I just finished my last group class with Chris and am very happy with his teaching and my progress!
I decided this summer to learn guitar. I played clarinet (poorly) and a little piano in HS so I knew the basics of music, but had never touched a guitar. On the first night, my fingers hurt and I was sure this wasn't going to work. But Chris and Matt took it slow and now, after 3 months, I know 14 chords and can play a dozen recognizable songs! Granted, no one wants to sit and listen to me play yet, but I am so much farther than I thought possible! I plan to take it to the next level with Chris. And when my daughter is ready, I think we will start here here as well.
My daughter has been taking ukulele lessons for about a year and I absolutely love these guys. Our teacher, Melody, is the most patient, thoughtful, kind, and encouraging teacher. She holds the kids accountable without breaking their spirits which makes my daughter look forward to each and every lesson. I highly recommend them!
My young daughter was a student of Miss Josephine and absolutely loved her piano classes. We unfortunately had to take her out of the classes recently, but this had nothing to do with Ms Josephine's teaching, which was wonderful! My daughter learnt how to read music so quickly and really developed a love for the piano. I highly recommend this school and Ms Josephine!
I've been a student of Chris Shahin at SJG school of Music for over three years. He's an amazing teacher and guitarist! I was looking for someone that knew fingerstyle specifically, and I had a really tough time! I had 3 or 4 teachers until I met Chris.
He knows blues, jazz, rock, pop, swing, etc... And more importantly, he's very patient and thorough. He's knowledge of music is really extensive! I've been so impressed by Chris that we asked him to play at our wedding. It was an honor to have him there and he played beautifully!
If you're a beginner or if you haven't picked up the guitar in a while and need to brush up, or if you have a child that's interested in music, Chris Shahin at SJG school of Music should be your first and last music teacher! Five out of five stars!
My son has taken guitar lessons with Melody at SJG for over two years now. At a very young age he is sticking with it, showing improvement, looks forward to his lessons and actually practices. As someone who had a poor experience with music lessons, I know how much of the credit goes to Melody and the relaxed, nurturing environment at SJG.
My son has had opportunities to perform in front of audiences, learn songs that interest him and more. Melody has found ways to teach that cater to his learning style, rather than forcing him to learn the way she teaches.
SJG is highly recommended.
I have been learning jazz piano from Joey Trombly at SJG School of Music.
I have had several teachers before, but Joey has been hands down the most effective and fun piano teacher that I have had. I am learning jazz piano from him and in a little over a year I have gone from rather limited and frankly awful robotic skills to being able to sit in front of The Jazz Real Book type chord sheets and on the fly do one and two handed chord voicings. That in itself has been a satisfying joy for me. I am now learning how to improvise by identifying tonal areas over chord changes and improvise lines over them using different scales and approaches (keys, modes, etc.)
The thing with Joey is that he seems to effortlessly know exactly what to focus on at every lesson so that practice stays fun and absolutely not a chore, and without building bad habits or taking shortcuts. In that way Joey is a very gifted natural teacher. I have had four other piano teachers before Joey, in classical and jazz/pop, but every time I eventually got bored with practicing and eventually stopped altogether. Not so with Joey. Something in the way he looks at your playing and then finds something to work on next that keeps piano playing fun and fresh but at the same time will improve technique and musicianship, and before you know it you are doing things comfortably that you did not imagine you could learn in such a short amount of time.
As an adult with with a demanding day job I had more or less given up on learning piano after years of frustration, but thankfully Joey changed that for me and I am grateful for that. I hope that others will find the same joy that I have found in learning to play an instrument with Joey at SJG.
Chris Shahin and his staff at SJG School of Music are professional, knowledgable, and fun. My 20 year old son took lessons from Chris for many years. Lessons at SJG fostered a love of guitar and music in general. My 22 year old son took drum lessons from Jamal, and like my younger son learned a lot and continues to play and love music even though they are both grown and away at college. My youngest son who is 11 is now taking guitar from Chris and it's so good to be back at SJG. The instructors introduce the children to performing early on and the result is
students who love music and love to perform. Our family is a huge fan of SJG! We commute from South San Jose to take lessons there and it is well worth the time.
Chris,who I think is the owner,lead guitar instructor is a good guy! The school is organized and busy with a lot of children studying and practicing music at all different levels.Chris teaches my daughter guitar and is personable and engaging. My 11 year old is pleased and will continue taking lessons with Chris.My son takes drum lessons from Jamal who is equally as desirable but in a different way.Dry sense of humor I hear through the office walls with my son and engaging in a playful way with him as well. My son enjoys drumming with Jamal and we will continue the lessons here with him as well. The Campbell community center where they are located is really nice,vintage restored high school,cozy and convenient for us. Thanks guys!
My son has been a student of Jemal Ramirez at SJG School of Music for the past several years. Jemal has a unique way of adapting to the student's way of learning. He makes the lessons more fun, enjoyable and more importantly, effective. Even when my son is sick, he pretends he isn't only so I will take him to the drums class. Jemal is a great teacher!
Jemal inspired us so much that my other son and I signed up music classes at the same school as well!
This is the best of the best. The teacher's really care about their students. Our kids have taken guitar, piano, and voice lessons through the school of music and we have been happy with all of their lessons. We have one daughter who has gone on to sing in bands and play guitar through the school of music as well. There are many opportunities to grow as a musician here. We are grateful for the lesson our daughters have learned.
