Bantam Studios

Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved the violin and wanted to play but never really thought it would be something I would learn as an adult. But then I saw an ad for Booze Violin and my world changed!
I started in their very first class almost 3 years ago. Look how far we’ve come! I feel like I don’t even have the words to convey what a wonderful experience it has been. Pete and Ginger are 2 amazing humans that I cannot say enough good things about. Patient, kind, and funny. They make it easy. The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming and the booze helps! The classes are just the right size; small enough for personal attention. Most importantly, if you don’t understand something, they will always teach it in a different way so you do. The pace is slow enough that you feel you have a good understanding of what you learned each week but fast enough to see the progress being made. Plus, it’s affordable!
I’m delighted for them that they’ve been able to grow, adding guitar, music theory, and various workshops. I’m sad that my travel schedule has been interfering with my ability to attend the past couple months but I’ll be back very soon.

Exactly one year ago I made a promise to myself to learn violin. 4 semesters later I can happily say Bantam Studios has helped me immensely with my dream. Pete and Ginger are the BEST, and keep classes informal, engaging, and fun. The recitals are a blast and a great way to remember to be proud of your accomplishments. If you want to learn violin our continue your violin studies I highly recommend Bantam!

I’ve wanted to learn violin for a long time. When I finally got my act together and decided to learn, I first went to an individual lesson with a private teacher. It wasn’t great — pretty lonely road and it was clear the teacher wasn’t used to teaching adults.
And then I found Booze Violin. It’s a truly great way to learn an instrument as an adult. It’s social, it’s low pressure, it’s ridiculously fun, and it’s a very high quality of instruction. Pete and Ginger are excellent teachers, exuding both patience and positivity as we screeched our way through beginner classes. The pacing of the classes increases with each level and are just challenging enough to keep you interested without feeling like you have to practice for ten hours a day. The recital at the end of the semester is a blast, too. Do it!

I took a guitar class here on Saturday afternoons in the fall of 2015 with Pete and Adam and enjoyed every minute of it. The guys were supportive teachers which is good when you’re a very amateur guitar player. They never talked down to us or made me feel uncomfortable which is important. It was a great atmosphere. You could down a beer or two or not, up to you. The fellow students were all nice people and everyone was very laid back. The end of the class is an afternoon recital at a local club. It sounds corny as hell but it too was great fun. I’m taking another class so that means… everything! If you want to learn how to play, how to read but at a genial pace, go here! And I am NOT related in any way :)

Pete and Ginger are great teachers and all-​around awesome humans. Took Beginners Booze Violin as a fun way to use my brain in a different way and loved the experience! I looked forward to weekly group lessons and absorbing the day’s lesson and music. The highlight was definitely our recital– about 50 students from different classes sharing a stage at Littlefield, a super cool bar and venue in Gowanus. Everything good!

I took beginning violin classes here and loved it! I had taken it upon myself to learn violin a little on my own before classes started so I did feel like the beginning class was a little basic for me, but the instructors were great about suggesting further practice books and correcting the bad habits that I had formed on my own. I would really recommend taking this class before trying to learn something on your own– it’ll be easier in the long run!
The social atmosphere of the class couldn’t have been better. It was really laid back and fun to have drinks available. They also have a performance at the end of the semester, but I wasn’t able to attend that.

Talk about a fun environment to learn an instrument! Pete and Ginger have developed a complete non threatening and rewarding place for people to enjoy learning a new instrument.
I have taken about a year of their booze violin classes and have fell in love with the violin not just for the instrument itself but for the people that I’ve gotten to meet in the learning process.
I went from never having picked up a violin before to playing everything from chamber, folk, to pop. And one of the best parts is that at the end of the semester if you so choose you are able to be part of this awesome recital that they hold at Littlefield in Brooklyn.
If you are on the fence about joining up stop by sometime at one of these recitals and you will just love the energy of the whole event.
They also offer rental instruments very low priced for the semester with the option to buy at any time. So don’t sweat it if you don’t have an instrument handy.