Love the instructors, they are cool and hip (certainly not what I experienced years ago playing piano). My son really enjoys learning guitar and being part of the concerts. Highly recommend The Music Factory! Students work through the Music Factory books and test and get rewards along the way. This ensures that students get a well-rounded music education while they are having the time of their lives.Discover how the Music Factory has helped kids like yours fall in love with playing music. The Music Factory is Orange County's coolest Music School since 2006 - with two locations in Costa Mesa and Aliso Viejo.
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Our music lessons in Costa Mesa, CA are located in the Top of The Hill Plaza at the corner of Victoria St and Valley, right up the hill from the Trader Joe's plaza at Brookhurst and Hamilton. The Plaza has amazing parking and houses some other super cool businesses such as Bob White's Karate Studio, Fermentation Farm, and The Water Brewery.
The Music Factory is a short drive off the 5 fwy. We help people learn to play music who come from cities such as Aliso Viejo, Laguna Nigel, Mission Viejo, and Lake Forest. Try us for guitar Lessons, piano Lessons, and voice lessons in South County for 30 day risk free. Students work through the Music Factory books and test and get rewards along the way. This ensures that students get a well-rounded music education while they are having the time of their lives.
Best music lesson place in Orange County. Instructors are very knowledgeable and patient. My son learned life long skills and now has the confidence to play guitar on stage and sing at the same time. Kids and adults love learning to play guitar using the Music Factory "4 pillars of guitar " method:.
Kids and adults love learning to play drums using the Music Factory "4 pillars of drums" method:. The Music Factory's drum students-as with all our students- love music. Be it rock, metal, jazz, funk, blues, or any number of different styles, they are dedicated to learning the rhythmic language of drumming.
Reviews (18)
Kinsey R.
Sep 11, 2021
My niece has learned so much from the Music Factory. She has done piano, drum, keyboard, voice lessons with the most amazing, patient, music teacher, Jason. Jason started working w her via zoom during pandemic and now she continues to go in person once a week. She talks about music lesson and what Jason taught her and practices singing on her own all the time. If your kid is interested in music send them to Jason, he is great with kids and is an awesome teacher!
Ken H.
Apr 08, 2021
This review predominantly pertains to the decidedly unreliable and/or mediocre loose management policy of The Music Factory. There was far too much play it by ear, did-you-get-my-email, did-you-get-my-voicemail inconsistency. The instructors were good, but I did not get an impression the organization/mgmt. behind them was really that well oiled or structured.
The school accepted my money for DJ/Production type lessons; I was under the assumption the lessons would continue under one instructor or another for some time or at least indefinitely in the sense that the lessons can be renewed monthly with the school, etc. A little over a month into lessons the 1st DJ/Instructor I was working with resigns, and this individual more or less alludes to the possibility of the school discontinuing the DJ offerings in its program. An unexpected statement or loose reference from someone providing the lessons, etc.
The school staff reassures me lessons will continue under another instructor. Unfortunately, the other instructor could only work remotely. I agreed to work with the new instructor remotely. The new instructor later changes his mind about having time in his schedule to meet remotely. So the school informs me via email that it cannot offer me further lessons at this time etc.
I cannot recommend The Music Factory. The services and management proved to be unreliable at best. Look elsewhere until the day this business drastically improves its practices.
The school accepted my money for DJ/Production type lessons; I was under the assumption the lessons would continue under one instructor or another for some time or at least indefinitely in the sense that the lessons can be renewed monthly with the school, etc. A little over a month into lessons the 1st DJ/Instructor I was working with resigns, and this individual more or less alludes to the possibility of the school discontinuing the DJ offerings in its program. An unexpected statement or loose reference from someone providing the lessons, etc.
The school staff reassures me lessons will continue under another instructor. Unfortunately, the other instructor could only work remotely. I agreed to work with the new instructor remotely. The new instructor later changes his mind about having time in his schedule to meet remotely. So the school informs me via email that it cannot offer me further lessons at this time etc.
I cannot recommend The Music Factory. The services and management proved to be unreliable at best. Look elsewhere until the day this business drastically improves its practices.
Carol S.
Aug 20, 2020
I tried the 30 day "risk free" trial, which is very misleading. Please be aware - it means "if you DO NOT like your lessons, your trial sessions are free. But if you DO like your sessions and want to continue, you will have to BACK PAY your previous sessions in addition to a $39 registration fee." It's not like those "free trial" sessions other places offer.
So out of the blue, before the 30 days, I actually got charged $200 with no warning or explanation. We had major communication fails, refunds on different credit cards and texts/emails/phone conversations all over the map. It does not seem organized. Albeit they are polite on the phone when they do respond. We first tried the 30 day trial for singing (which is actually not 30 days, more like 3 weeks), but we didn't think it was right for our 5 and 6 year old.
So we switched to piano and it was much better. It's pretty expensive, $129/month for remote classes. But we did like our teacher. 5 stars for just the piano teacher lessons, 2 stars for the singing lessons, 1 star for communication/payment fails, 1 star for customer service (they didn't respond to me in the very end when I said I would not continue and asked to reach the manager) and overall 1 star experience due to the headache and time explaining over and over again about the correct dates, times, payment amounts and explaining charges repeatedly through my bank statement proof and pulling up previous emails to confirm communication.
So out of the blue, before the 30 days, I actually got charged $200 with no warning or explanation. We had major communication fails, refunds on different credit cards and texts/emails/phone conversations all over the map. It does not seem organized. Albeit they are polite on the phone when they do respond. We first tried the 30 day trial for singing (which is actually not 30 days, more like 3 weeks), but we didn't think it was right for our 5 and 6 year old.
So we switched to piano and it was much better. It's pretty expensive, $129/month for remote classes. But we did like our teacher. 5 stars for just the piano teacher lessons, 2 stars for the singing lessons, 1 star for communication/payment fails, 1 star for customer service (they didn't respond to me in the very end when I said I would not continue and asked to reach the manager) and overall 1 star experience due to the headache and time explaining over and over again about the correct dates, times, payment amounts and explaining charges repeatedly through my bank statement proof and pulling up previous emails to confirm communication.
Christine M.
Dec 09, 2019
Aubrey F.
Oct 07, 2019
I took guitar lessons with Bryan here from 2013-2014, and I can confidently say it changed my life. I had always had a difficult time with commitment (well, as much as you could being a middle schooler back then.) and through the lessons, I learned not only how to play almost any song I could dream up of, but also lessons in discipline, commitment, kindness, positivity, and fun. Going to my Tuesday classes were the highlights of my week because I knew when I would sit down in the blue colored room, I was in for a half hour of great music and learning.
I can not recommend The Music Factory or Bryan enough. My mom and I still talk about how great of an experience it was six years later. I still pull out my TMF binder every now and then and replay some old favorites :)
I can not recommend The Music Factory or Bryan enough. My mom and I still talk about how great of an experience it was six years later. I still pull out my TMF binder every now and then and replay some old favorites :)
Jesus T.
Aug 14, 2019
Bob D.
Jun 06, 2019
Carlo P.
May 29, 2019
I'm not your average customer here. I'm 34 years old and wanted to improve my production skills in edm. Luckily they were able to accommodate me. I worked with Trevor, their in house dj instructor, and was able to get a ton of great advice. The staff is very friendly, my instructor was fantastic, and they were always happy to accommodate my hectic schedule. I've taken a lot of lessons at different places and The Music Factory was one of the best. Thanks guys!
Kamber L.
May 10, 2019
Our son took lessons here for over a year. He switched from the kid band to private guitar lessons. He did about 6 months of each. The teachers seem to be great (I do not have a musical background whatsoever). Our son seemed to learn well under his teacher's directions/instruction. The school provided a booklet to him a few months after his private lessons began and it was useful to look and talk about at home in addition to trying to get him to practice.
We decided to take a break to focus on is regular school, but plan to continue once his academics get back on track and his extracurricular activities temper. it may also be a maturity issue - our son is 7 (just turned 8). If you are interested in getting your child into music lessons this is a great place to check out and start.
We decided to take a break to focus on is regular school, but plan to continue once his academics get back on track and his extracurricular activities temper. it may also be a maturity issue - our son is 7 (just turned 8). If you are interested in getting your child into music lessons this is a great place to check out and start.
Viet N.
Apr 07, 2019
We love the music factory! Danny really cares about the kids and does a great job with the concerts and events. My daughter takes guitar lessons and goes to rock band with Sharon. She really enjoys it all: the individual lessons, the group lessons, and the performances. The atmosphere is great. Everyone is friendly. There's water and coffee in the waiting rooms for the parents. Plus, popcorn for the kids. We don't ever plan on going anywhere else for our children's musical education.
Michelle P.
Mar 24, 2019
Robert Pelletier
Jan 27, 2019
We had multiple children participating in individual lessons and the band program for 2 years. I am an ex-pro musician with a degree in music from USC and was looking for a school operated by like-minded professionals to help me with the music education of my kids that would provide the kids with an opportunity to collaborate with other talented young musicians and learn performance skills.
The Music Factory was convenient because it's quite close to where I live, but it didn't work out and the primary reason is school owner Danny Thompson. We tried hard to make it work. We showed up on time for everything, made sure our kids practiced, participated in every performance opportunity, and always paid our bill. But there were shortcomings in the program.
The individual lessons were Ok. Good individual instruction is widely available elsewhere. It was the band program that attracted us to TMF in the 1st place, but that program turned out to be a mess. We had 3 different band instructors during 3 rotations in a row, and none of them really knew what they were doing. They really didn't know how to teach a band class or even how to architect a band to play music.
Plus they were flaky. One of them missed 2 rehearsals in a row with zero advance warning and had no reasonable explanation. A scheduled performance was imminent so we reacted by running some rehearsals ourselves but school owner Danny Thompson didn't like that. He also didn't like it if we tried to help the kids pick songs to learn, communicate with other parents, or help our daughter use her own little keyboard instead of the school's dinosaur.
We didn't feel welcome at the school. Danny seemed to just want us to drop our kids there and leave. I think that's because we wanted to know what was going on and sometimes asked questions. But we never demanded anything from Danny or the school. We showed up on time for everything, participated in everything, and always paid our bill. We did try to discuss our concerns about the band program with Danny and I even offered to volunteer at the school to help out.
But Danny wasn't open to hearing our concerns and repaid our loyalty with a tantrum about "his way or the highway" and told us "no parent input allowed". Then without warning he just deleted my kids' accounts in the school's online system sending THEM a message that they were "out"! He didn't discuss options with us, give us the opportunity to withdraw from the school, or care about the effect his actions would have on our kids or other kids at TMF.
He just deleted their accounts and notified them that they were out without even giving us a chance to tell them what was happening. They're just kids they didn't deserve that! Danny Thompson is an insecure, unprofessional, over-controlling individual who only really seems to understand one style of music. He brags about his "world tours" playing drums for an obscure punk rock band and apparently thinks that gives him the skill to dictate the nuances of providing a music education for children.
Apparently it doesn't. He certainly can't keep band instructors around there very long and it's easy to see why. Danny is too petty, volatile, and musically limited to be allowed to be responsible for your child's musical education let alone their wellbeing. Hurting a child by establishing a permanent memory for them that they were "kicked out" of a school even though the child did nothing to deserve that doesn't faze Danny because he is a narcissist who lacks the compassion to understand that his actions and behavior will affect them, maybe permanently.
If you are a parent who cares about what your child will learn and who they will learn it from look elsewhere. There are other music schools with better professional governance and a more flexible and competent approach for educating your child.
The Music Factory was convenient because it's quite close to where I live, but it didn't work out and the primary reason is school owner Danny Thompson. We tried hard to make it work. We showed up on time for everything, made sure our kids practiced, participated in every performance opportunity, and always paid our bill. But there were shortcomings in the program.
The individual lessons were Ok. Good individual instruction is widely available elsewhere. It was the band program that attracted us to TMF in the 1st place, but that program turned out to be a mess. We had 3 different band instructors during 3 rotations in a row, and none of them really knew what they were doing. They really didn't know how to teach a band class or even how to architect a band to play music.
Plus they were flaky. One of them missed 2 rehearsals in a row with zero advance warning and had no reasonable explanation. A scheduled performance was imminent so we reacted by running some rehearsals ourselves but school owner Danny Thompson didn't like that. He also didn't like it if we tried to help the kids pick songs to learn, communicate with other parents, or help our daughter use her own little keyboard instead of the school's dinosaur.
We didn't feel welcome at the school. Danny seemed to just want us to drop our kids there and leave. I think that's because we wanted to know what was going on and sometimes asked questions. But we never demanded anything from Danny or the school. We showed up on time for everything, participated in everything, and always paid our bill. We did try to discuss our concerns about the band program with Danny and I even offered to volunteer at the school to help out.
But Danny wasn't open to hearing our concerns and repaid our loyalty with a tantrum about "his way or the highway" and told us "no parent input allowed". Then without warning he just deleted my kids' accounts in the school's online system sending THEM a message that they were "out"! He didn't discuss options with us, give us the opportunity to withdraw from the school, or care about the effect his actions would have on our kids or other kids at TMF.
He just deleted their accounts and notified them that they were out without even giving us a chance to tell them what was happening. They're just kids they didn't deserve that! Danny Thompson is an insecure, unprofessional, over-controlling individual who only really seems to understand one style of music. He brags about his "world tours" playing drums for an obscure punk rock band and apparently thinks that gives him the skill to dictate the nuances of providing a music education for children.
Apparently it doesn't. He certainly can't keep band instructors around there very long and it's easy to see why. Danny is too petty, volatile, and musically limited to be allowed to be responsible for your child's musical education let alone their wellbeing. Hurting a child by establishing a permanent memory for them that they were "kicked out" of a school even though the child did nothing to deserve that doesn't faze Danny because he is a narcissist who lacks the compassion to understand that his actions and behavior will affect them, maybe permanently.
If you are a parent who cares about what your child will learn and who they will learn it from look elsewhere. There are other music schools with better professional governance and a more flexible and competent approach for educating your child.
Eric R.
Dec 15, 2018
As a piano teacher in the area with a more traditional academic background in music, I am really proud to have the OC Music factory in my town that way when students of mine want to explore other genres such as rock/punk and other instruments like vocals/guitar I would rather send them here. Danny is a wealth of information and passionate about his programs and a visionary for the industry.
Carrie B.
Aug 04, 2018
Lau N.
May 25, 2018
This is a really great music school. Incredibly welcoming owners, very encouraging teachers for kiddos and adults. Good value, cool school environment and decor, coffee and WiFi for waiting parents, has an online music portal for staying on track and rescheduling lessons. Well managed, and teachers are always on time. Absolutely recommend.
Brandon E.
Aug 04, 2017
I took guitar lessons for a year here and absolutely loved it. With learning guitar, it seems like you can do it on your own, but an expert teacher is so valuable! I had two teachers here (Tyler and Rusty), and they both were expert guitarists, great musicians, and excellent teachers. I'd definitely recommend the Music Factory to anyone wanting to become a better guitar player quickly.
Mike T.
May 03, 2017
Maureen O.
Jul 01, 2015
