“I Can Actually Do This”: A Guitar Teacher's New Studio Near Hillsdale High
Updated November 2, 2026
For more than 13 years, Brett Burdette has taught guitar and ukulele to Peninsula kids and families. At his new San Mateo studio, he is building something bigger than a weekly lesson.
Brett Burdette in the new It's Pick'n Time studio. Photo: It's Pick'n Time
Brett has been teaching guitar and ukulele through It's Pick'n Time for more than 13 years. He recently moved into a new studio near Hillsdale High School, and he reached out to us with a story that isn't really about guitars at all.
The moment that still gets him
"When I started, I thought the job was mostly about teaching music," Brett said. "Over time, I realized the bigger thing happening in the room was confidence."
He has watched kids come in convinced they weren't musical, frustrated because something felt too hard, or distracted and unsure of themselves. "Then one day they finally get the chord change. They play the song. They do the thing they were certain they couldn't do."
"You can see the change immediately," he said. "They sit differently. They smile differently. They want to show someone what they just accomplished."
What's next for the studio
Brett is developing the next version of the program around giving students more opportunities to practice, make measurable progress, connect with other students, and feel like part of a local music community.
The instruments are the vehicle
"The instruments matter, but they're really the vehicle," Brett said. What he wants a kid to walk away with is simple: "I worked at something difficult, I got better at it, and I can do more than I thought I could."
"If It's Pick'n Time can become a place where local kids experience that over and over again, then I think we're doing something worthwhile."
If you go
What: Guitar and ukulele lessons for kids and adults, by appointment. Where:It's Pick'n Time, right off Highway 92 near Alameda de las Pulgas in San Mateo Contact:(415) 786-0902 or itspickntime.com
Inside the studio
Guitars and ukuleles ready to go in the new studio. Photo: It's Pick'n TimeThe teaching corner, with a whiteboard and music stand. Photo: It's Pick'n Time
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