Inspire Music Center

We couldn’t find a better place for our Daughter to learn guitar… Pablo is amazing… very patient and talented!!! I feel that she is learning really fast, Thanks to her great Teacher!

Walked in to have the strings of my guitar switched. Apparently the guitar guy only comes in on Sunday… weak sauce.

We rented a trumpet from them at the beginning of the school year. In December my daughter decided to switch to violin. We exchanged with no problem. Then my daughter broke the new violin in January. They were amazing at getting a new one and working with us in paying for the broken one. Highly recommend. Thinking of trying then for lessons based on their excellent customer service so far.

If I could give Victor, Lauren, Jorell, Chad and the rest of the staff at Inspire 100 stars, I would!
After being «inspired» at Inspire’s Glee Camp back in 2011, my daughter started taking vocal lessons there. From pop to jazz to Broadway musicals to Italian arias and German lieder — her repertoire and skill grew over the past two years. And every step of the way, the staff at Inspire was there to encourage and challenge her!
My daughter’s DREAM was to get into SOTA for classical vocal… and she did! Victor and Lauren knew how important this was to my daughter, and how serious she was about it — and they took her audition seriously, as well. They worked with her for months on her audition piece as well as on her overall «performance.»
When we found out that my daughter was accepted to SOTA, one of the first people we contacted with Victor — because we knew that she would not have made it if not for him and Lauren and the other great teachers at Inspire.
I really don’t know how to thank Inspire Music enough. You have been instrumental in making this mom, and her daughter — and all of our family and friends — very very happy!

Great teachers who are also super nice people and amazingly skilled musicians. Reasonable prices, friendly vibe.

I came here in August to take a few violin lessons. It was my first time playing the violin in 9 years.
I had Victoria as my instructor and she was great! Very friendly and nice. She was encouraging as well and I would recommend her to anyone wanting to relearn or learn the violin for the first time.
The other staff members here are nice as well. My sister’s friends came to take voice lessons and they loved it. They said it was fun and the teacher was «really cool». I forgot what they said his name was. They are still taking lessons. They were able to get the first lesson free because Inspire Music has a thing where they fit you with an instructor to see who would work well with you.
The owner is Victor. He is a great guy and very professional. He staff will work with you and your schedule. He has a degree in Music and is so passionate about it. He specializes in voice lessons and I would recommend him as he is the best! The day I have kids, they will definitely be taking voice lessons from him (if they want to). Or any other music lessons from his school because Inspire Music’s staff makes you want to come back.
Thanks for the lessons!

DO’NT!!!go to there rent instruments because they DO’NT show you the clear policy or sign contract. if you change your mind they WO’NT let you return it… it’s not a good place to rent
worst experience ever.

I took guitar lessons from Pablo and he was a great teacher! He was very patient and is a pro.

My 11-​year daughter Alexa has been taking voice lessons with owner/​instructor Victor Cervantes for 5 years and piano lessons for 3 years with Kelli. Alexa loves taking music lessons at Inspire Music. Victor has really challenged her and motivates her to perform. I am always astounded how Victor is able to develop my daughter’s singing abilities. She just gets better and better. Victor’s 2x/​year student recitals are always fun to watch. His students are all amazing singers, which is a true testament to Victor’s advanced level of teaching and commitment. Victor is also very generous to the school community. Everytime I have asked him to donate lessons to my daughter’s school fundraiser, he has come through. I wish all the best for Victor and continued success and growth in his business.
My daughter’s piano teacher Kelli is also a wonderful instructor. She is very patient, and my daughter has learned a lot from her.
Anytime friends ask me where their kids should take music lessons, I tell them to head to Inspire Music all the time. They have all been happy there.

Went there on a teacher’s highest recommendation, but they were disorganized and not very knowledgeable. One employee made several mistakes while replacing my violin strings, and caused some damage to the violin. However, the owner apologized very nicely and offered to repair it for free.

This place ROCKS! I was able to walk in and get my guitar restringed and tuned while I waited during their busy after school rush.

My son has attended this camp the last 3 years, and we are rearranging his summer so he can attend in 2012. He started at age 11 with classical guitar training and by the end of the week he played bass guitar, sang lead on one song, and wanted to learn drums. It is the ONLY summer camp my son has ever asked to go back to (and as a working parent, we schedule every summer and have tried just about everything).
Last summer’s end of camp show was at a local pizza place… I felt like I was at a club. They had grouped the kids into bands of 4 – 5 kids each, so everyone got a chance to shine. Several of the teachers are professional musicians with touring experience, and my son got some roadie experience helping to set up and strike for the show.
There’s an added bonus if you’re tired or too busy to make lunch in the morning. If you can trust your child to cross the street, give your child $ 5 and let them go to any of the reasonably priced eating establishments within 1 block. My son usually gets food with his new band mates and eats in the park across the street.

Inspire Music is a neighborhood gem that fills a real need in the Sunset. For young owner Victor C., music is clearly a labor of love that he has devoted his life to. He has very quickly built a loyal following by finding excellent teachers and focusing on bringing an appreciation for all types of music to kids and adults alike. My wife has taken vocal lessons here, our grandson loved the Rock Camp (and didn’t mind eating lunch at the shop), and kids all over the neighborhood have had life-​changing experiences in having their eyes opened to the joys of music. Inspire is a throw back to neighborhood stores of old and in its own charming way has brought a real sense of musical community to the Parkside-​Taraval. Inspiring indeed.

I can’t say enough good things about Inspire Music. My son has been taking guitar lessons with K.C. for about 7 months and what started as a tiny interest has turned into… living the dream. It culminated last week in his first gig at Eagle Pizza and all I can say is that for Michael, it’s officially on. The best part is watching my son develop a true love for something, practice at it and feel a sense of pride with himself for mastering something he couldn’t do before. Not to mention it’s been fun for both of us because I get to force him to listen to all the music I grew up on, and he loves it.
The staff and teachers have been nothing but friendly, professional and completely flexible. My son plays baseball and they were patient with our constant schedule issues, never complaining or making me feel bad during the season.
In summary, WAY worth it! I recommend Inspire for both lessons and camp. My son is stepping it up and wants to add voice lessons into the mix at the end of summer. Fingers crossed, that he will throw me a bone once he hits the big time and let his mama sing Barracuda with his band.

«AKA Discourage Music»
I was researching violin teachers in San Francisco and came across Heidi Yoo. She told me she taught at Inspire Music and I figured it would be wiser to go through this business instead of her directly so I would get more professional service.
Was I ever wrong. Let me start from the beginning:
Heidi and my daughter clicked and my daughter was very «inspired» so I was happy hearing her practice every night after only the first two lessons. Plus my daughter is learning Korean so if she picked up some Korean words during the lesson even better. Everything was perfect.
Then we get a call was told Heidi can’t teach my daughter anymore. We were told she took on too many lessons and was not teaching that day anymore. We were not pleased because this time slot was perfect and the teacher/​student dynamic was working well.
It took a few weeks to get a new slot but Heidi, who we were seeing, mysteriously got booked up and did not have ANY slots for us.
So we went with another instructor and she was nice but my daughter did not have anything to practice and the instructor did not continue or build upon the work that Heidi started.
As we were leaving, we saw Heidi there taking a student during our old time slot. I said «I thought you were not teaching this day» and she said sorry and rushed off. This is when I knew something was not ethical. I asked for our time slot back that someone has. This was refused and they did not refund our lesson after THEY had cancelled it.
I understand if I cancel the lesson there would be no refund but they cancelled it and we tried another instructor so they would not take the loss.
My daughter LOVED the violin and was progressing quickly until Inspire Music cancelled the lessons on us.
This place should be called «Discourage Music» because my daughter LOVED the violin and was progressing quickly until Inspire Music cancelled the lessons on us. Heidi is great and I don’t know if it was her fault or Inspire but this should have been handled with greater care. The fact that the two instructors did not communicate — and they gave my daughter and I a complete runaround — makes me frustrated they feel they do not need to give me my money back.
How much damage have they done by killing this momentum with Heidi and my daughter? This really bums me out.
NOTE: Heidi is a great instructor, patient with kids, very talented, and inspirational. I was hoping to get my daughter with her again the last two months before having to post a review.

We’ve now been sending our 9 yr old daughter to Inspire for about 2 months. Her instructor is Derrick and she’s shown so much improvment. He is knowlegable and very attentive and good with kids. I recommend Inspire to anyone with kids that are interested in taking lessons

Truly INSPIRE-​ational! This is a long and overdue review of this wonderful place.
We have been with INSPIRE Music since April of 2005 (we took off a year for personal reasons) when Victor’s «little itsy, bitty, small… really small BUT cozy shop» was on Vicente and 24^th Ave.
My daughter, K has been taking piano lessons with Christina Wang since 2005 and loving it! She’s very patient and a caring instructor for K. She’s lovingly strict but she also delivers quality yet fun learning experience for her students.
Now, Victor’s little business venture has grown with more teachers and students on board and with that growth, moved to a bigger and better location on Taraval… super convenient wether by car or public transportation. Despite the growth and success of his business, him and his staff stayed true — THE BEST, THE FRIENDLIEST yet PROFESSIONAL group of people. They will try to accomodate your schedule and at the same time find the right instructor that will fit your needs and personality. Their rates are among the most competive in the area and I know this because I have done price search comparisons around the SF districts…(Parkside, Inner/​Outer Sunset, Richmond, Lakeshore, Lakeside, Irving… etc)
From the intructors to the front office staff and Victor himself care that you learn to LOVE music…(this seems to be their mantra) from singing to playing an instrument and that’s important to me. I don’t like the «forced mentality» because that’s discouraging.
On a side note — 2x a year, they put on a small recital concert at this beautiful church in Castro for all the kids to show off their talent and man, have they produced… great confidence booster too. ;-)

after guitar center failed to repair my kid’s electric guitar on 4 different occasions, i took the epiphone les paul guitar to the local guitar shop. they fixed it and changed the part and so far –so good.
guitar center = never more

My daughter is not a student here anymore for her personal, young reasons = doesn’t want to take a class that she has to practice at home as she wants to be free to play when she gets home from school. It’s a shame as she had great promise.
I received a voicemail yesterday afternoon from the owner. He came across my review when reading the Unilocal reviews of his business to brighten his day. He deeply apologized for the chair incident. I believe he was truly sincere and meant every word. I appreciate his taking the time to figure out who I was and to correct his mistake. Water under the bridge.
If my daughter wants to continue piano lessons again, I would certainly take her back to Inspire Music.

I took bass guitar lessons here for about a year and I can honestly say it was one of the best investments I’ve ever made.
My instructor, Zach, took the time to correct years of bad technique and turned me into a fairly decent bass player; decent enough that I now perform regularly with a professional band.
From Victor, the owner, to Jen who managed everything while I was a student there, the entire staff at Inspire Music were nothing short of highly professional.
In addition to that, the fees for private music lessons here were the best I could find anywhere in SF & San Mateo counties.
If you’re looking for excellent music instruction at a great price, you’ll find it at Inspire Music.