I was a student at the Golden Key Piano School for over 14 years and piano and music became one of my biggest passions because of it. I like that their teaching style prioritizes developing a real love and understanding for music. I am very appreciative that I got the opportunity to learn piano at such a young age with such a good teacher. I would highly recommend it.

My daughter has been taking classes at Golden Key Piano School since she was 5 years old. The curriculum is well thought out and expansive and Im happy with her musical abilities. The teachers are all friendly and responsive to student needs. During the pandemic, the school has moved to remote learning without hiccups. Overall, were grateful for the school and its instructors.

I cant say enough good things about Golden Key Piano School. The teachers here are all accomplished musicians that are very passionate about not just instructing children on how to play piano but teaching kids musical expression, appreciation and performance. We are very pleased with 7.5 years of experience at Golden Key, this is a great place for learning music.

For the last 5 years, our family has been very happy with Golden Key and the musical education that our children are receiving. Golden Key is a wonderful and serious piano school with dedicated teachers. The fact that there are a number of teachers guarantees that each child will find a good fit for their particular personality. The excellent beginning curriculum has been created by the schools founder. As your child advances, they are given many choices withinthe rich classical tradition.

My daughter goes to this piano school for the past 9 years starting from Kindergarten. It was one of the best picks I have done in my life. I am a person who would research first before signing up for anything.I think Golden Key Piano is the best piano school in Berkeley. My daughter loves the school, the music, and the teachers. The teachers are very patient and all have an intensive piano education background.They have mini recitals and 2 BIG annual recitals, all OPTIONAL. Some of the mini recitals are theme recitals, such as animal concerts, nature concerts .etc. Which makes piano interesting and fun for kids. These recitals have helped my daughter to break out from her shyness and gain confidence in performing in front of an audience. Its the start of her comfort for other public performance or public speaking at her school.My husband and I dont play any kind of musical instruments. So, its wonderful to have my daughter keeps her interest in piano and bring beautiful music into the house.PS:I have a completely different view and experience from one reviewer who has negative review about the front desk personnel. The front desk personnel, Sadegh Arefy, is one of the most patient, gentle, kind, and polite individuals I have ever met. He is very respectful to students, parents, teachers, and any guests coming through the front door. Even to a solicitor or a homeless person, I have seen how he interacted with them respectfully. I can imagine that only an incredibly unbelievably unpleasant event would make him ever getting upset.

As someone already mentioned, Sadegh is pretty rude :(

I like golden key piano school’s teaching philosophy and my son is working very well with their teachers. I also enjoy the recital and the performance day of each month.

Karin is my son’s teacher. Its only few month but he is improving alot. Highly recommend

“The schools communication about calendar/ hours etc. its is great, and the teachers my daughter worked with are fantastic!”

Golden Key Piano school has provided good teachers who know how to motivate my child. She’s grown tremendously in her piano skills since a year ago when she started at this school.

Golden Key is a wonderful place for beginners and advanced students alike. My child was a beginner, and they worked with us to find the right fit for a teacher.

Were truly grateful for Ms. Katrin who is the piano school owner as my daughters teacher. Throughout the last 4 years, Ms. Katrin taught my daughter many basic but important piano fundamental skills such as learning to play by ear, sight readings, and proper hand posture at the piano making sure to have the wrist and arm in the right position, etc.Ms. Katrin always helps to spur the students interest in playing piano with enthusiasm and never forces the issue. For example, Ms. Katrin offers varieties of classical songs that my daughter is interested in playing.One of the key elements to be a successful pianist is to perform on many different platforms. Ms. Katrin provided my daughter various opportunities to perform in Steinway Piano Gallery and Piedmont Piano Company. Ms. Katrin is truly my daughters advocate to be the best pianist she can be. We live 30 miles away from the piano school and yet my daughter always enjoys the piano lesson whether its in-person or online. I highly recommend Golden Key Piano School!

UPDATED:just let yall know that this place deleted my negative review on their Facebook page. Laughable. As a business, they deleted customers reviews rather than thinking about why they are negatively reviewed. Its a SCAM if you hide customers negative reviews just to pretend that you are 100% upvoted by everyone.I wish I could give a negative star. The front desk, Sadegh Arefy, a senior guy, is the rudest business operator Ive ever met in my life! Any other school Ive been to always allow a makeup class if you make an at least 24 hours notice but this one is horrible at this!I got sick twice and both time I emailed a timely notice to the front desk manager, Sadegh, and he agreed to give me makeup classes late whenever there will be an open slot. Also, this school closes very often, not only just on national holidays, means you have to prepare for your weekly fixed class get affected.Including two classes that I did not take due to sudden their close, plus two classes I missed due to my sickness that Sadegh promised to give me back later, I was entitled to four classes in total. However, when I had to quit this school b/c my moving and asked to take these four classes before moving out of town, Sadegh rudely rejected my request & reiterated their no makeup class policy though Ive shown his email consent as a proof! He did not even admit that he has ever agreed! After an unimaginably unpleasant dispute that Ive never had in my whole life during which I got yelled (yes he yelled get out of my school you stupid idiot at me!!! I could not imagine how it would be if I ever said these words to one of my customers), I only got three makeup classes, with a warning from this rudest guy that if I kept asking for a full four classes, he would kick me out to the street with none of them offered.My suggestion as a previous customer is DO NOT CHOOSE this school as long as Sadegh Arefy being at the front desk taking charge of all this stuff, or be prepared to get yelled & insulted once there is an issue regarding your money!!

My daughter has had a wonderful experience at the Golden Key piano school. The teachers are highly adaptive and well-versed in teaching methods. Their rigorous hiring process ensures that only the most suitable candidates are hired. While their emphasis is on the Russian method, they are able to tailor their teaching to individual students needs. Not only are their abilities versatile, but their personalities as well. I find that incredibly valuable considering each individual students personalities may coordinate better with a given teacher based on their similarities or differences. Thus, they are truly able to accommodate students individual characters. They provide ample assistance in certification preparation, work outside of the classroom, and music choices. They constantly encourage students to do their homework to ensure its completion and therefore the students improvement. Their philosophy is that [they are] being paid to teach. Thus, you practice on your own time.Katrin, the owner and my daughters teacher, is truly wonderful. She is both patient and firm when necessary. She encourages students to focus in unique ways that promote creativity. She has helped my daughter work with many methods through mastering different songs. The institution itself has one individual and one duet performance a year, as well as one top ten performance. Also, they sometimes host an animal-based recital where the song performed has to be related to animals. The children wear animal costumes. There are other recitals, as well. Therefore, there is diversity within the themes of these recitals. I am grateful to the school and the community of peers and families I have met through Katrin and the Golden Key piano school, and I am especially thankful for all of the knowledge and experience my daughter has gained throughout her time with this remarkable institution.

AMAZING