Santa Monica Academy of Music

Santa Monica Academy of Music is a very friendly little spot with a kind and knowledgable staff. My piano teacher takes an interest in me and I feel she actually cares about my learning and growth, and me as a person. 30 minute lessons do feel a little short sometimes, but if you put the energy into the time you do make good progress. I can see how a person might feel as though a lesson was too short, especially if part of the lesson is spent talking or catching up, but I don’t really find this to be a problem. I find that my teacher is personable and involved, she cares about me and is interested in helping me grow in my music in the areas that I am focused on. The staff is very kind and understanding when it comes to schedule changes or conflicts. I feel I make consistent progress. I’ve been taking lessons for nearly a year I think. As with learning anything sometimes there can be a slow start, or a plateau in the middle, but with intent and practice in conjunction with the lessons great strides are made.
Long story short I would (and have actually) recommend Santa Monica Academy of Music. I enjoy my lessons and the students that I see coming and going, young and old alike, seem happy and their discussions suggest that they are learning too.

Eager to learn piano, I found the SM Academy. I was paired with an instructor and scheduled a month’s worth of lessons. To keep the review short, we agreed to work on one particular song throughout our 30 min lessons. With each lesson, I felt I only walked away with about 5 minutes of new music I had learned from the lesson. As an adult that had some previous experience with piano, 5 minutes was not enough to keep me motivated in between lessons. I hardly had any content to practice and it was frustrating that the very next section of the song was a blank for me. I expressed this to the school and asked if the instructor and I could converse via email so I could ask for more chords to practice in between our lessons — I was told this wouldn’t be possible. In the following lessons I expressed my frustration with the amount of material I walked away with but nothing changed. I understand emailing incessantly with students isn’t ideal, but that wasn’t my intent. Even my college professors, for any class, provided students their email — craigslist piano teachers provide their email, all to better their students and not waste time by having them get stuck in between lessons.
More so, I felt like I was in a revolving door of this instructor’s students. I felt like one of many, like my lesson was just a moment in time and then she moved on to her next student. I felt no connection or like I was any type of priority. On top of that, even though my instructor knew what song I wanted to work on, she never came to the lesson prepared herself or like she knew the song well. She was constantly learning it WITH me. She would listen and then figure it out for a moment, and then teach me. This was understandable in the first lesson, but considering she knew we were going to be working on it the next subsequent lessons I would think she would have looked up the song, learned it herself, so she could use our time to only teach me and nothing else. The lessons became such a waste of my time and effort that I decided to stop going before the month ran out. Perhaps the instructor I had was just not the best, but from my experience I wouldn’t go here if you’re wanting a really engaged instructor.

I took classes here for 3 months. Edan was a great piano teacher. He thought me classic pieces as well as Jazz and other genres. He is a true teacher.
Sharon was always very nice in accommodating my changing schedule. I loved it!

This school is great. I have been taking adult music theory/​composition classes for 2 years now and could not be happier. Buzz, the owner, is exceptionally knowledgeable about all types of music and is outstanding at communicating his knowledge to you. Even complex topics are taught in an easy-​to-​understand manner. This school is not only for children but offers adults an opportunity to pick up where they left off many years ago and even for adults who have never had a music class in their lives. Sharon, who runs the office, is also a treasure. The school is centrally located and has ample street parking.

Great place to learn music and instruments! Buzz is a wonderful teacher who motivates and patiently teaches all aspects of playing the instrument — techniques, practice, performing. He presents it in a way so the kids understand. I have one learning ukelele and another piano. The office is run very efficiently by Sharon. Super nice place!

My daughter has been taking music lessons with the Santa Monica Academy of Music for almost 4 years now. She loves her teachers and always wants to go to her lesson and practice at home. What impresses me most is how far she had progressed with the guidance of her teachers!

I love this school’s energy. The owners, Buzz and Jessi, keep a great staff of teachers that are really dedicated to the art of teaching music. They have great programs that keep students motivated and moving forward, which is a critical component to learning a complex art such as music. You can’t go wrong here!