The Oakland Tribune
"The finest neighborhood music school in the East Bay. Cadence doesn't just teach notes — it teaches children to listen."
— Arts & Culture, March 2025
Bay Area Parent Magazine
"Best Music Education Program · 2024 Readers' Choice Award"
A Parent's Letter
"My daughter walked in afraid of the piano. Eight months later she played Chopin at the spring recital. I cried the whole way through."
— Margaret H., Oakland CA
Cadence
A School of Music
for Every Season of Life
Six-year-olds pressing piano keys for the first time. Adults finishing the guitar riff they abandoned in college. Teenagers earning their conservatory acceptance letters.
Student Acceptance Letter
"…your years of dedicated study at Cadence Music School have prepared you exceptionally for the rigors of conservatory training…"
— San Francisco Conservatory of Music
By the Numbers
Instruments
Piano · Guitar · Violin · Cello · Voice · Drums · Flute · Clarinet · Trumpet · Saxophone · Bass · Ukulele · Harp · Composition
I picked up the guitar at 42. My kids thought I was having a midlife crisis. Now they ask me to play at dinner.
David Okonkwo
Adult Guitar · Enrolled 2023
David Okonkwo — Oakland, CA
Fig. 01
Spring Recital 2025 — Eastside Community Center
01 / 05
Adult Guitar — Tuesday Evening Session
02 / 05
Winter Concert — Teen Ensemble
03 / 05
Annotated score — Advanced Theory Workshop
04 / 05
Junior Ukulele Ensemble — Saturday Morning
05 / 05
A Teen's Story
Priya enrolled at 15 with one goal: the San Francisco Conservatory audition. She had eighteen months.
Three lessons a week. Theory on Saturdays. Her teacher, Marcus, stayed an hour late every Thursday. She practiced the Brahms intermezzo until her family could hum it from memory.
The acceptance letter arrived on a Tuesday morning. Her mother called the school before calling any relatives. "I needed to tell Marcus first," she said.
"Cadence didn't just prepare me technically. They taught me how to perform under pressure."
— Priya Venkataraman, now studying at SFCM
Cadence — In Numbers
Instruments Taught
From piano to harp
Recital Participation
Students who perform publicly
Conservatory Acceptances
Since 2018
Active Students
Ages 5 to 67
Years in Oakland
Rooted in the neighborhood
Annual Recitals
Seasonal & instrument-specific
All Instruments
"My son has autism and struggled with group settings. His piano teacher found a way to communicate through music that we hadn't managed in years of therapy. He performed a solo at the spring recital. The room went silent."
James & Sofia Nakamura
Parents of Kenji, age 9
"I'm 54. I told myself I was too old. My teacher never once made me feel that way. Last spring I played at the adult recital. Three people asked if I'd been playing for years."
Barbara Osei-Mensah
Adult Piano Student
"The audition committee at Berklee mentioned my sight-reading as exceptional. That was pure Cadence — Marcus made me sight-read something new every single lesson for three years."
Theo Williams
Berklee College of Music, Class of 2027
The Cadence Practice Guide
A free illustrated PDF for building a home practice routine that actually works.
Twenty-four pages. Three chapters. Designed like a magazine, not a worksheet. Whether your child just started or you're returning to an instrument after years away, this guide meets you where you are.
For parents of young learners
The 15-Minute Rule
How consistency at fifteen minutes daily outperforms occasional marathon sessions. Includes a weekly practice log template.
Get the Free Guide
Download your copy — no cost, no obligation.
340+
Students
Free
No Cost
24
Pages