The Music School

My son attended the group music class for 2 years
Pros: worthwhile cost effective class if you are figuring out if your kid is interested in music at all but thats just about it.
Cons:
1) the class sizes are huge. They have high school TAs, who really cant control elementary school kids. The TAs, after a year, didnt even know the names of the kids in the class which questions what sort of teaching experience they are providing.
2) The parent teacher feedback is nil. Considering you are paying $$, teachers dont take into account what parents want to get out of each class. They have these annual programs, which are basically a fund raiser for the school and students participation is determined on how much time the parent volunteers at the school.
3) The school has an outdated billing, registration process. I had to call twice and go in person to get a refund for a class which the school cancelled but forgot to inform me about. We showed up on the first day of class to find out the class had been cancelled. this led to some major rescheduling of my son’s activities but the school was least apologetic about their mistake.
Overall, avoid if you can; There are much better schools in the vicinity whose teachers seem to respect parents/​kids time and are able to provide a much better teaching experience.
My son has learnt more in two weeks elsewhere than a years worth in this school.

I put my teenage granddaughter in the music school for piano lessons. We love the school! She is doing a summer musical there. She loves the teachers and has worked with them her public school and decided to take additional classes from them here. We couldn’t be more happier! When she is on stage she is no longer shy.

The Music School is a wonderful program that introduces the love of music to your kids. This is the second year that my girls are attending and they LOVE it. I think highly of the Music School’s approach to teaching all aspects of music including reading music and not learning by finger positions. They also encourage performance as well as let you choose the instrument of your choice.
The staff led by Doris are welcoming and very professional. It is a wonderful community. The kids get to perform in a choral festival and a musical. There is a wonderful atmosphere of collaboration and support for every kid.
We really appreciate The Music School.

My daughter went here one summer and then for an entire year.
It’s pricey. $ 80 a month and that was for piano lessons and for a musical production. Lessons are once a week for 2 hours.
The musical production is really great, it’s held at Mountain View High School and is 2 days with extra rehearsal time and involves kids of all ages that have been rehearsing their parts in Music School classes.
We never had any problems with billing, so I have no idea what the problem is with that with the other reviewer’s experience. And this is for a year plus’ worth of lessons, so if there was a glaring problem, I would have noted it for sure.
My daughter’s interest in music and theater is waning, which means that we might not be back. However, I do appreciate that she had a good «intro» here.
Only minus is that I wasn’t 100% sure about the music school instructors really knowing the parents, unless the parents went out of the way to make themselves known. Like my daughter’s grade school teacher knows us and the other parents of the children that they teach. I think that’s a testament to how many kids are in the classes there. Just saying.
I know how hard it is to reel in the elementary-​aged kids. I volunteer at my daughter’s school as an art docent and it’s really difficult to hold their attention. So I appreciate that she enjoyed her time here.
Another small gripe is that the class sizes seem a little big for the cost, and it doesn’t seem like each child is given as much attention as they should be getting. If your child is naturally gifted or takes supplemental piano, they’ll do well. However, if they don’t, they’ll give a recital that might lead one to believe that they’ve learned something that might or might not be retained, or have a lasting «value» of some type. I’m actually not sure how common this is. It’s like ten seconds of «Dun-​dun-​dun-​dun-​dun. Pause. Dun-​dun-​dun. Pause. Dun-​dun-​dun-​dun-​dun-​dun. Dun-​dink-​dun. Pause. Dun-​dun-​dun». I’m not kidding. LOL
I’m not saying that the kids should come out sounding like Beethoven after a year, and I’m no musician, but I still remain a little stumped. The kids are «reading» music off of sheets and seem to be concentrating, which is impressive. So I still give this place 4 stars, because I actually don’t think that kids should be treated like little performing robots and the #1 objective for me is that they have fun, and learn to work in groups.
Michael, who teaches piano, is an absolute delight. I don’t know many of the other instructors, but he’s an exceptional person, and he seems to really love the kids and music, too. They’re lucky to have him.
All in all, my kid asked to go back for an entire year, and she did. Completed the program, showed up when she had to, and did what she was supposed to. It’s in Sunnyvale Presbyterian, which is a lovely church with a labyrinth :-) And now, it seems like she’s done.

This review is about the private music lessons, not the group classes or musical productions.
The Music School is a convenient place to sign up for private lessons if you live in the neighborhood. However, you’re assigned to an instructor without getting any information about their experience or qualifications, and the instructors’ ability varies widely – some are great, others are pretty bad. The cancellation policy is basically that if a student misses a class, they’re out of luck, and if a teacher cancels a class, it’s up to the student to organize a make-​up session. There are no price breaks for classes not held when the school is closed for holidays, and students have to pay the full monthly fee for the month of December, when there are no classes at all – just a series of poorly organized, agonizingly long recitals.
But the worst thing about The Music School is that ²⁄₃ of the office staff are disorganized and unhelpful. Bills are sent only when they think your monthly payment is overdue – which often means they haven’t bothered to deposit your check yet – and are so poorly designed that you can’t tell what month you’re being billed for. One year, was told I didn’t owe any fee for September, only to have it demanded months later when the error was finally discovered. When I got tired of the problems and started asking for a receipt each time I paid, it was handed over grudgingly, with the clear implication that my request was unreasonable.
On occasions when I’ve misplaced one of the many pieces of paper they hand out and asked (nicely) for the information, their attitude has basically been that I’m wasting their time, and sometimes the information isn’t available at all. On one particular occasion when there was a huge error with my child’s recital assignment, the reflexive response was to find someone to blame. There was never any apology or explanation.
The director’s constant refrain is that it’s «too complicated» to track these administrative details in ways that are convenient for parents. I’m sorry, but if communicating with your clients is «too much trouble,» you’re in the wrong business.