Music Classes for Parents & Kids Together

5 parent questions ▼

Parent Q&A

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  • Piano teacher for family

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    Aug 30, 2024

    I'm looking for a piano teacher for myself, but also someone willing to do a lesson for my six year old following my lesson in my home. Eventually, we'll add my three year old. Weekly lesson desired. We live in Elmwood.

    Aug 30, 2024

    How fun! I highly recommend Heidi at Palaka Music (based out of Oakland/Rockridge). She teaches preschool through adult level piano and hosts other fun music classes and events. I enrolled my toddler in the Preschool Prodigies course and we both loved it and learned so much! Their website is: www.palakamusic.com 

    Sep 5, 2024

    Unfortunately, our family did not have a good experience with Ms. Heidi at Palaka Music in Oakland Rockridge. She would notify us at the very last-minute that she had cancelled class OR we would be waiting outside the door waiting for her arrival for 20 minutes and she would never show up.  We were really hopeful this would work out for our young kids as we also supported her kickstarter fund to help build her new location from the Laurel District to the Rockridge area. She offered make-up classes for the time that she had to cancel last-minute and even then did she not show up. A lot of her cancellations were due to family emergencies, which is understandable, but they happened too frequently for the short time we were there. 

    Sep 11, 2024

    I would highly recommend Sallie Hanna-Rhyne, in south Berkeley, to your family. She has adult and child students and has been working with my now 17 year old daughter since she was 5 and my 7 year old son for the last 2 years. We have moved out of Berkeley and still come to see Sallie weekly from Alameda. She has made learning piano a joyful experience and I cannot recommend her more. (510) 843-1963

    Sep 17, 2024

    I tried a piano teacher with my 5-year-old but he couldn't sit through the lessons and I will try again in the medium term, but I will say I've had a LOT of success teaching him piano myself through the Hoffman Academy YouTube channel. I put on a lesson almost every at breakfast and I've taught him 3 songs so far. To be fair, I played piano for 12 years from being 5 years old myself so I believe that I have a strong sense of technique; I just didn't remember how I learned piano or what the right curriculum staging was. 

    Sep 18, 2024

  • Family Chorus (or other fun family classes)?

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    Aug 23, 2022

    Hello!

    We are looking for a class that our family (parents + kids ages 5 & 7) can take altogether.

    We all love to sing, so a family chorus would be great, but we are open to other ideas. We're in the East Bay. 

    Thanks in advance for your ideas!

    Aug 23, 2022

    Our former neighbor, Kaitie Warren, runs family-oriented chorus sessions in the East Bay. Check'em out! https://thelivingroomchoir.com/

    Aug 27, 2022

  • Daddy and kiddo guitar lessons?

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    Mar 29, 2017

    My husband and son are both interested in learning how to play the guitar.  Are there any classes or teachers out there that would be willing to teach introductory classes to these two together?  My son is five, and both he and my husband have their own guitars.  I'm thinking this would be a great father/son bonding time...? We live in Martinez but are willing to drive as far as Berkeley if there's a good teacher out there.  Thanks in advance!!

    Mar 29, 2017

    My husband and daughter have been doing guitar lessons with the same teacher for several years (she's 12), and now they do a joint lesson. It is indeed fantastic parent-child bonding time. Their beloved teacher is in Vallejo, but if you're in Martinez that might work for you!

    Our teacher Elijah is a consummate musician. Open-minded, versatile, playful, tolerant, good-natured. Parent of a pre-schooler. And a loyal friend.

    You can reach him at

    Elijah Helmer

    415-533-4006

    Apr 5, 2017

    Jennifer Trowbridge is great.  Her studio is in Oakland but she sometimes travels to Concord and Walnut Creek as well.  Check out her web site http://jennifertrowbridge.com/

    She has years of teaching experience (including both adults and kids of various ages). She is a pro and has a PhD in music, and her specialty is classical guitar but she also teaches music theory, and some piano, and she also plays electric guitar.  She is wonderful and she also did some of the music at my wedding.  You should speak with her - you won't be disappointed.

    Alyssa Browning

    Apr 5, 2017

    My husband and son have been taking lessons for years in Pleasant Hill (nearer to Martinez) with Jeff Eyman---He's WONDERFUL!!    Can't recommend him highly enough.  Here's his website...https://fearlessfingers.com  

    Apr 12, 2017

    Stephen Fong is GREAT. I highly recommend him. He has taught my 12 year old daughter for a year now and she loves him! Here is a link to his website:

     http://acumenpd.dudaone.com/lessons

    Apr 25, 2017

  • Music class suggestion for parent and five year old

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    Nov 28, 2016

    I would like to take a music class with my five year old (she's in kinder). We never took Music Together but I am looking for something similar to that model that we could both participate in. I'd like singing, rhythm practice, and a little theory.  She doesn't love taking classes with kids she doesn't know, and I'd also like to share this activity with her so it's more of a family thing. I'm also interested in the Kodaly class at Crowden and curious about recent experiences. I live in Berkeley and I'm looking for something in El Cerrito, Albany, Berkeley, or Oakland. Thanks!

    Nov 28, 2016

    I've been going to a singing group with my family for several years and highly recommend it as a way to learn a family repertoire, enjoy singing, learn about folk songs from around the world and enjoy the company of other adults and kids. Sing Thing (http://sandimorey.com) is held at a home in Albany on Wednesdays from 7:30-8:30, or in Oakland on Thursdays from 7:30-8:30.  It's 'fireside singing' with folk songs, rounds, sea shanties.  See the Sandi's web site for more info.  

    Nov 30, 2016

    I recommend you give SingThing a try.  We meet weekly in either Albany or Oakland (you chose which location is better for you.)  Sandi Morrey teaches songs for the first 45 minutes then there are 15 minutes of requests in which any song previously taught can be requested and sung.  Sandi brings a variety of music from abound the world and from centuries old to very recent.  Your daughter won't learn to read music there as Sandi does not use song sheets.  She will learn to attend to pitch and rhythm and to hold her own part.  It will teach her that the primary purpose of music is enjoyment, not performance.  You will gain a dedicated hour to sing together each week and a great repertoire of songs to sing together anytime the spirit moves you.  Here's the link to her website if you'd like to learn more.  http://www.sandimorey.com/.  First session is free, then a reasonable monthly fee based on family size.  Come check us out.

    Nov 30, 2016

    Jon's School of Music is really the best. (We also tried Crowden's Orff classes and Jingle Jeff.) My 5-year-old and 2-year-old currently attend Jon's and it is fabulous. My older son is an introvert, so also really needed a parent to participate with him. Jon slips in all sorts of music theory and the kids are having so much fun that they don't even know it! Jon offers a free preview if you want to try it out before committing (we did). He actively seeks adult participation, so you will be welcome to join in. More info here: http://www.jsom.com/

    Dec 4, 2016

  • Piano/Music Classes--Preschool and Adult?

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    Oct 27, 2016

    Does anyone have recommendations for a piano teacher for a three-year-old? If so, please also share the general cost of the lessons. I have a budget--this is an experiment to see if we can find fun lessons. My daughter loves singing and playing the piano with me, and it occurred to me that maybe we should both work on getting some better skills in this area. 

    Has anyone tried taking piano lessons at the same time as their young child? I was thinking it might be nice for her to take a lesson and then sometimes sit in on a lesson for me. I took piano as a child and remember a fair bit. But I'd call myself a beginner.

    Does anyone have recommendations about a structured way to refresh your own piano skills? I took Suzuki as a kid--I miss that structure of working your way through a book at a time. And I really like the idea of listening to how something is supposed to be played--maybe not the endless repetition tapes that I had to listen to overnight as a child. Ideally, I'd find something similar to Suzuki but more playful/fun--that includes some singalong songs.

    Thanks!

    Oct 27, 2016

    I recommend Ernie Mansfield in Berkeley, http://www.mansfieldmusic.com/

    Nov 2, 2016

    You should check out Marianne Barlow. We know her from when she was the head teacher at my daughter's preschool -- she is loving, kind, patient, and generous to ALL people (kids and grownups), and she especially loves the preschool crowd. Her overall approach is to follow a child’s natural curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and gently guide it to maximum effect. We haven't done the family music lessons (my kids take privates with her consecutively - the cost for that is $30 per half-hour lesson), but maybe that would work for you guys? She definitely meets everyone where they're at -- she follows some structure of working through a piano teaching book, but is SUPER creative about mixing it up and making it fun for whomever she's working with. I think if you tell her what your goals are, she'd be able to meet them quite successfully. Good luck!

    Nov 8, 2016