"I’ve been learning Santur from Faraz since 2020, and it’s been an incredible experience. His profound knowledge of music, combined with his exceptional teaching skills, has helped me grow both as a musician and as a person. He’s not just a music teacher but a life mentor as well. His patience, dedication, and passion for the Santur are truly inspiring, making each lesson a journey of discovery and growth. Faraz is simply amazing and has made a huge difference in my musical journey and beyond." Bahar
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"If you want to study playing Santur, I highly recommend Faraz. Faraz is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had in my life. With teachers, when they teach something for many of them they have the hard skill of the actual art or science they teach but minority of teachers have something else. This something is intangible. Something that is hard to describe and Faraz has that. He is obviously talented and extremely skillful in the art of Santur, but more importantly he’s great at the art of teaching. I had started to learn Santur two times before and I gave up after several sessions each time. I feel very lucky that I found Faraz as my 3rd teacher as he has patiently and masterfully guided me through this journey. I just wish I had found him sooner!" - Ali Khodai
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"Passion, persistence, presence of mind and care are the fundamental ingredients that make a great teacher, all of which are harmonized in our teacher Faraz Minooei. At 71, with a life long passion for singing and in general for great music, and love of learning things I have never done before, but otherwise no knowledge of music or instruments, I started learning Santur less than 6 months ago with Faraz after asking around for a knowledgeable teacher from friends and recommendations all ending with Faraz. Added to the known challenges of being aware of the style of learning and the capability of the student, is dealing with the firmly formed physical habits and the slowed dexterity of an older student. Faraz is skillful in recognizing all this and designing a course of study accordingly. He has eyes behind his head and catches your mistakes and insists until you get it right 😊 But for me, much more important than all of the above, is him being a real human and his capacity and willingness to meet his students where they are at any given moment. If the moment calls for a conversation, that’s what gets addressed so that the student is at ease before returning to the scheduled lesson. All I know is that while I make okay progress with my playing the instrument, I feel cared for when I leave the session. This is priceless and I’m eternally grateful to have met an individual like him. Thank you Faraz🙏" - Nasrin Naaseh
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"I started to learn Santoor when I was 14 years old, but I never had such a great master in my life as Master Mr. Faraz Minooei. He has always been kind and patient. He is very knowledgeable and does an excellent job explaining concepts. He has given me a tremendous appreciation for Santoor and made me a better musician. I am glad that I found him on Facebook in 2018, almost two years before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and found out that he provides virtual classes when virtual classes were not popular. I believe his online classes are the same as in-person lessons and you are not missing anything, and he does an amazing job. During these four years, I have learned so much from him. Mr. Minooei is the one if you want to get advanced Santoor techniques or just simply start learning to play Santoor. He completely helps you to choose the right way to get into the Santoor world." - Moones Akbaran
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"Faraz walked me through music theory, as well as the details of the Santor. As an adult student, I was nervous about picking up an instrument. However now I am pretty confident that I can learn to play the santor. Faraz is a gifted musician and highly skilled at teaching. He is very good at assessing a student's abilities and interests and adjusting his lessons accordingly. He makes the lessons fun and challenging. Thanks for the great lessons and I look forward to many more." Naghmeh
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"Faraz is not just a santur teacher, but rather a true artist that loves and feels his art. He lives it, passionately talks about it, enjoys all the challenges of teaching, and uses his lifelong experiences to tailor his teaching methods to the individual needs of his students. Faraz is absolutely delightful to work with and makes class days a day to look forward to. I feel lucky to have him as my Ostad (maestro). As background, I grew up listening to Persian classical music and still love it. To play an instrument was always a dream for me until I decided to learn Santur at the age of 40. For 10 months, my teacher at the time went through Ostad Payvar's first book, one song at a time. Due to various life changes, I had to stop playing up until 4 months ago, some 20+ years later.Though I had learned a few songs at the time, I was not taught music fundamentals; not even proper hand movements that are required to advance and consistently play music at a higher level. After 4 months with Faraz's teaching methods for learning music, I realized how little I actually learned then. Even if I had continued at that time, as much as I loved playing, I would have eventually lost interest and given up. He has given me the tools and confidence to believe that I can play up to my expectations in the near future, and that is the gift of a lifetime. Thank you, Faraz." - Majid E. June 2019
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"I have been a professor and educator for over 45 years and I know what a good teacher is. Faraz is one of the best teachers I have known. He has been my Santour instructor for four months after taking Santour lessons with another instructor for two years. Faraz teaches the essence and theory of music. He helps you understand what music is all about rather than just mechanical rendition of pieces and movements. He is a perfectionist and lets you know your mistakes and will not relent until you have perfected your play. A brilliant mutual friend who is also a musician and academician introduced Faraz to me. I am grateful to him and extremely happy to have Faraz as my music teacher. Some day I am going to play a perfect Persian piece and it will be dedicated to Faraz." - Hamid Shomali, PhD
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" I have been 'playing' Santur for a few years now, and have studied from 3 Santur players before starting my lessons with Faraz, about 3 months ago. I reviewed the Radif of Saba, at least twice, but if you asked me to play something in Shur, for example, I could not even come up with 5 minutes of good music. Each piece that I memorized sounded differently each time I tried to play it. Sometimes I was happy thinking this is really art and can't reproduce a piece of art! But most of the time I was frustrated, and I did not like what I was playing, when I listened to my recording. Finally I decided to not record myself any more. Meanwhile no one was able to tell me why I could not play well. It was a great awakening when I started taking lessons with Faraz. Not only he is a music prodigy, but he is a great teacher. He puts everything you do under microscope. He listens and watches you play and very quickly detects the source of problems and doesn't let go until you get it. I think he has made a "science" out of the art of playing Santur, in the sense that you can reproduce a piece of music every time you play it. After the strong foundation is built you can add you artistic flavors to it. Right now, I am going through a period of improving my rhythm, and unlearning my bad habits. But I am very excited that I am really learning, and I can notice my improvement. I wish I had met Faraz earlier. For those of you who have started to learn Santur from him from the beginning, I wanted to assure you that, if you are serious about learning, you are lucky, you will avoid a lot of waste of time, and you will get to enjoy playing Santur much faster! In addition to being a great musician and teacher, he is a humble (very rare quality among great musicians) man. He has a great sense of humor and cares about all humanity, and therefore suffers from the stupidity of some of them! I dearly love and respect him and, I am grateful to have him as my teacher and friend!" - Jamshid Parvizi
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" I had been looking for a santour teacher in the Bay Area for some time. I heard about Faraz Minooei from a friend and decided to start Santour lessons with him about a year ago. Faraz is a fabulous musician and teacher. He has excellect technique, knows many styles, is patient, and has a great ear for music. My goal is to develop the ability to figure out songs on my ownand to end up with a repertiore of songs that I love and that I can play well. We spend time during the lessons figuring out the songs, learning about chord theory, and history of music specially santour in various countries. My repertoire is coming along and I always look forward to the class. Faraz is an exremely talented musician with very effrective teaching methods; He is a multi-instrumentalist and an extraordinary musican. Its an honor to be Faraz's student and I highly recommend his amazing classes for the beginners or the advanced students." - Shabnaz
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"I have had four music teachers before Faraz and I can say that his teaching method is unique in many ways. From my point of view, the way he finds my technical issues and then the specific exercises he designs to resolve them are two important items that make him a distinguished teacher. As a music student, I feel more confident when I see that he considers me as an individual and I have my unique exercises every week. My music skills improvement are remarkable after 7 month of practicing under his supervision." Taha
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"I recommend lessons with Faraz if you are serious about delving deep into learning the santur and learning the mysteries of music. Faraz as a teacher knows how to construct lessons for his students in a thoughtful way tailored to the individual student. His deep passion shows in every lesson we have together, and inspires me to want to discover all I can about the deep world of Persian music and music theory. He makes learning the santur a magical experience that cultivates an endless curiosity in students like me, abnd for this reason I cannot recommend Faraz enough!"
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" I've been a student of Faraz for close to two years now and I have throughly enjoyed my experience with him. He is extremely insightful and talented both as a musician and as an instructor as his passion for music, arts, poetry and specifically, santour, consumes every single moment that you're in his presence. He verbalizes his messages very accuratly as he is very articulate with his teaching methods as he tailos his teaching to his students talent level and the time allocation that's afforded to an individual. I have had several different instructors over the years with different instruments and I have never felt thebreakthough that I have experienced with this instructor. His insightfulness and feedback is right on the mark as he knows when to push you and when to slow down, when to challenge you and when to just allow you to enjoy your music. I feel an amazing sense of comfort and joy in his class as my main purpose was to be able to just relax and lose myself for a few moments in music and Faraz has afforded me that oppotunity with his teaching techniques. I am exremely pleased and satisfied with my classes and feel a great sense of gratitude toward Faraz for allowing me to learn at my own pace and to be able to enjoy the journey of learning of how to play the santour. "
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" I believe teaching is art. The ability you transfer a message to student which he has no idea and make it easy for student to understand that is very difficult and at the same time make it exciting and challenging. I believe Faraz is very meticulous and expectations and demand are high for his student and he doesn't let you go unless he feels confident that you understand what he was teaching. To me that is a sign of good teacher. I highly recommend him." - Khosrow Khamseh
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" If I want to explain my santour class, I should talk about my mental changes. I know maybe it sounds confusing but this class actually changes my mind every week. In general this class lets me release my stress and anxiety of the week out and allows my mind to rest. Ever since I started this class, my prespective of santour and music has grown greatly. I do not look at it as just a class I go to, it's truly a part of my life and I enjoy every bit of it. Throughout the time, my knowledge of the subject has increased greatly. I can easily talk to someone who is majoring in this subject and understand them. I plan on continuing this for a major part of my life. I also would like to appreciate and tahnk my teacher becuase he is the reason for the great love I have for santour and except santour he teaches me a lot of things that changed my mind about many things. This is my honor to have such an amazing teacher like him. None of this is exaggerated and truly said from my heart."
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" I started santur training with Faraz in 2015 when I had no prior exposure to music theory or practice. Faraz nourished my vague interest in santur into something that has become an important aspect of my life - having a much deeper appreciation of music. With Faraz's help and mentorship I have been learning much more than just playing an instrument. We have been covering diverse topics and techniques, ensemble playing, improvisation, sight reading, solmization, and more. I was able to read music and play simple melodies a few weeks into my class. This was a huge encouragment. While doing this, Faraz was implicitly teaching me pitch, rhythm and proper playing techniques. As I become more comfortable with these basic concepts he introduced me to the world of harmony on the santur and more advanced techniques, such as dynamics. We also started formal music theory training. Every week he would review my theory assignments and patiently asnwer my questions. Faraz carefuly personalizes the class to my interests, needs, and capabilities. For example, I was eager to learn how to play Radif pieces. He patiently taught me the techniques and subtitles of Persian Radif on the santur. There were times when I was too busy with work, and did not have enough time to practice new pieces. Faraz would give me technical exercises to accommodate my work deadlines. When I travel for few weeks, Faraz nicely accommodates that and gives me routines to practice without my instrument. I am greatful to have Faraz as my music teacher. He has always been super friendly and professional. He is one of the most knowledgable and yet humble musicians I have ever seen. I continue to learn from him every week and hope to do so for a long time."
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"Usually I am not a review kinda person. I believe in individuality of each experience. However, Faraz made such an impact in my life that I wanted to share it with whoever appreciate music and life. He is not just a music instructor, he takes you beyond the instrument and notes! Faraz helps you to tap into your creativity so you can discover something that you have never known in yourself! Faraz jan (dear) thank you for your hard work and patience with me. You put a piece of your heart in each session. Wish you success in all aspects of your life. I will never get off of this train! Namaste"
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"Faraz has been a friend, teacher, mentor & a life coach to me and many. He is not only an artist but a great thinker. One who sees values & characters above success. His approach and dedication to his art and life has been an ocean of inspiration. I started taking Santur classes with him more than a decade ago. But a Santur class quickly turned into a deep friendship. A bond that goes beyond any. I have always been fascinated with how humble he is. For someone who has SO MUCH knowledge about music and life, he never portraits himself above anyone. If he ever got angry at anyone, next to that I would hear a tone of care and deep love. He approaches his students with care, patience and compassion. He pushes when he must and stays quiet when is right. He is one of the few folks in the Iranian community who so deeply cares about its culture and art. He has dedicated his life in progressing the Iranian art and is truly a master at the Santur and Iranian classical music. What I love about Faraz the most, is his gentle approach to be an example. To walk the path & not preach. What I have learned the most from him is to be a man of not success, but a man of values. So lucky to have you in our lives " - Nima Sepehr
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“Faraz is a talented and skillful Santour player from my generation who is not only a mentor but also a good friend. It’s always a journey for me during an hour in his class. He has such an amazing and deep understanding of music , which is the fact of spending many years working with great masters. He tries to convey his technical skills, not only by covering the Santour’s special tricks but also by teaching the theory of music and using other instruments like piano and tonbak. Faraz is so patient and kind. He advises you to find your own way of practicing and you have something to gain in every session of his classes.” - Mehrdad Bastani
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"I have tried playing Santoor in the past with no success until I met Faraz. His passion, knowledge, love of Santoor, and his ability to teach has opened another dimension for me and forever, I'll be thankful" - Saeed
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" Faraz offers a different experience as a music teacher. He incorporates all aspects of music into the lessons. He trains the ear, the brain and the hands to understand Santur. More importantly, the lessons are not generic, they are well planned to accommodate your strengthens and weakness. By far, the best music teacher I have ever had. "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire" - W.B Yeats
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"Faraz Minooei is a great teacher and mentor who uses effective techniques. He focuses on the music, not the grade, and incites students to love the instruments they play. He cares and is enthusiastic about the advancement of his students and provides opportunities for them to participate in performances and be challanged. Faraz loves his work, which he continually strives to advance, perfect, and keep fresh. He has a great appreciaction for the classiscal framework of Santur music as well as innovative approaches within this framework. I feel provilaged to be his student for two years." - R. Seddigh
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از دوران نو جوانی علاقه زیاد به موسیقی ایرانی داشتم. بزرگترین آرزویم این بود که روزی که بتوانم به نواختن یکی از آلات موسیقی موفق شوم ابتدا در سن شانزده سالکی ویلون بعدا در یست سالگی سنتور و خلاصه در پنجاه سالگی گیتار اما متاسفانه بهر دلیلی موفق به فراگیری نشدم تا در سن هتاد و دو سالگی تصادفی با آقای فراز مینویی آشتنا شدم و در کلاس ایشان به آموختن سنتور پرداختم. نحوه آموختن و تذکر های آموزشی ایشان آنچنان در من اثر گذاشت که مرا هر لحظه بیشتر به زدن سنتور علاقمند ساخت. ساعاتی را که در کلاس او میگذرانم برایم آموزنده ولذت بخش است. آقای فراز یک هنرمند با ذوق علاقمند بموسیقی اصیل ایران و یک استاد دلسوز است با تشکر فراوان از استاد فراز مینویی
خلیل طاهایی
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The impact of my music teacher is hard to measure in quantitave terms. You may be the first person"
in my life to introduce me to the beauty of music. You taught me how to not just listen to music but experience it and there is always room for improvement. You teach me seld discipline if I am playing the note wrong then stop and fix it. You patience and your easy-gpoing style during lessons has motivated me to keep learning that is what make you great. I feel lucky to have a regular coach who is not only gifted at voice instruction but serves as a mentor and friend who keeps me motivated and moving towards goals. I have truly enjoy each one of my lessons. Thank you so much for being such a great music teacher and sharing your talent with me. I hope you don't give up on me." - Farideh