As a mother, teacher, and school owner, I rarely leave negative reviews. But after our experience with Creative Soul Music School in Southlake, I feel a responsibility to share our story and warn other families. We enrolled our 6-year-old daughter in their music camp which is advertised for children ages 3 to 6. The camp description promised singing, bubbles, and playful music activities ; a joyful, age-appropriate introduction to music. But that is not what we got. On day one, there was no singing, no games, just a group of older kids doing more advanced performance work. Our daughter was the youngest in the group, and we had no idea why the experience was so off until I emailed the school that night. Only then was I told that she had actually been placed in the 7-and-up camp instead, because the younger group that week was mostly made up of 3-year-olds. We were never informed of this change ahead of time and had no chance to consent or opt out. To make matters worse, the group she was placed in was filled with children who already had music experience, most of them returning students at the school. I watched as they sat in a circle introducing themselves and listing the instruments they played. Our daughter had no experience and sat there with her stomach in knots, completely overwhelmed, intimidated, and teary-eyed. When I quietly asked the instructor if he had experience supporting children who are nervous or new to music, he replied in front of her, "No, I don't really know how to do that." He wasn't mean, but he clearly didn't have the training or instinct to help her feel included. No effort was made to support or reassure her. Eventually, I asked for help at the front desk, and a kind employee named Kenna offered to sit with her and gave her some coloring to do. That was the extent of her first day. No music, to group fun, just coloring off to the side. We were told Kenna wouldn't be available past Tuesday, so it wasn't a sustainable solution. The next day, we tried again, but it was worse. The kids had already formed performance groups. Since our daughter hadn't been part of the group activities the day before, she had no place to go. We stood in the room waiting for someone to include her, or offer some guidance. No one did. There was no plan. No effort. And our daughter bawled her eyes out begging to leave. She's been to several camps this summer and loved every single one. This was not typical first-day jitters. This was a terrible feeling for a parent, to leave your child in a place that has no idea what to do with her and makes no effort to figure it out. I reached out, hoping the school would make it right. I asked for a refund and when they wouldn't give me that, I asked if we could use what we already paid as a credit for private lessons with someone trained in early childhood. Instead, I was told we'd need to pay again and officially enroll in private lessons and then they'll grant me "free" make-up sessions as their offering. Why would we spend more money with a business that already failed our daughter, just to be allowed to try again? I cc'd the founder on my last message, hoping he might weigh in or show some care. He never responded. We had planned to sign both of our children up for fall music lessons here. But after this experience, the lack of transparency, the lack of support, the refusal to make it right, we will not be returning. I'm sure they will reply to this review with their version of events, but these are the facts. Our daughter was placed in the wrong group without our knowledge, received none of what was promised, and was left feeling anxious, out of place and in tears. And the school chose to keep our payment instead of doing the right thing. Please think carefully before enrolling your child here. The marketing sounds wonderful. The follow through was anything but. It's a cash grab and they'll take anyone they can enroll, in whatever group, at the expense of the child. read more

I am not one to typically leave reviews unless I absolutely love a place. Unfortunately I cannot say that about this music school. My daughter started lessons here on September 2, 2025. From that date until November 11, 2025 we had 11 scheduled lessons in those 11 lessons 3 times the teacher was not there. One of those times she just forgot it was Tuesday. On top of the 3 lessons that the teacher just wasn't there she was at least 3-5 minutes late for the ones that she did show up to. Their policy is to NOT call and let the students know that their teacher won't be there but to just put them with someone else who doesn't know where they are and with no regard as to teaching style. It feels like overall the business just wants to get as many kids as possible through the doors. The lady who works the front desk at the Hulen location on Tuesday is amazing and is very kind and helpful about everything. read more

My son really had fun experience with this music program he joined. The teacher is incredibly patient, positive, and make an encouraging environment. He allow him to fully express himself on the drums without holding back, which has done wonders for confidence and creativity. The teacher makes lessons fun, relaxed, and exploring different genres, trying new rhythms, and discovering fresh music together, makes learning exciting, this is the perfect place. read more

Love creative soul! We have been there for years and our daughter does amazing! The recitals are amazing as well.

PLEASE NOTE - this review is about management and not teachers. We never got to that part and I'm sure they are lovely, but the process of registration was so horrific that I am writing this to save anyone else the headache. I called and left a message looking for lessons, and quickly received a call back from Whitney. She went through and answered some questions and told me she would send me more info, but did take my credit card information. Once I received the registration email, there were items in there that had not been discussed on the phone -- namely that any make ups would be group classes. I'm registering a five year old and that won't work for us, so I called to say "never mind, but thanks." Totally get thats your policy - just doesn't work for us. Never got a call back. Then I received a link to the portal. I go into the portal and see I have apparently signed off on multiple consent forms, including a liability waiver and a photo waiver. No - I hadn't. I hadn't even seen them before. So I called again. Again, nothing. I emailed. I texted. I left voicemails. Nothing back. But did my credit card get charged? Yes. So I called my credit card company, filed a complaint, and had my card switched. Never heard from these people. No classes were attended or scheduled. And then fast forward three weeks - I get an automatic email that my card had been declined (because I changed it, knowing this would likely happen). No other communication. After reading all of the other reviews, I know I'm not alone in this. I have proof of emails and a written receipt of all times I tried to contact them. If you run a business, you MUST respond to your customers. You cannot rely on automation. So anyone who may be interested in music lessons - be prepared for a massive headache or go elsewhere (which we did, and we are very happy). read more

I just found out we were charged 2 consecutive months after terminating our daughter's lessons. The school is claiming they never received our termination request. Now they want an additional month of payment to cover their 30 day cancellation policy. Get your crap together Creative Soul! read more

Horrible experience with the Colleyville location management. My son's teacher quit this location and so the school offered other locations, days and times that would not work for us. When we demanded a refund we were told no that we needed to submit a 30 day written notice and could finish the 30 days out if we wished. I did that and then was told that there would now be a teacher available at this location same day, same time. Great! We go to the lesson and there was no teacher scheduled. I asked for a name of the person I had been communicating with and was told they cannot give out names. I didn't realize I was dealing with such a highly classified organization! I message the person I was communicating with and they told me I put my last day as 2/10 even after I got confirmation that the last day would be 3/13 via text and email. Nice way to CYA! All they care about is money and not the experience of my child. My child has severe ADHD and has finally found something he is interested in only to be disappointed. Shame on you Creative Soul. read more

Our experience with the Fort Worth location was terrible. While the instructor was very nice, lessons were extremely disorganized, often resulting in changing rooms 2-3 times per 30 minute lesson due to multiple instruments (drums) not being in working order or missing. Lessons were primarily listening and mimicking YouTube videos, and did not include much instruction or explanation. The front desk is extremely unhelpful when trying to reschedule or get an accurate count of absentee tokens. Communication is poor, and there seems to be no intent to accommodate customers. When we decided to cancel lessons and request to use remaining absentee tokens, the information given was not in line with the policy signed at enrollment. Honestly, I wish I had read the reviews before enrolling my daughter. The rating on Yelp and Google clearly indicate we are not alone in our experience, and there is no intent on resolving these known, recurring issues. read more

Thanks for the great performances and the awesome family atmosphere. We appreciate all your hard work read more

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Horrible experience. Do not send your child to the lil souls class. Teacher lectured 45 minutes to 4/5 year olds. Told by management they would speak to teacher - the last two lessons teacher didn't show up at all and sent a sub that was 30 minutes late. I have been asking for a refund and no response from owner. The front desk director called me about 15 minutes after my post offering lesson credit if I take my post down. read more

Only join if you know you have the time. I found it hard to make classes, and had to cancel. Now they take my money for the next 30 days, but I could lose my instructor at any time. You takes my money, and and tell me good bye. I liked my instructor. Again, only join if you know you can make the classes. read more

One of the most undisciplined institutes I have seen in my life. 1st experience: they don't let you know your instructor is not coming and after 15 mins you need to find it out by yourself. 2nd experience: i could not understand my guitar lessons because all guitars there were damaged and finally I had to take my own. 3rd: when I missed my classes they don't give you options suits you, you need to be flexible with them. The instructor was good, the institute was horrible! read more

Good school system without the quality of true music education. Teachers were very nice, but just like some other reviewers mentioned, the turnover rate was quite high which tells a lot without saying a word. Students showed Very slow progress. The school does have fantastic reward system where they hand out wrist bands and trophies based on how long the students are with the school. We have met and had some really nice teachers but if you are looking for solid foundation, this is not a good place to go. But if you want a place where you can try different instruments out and see which one you are interested in, this may be the place for you to start. Although it is quite rare, They DO charge you for cancelling. Yes, very ridiculous and does not make any sense. I was very shocked when I saw the cancellation fees on my last statement. Update - in response to Casey (owner) 's comment - Hi Casey, thank you for your comment. I do appreciate the information that you gave out. As students and parents, there was absolutely no way for us to know how you run your business or how booked the teachers are. As I mentioned before, we had some, actually a couple of them, within 6 months (only) while my kids were with yours music school, great and nice teachers. Again, I am not here to bash them, but just to have opinions about how we feel with your music school. Every business has their targeted clients, and I just had my own opinions about how I felt when we were your clients and as parents who are looking for services for their kids, I truly believe these personal opinions are greatly appreciated. read more

My son has been in lessons for 3 years and always looks forward to the summer music camp every year. He has played guitar, piano, drums and loves to sing too! Seeing him on stage at the recital makes my heart melt! I'm very pleased with how much he has learned with Creative Soul and I would recommend it to anyone! read more

Creative Soul Music School - My sweet family! - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Fort Worth, Texas

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This place is a scam and has terrible customer service. First, there is false advertisement of "add a parent" option, making it sound like you can learn an instrument alongside your child. In actuality, you are only watching your child's lesson, which you can do for free at any other music academy. Our second lesson, the teacher was out on vacation and creative soul did not provide a substitute teacher or even call to let us know. The two teachers we have had so far are kind, but the manager, Whitney does not know how to manage. She does not know anything about customer service or even ethics. I am being charged for services that I've never received. I will be disputing the charges. Did I mention that they also double charged me this month? This company is just all around awful. So sad that they can't provide the gift of music to the community honestly and morally. read more

I was a student at Fort Worth Music Academy (FWMA), a fine instutuition owned and operated by Eric Bourassa, a fantastic gentleman. Eric sold FWMA to Creative Soul and commencing October 1st 2024 all FWMA students started lessons at the Creative Soul location on Camp Bowie Blvd. in Fort Worth. When I provided my credit card to pay for my 45 minute session I was told it would be $487.00. However, I had only registered for 1 class at $149. I offered to pay the $149 but was told by an extremely nice employee that the owners instructed her to collect the entire $487.00. The second week the same thing occurred and then I was told by the same employee that per the owners, Casey and Sam, that I could not come back, so I did not. However, they charge my card (that I had previosuly provided) on Oct 13th for $149 and then again on Nov 1st for $149. And to make matters worse, the 2 lessons I did attend were cut short becasue the facility wasnt ready and not all the equipment was working. The owners will not take my calls or return my emails. As it turns out the owners themselves (not an employee) signed me up for 3 separate classes and were trying to collect on all 3. I signed up for only 1 class and then was told I could not come back but they charged my credit card anyway, twice. The good news is that I have been in Fort Worth a long time, I know a lot of good people and the money does not affect. However, it may affect others and I plan on conitunuing to get the word out to as many people as I can. I know this is not a one off as I have spoken to others that I knew at FWMA any they encounterd similar experiences. I have currently told this story to 42 people with children in the West Fort Worth area and will continue to do so. I even asked for an apology and a refund and agreed to be done with it, but Crickets! I have writen this review only after numerous attempts to get Creative Soul to make this right. What more can I say. Oh, I know, I started at FWMA in January 2019 and was still there as of September 2024. I only lasted 2 weeks at Creative Soul. Hmmm! read more

They seem a bit money hungry! I paid for summer camp and within the hour realized my child wouldn't be able to attend. I was told it was not a refundable charge but I could use the credit. Understandable. I agreed to use my credit at a later time for piano lessons. They called almost daily to get me scheduled. I was out of the coutry. They kept calling. I finally agreed to 4 dates. I had to miss one. The makeup had to be scheduled before 9/1. They couldn't find me an hr slot so offered 30 mins. Not to mention the waste of time spent when we did show up. The instructor we had was no longer employed there. The new instructor assigned didn't seem interested in teaching that hour. The class was at 5. We were there before 5 and told to have a seat and the instructor would come get us. At 515, I asked was something wrong? A man that had previously asked if my daughter was someone else comes out. Still says nothing to us. Was just looking for someone. The receptionist tells us our instructors name. At this point its 525. I ask the same instructor if he is "the name given to me by the recptionist?" He says yes! I asked you if you were "wrong child name."I reiterate we are not said child. He says well who are you? At this point its 530. I'm annoyed. My child is annoyed. The lesson was terrible as my child was uncomfortable. Promptly at 6 pm, the instructor ended our class. I asked for a call from the manager. I am still waiting! If you have a choice go elsewhere. This has not been a pleasant experience. I am ready to let them keep my $399 since thats all they seem to be concerned about. Update: I got a call within minutes of posting the above review with an offer to reimburse one session if I remove this review or I can finish out my lessons! The manager apologized and stated the man that was so rude to my daughter and I walked out of them. She said she has no control over that. Suddenly we could get me scheduled for 1.5 hrs. I took the review down, never got a refund. Was scheduled for makeup lessons only to still have a late start to the class. The unfortunate part was the new instructor seemed very nice. I was willing to continue with make up lessons with her but I had enough. When I spoke to the teacher about getting my last hr lesson with her she said sure I am available Wed, Thu, or Friday. I went to the receptionist to get scheduled and was told, "Sorry! She is new and doesn't know she can't just schedule people. You have to go on our portal or call daily for cancellations and take one of those slots." Yall I was already scheduled for a 30 min session with someone else. I cancelled and just washed my hands. Very unfortunate. I have several friends who tried explaining its worth the hassle with the customer service. I disagree. I felt unwanted and I refuse to pay to be treated this way. I reposted my review because people need to know. When I was asked to remove the message, I thought things would be better. Instead, it remained the same. Customer Service matters. Perception matters. Every customer matters. read more

I love this school!! I called up out of curiosity because I never signed my kids up for music lessons. After talking to Beth the Manager how could I not. She was honest & helpful answered every question for me very friendly. Made a great impression on me so I decided to give the place a try and its Great. No issues. I love the one on one attention that is given. read more

Wow, communication is key... When we expressed interest in classes their auto text system messaged me every week. I tell them my child doesn't like it we're done, and they've been charging me ever since. Owner says... Oh well we have over 1200 students we can't possibly follow up with those leaving... Nope but keep taking your money until someone figures it out it's good report right? Huge loss for my family. Glad my monthly payments provide stability for the teachers that didn't even realize my child hasn't been attending their classes. Never again. read more

DO NOT GIVE THIS SCHOOL YOUR CREDIT CARD! My child was so excited to go to this school after hearing so many promises from the staff. We paid month to month but not long after starting, we noticed an unauthorized charge coming from the school so we cancelled our credit card immediately. We notified the school of the unauthorized charge and they refused to refund any amount. Over the following weeks, they demanded that we give them another card to put on file but I reminded them that they had made unauthorized and unapologetic charges on the last card so I would use a different method. After refusing to give them access to my card, they turned up the steam and began harassing me with multiple calls, texts and emails; it just wouldn't stop. At this point, we quit, notifying them that we would finish the month and be done. This is when things went south. After paying for the final month by card, they recorded the card without my knowledge and continued to make unauthorized charges. So we had to cancel the card again, then block their numbers to stop the harassment. To this day, Macie attempts to harass our business with sales calls demanding for us to come back to the school and continue classes and payments, knowing that we have requested they not contact us, we not longer attend their school and have NO plans to ever set foot in their facilities again. Just go away! read more

I wish I had never started my kid here. Even though my daughter enjoyed her teacher, communication with the front desk was awful. I cancelled my lessons back in May and they continued to charge my card knowing that I my child was not going. We still had a set time for lessons, but I guess nobody cared that we weren't showing up (because we cancelled) and were just happy to charge me for nothing. I finally realized all the charges and called to see about getting my money back and they would not reimburse me. This is not a big school, they knew we were not going, they knew they were charging my card, and did not reach out to me to ask what was up. This is terrible business practice and I would NOT recommend anyone getting trapped in this scam. Go somewhere else- save yourself the headache. read more

I love my daughter's piano teacher because she is talented, encouraging and sweet with children. Every week my daughter is excited to go to her lessons. ThE receptionist is so welcoming, helpful and friendly too. We got a nice tour of the school and all questions answered quickly. The waiting area is comfy and spacious enough to wait with other children. If you miss a lesson, they are very accommodating to make it up with group classes. We highly recommend Creative Soul music school. read more

This is a long review which I hardly ever do but please read it entirely if you are seriously interested in this business.  At first when our children expressed a strong interest to learn a musical instrument we went to Creative Soul for a spring break camp. They had a good experience. Then, we decided to sign up our two older kids for formal lessons later that year. One daughter had a fantastic experience with her drum teacher but our other daughter had 5 teachers in less than 3 months. The teacher turnover is high. If your teacher is sick or out for a reason you are assigned a sub. The sub has zero idea what your kid is doing and the entire 30 minutes is wasted but you are still required to pay and you cannot reschedule your lesson. The children do not learn how to read music but instead pick a popular song of their liking and sing or play the instrument. So, while it is fun they are not really learning everything they should about the instrument (which for some families is all they want). After showing up repeatedly and our instructor wasn't there and there were no subs in place and not being able to get a make-up lesson (sometimes they would let us), and with the high teacher turnover we decided to stop going. I knew the cancelation policy but the pressure to gift lessons to another child or the empty threat that if we ever wanted to come back we would have to start at the bottom of their music ladder where you get a rubber wristband and then a trophy every so many months was ridiculous. In March of 2020 right before the pandemic our son's teacher told him he did a great job on his music "quiz" and that he would order his trophy (my kid was ecstatic).  Later that summer when they opened back up for in-person I followed-up on the trophy because my kid was still so excited about it. The front administration woman said he must have gotten left off the order list and she would order it. My other two daughters received their trophies.  It is now 18 months later and after repeated follow-up emails (with at least 3 different staff members because all staff turn over is high), he never received it and I'm giving up following up. You pay a lot of money and these lessons are not worth it. The business is run extremely poorly and I left feeling like it was a pyramid scheme. I strongly encourage parents to find any other place to explore their music interests.  FWAFA has a great music conservatory and there are several private teachers in the area. At the end of the day, it is not ok for a Creative Soul teacher to need a sick day but your own kid cannot miss a lesson without losing the lesson entirely or when your child shows up to their lesson excited to see their teacher only to learn that they resigned and are never coming back and there is no good-bye. This place caused our kids and us so much stress and anxiety, not to mention a lot of money.  Please consider any other music option for your family. **Regarding Casey's reply below, I have correspondence dating back to July 2020 about the trophy and I have forwarded that to the music studio. Unlimited make-ups are in a group setting and while they may be fun they are not helpful to learn what the student and teacher work on. I also remember they were later at night and not ideal for a young child's schedule. Yes, it is a plus perhaps for the older kids. read more

Teacher turnover is a huge problem - my child had 2 teachers quit in less than 6 months of lessons. Several times, the front-desk threw in a "substitute teacher" at the last minute (without notifying me) who didn't even play my child's instrument. These "lessons" were basically just an entire session of my child trying to explain where she is, what she's done, etc. And yet when I cancelled our services after being informed that our time slot wouldn't be available, I was told that I wouldn't get credit for any of the subbed-"lessons" and that I would still have to pay for another month of lessons in order to "honor the contract". Really sub-par business practices and overall experience - needless to say, my child will definitely NOT be back. read more

i dont recommend creative soul to anyone. they are money hungry. they put money over customer satisfaction. i'm gregory, deeana, beth, and whitney misled me. they told me that you will never speak to a customer and the buck stops with them. on 05/04/2023 they took 399.00 for a camp after i told them my daughter might not want to go. they misled me when they said oh, thats ok i can always use the money for piano lessons. now they are say its 12 days before camp and i should have gotten my 399.00 30 days. i am still there taking lesson and two of my daughter are going to the camp but not the teen. casey please dont allow me to go to the guitar center for lesson, my children like their teachers.. i knew the guitar center was $120.00 for 4 lessons and you charge $200.00 for 4 lesson when i came but i was willing to pay more. you are putting money over customer satisfaction. deeana, beth, and whitney should not robbing me of my $399.00 and you can stop it. read more

This is a great positive experience! My grandson has taken lessons for three years from the same awesome instructor, David!!! Thank you David!!! I have had many opportunities to sit in the waiting area and I am always impressed with the positive cheerful environment. I love the encouraging interactions between instructors and students. The students seem delighted to be there. The front desk personnel are always helpful and brighten my day. Eventually I decided my time would be better spent taking a lesson instead of waiting. My own experience has been fabulous with Jake!! He is above and beyond my expectations in both piano theory and technique, as well as professionalism. So my evaluation has gone from 5 stars to 10 by becoming a student!! read more

Very disappointed in the lack of customer service I have received. We signed up back in March, and unfortunately could not make it much because of the timing. We tried switching to another time, but it still didn't work well with our schedule. Finally back on August 27th I emailed wanting to cancel and was told I would be sent a form to fill out. Last night I receive a call to check how lessons have been going to which I replied that we had cancelled last month. The lady on the phone then told me they never received a form from me so she would send that out and my cancellation would take effect 30 days from completing that form. I was shocked, I brought up the fact that I had emailed over 30 days ago and they were the ones who had not sent the form. She told me there was nothing she could do and I would need to pay for another month. I then asked if I could speak to her manager which she replied you can speak with me about it. I was literally in shock because up until this experience everyone had been so friendly and nice. I am now getting calls saying they will work with me if I remove my 1star review. read more

We love the teachers we've had pleasant experiences with the teachers we've been there for more than two years. Unfortunately they don't let you know if a teacher is going to be absent so they just give you a substitute teacher that doesn't know your child therefore seems like a waste of time. I like that they offered zoom meetings because of Covid but again when the teachers are out they just assign you a random teacher that doesn't know your kid. We are leaving because front desk fails to inform that the teacher won't be there and we had a lot of times that we were just waiting for the teacher to join the meeting and nobody did, so we waited time and money by not getting what we paid for. Front desk definitely needs to step up their game and they will continue to try to sell you more classes over and over again. read more

Please be aware of the confusing loop holes in their school contract before placing your child in this school. I un-enrolled my son their policy is you give a 30 day notice, but after you give the 30 day notice they open up your child's slot to another student and the instructor is now unavailable for your child. So they say it's credit towards when you decide to come back, when you tell them you're not coming back they say the gift your money to another child so you're basically giving away free money. I'm a single mom and don't have money to be giving away for free. The turn over rate for the instructors is not good, so that should tell you a lot about this company read more

Everyone is so compassionate! The fact that they accommodated my son for over the summer - was awesome. He will be back next year. (Still has a couple lessons left.) Awesome! read more