Starland Music Center

I needed to adopt a pastime besides shopping in a bad way. What could I do that would help me chill out and decompress and help me foster my creative side? No stranger to music lessons (piano lessons off and on off and on since I was five, thanks very much), I thought it would be nice to pick up an instrument.
I had passed Starland many times before walking in to inquire about music lessons. Their staff is super chill, my instructor Wayne is easy going and encouraging, and scheduling is easy.
The pricing is moderate but the rewards are plentiful. I gifted myself a ukulele for Christmas and my birthday so I could find peace and literal harmony in life. I’m not that great but I know I’ve improved. Not just with the instrument but also with my outlook on life. For example, there is no instant gratification behind learning how to play a new instrument. Mastery of an instrument doesn’t happen overnight. Or in the case of retail therapy, over 5 – 7 nights standard shipping when shopping a Kate Spade flash sale. You can buy a Kate Spade clutch and squeal with delight after bagging a deal and toss it aside when a new online accessory catches your eye. Ugh. So insanely cute I could cry.
Refocusing. But learning to play??? The gratification lies in developing the self discipline to practice hours and hours. It lies in the humility behind knowing that you really can never really perfect a piece in the beginning. It lies in the grace of realizing that you must go on despite mistakes. And it all comes back to patience with yourself as you build confidence with the art. Even just getting used to strumming strings instead of striking keys is just a whole new beast. But enough waxing philosophy now.
I actually enjoy Mondays now because I have something fun to look forward to at the end of the day!!! Finally, you could argue that one could turn to YouTube for a music teacher. Which is true. I won’t downplay the advantage of clicking on YouTube for help with strum patterns. But I already look at screens all day. I really need a sage guide to keep me accountable and correct my finger positions. Plus a structured lesson plan to stay on track. Starland is for all ages. It’s fun and next to great restaurants.

Grandson (9) came knowing a song after his first lesson. So far so good.

I began taking music lessons here a few months back. My teacher seemed fine and the staff seemed friendly, however with further dealings, I’ve learned that it is not a trustworthy business. In short, they were dishonest with me and it ended up costing me more money than I owed. The long story, for those that want details: My teacher ordered something for me and after 10 weeks of waiting for it to arrive told me I could not get a refund. When calling to check on its status for the 3^rd time, another helpful person immediately issued me a refund (I had offered to purchase a different product instead, but ending up purchasing that item immediately from another vendor). Later, I told my teacher that I would have to quit lessons for a few months, or go down to once a month. She asked me to wait a month to rethink my decision, and said that she would put my account on hold until we could discuss it. It turns out that that is actually against the store’s policy. I take responsibility for not following up in writing with management to confirm however, as a representative of the store, I felt it was her duty to either tell me that or not mislead me with misinformation. She put me in a position where I couldn’t give 30 days notice and then I was charged for more lessons than I had agreed to. I had always been fair and not expected make-​up lessons if I was the reason that the lesson was cancelled, or even when they were closed for holidays, but I feel they were not fair with me. I was at work and had had difficulty reaching my teacher by phone so I sent her a text and asked her to call me when I wasn’t working and she respect my repeated requests to stop texting me and call me instead. All she could talk about was how helpful she’d been, but took no responsibility for being dishonest with me. Every time I check my phone there was another message, even if I hadn’t written, (I tried writing back, waiting, etc) until finally it escalated and I had to tell her off to get her to stop. I don’t know if she just doesn’t get it (the whole honesty issue) or if she didn’t care, but I felt really disrespected and I would like to reward a business that has fair dealings with their customers, so I am moving on.

So, I came into this place and was greeted with a warm hello from this beautiful lady with groovy glasses! Well, I was looking for a mic chord for my wireless mic system. The store didn’t have the exact chord. HOWEVER, She looked up the piece at other stores and got expert advice from other music stores and directed me. SHE DIDN’T HAVE TO DO IT! She spent 15min with me and could’ve just sold me the wrong chord. BTW she was humming Stevie Wonder in the right key and sounded awesome…

From my teenager: Instructor waste time talking about other stuff.
From me: company policies are engineered to simply make money. There is little concern for quality of lessons! Entirely too many holidays etc…

My son join to music club in his high school and he want to have his own guitar. After few store research, We check this store. Store clerk (Ms.Sibley) was very friendly and she listen to my son’s opinion and show us what best for him. (She also understand our budget limit too. That is very helpful for parents.)
My son walk out store with his new guitar and he was very happy. Thank you Starland.

I’ve been a student/​customer at Starland for over three years. They have a great staff and enthusiastic instructors. I’ve seen students that range in age from 4 — 50+. All are treated with the utmost respect. Starland is a comfortable, friendly family. A real local jewel.

I have been very happy with the piano lessons that my son is taking at Starland. His teacher is Mikako Endo. She has been able to design his lessons to suit his interests and abilities. He loves taking piano lessons! His knowledge of music and theory has developed greatly. His comfort with and his love of playing the piano are continuing to grow. Thank you Starland!

It’s been a while… but I took private piano lessons for about 10 years here. Mrs. Araks is the best! She is very supportive and she would always encourage me to do better. She has taught almost everyone in my family and extended family how to play piano.
She’s great, supportive and understanding! She’s also an amazing pianist. She can really kill it.

so so quality, over priced. some teacher is good, others are late for class often, just there for the money

So far i really enjoy taking lessons here.

The staff can be very intimidating and forceful to get you to take lessons.
I was intinally pretty happy about my lessons, but when I got there and they told me I had a 3 month minumium of instrument rentals, which they did not tell me on the day of, I was pretty unhappy.
Lessons are okay. But pricey.

Awesome staff. Good location. My son’s drum instructor is a amazing. He ‘s been only going there for less than a year and I can see the progess in him. I only suggest that if can have annual performace/​show with all their students.

The people working here are very friendly and helpful. I take a piano lesson from Ms Araks. She is very inspiring, and I really enjoy her lesson. She is also very good at teaching music to children. Highly recommended.

When I enrolled my daughter for piano lessons, the staff did a brief interview about her likes & musical experience. She then paired her with Heather who is an excellent teacher especially with children & first timers. She is very patient & communicates to me regularly about my daughter’s progress.
The studio is clean and has enough rooms for classes. The staff are all friendly & helpful. We really enjoy being a part of Starland.

My daughter was taking the Yamaha Piano lesson for 4−5yr olds and the lessons are not adequate as the instructor only spends a few moments with your child individually and most of the real training was expected to be given by the parent at home. If I was able to teach her piano why would pay the school? Also my child got very sick and missed the Christmas pageant and the teacher did not even call and see why she had missed it-​after preparing for it since March. As a matter of fact no one called me until the January bill was due– I was not impressed

Always a nice person at Starland willing to help, and really that’s all you need to get 5 stars with me these days. I needed a part they didn’t have, but they recommended a local guitar shop that might.
I’d describe the shop as small, clean, and new stock. What stock they do have is reasonably priced. I’d say there is nothing wrong with limited stock. I’d also guess they make their lion share of earnings in lessons. Parking is not a problem. Turn the corner and park for free on the street.

Been needing to get my daughter a music stand for the house. Called Starland, spoke with someone who knew the stock and was more than helpful taking the time to tell me over the phone what they had available.
Once there, I drove around the block a couple times looking for a parking spot… no lot, street/​meter parking only. I was the only customer in the store, so service was stellar. He showed me the different stands and the difference between them. They had what I needed, so I was quite happy.
Yes, it is a small shop, but from what I can gather, their bread & butter is the music classes they teach. We talked a bit about the sadness of music programs being deleted in the schools, but thankful that there are good music classes & teachers available… this business being one that offers both.

Nice friendly shop with a super small selection of gear. I was honestly shocked to walk in and see a handful of guitars, two pianos, and 3 to 4 horns. I was expecting some grand mash up of all sorts of music items but that was not the case.
Nevertheless, I think the bulk of this shop is the music rooms where they have lessons and what not. Anyhow, besides that this is a cool shop. The staff is really helpful and friendly. I walked out with a Jew’s Harp and made some money playing it on the corner of Park St. So in reality, one could say that Jew Harp was FREE!!!

You’ll be hard pressed to find better service anywhere in the bay! The staff at Starland is incredible. They’re basically a school that carries items for sale so they’re selection is rather small. The good part about the small selection is that everything they sell in the store, they believe in. They’re not selling a bunch of crap just to fill the inventory. The instructors are amazing. After taking lessons at another location and not learning anything, I started taking lessons at Starland. My instructor Sean is very knowledgeable but more importantly, he knows how to pass the knowledge on. It doesn’t feel like a class, but when it’s done I actually learned something.
I signed my niece up, then encouraged a few friends to sign up. For a small looking store on the outside you’ll be happy to find a lot going on inside. They offer lead and bass guitar, piano, drums, even vocal lessons that I know of. They’re staff is so musical if you wanted lessons in something else I’m sure SOMEONE there plays it. I know there’s at least 1 girl that plays the cello. 0. o
Service… ⁵⁄₅ (EASY)
Selection… 4.75÷5 (due to quality not quantity)
Parking …2÷5 (Bay area-​you know how it is)
Lessons …5÷5