Jon’s School of Music

Our family LOVES Jon! We’ve been taking our kids to Jon’s Music class for 5 years now. We started with my then 17 month old son, continued with my now 3.5 year old son, and have just started with my 15 month old daughter. They all love it. I do too! After every class I feel energized and happy because it was so much fun. We sing a lot of great songs, most written by Jon who is a very clever and silly songwriter, and they’re fun to sing!
Beyond the fact that it’s simply fun to attend Jon’s classes, the kids (and me) are actually learning something. My 6 year old still does a lot of the beats he’s learned from Jon, he can identify where the different notes are on a piano keyboard, and even uses a lot of musical terms like crescendo, forte, and piano (as in quietly). My 3 year old knows where many of the notes are on the keyboard, has used the word crescendo in normal conversation, sings a lot, and now I know that he really likes horns. My 15 month old has great timing, is learning rhythm, and loves playing all of the different instruments.
All of my children are bilingual in Chinese and Jon’s class has helped by teaching them how to listen and how to tell the difference between sounds. He even sings a Chinese song in class as well as encourages my kids and others to sing songs in other languages they speak. Only in his class would I learn the sounds frogs make in Norwegian. He encourages hearing new sounds and kids helping him make up new songs. It’s very fun and creative.
The best part is that we all learn through doing.
We learn: rhythm by following certain beats, how to follow the leader by drumming the way others do, how to lead in the same way, how to stop at the same time, how to sing in the same rhythm, how to move to the beat, how to play a myriad of different instruments, how to hold drumsticks, the basics of how to play the guitar, how to read musical symbols, where the notes are on the keyboard, and how to exercise our vocal cords.
I can’t say enough about how wonderful Jon’s class is. There’s a reason I keep coming back and bringing all of my children. I believe wholeheartedly that they are getting an education, a good start in learning and appreciating music (which research says is more and more important for learning math and other skills), and having a great time while doing it.
Try his class! Go in excited to learn, enthusiastic about the music and the songs, sing loud, and I promise you’ll love it!

Our 3 year old son has been going for a bit over a year now. He was very quiet and shy at first, but now he totally engages. Jon has been great with him. He’s patient when he doesn’t want to talk, but is always encouraging him to join in the fun. And while our son used to be a bit reserved in class, he’d do all the stuff he learned in class at home. Sing the songs, talk about the instruments he played, demonstrate the new terms he learned (like once I asked him not to yell, and he replied that he should be «piano, not forte»). I like that they don’t just sit in a circle and sing songs. The kids learn about music and get to play a lot of different and REAL instruments. Yes, Jon has rules, but we find that he’s firm but kind about them. And they make sense. But it’s not like the kids have to sit completely still and listen. Kids are wiggly and silly and fun. But if they’re crying or putting instruments in their mouth (those that aren’t supposed to), he’ll say something — take the crying kid outside until s/​he calms or take the drumstick out of your mouth.

Our son is almost 3 and has been attending JSOM for over 1 year. He has developed a great appreciation and joy of music and playing instruments. He has developed real musical skills — drumming in time, singing into a mic, strumming guitar, starting & stopping on time, etc.) — through the class. I am thrilled. My kid loves it. We will continue to go and tell our friends of our positive experience.
At first Jon’s class and teaching technique seemed a little bizarre but it really works — there is definitely a method to what sometimes seems like his madness — he uses silly tricks, voices, characters, etc. to keep kids engaged but these lay the foundation of real musical understanding and appreciation — at this point my kid can identify notes, can play in time, knows the scales, can clap on time, etc. He also has gotten to play A LOT of different instruments — guitar, bass, violin, bells, drums, keyboard, horns, harp, recorder, etc. — Jon rotates all the students through the various instruments so everyone gets a chance to play each of the instruments in «The Super Friends Band»
We attend class in Berkeley and I highly recommend to any parent who wants to get their kid interested in music.

My 5-​year-​old daughter has been attending classes at Jon’s School of Music for about a year now and we couldn’t be happier. Jon’s class is fun, engaging, and he introduces real music concepts in an age-​appropriate way. I really appreciate that she is exposed to a variety of instruments — drums, keyboards, strings, horns, voice — and really gets to play them. There is attention to learning notes on the keyboard, percussion rhythms, movement, creating music with others (e.g., flubs are a fact of life), and general exploration. I was a little unsure about the parent participation element before we started, based on previous experience in other classes, but time together in Jon’s class is something that we both look forward to each week.
Regarding rules, it is true that he expects kids (and parents) to be involved with the activity at hand, treat the instruments with respect, and not create a disruption for the entire classroom; I find this perfectly reasonable and conducive to learning, but I can see how if you’re expecting something more along the lines of the openness of Music Together, it might be an adjustment or not a good fit for you. But I really appreciate how the children are totally engaged with music in an environment that’s also a lot of fun. My daughter made up her own song on the keyboard the other day and told me, «Mommy, I rocked a song!»

The previous reviewer clearly had a bad experience. Maybe Jon was having a bad day. I don’t know – I wasn’t there – but what I do know is that my son, age 3 and ½, adores this class, and all the other children who come every single week to our Sunday 4:30 class love it too. And they love Jon. Yes, he is strict, but he has a system, the children learn it, and I would wager to say that they behave better outside of the class because of the discipline they are learning with Jon. They learn to be careful with delicate instruments. They learn to sit still. And most importantly, they are learning the foundations of music theory, in a way that is absolutely playful and joyful yet rigorous, and trying out different instruments, and making a ton of noise and careening around when it is appropriate. If you want Gymboree and bubbles and a parachute, go to Gymboree! If you really want your child to start to learn music, and to experience the discipline that is a part of all music learning, then do a trial class and judge for yourself. In any case, I sincerely doubt he was smoking pot before class. Jon is a professional. He is a terrific teacher. I really do think that this class is «as good as it gets”–

STAY AWAY FROM THIS CLASS!!! I just got back from a trial class at JSOM at the Berkeley location. I am shocked, appalled, and feel terrible about how Jon treated me, my son, and the other parents and kids. A few things should have tipped me off right off the bat. First, the class does not start on time. We arrived exactly on time, but no one was there. There was another mother standing outside waiting as well. When we went inside, nothing was set up, so Jon spent time taking out instruments and throwing them on the ground. The class didn’t actually start for at least 10 minutes past the listed start time. Second, when the door opened, a powerful odor of MARIJUANA and CIGARETTES wafted out of the studio! Regardless, we decided to try the class since other parents and kids seemed enthusiastic about it. This class is Level 1 and listed for kids from 1 to 5 years old.
Clearly Jon does not have children of his own and has very poor social skills dealing with children and parents. He even made something that verged on being a racist comment. After I gave him my name, he said «did you say your name was Claire?» I said, no, it’s Janel”. And he mumbled something about «you all look alike.» (I’m Asian, by the way). I was so thrown off that I ignored it, but on reflection, I can’t believe he said that.
He snapped at kids and their parents when a child would make a peep or hesitate in following his instructions for one second. One child went to go use the bathroom, and on his way to the bathroom, the boy hesitated a little, looking at the toys Jon had put on the floor. Jon snapped at the boy’s mother to grab his hand and admonished the boy for standing still. He also snapped at another boy who was making a little noise (I didn’t even notice it until Jon made a big deal about it). Jon admonished my 2.5 year old multiple times for god knows what, and my son wasn’t even doing anything distracting. Not to mention, it was his first class, so he didn’t know all of Jon’s extensive and very strict (and some petty) rules.
If your child does any of the following (even once), you and your child will get yelled at:
–Talks or makes any sounds not expressly permitted by Jon
–Stands up without permission
–Looks at a toy or instrument without permission
–Puts his or her hands near his or her mouth or face
–Touches part of an instrument that Jon did not expressly give permission to touch
–Gets out of your lap without Jon’s permission
–Does not walk in a circle when Jon tells you to walk in a circle
–The list goes on.
Jon’s condescending and rude attitude made things worse. At one point, he told all the kids to march around in a circle. My son hesitated for a moment, and Jon ordered me to pick him up and criticized him. Of course, this made my son upset, so when I went to pick him up, my son said «no». At that point in the class, I realized that the class was not going to work out for us (who wants to spend their weekend morning being ordered around and/​or yelled at for any little thing?), so I kindly said, «hey, I don’t think this is going to work for us». I did not say it in a way that was critical of the class, but more that my son might not be ready for such a controlled program.
Instead of saying «hey no problem», Jon was totally rude. The only thing he said to us was «bye» in a loud and sarcastic tone as if telling us to scram. Then, when I went to put shoes on my son to leave, my son said «no» again. Jon stopped the class and said my son was being distracting. He threw a folding chair out onto the sidewalk outside and said that we had to put our shoes on outside! I was SHOCKED. Needless to say, we finished putting on our shoes inside and left as fast as we could. Thank god we didn’t actually pay in advance or sign up for this class. Jon is a control freak and a weirdo. He’s temperamental, rude, and nasty. As for actual music lessons, I would NOT feel comfortable leaving my child alone with him. STAY AWAY.