Our Services

We are currently in the growth/building phase of the RKA with many guitar/bass students doing lessons at Justin’s home studio in Pleasanton and an adult band class at RDM2 studios in Livermore.

There is a que started for a young adult band class and about 5-10 slots available for private lesson students. With the addition of another band and the lesson slots filled we will be another step closer to securing a home base location in Pleasanton. In the future we plan to expand to offer

-Group + Band Classes
-Live Concert Events
-Youth nights/jam hang outs
-Workshops and Clinics
-Fundraisers

Most of the pictures you have seen are from when Justin worked at Pleasanton’s Garage Band Academy from 2009-2020. We all know and remember what happened in 2020 and the GBA did not survive. During those 11 years Justin gained the knowlege and experience to not only hone in and master his own teaching skills, but he trained and hired qualified staff to build a well rounded ‘dream team’ of instructors specializing in different styles to cover as many bases as possible.

We are currently rebuilding our team from the ashes of the pandemic and prospecting locations for our RKA home base. We are close to hitting our goal and if you’d like to help our cause join our rockin’ academy or donate today!

-Everyone gets an RKA goody bag with a shirt, stickers and guitar picks!

-50/50 referral deal: Refer a friend, when they sign up you BOTH get a $50 credit

-Family discount: 10% off first students tuition, is stackable for multiple family members. 

Proper Studio Equipment: An inspirational music environment conducive to learning should be more than just 2 chairs and a music stand…

Comfortable chair: No explanation needed, but needs to be explained to every music store owner.

Light Refreshments: Being afterschool, we’ll have a small station of drinks and snacks available for students and even parents. 

Prize System: Younger students earn stickers from the book, and after 10 stickers they can choose something from a prize chest!

-$50 one time enrollment fee

30m - $225/mo 
Good for: Beginners and self study students. It’s more like a weekly check in to see where you’re at and what to assign next.

60m - $450/mo (or 2x 30m lessons)
Good for: Students who would like more time to explore theory concepts in depth, such as chord construction/extensions, scales, modes, harmony, melody, etc take more time to elaborate on. Other advanced topics covered: tone, music history, gear and instrument care, music and band related business, writing and recording. Just as good as the 30m but more time to dive deeper.

90m - $625/mo (or 3x 30m lessons)(save $50)
Good for: Advanced students, gives more time to deep dive into all topics mentioned above. Definitely recommended for students traveling further distances. *Price break introduced at this offering. 

Online (via google meet)30m - $200/mo

Good for: Long distance Intermediate and advanced students to cover theory and technique. Playing over web cam has its benefits and limitations, thus the price discount.

-Tuition is annual, paid monthly for the months with 5 weeks AND when we off take holidays. (Every quarter there is a 5th additional week. You will get those additional 4 lessons included because we will take 4 weeks off for Spring (1), Thanksgiving (1) and Christmas (2) breaks.

$300/mo
Weekly 1hr Band class/rehearsals

Band + Lessons = (10% off band)
$225+$270= $495/mo

-Backline Provided
-Setlist can grow to fit the bands interests
-We take age, instrument and skill level heavily into consideration so no one is ‘benched’ for maximum playtime and progress
-Bi annual performance gigs (summer/winter) Additional gig opportunities depending on band skill and readiness
-Lessons HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to ensure progress for the sake of the group
-Min 2 band members to get started (Metallica started with just Lars and James jamming. You're not better or more special than Metallica or 99% of how every bands start)
-Have an attitude of gratitude - ask not only what the band program can do for you, but what you can do to help make it the best experience for all band members involved!

Here it is, the ‘secrets’ section. This is a systematic overview of the building blocks of music theory. Unfortunately some music teachers don’t actually know this stuff either. It doesn’t make them a bad person or a bad player for that matter, but it does mean they are a novice teacher. In martial arts you spend years getting to black belt lvl 1 and that is considered beginning of your journey, everything leading up to that is the fundamentals. By getting down your chords and scales, it might seem advanced but that is just learning your ABC’s. And if a teacher never covers theory or worse doesn’t know it, you’re just stuck learning tabs and songs at the 1st grade level.

Major + Minor Chords
-Open Chords
-Barre Chords
-CAGED system/Inversions
-Chord Extensions (Maj7, Min7, dominant7)
-Arpeggios/sweeps

Natural Major + Minor Scales

-Modes: (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian)
-Pentatonic
-Harmonic Minor
-Half whole diminished
-Exotic Scales

-Reading music notation
-Harmony/melody
-Articulation/tone
-Gear/equipment care and maintenance
-Versatility in styles: Blues, rock, jazz, fusion, metal, classical, flamenco, country, pop
-Song composition
-Music history

*INSTILLING DISCIPLINE*

Due upon sign up, scheduled for first of month. Starting out small we accept the following

-Zelle/Cash is preferred (no extra fee)
-Credit Cards (+3% fee added to cover the CC processing fee)

There are no make ups for cancellations the day of/no-shows.

Please give as much notice as possible when you’ll be gone. If you give enough notice we can most likely get the make up time scheduled. 

If you miss a lesson you have a few options

-Choose another day/time that works to get the make up in (depending upon teacher availability)
-We can divide the lesson time and add it onto future lessons
-Bring in your instrument for a restring and light cleaning (bring your preferred strings)

If you’re gone for 2-4 weeks
-We will double up your lesson times and/or days until you’re caught up (there is always something to learn, not just practicing songs)
-We can do a full set up on your guitar ($100 value: Tuning, neck relief, action, intonation, cleaning, etc.)

If a teacher is gone
-We’ll open up whatever make up time needs to happen

-Tuition is annual, paid monthly for the months with 5 weeks AND when we off take holidays. (Every quarter there is a 5th additional week. You will get those additional 4 lessons included because we will take 4 weeks off for Spring (1), Thanksgiving (1) and Christmas (2) breaks. (yes this is in here twice).