Guitarist

Rich is an amazing teacher! I've been learning from him for over 3 years now. He is extremely patient and is able to point out ways to improve in a number of ways. The classes are reasonably priced as well.

Rich, my teacher is absolutely wonderful. His class is perfect for any level as he has enough material and variations to challenge you. And you learn by playing songs which keeps me motivated.

This is a great music school for all levels highly recommend

If The Guitarist and Teacher Tim Schwalbach could be given 10 stars out of 5, I would do it in a heartbeat. My child started learning the guitar at 4.5 yrs of age from Teacher Tim. In 3 years, he has gone from how to hold a guitar to having his own YouTube channel with a good number of fans! Tim is kind, respectful and totally invested in his students and you can tell, he loves them as he loves his music.

Teacher Tim is not afraid to go off the beaten path and each time my child requests for a song, we attempt it right away and then gently come back to the method and rhythm books. Teacher Tim stresses on the importance of good technique, learning to read music, both the notes and tablature. Over the 10-month lockdown, my child has gone from playing Jingle bells to complex songs like Believer, Ieaven polkka and Hey Jude in perfect rhythm and melody. Our family is ever grateful to the guitarist and Teacher Tim for bringing such amazing music and great joy to our lives!

Richard is a great instructor. I have been taking his classes for 2+ years now. He also organizes fun workshops and can with help instruments.

I just purchased a new guitar at The Guitarist. My old guitar is damaged and fixing it is going to be expensive, and I wanted to get a new one to use in the interim and as a backup. I made an appointment and Rich had a set of different guitars ready to try. It was kind of like getting an eye test (I liked the first one, and then compared the next to it, etc).

I tried at least 6 guitars - having a variety of sizes and features. My goal was to find one that sounded good and that was easy to play, and stay within my budget - and I found a great one. One of the lovely things about the experience was that Rich did not try to influence me toward a more expensive guitar and I actually spent significantly less than I expected to.

This is an ideal place to buy a guitar because they have the expertise and clearly care about helping you select a good quality guitar that you will like, rather than pushing something just based on price. No pressure, plenty of help, reasonable prices - I would recommend this place to anyone.

My daughters are taking lessons with Rich and Minh. They are both amazing teachers and my kids are improving significantly with every lesson.

Great group of very talented instructors and very friendly office staff! We really like working with Matt. He is a very talented individual and our girls have learned a lot from him! Rich and his staff are doing an amazing job with all the students.

All my kids have been taking guitar lessons with Rich there. He's an awesome teacher and all my 3 kids play very well now. Highly recommended!

James (Jim) is an amazing piano teacher! He's very patient and passionate about what he does. He's a talented musician and he writes his own sheet music from ear. Helped me get down the basics very fast and is still teaching me to go beyond what I tried to learn by myself. He teaches at De Anza College as well and I know everyone loves him there. He makes piano fun to learn!

Meant to write this review for a long time. I've been learning guitar from Rich for almost a year, all i have to say is that Rich is awesome, I attend the group class, work on songs I want to play at home, and every time I reached a road block, I schedule private lesson with Rich, to be honest, every private lesson, I gain so much from him, he just have the experience to tell you what is wrong, what needs to be improved and offer insights on how to overcome those challenges, then you just go back and practice. Leaning an instruments needs a good teacher, but to be good at it, you have to spend time to practice, regardless how good the teacher is, if you don't practice, you never gonna be good. All I have to say is that Rich is awesome, and he is definitely my go to guy for guitar in area.

I started at the Santa Clara Adult Education series where I was just trying out if I wanted to learn the guitar (with a borrowed guitar). 4 years from then on, I've been hooked to the guitar, the classes themselves looking forward to it every week. Rich, the instructor is a wonderful person, always inviting with a smile, ready to learn(I said learn that is correct)/teach songs old and new alike.

Something Rich said in the very first class stuck with me. It was him asking us to enjoy playing the Guitar and depending on what we wanted, practice every day, practice a couple of times a week or just attend the group classes just to jam with everyone. This really clicked with me as you're at your personal pace of learning songs/techniques.

The idea is to just keep playing and nothing more. Anyway services offered here are below: - Guitar (Classical, Electric, Bass, etc.), Drums, Keyboard, Vocals Lessons - Group or individual depends on the instrument - Musical instrument sales, servicing, accessories, recommendations, tune-ups, etc. - Musical theory lessons (follow the newsletter for dates) - Bollywood Music Workshop - Guitar lessons for select Bollywood songs(requested by students)! You should find more information on their website - http://www.youcanplayguitar.com/

Been taking classical guitar classes for over a year now, could not be happier with the experience and dedication of my teacher.

Took class with Rich. He is very friendly and approachable. I took a group class with him, 6 weeks. This is my first music class ever. I definitely enjoyed it. I rented a guitar from him. Now that my session is over, I decided to continue group classes with him. I went back and purchased a guitar from him. I highly recommend Rich if you are curious about guitar.

We've been going to The Guitarist for close to 5 years with my younger son playing drums. At one point he was also taking guitar lessons from them, but decided to focus on the one instrument. Everyone is extremely nice and very professional, helpful and accommodating. Rich manages everything so well with his calm demeanor, so understanding of all the challenges. Bobby is my son's drum instructor -- and he is just THE BEST.

Our little guy tends to be have EXCESS energy, yet Bobby manages and teaches him so well, very encouraging and embracing of the different types of music he wants to play -- it's fun to see my son's development and growth, owed in no small part to the ability to just play for the love of making music which Bobby and The Guitarist allow him.

When I found Rich Hawthorne I had no musical ability - I still have no musical ability but I love the opportunity to play guitar and learn so much from Rich every week. He has musical ability and a real talent for teaching. He has taken someone like me with iron hands and helped me make this more than 10 year journey a learnng experience that has opened thought pathways experiences. I am so glad that I found Rich and the guitar -- I started when I was already past 50 - so it is never too late to start to learn.

Richard is such a great instructor with kids! Richard managed to reinvigorate the love and joy my daughter has for playing guitar. The Buchser Jr High band teacher had just about crushed it to death by yelling at, and ridiculing her. Richard's excellent demeanor, cool tone and patience brought a smile back to her face and she barely puts her guitar down now!

Rich is the BEST GUITAR TEACHER EVER! He is super patient, really flexible regarding material, and so knowledgeable. I took his group session at a local community college and then started individual lessons. I have a young daughter and he was so sweet and open to teaching me silly children's songs. I am not musically inclined at all and had zero experience.

Due to his skill as a teacher and his extreme patience with me I learned all sorts of songs, how to read notes, tons of chords and different techinques (from how to hold the guitar to finger picking stuff). I am incredibly glad that I found him and will definitely use him for my daughter when she is older. You can't go wrong here! oh, his pricing is also very very reasonable (and competitive for the area) and he is really organized -- he keeps appointments, starts on time, ends on time, etc.

Rich is amazing. I cannot say enough good things about him, but I will try and summarize with a few of the highlights: 1. He is patient (way beyond what any normal human being should be capable of). 2. He tailors the lesson (both group and private) to the needs and desires of his students. (Jack Johnson, Pearl Jam, the Beattles, Tome Petty, Green Day -- all the good stuff) 3.

He genuinely cares about his students and it really shows in his interaction with each one. 4. He makes class an extremely therapeutic experience after a long work day. 5. Rich has a great sense of humor and is probably one of the most upbeat people that I have ever met. 6. This is a big one: He make learning fun - something that as an 'adult' I find that I need a little of in my life to keep my sanity.

I have taken lessons from Rich for over 5 years and am always learning new things - painlessly. If anyone reading this has questions about 'The Guitarist' please send me an message and I'd be happy to tell you more - or better yet call Rich or visit his facebook page and schedule a lesson - you'll be hooked. Rich is the man.