Magic Flute

Having grown up in San Francisco and not Marin, it took 18 years after my parents moved to a San Rafael senior community for me to realize that The Magic Flute was a music shop and not a restaurant! Now, these folks are definitely on my radar as some of the kindest and most efficient people running a business anywhere in the country. I brought a once-loved and long-neglected guitar in for new strings, and Will carefully and thoroughly explained all the work that would be needed to bring it back to life.

Despite staff vacations, Guitar Technician Avery was able to get the job done brilliantly and much faster than I could have ever hoped. Cody was great at communicating with me via phone. The price was extremely reasonable, too. Five stars are insufficient for this shop! "Great" doesn't begin to capture how I feel about the people who work there or the quality of their work!

The shop is a fascinating place, and clearly a wonderful community hub for people looking for an instrument, instrument repairs, or music lessons. I am singing the praises of The Magic Flute to friends and family, and I wish them continued success. Very, very thankful to have found The Magic Flute.

Shopping at the Magic Flute and working with their staff is so delightful - every time. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. They're eager to help but they don't hover over you. I started out just looking for a sheet music and years later I am now an beginner musician taking lessons in there studios every week. It's been wonderful to have music in my life and it would not have happened if we did not have such an incredible resource in our community. And locally owned for decades! Forget all the chains and Amazon and experience real human connection!

The Magic Flute is a gem. The pricing more or less matches the average price found on the Web, the staff is friendly and helpful, the repair service is fantastic, and the selection is solid for a small shop. The store has practice / lesson rooms in the back where my daughter has started taking drum lessons. The teacher is good and, again, the price is competitive with anything available in the area.

The store will also sell your good condition used instruments on consignment at a fair price and favorable split. The whole process is transparent and very easy. I'd give the place more than five stars if I could.

Supporting our local business, I decided to go to "The Magic Flute" in Terra. Linda. "Will" greeted me very politely and asked me immediately how he could help. I needed two piano books and he did not relent until he found one of them for me. He was courteous, friendly, and willing to help genuinely. He made several suggestions about how to get the other book that was not available at their store, Everyone in this store is professional and welcoming the customers. I am very happy and satisfied to shop at this store and would recommend it to anyone who loves music.

This place is amazing! So many music shops have disappeared especially in the last few years but The Magic Flute is one of those old school shops with just about everything plus knowledgeable, helpful staff who love music. A special shout out to Will who restrung my cello, and also taught me a lot about the instrument. He answered at least 100 questions with patience and kindness.

I am very happy to give The Magic Flute the highest recommendation! I worked with Mike who patiently explained all the options for my purchase of a keyboard. He was very knowledgeable and thorough explaining the various choices. It was a pleasure to work with him. He arranged for delivery and set-up, so now I am enjoying my new keyboard. I am grateful for the great service! Barbara

Every time I have come to the Magic Flute it is a great experience. People clearly are knowledgeable & so engaged in the pursuit of music. Upbeat & professional musicians. We have not tried lessons, but have bought many books, been guided extensively for piano & have rented 2 different woodwind instruments. I highly recommend this shop!

This is kind of an odd review since most people think of The Magic Flute for buying music gear and lessons, but I can't say enough good things about their repair service! I get all my instrument repairs done here and they are the BEST! Their communication is great, turnaround time fast, and their work is top notch. I've had four digital pianos/keyboards, three guitars and a bass worked on there> I recommend The Magic Flute to all our students and friends. I love that we have this gem in our community!

I've only been here once to rent a trumpet. It was awesome. I've never been to a music store that allows the public to rent instruments. I love that the money you pay to rent the instrument can also be applied to buying the instrument if you'd like to do that. Renting the instrument is relatively cheap as well. 80 something for 3 months. The attendant was helpful and kind as well.

Simply the best. Bought my first guitar here 40 years ago and continue to count on them for expert advise and service. For the entry level musician, music stores can be intimidating, but The Magic Flute makes the process informative and fun, no pressure sales here. Thanks

Magic Flute is a great place to find great sheet music. Musical instruments. I have been a customer here for at least 10 years. I recently purchased the great song Till There Was You. I plan to sing it to my special Angel this year for Valentine's Day

We rented a saxophone from Magic Flute so my husband could play at my mother's memorial. They were so friendly, helpful and kind! It is a good sized store with a wide selection of sheet music and guitars, band instrument rentals, and other resources. A great local business!

Nice shop with a great staff and a nice selection of guitars. Most new stock was fender, but had a nice variety on consignment, including some cool partscasters and a beautiful reverend that I ended up going home with. Really enjoyed my experience trying out guitars there. Also seemed to have a great selection of acoustic/band instruments, although I didn't try any out.

Simply the best. Incredible selection, top notch customer service and a great store. Always been helped by the best people and been able to browse at my leisure. The staff knows what they're talking about and its the perfect balance between a small store vibe, fair pricing and variety of inventory. Highly reccomend.

The young gentleman behind the founder revived my 30-year-old trumpet for free, so my son can play it at elementary school. Great knowledge, friendly service, and (to my novice eye) a good selection of equipment. Strongly recommended.

I just had excellent shopping experience, purchasing a flute for my soon-to-be 9 yrs old girl. I did some research online and decided to buy a flute from Yamaha authorized dealer instead of risking on Amazon/e-bay for cheaper price. I had my budget, considering her age, beginner player, but she has shown interest almost 6 months with a recorder and a pianica at home.

She plays everyday without me telling her to do unlike other 2 kids of mine. Spike has explained me difference of flutes, by brand, level, type of metal, keys etc and showed me several flutes, and talked about options, which was the best part, I was able to buy a Yamaha flute 200 series that was for renting but still quite new (that also come with 1 yr warranty). I couldn't be more happier than this! I'll take back the flute for maintenance and visit for another instrument for renting or buying in future.

Wonderful knowledgeable staff, nice quality and variety of items. We've been patrons about 10 years, from renting middle school band instruments to purchasing others. Always helpful and no pressure sales.

Thank you Magic Flute! Had a trumpet emergency today and store associate Brendan stayed on the issue with us until he got things resolved and working again - just in time to record this afternoon. Phew! We are so grateful. Thank you Magic Flute! Thank you Brendan!

These guys rock. They are all friendly, extremely knowledgeable and very helpful. Christian the owner has done a lot of work on my guitars (changed pots and pickups etc.) and his work is flawless. I bought a vintage guitar from Mike some time back and it remains one of my favorites. I wish they had more vintage guitars come along. You can't go wrong with these folks. They are wonderful people that deeply care about their customers and their service. Highly recommended

The staff are great, super helpful and courteous. I bought a guitar for my boyfriend for Christmas and they made the process a breeze. I would definitely come back for future purchases, even tho they're an hour from where I live. It's definitely worth the drive!

All of the staff are so kind and respectful! I wish there were more music repair/retail stores like this one in the Bay Area. I live in the East Bay, and it is well worth the trek out to San Rafael.

I was looking for the right guitar center around my area. Most of them was closed. I browsed online to see which guitar center was open. Lo and behind, I saw Magic Flute. I was skeptical at first on why it said Magic Flute. I saw guitars on the website and so I decided to call them. I spoke to a Representative by the name of Mike. He was excellent with customer service and friendly.

He was able to recommend me the right guitar for my size and was able to accommodate me with the guitar strings that was bothering me and I was satisfied leaving the store knowing that hmm and along the staff members of Magic Flute we will help you with no hesitation.

Seems like a great place for some beginner lessons and renting instruments. They do have a some great instruments there for purchase but, judging from what I saw in their displayed inventory, they don't really carry anything above an intermediate-level instrument. Their flutes, for example, are mostly of the silver-plated variety rather than the solid precious metals types.

With that said, they have a great and safe system of being able to go into the store where you have to wait outside if the store is at capacity. Everyone was super helpful and were very friendly. I would definitely come back in certain situations as not many music shops are open on Sundays. Since I live in the city, this place wouldn't be my first option but it will be on my short list for random musical instrument needs.

Best service, I went by calling to the store and they set up my daughter violin very quick and flexible price, the violin technician was so friendly and he had good patience, I think he is mark I don't remember the name, ,, I highly recommend this place and now this our new music store to buy things Will be regulars You'll rock

We've always gotten good service here but today felt the need to review it. Not only are they completely set up to keep customers safe (wait outside until they let you in then have the rest of the store blocked off so now browsing/touching), the guys working there are always so nice and helpful (and wearing masks). Today, we brought my son's electric guitar in to get repaired which they did quickly while we waited outside - as we were getting ready to pull away in our car, one of the guys (I wish I had asked his name!) ran out to our car with a screw he needed to replace & put it in & tightened the rest (he also had no idea what car we were in or if we'd already left). That's above & beyond service & we're super grateful for it.

We just Keep coming here. Now, with my boys as they learn to play various instruments. Will and the staff have continued to be courteous and extremely helpful to us over the years. This year, we also started having music lessons here for my eldest boy. It's been very convenient and valuable for our family. Upgrading from my original 4 stars to 5!

I teach piano and buy most all my sheet music here and have been doing so for over 20 years. If they don't have a certain score in stock, they can order it. Let's keep The Magic Flute in business by continuing to buy sheet music and instruments from them. This is one of the few sheet music stores left in the area. Thanks!

Very nice folks, especially Christian who gave excellent advice to my son and repaired his guitar with a crack on the base (thanks to United Airlines, even with a $300 "bulletproof" guitar case, they manage to damage it, bad luck because we have traveled with United and used this case many times with no problems, oh and they are not responsible). will be back to do more business.