About Simon

Simon Keyser-Petty — Oakland, CA

Biography

"Music is a language. I teach you to speak it."

Simon Keyser-Petty is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and music educator based in Oakland, CA. He started on piano at age 3, picked up violin by age 9, and found the guitar at 13 — writing his own songs before learning anyone else's. That ear-first, creativity-forward approach shapes everything he does in the studio and the classroom.

He graduated from the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, where he went on to run the funk program. He apprenticed under Bay Area funk master Otis McDonald, and brings a philosophy rooted in groove, improvisation, and the idea that your humanity is your instrument.

Simon runs his own production firm, Studio S, with his wife Simone Gage. His teaching style is hands-on, adaptive, and deeply musical. Whether a student is picking up an instrument for the first time or preparing for a conservatory audition, Simon builds a path that's challenging, fun, and always rooted in real music.

Currently teaching private students across the Bay Area and leading the Professor of Funk ensemble program, Simon actively performs, records, and produces in the Oakland music scene.

CJC Graduate
Funk Program Director
Studio S Producer
Oakland Based
All Ages Welcome
10+ Years Teaching

What I Teach

Instruments & Disciplines

Private lessons available in all of the following. All levels, all ages.

🎸

Guitar

From acoustic folk to electric funk and shred. Technique, theory, ear training, and songwriting.

🎸

Bass

Groove is everything. Slap, fingerstyle, theory, and how to lock in with a drummer.

🎹

Keys

Piano, synth, and organ. Classical foundations meet jazz harmony and modern production.

🥁

Drums

Rhythm, feel, and pocket. Beats, fills, rudiments — and how to make a band sound good.

🎻

Violin

Classical roots with room to explore jazz, folk, and beyond. Technique and musicality together.

🎤

Voice

Breath, tone, range, and performance. Finding your own sound, not someone else's.

Teaching Philosophy

How I Teach

A few principles that guide every lesson.

Ear First, Always

Reading music is a tool, not the goal. Simon learned guitar by ear before he could read a note, and he believes that deep listening — learning to hear what you want to play before you play it — is the foundation of all real musicianship. Theory follows the ear, not the other way around.

Your Humanity Is Your Instrument

No two students are the same. Simon tailors every lesson to the individual — their influences, their goals, their personality. The aim is never to produce a copy of someone else, but to help each student find their own voice. That's what makes music worth playing.

Real Music, Real Skills

Lessons draw from real songs, real grooves, and real musical situations. Students learn by doing — playing along with recordings, rehearsing with the ensemble, and performing live. The classroom is a rehearsal space, not a waiting room for the real thing.

Groove Is the Foundation

Whether the style is classical, jazz, funk, or rock, Simon believes that feel and time are the bedrock of everything. Before speed, before complexity, students learn to be a pleasure to play with. A musician with great groove will always be in demand.

Simon Keyser-Petty