menlo Park , California , United States
As far as know, this is the only store which sells professional grade brass intruments in the silicon valley. I tried several cornets and bought a Getzen Eterna here. I have been quite satisfied with both the intruments and thestore.
This place is good if you have a high end musical instrument. I went in to repair my sons trumpet and they basically told me that they wouldn’t service it because it wasn’t a high end thousand dollar instrument. Too bad, I was actually looking to buy him a new intermediate trumpet for his birthday here in the next few months but they will not be getting my business.
Steve Boughman went out of his way to degrade and mistreat me. The man was incredibly rude and condescending when he tried to sell me a saxophone in poor condition. Worst experience I have ever had in a music store. Disappointed and ashamed as a local musician that these are the types of repair people we have to deal with. Take your business ANYWHERE else.
12. Xavier Toscano
Address: 655 Oak Grove Ave #775, Menlo Park, CA 94026 , Menlo Park , California , United States
Little gem for book worms. I love spending hours by just browsing. Never left without finding a treasure. There is always something you may find interesting.
Very nice space, lots of parking, and a great selection. Management is very nice.
Great, friendly place. Great selection
The bookshop is not ready yet. There should be directions from the previous location.
I contacted Feldman’s to sell some of my late father’s books. The owner was very nice and gave me a great price for part of the collection. While there, I browsed the shelves. A wonderful selection with very good prices.
Dusty tomes, modern books, an amazing mix of books from everywhere. Nice patio area and good selection.
Hello, I am the client , the bookseller is an irresponsible person since I am still waiting for the tranking number, I do not return the emails and he does not apologize for the situation either.
So I want my money back.
I await your news.
customer: Hi, I bought this book Picasso and Marie-Therese, L’amour Fouon November 20, it hasn’t arrived yet, I’m trying to reach you but you don’t reply to my email, I just want to know if it’s on the way, it’s been many months.
Bookseller: Feldman’s Books
AbeBooks Purchase Order No.: 641568558
Order Date: November 20, 2021
Purchase Method: Visa
Payment Processed By: AbeBooks
Total Confirmed Charge: US$ 335.00
15. Philz Coffee
Address: 506 Santa Cruz Ave, Menlo Park, CA 94025 , Menlo Park , California , United States
Very friendly staff. Guided through ordering process.
I Got the Medium Tesora Cold Brew with light cream and sugar for $6.15.
Philz coffee is always delicious, it’s just more expensive than other spots. Because of their popularity and bc they prepare each cup drip, you’ll wait longer too.
Will the barista thx for the awesome service
The tea is pretty disappointing and very expensive, but I knew I shouldn’t have expected much from a coffee joint. Nice atmosphere and lovely employees, though!
Fine spot, but not very relaxing
Not a very cozy setup at this location, but coffee is good as always
The level of snobbishness from the worker taking the order there was too much. Felt like I’m in some sort of an SNL skit. So much for supporting what was a Bay Area icon.
Starbucks is better, coffee tastes different at different locations
Never come on a saturday morning. The team lies to say they are making your coffee when you check in 3 times, and then claim they “lost your ticket”. Took 30 mins to get a coffee. Ridiculous. And since you have to tip before you get your coffee, makes this whole thing even more annoying.
16. Gilbert Tuners
Address: 2440 Bay Rd, Redwood City, CA 94063 , Menlo Park , California , United States
I have had a very good experience. I bought them in 2016 and they are still intact. The tuning of my guitar is firm. I have traveled for a month several times and when I return the tuning has not moved. The best!!!
I just received my tuners and installed them. They’re beautiful and work wonderfully! I’d highly recommend them.
Are you still in business? I’m a return customer and your phone number no longer works a d you have not responded to my email ?! Please respond
17. Haight Ashbury Music Center
Address: 728 El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94063 , Menlo Park , California , United States
Ordered a replacement piano part. It shipped within a couple hours of placing the order and arrived quickly. Very safely packaged to prevent damage. Thanks!
Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Will happily answer questions and are not trying to rush you out of the door.
Amazing customer service, good selection. It was a nice experience and it felt good to support a local store. I got a awesome limited edition Fender strat with free first time setup (was told at the nearby box store that setups for a new guitar was extra). Best buying experience I have had in a while.
I think this is one of the best music stores in town. Good service, they are really friendly every time I go in, and always seem to have all the really cool stuff you can’t find at chain stores.
Last time I was here they were going out of business. I tried to make them a deal on a box of records they had. Needless to say they would not budge and they kind if overcharged me on the value of these records.
My brother and I found the store by accident while visiting San Francisco. The staff was kind giving us freedom to try the instruments, explore the store and its stuff, and was very helpful to my brother giving advice about keyboards and stuff.
Just got kicked out of this place for playing music in here
I was in there with a couple band mates while on tour, the owner kicked us out because people “don’t normally play their instruments”… Lol
I bought a Rick high gain bass pickup from the shop over 18 months ago. I live in Australia so the staff had to go to a bit of trouble to arrange the shipping (via ebay) and I thank them for that. When I eventually decided to put the pickup in, I found the screws didn’t fit. After taking it to a reputable guitar repairer, he found that the threads hadn”t been cut into the pickup housing so there’s no way I could fit it to my bass. I’ve emailed them about five times without any response…
18. Zon Guitars
Address: 780 Second Ave, Redwood City, CA 94063 , Menlo Park , California , United States
Great spot to rehearse. Sean is a cool cat and makes you feel very welcome.
Great music studio rentals
Dope spot to practice!
Buen lugar para ensayos,aunq a veces la batería no es muy buena.
Nice set up super friendly staff always there to help you out. Will try their best to help out with scheduling.
I just wish the place had AC, it gets hot after a while
