By George Brown V

The familiar sign of Sunset Music perched above the blue awning at 2311 Irving St. is a beacon for musicians and music teachers alike seeking sheet music, books, instruments and supplies.  

The store window displays a variety of sheet music ranging from songs for beginners to more complicated Broadway musicals and classical pieces by famous composers. The display features heartwarming music-themed gifts and trinkets, such as socks and mugs. 

A soothing radio playing music welcomes customers into the store where owner Evelyn Masuda is ready to help find the exact item customers are looking for.

Sunset Music has been a fixture in the Sunset District since it was founded by musician Jerry Thomas in 1948.  While the store has changed locations a few times along Irving Street, it has now been at its current address for the past 41 years. Masuda first met Thomas when she was a 6-year-old customer at his store. She frequented Sunset Music to purchase books as a piano teacher and eventually started to help him run the shop.

“Jerry and I tried this for about nine months to see if he was comfortable leaving his baby with me,” Masuda explained. When Thomas retired in 1988, Masuda took over and has been running the business ever since.

Masuda believes that the longevity of Sunset Music has been due to the loyal customers that continue to frequent the store.

“It’s a good neighborhood, a lovely, family-oriented neighborhood,” she said. “People are used to finding the store here. I’ve been fortunate in that repeat customers over the years will get the next generation coming through.”

Masuda, who grew up in the Sunset District, can play a variety of instruments, including the piano, violin, guitar, flute and clarinet. She taught music for about a decade before completely devoting herself to Sunset Music.

“I’ve always loved music, and I’ve always loved paper for some reason when I was a kid,” Masuda said, reflecting on where her love for sheet music and instruments is rooted. “And when you put them together, it’s great.”

Masuda is proud that she is able to provide musicians with printed sheet music with the actual cover art rather than a generic paper with notes that is downloaded off the internet.

In addition to selling piano books and sheet music, which pile the shelves in the store all the way up to the ceiling, Masuda also offers an assortment of music-related items that make great gifts, including tote bags, cookie cutters, bookmarks, jewelry and even busts of famous composers. Music-themed pencils, erasers and bookmarks, which she refers to as “toys,” are nestled among the other trinkets on the counters.

“I like ordering these things,” Masuda said. “From my teaching days, I’d buy stickers and pencils for students. They’re important.”

Masuda’s store is also home to a massive ball of rubber bands that originated in 2005. Three girls who worked at Sunset Music at the time each made her own rubber band ball, which soon chaotically rolled around the store every day. Masuda advised the three companions to combine their creations and, from 2005 to 2023, new rubber bands were gradually added to form the now 34-pound rubber band ball. This artifact is now encased in glass to protect it from air that could dry and disintegrate the rubber bands.

Masuda also offers some minor instrument repairs and provides referrals for piano tuning services. While she no longer teaches, Masuda still runs a referral service for music teachers in San Francisco. 

“For example, if someone needs a piano teacher in the 94132 zip code, I could look at my list and give them some names,” Masuda said.

Like a lot of small businesses, Sunset Music has faced many challenges in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“COVID did something to brick-and-mortar places where people stayed at home and then found it easier to just click a button to buy something,” Masuda said.

Sunset Music used to offer studio rentals, but when shelter-in-place happened, most teachers transferred to online music lessons and never returned to in-person instruction after the peak of the pandemic passed. Masuda continues to require face masks at Sunset Music because she is a caregiver to her 100-year-old mother.

Luckily, Sunset Music withstood the pandemic because people still wanted to get real books and needed the services her store provides. 

“I’d like to hope I give a personal touch, and I can assist customers in finding their requests better than if doing it on their own,” Masuda said.

Sunset Music is located at 2311 Irving St. Store hours are Tuesdays-Saturdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Learn more at sunsetmusicsf.com.