Holly teaches ukulele and piano to our 7-year-old son Kaito and my husband Jonas. We love that she is enthusiastic and engaged. Her method is very comprehensive. Not only does she insist on proper techniques, she also has him working on composition and encourages him to embrace other art forms to help with his rhythm. She maintains good communication and makes everything from payment to scheduling effortless.

~ Vi Ngo, Honolulu, Hawaii

What can I say about Holly? We adore her! She started teaching my son ukulele almost 3 years ago. I started taking guitar lessons with her recently. She’s great with kids or adults- patient, encouraging, and makes us laugh. She teaches music theory and proper technique which sets her apart from most instructors. She caters to what interests you as well. Her home is comfortable with great parking or she teaches virtually equally as well. I know her as my instructor and now very good friend, and we think she’s simply amazing. We highly recommend her to all!

~ Lisa Jacquet – Honolulu, HI

My daughter Alina began taking piano lessons with Holly shortly after we relocated from the Mainland to Oahu.  Holly was able to meet my daughter where she was in her musical journey and give her the skills to keep moving forward without skipping a beat.  On top of that, Holly also found a way to instill a love for the ukulele in her!  Holly’s passion, enthusiasm, and love for music can be felt by everyone around her and we are so thrilled to have found her.

~ Sally Marshall – Kailua, Oahu, Hawaii

My time with Holly is a bright spot in my memory of professional training on piano and guitar. Some sessions we would split between the two and others we would focus on just one. Every lesson was heart warming and encouraging no matter how much or how little I practice that week. As an adult, learning instruments can be challenging because of life demands and also having a less malleable brain. Creating new habits can be challenging and sometimes discouraging. However, Holly always pushed past those negative thoughts and reminded you of the progress you’ve made regardless of your faults. Her upbeat mentality is not only enduring for children but it’s a firm reminder for her adult students on how anything is possible with only a little effort. I truly enjoyed my time with Holly and wish I had more.

~ Michelle Bailey, Nashville, TN

Holly’s Blues Ukulele Workshop that I took this summer at Santa Rosa Junior College (Santa Rosa, CA) was the most valuable workshop I have ever experienced. It was a four evening (two-hour per session) workshop. Holly teaches with a method that is clear, concise, fun, and moved along at a perfect pace for me. The time flew by and I wished it was a bit longer. I understood exactly each technique or concept she was teaching, now I need to put it to practice.

What makes this workshop so valuable are the 45 pages of her own written explanations, charts, diagrams and music notation. It is an easy to review summary of every point she taught in the workshop. She also includes an online appendix for more exploration. There is enough in the 45-pages to practice until her next workshop rolls around.

I have attended many workshops where all you walk away with is what’s in your head and a few pages of sheet music. You are left to try to recap the workshop on your own. Holly gives you the written tools to summarize what she’s taught. Oh, and I loved her enthusiasm! It was inspiring!

~ Carolyn Pendry

It is my delight to recommend Ms. Holly Rudin-Braschi as a wonderful music educator. As the owner of Petaluma School of Music I found Holly to be an enthusiastic, highly qualified, personable, organized, and conscientious music teacher. For over a decade our school has greatly benefited from Holly’s experience, ingenuity, and warmth. Through her years of teaching Holly has inspired and shaped musicians of all ages. She is equally comfortable instructing adults and children. Holly’s adult students have shown great achievement of skill and expressed great musicality. Her younger students have shown incredible technical progress as well as maturity and understanding of musical composition. Holly’s students demonstrate fluid knowledge of musical theory, elegant musicality, and individualism. Holly’s enthusiasm, focus, and personalized lesson plans make her music lessons exciting, informative, and inspiring.

~ Melody Caspari, Owner/Director, Petaluma School of Music

Holly is a pleasure to work with. My seven year old daughter Paula studies ukulele with Holly, loves her and looks forward to her lessons. Holly makes every lesson fun. She is very passionate about teaching and is full of knowledge about music. We could not have asked for a better teacher.

~ Evelyn Oldenburg, Honolulu Hawaii

Holly Rudin Braschi has been my daughter Isabella’s piano instructor for the last two and a half months. During this short time, Mrs. Rudin-Braschi has achieved the impossible; my daughter enjoys playing piano! My daughter is the typical pre-teen with no desire to try new activities. I challenged her to pick an instrument and learn to play, so she selected piano. I selected the best instructor I knew, Holly Rudin-Braschi. With her knowledge and jovial predisposition, Holly has instilled in my child the love for music…something that I had deemed impossible. Holly is a very warm person and approaches students with a wholehearted attitude. It is evident that she has great love and knowledge of music. She also has a great attitude towards teaching. When you put these two together you get the best teacher you could hope for. Holly Rudin-Braschi is an excellent music teacher. She is the teacher I wish I had when I was growing up. I am sure that if that had been the case, I would be a great piano player.

~ Blanca Polo, PhD. Associate Professor Information and Computer Sciences Leeward Community College, Oahu, Hawaii

I have wanted to play the Ukulele for many years, with a goal of playing one particular Paul McCartney ukulele song (Ram On). Being the type who likes to start at the beginning of any new endeavor with a through foundation of the subject at hand, a family friend presented me with Holly’s Ukulele Method book.

With Holly’s book and online videos and new ukulele in hand, I started playing the “introductory songs” immediately while getting my fingers used to changing chords strumming, and reading music. I gained enough confidence that I soon learned the more advanced chords for the McCartney song and, after only two months, I have now learned to play it.

There is a lot of information in this book, presented in an easy-to-understand format with clear illustrations and photographs. It covers everything you need to know to play your ukulele for the first time, includes basic music theory, such as how to read notes on the treble clef, rhythmic values of notes, and progresses to advanced techniques such as combining melody and chords, arpeggios and advanced strumming.

Additionally, there are 86 instructional mp3s you can access on-line, so you can hear how the music should sound. References in the back of the book include interesting facts about ukuleles, how to care for your ukulele, tuning advice, fretboard chart etc. This will be a useful reference as I progress in my knowledge and practice of the ukulele. Five stars for Holly’s Ukulele Method.

~ Greg Longfellow, Petaluma, CA

Holly is a ukulele “maven!” I have played ukulele with and taken ukulele lessons from Holly for many years. She assisted me on many occasions to master difficult ukulele passages for use in a number of professional and semi-professional performances. She is equally at home teaching both children and adults, amateurs and professionals. And such a nice person—it’s fun just to be with her. Thank you Holly!!

~ Bob Gordon, Mill Valley, California

A close friend of mine recommended Holly to us. My son, James, was only 4.5 years old when he started piano lessons with her. Holly was very patient with James, and was able to keep my son’s attention. She always encouraged and motivated James to do his best. Seeing other children playing the ukulele at one of her student recitals sparked James’ interest in learning another musical instrument. At 8 years old, James is now playing both ukulele and piano. Holly is a talented teacher. I would recommend her to anybody who wants to study music.

~  Julita Kurniawan, Petaluma, CA

My daughter, Ruby, has been studying ukulele with Holly for two years, and it has been a wonderful experience. Ruby wanted to learn the ukulele after spending time on Oahu, Hawai’i with her Great, Great Aunties, Ramona and Ethelynne Teves of the Leo Nahenahe Singers. I was thrilled when I found Holly in California. I am a professional classical harpist, and I was looking for a teacher that would provide Ruby with a well-rounded music education. I wanted someone that would teach her to play the instrument well and incorporate music theory and history. Holly has done all of that. She has developed an impressive group of workbooks that the students utilize in conjunction with their practical training. At nine-years-old, Ruby is working on chord progressions, key signatures, dynamics, and rhythmic structure. She plucks and strums interchangeably with ease, and is required to accompanying her own vocals and play duets. I could not be more pleased with the progress Ruby has made in a very short period of time under Holly’s expert tutelage. Ruby is very sad to have Holly leaving California, but is glad that she will be able to take lessons with her when we are visiting family in Honolulu.

~ Heather Paschoal, Petaluma, CA

After studying for six years with Holly, I can say for sure that my musical knowledge has flourished under her wing. She is so very patient with her students, myself included, and is incredibly passionate on all musical levels. She encourages her students with such compassion, and her ability to explain music to students of all ages is extraordinary. I thank Holly every day for being able to sit down at the piano, pick up a guitar, or listen to my sister, who was also a student of Holly’s, play the ukulele and hear the music that can now be so easily created. Holly is a wonderful teacher, and I can’t wait to see how she takes on Hawai’i. Thank you Holly so very much for these last six years. Have an amazing time in your new Hawai’i home!!!!!!!! You’re going to rock it.

~ Love, Abi Burnett, Petaluma, CA

began studying guitar with Holly at age 8 and am now 13 years old. When I first met her, she wasn’t intimidating. She loves people who have a passion for music or anything else. Holly taught me to read music and play chords. Since she will teach you any genre of music that interests you, I studied folk, rock, blues and classical music with her. In general she is a great teacher and anyone who studies with her is really lucky. She is a very high-spirited person and will always make you laugh and bring you up from the ashes. Holly is the best music teacher in the world.

~ Suraj Rajan, Petaluma, CA

I am so grateful that I studied the ukulele with Holly. I gained a strong foundation because of her astute instruction and pacing, clear and comprehensive books, energetic personality and eagerness in answering all questions. The three classes I took were rich in style and content, and gave me the confidence and knowledge to play this beautiful instrument. I would recommend that everyone should have Holly in his or her life.

~ Eszter Freeman, Petaluma, CA

I had the pleasure of taking the Ultra Beginner Ukulele Class at Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California with Holly. Talk about a class exceeding one’s expectations! Holly’s first class was incredible, 20 plus folks, most like me with little or no real knowledge in reading music or understanding of music theory. We got quite a workout in those 6 weeks. Holly taught us finger exercises and how to read music. We learned songs, chords, strums and fingerpicking techniques, as well as an introduction to music theory. We all realized that Holly was The Real Deal. I wanted to learn more and to keep improving my skills. I next took her 6-week Fingerpicking class, which was also quite intense. We learned multiple styles of playing, picking and strumming while we were introduced to some lovely folk songs. The content of the books that she wrote for each class is incredible. Each book is packed with so much information that I have been using them to continue studying and improving my playing.
Holly is a dedicated music teacher. Not only did she work hard to expose us to the most professional style of playing but she made it fun! I would recommend her as a music teacher no matter your age or experience. You will be in for an incredibly exciting and challenging time.

~ Claudia Di Clemente, Boyes Hot Springs, CA

Holly is a great ukulele instructor! I had the pleasure of being her student for two years. In that time I went from knowing nothing about the ukulele to feeling proficient and confident in many ways. I had played music as a child and she reignited my interest in music as an adult. Holly taught me to read music, including how to play chords and notes. I was always impressed with her energy and enthusiasm about music, as well as her ability to make our lessons fun and personal. I am a schoolteacher and she helped tailor my lessons, and the music we played, to suit my teaching needs. Holly introduced me to high-quality music and materials for playing music. When I expressed an interest in playing the piano, Holly was able to meet that need too. She also saw an interest and ability in me to sing while playing and helped work on that skill. It is clear that she has a keen ability to detect and enhance one’s own special talents.

~ Melissa Douthit, Petaluma, CA

Holly is a professional musician and music instructor who has helped me learn to play the ukulele during several classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. She is a warm, kind person who inspires her students with model instruction, encouragement and has a natural ability to help students understand lessons and correct playing technique. It is obvious that she has a deep love of music and teaching as she is very enthusiastic and concerned for her students’ progress.

~ Rich Hovden, Santa Rosa, CA