My two daughters have been taking the Young Musician Group Piano classes for the last two years…read more They both completed Level 1 and now are in Level 2 and Level 3. When they started they were six and seven years old. They love this piano class. Their instructor, Mr. Cobbins, is a lot of fun but also has a great attitude for teaching. He makes the class enjoyable and instructive. There are times when we have to miss the class due to scheduling conflicts, and my girls gets very sad and disappointed when they do- now, that's a great sign of how much they love this piano class! At the end of each semester, each student gets to perform their own piano recital in front of all the other students and parents. My girls loved dressing up and playing their favorite songs. My eldest daughter also attended the Academy of Fine Arts summer program, more specifically the sing dance and act sessions. I can't tell you how much she loved this program. She met new friends and had such a great time. At the end of the program, they perform a show with a combination of all three - singing, dancing and acting. I already signed her up for this summer's session!

Our experience with the institution is varied. They have some incredible teachers who are really…read moreengaged and others that are not. We had Sekulic who was not engaged, on her phone in a virtual setting for Piano. Fortunately, we found another piano teacher who is really engaged and devoted to the arts outside of the academy. There are other nuances with the academy directly related to lack of communication that also contributed to this review.

I took lessons a few years back and the staff were very kind- you can tell they know what they…read moreteach and they want to help. The Pritchard family- thank you for this business!

The lessons are expensive and they have inflexbile policies. I have 3 children all of whom take…read moremultiple lessons and classes across the area and have never encountered such strict policies on make ups/cancellations. They do what's good for them only - not allowing you to make up class if you don't give 5 hours notice (even if your child is sick) and yet they will call you 15 minutes into class that your child is in to tell you that class is suddenly 20 minutes shorter because not all of the kids showed up. They basically told me that their time is more precious than mine and if I don't like it, too bad. If you have kids who may get sick, a job or other obligations of any kind (i.e., real life), I would not recommend this place. Way too rigid and unwilling to keep paying customers happy.

Have to support these small music shops. Victor Litz has a lot to offer from types of instruments,…read moreelectronics, lessons, used gear, you name it. I was especially impressed with their selection of ukuleles. Never have I seen so many in MD in one place! Definitely more than what Guitar center offers. They have an acoustic room in the back to try their acoustic/classical guitars. I had the chance to buy one of their used guitars at an amazing price. I appreciate the staff working with me on the price and even holding the instrument for a day when they could have easily sold it to next customer. Shows that they care about customer satisfaction more than just making a sale. I was able to spend a good amount of time trying out the instrument and they also helped tweak the intonation before I decided to take it home with me. The only few downsides I could see was some of the staff were not particularly knowledgeable about certain guitar models that they were selling, but much better than say Guitar Center. The humidification in the acoustic room basically only controlled by a residential type humidifier, so not very precise. Compared to other small guitar shops in the DMV, I don't think I would feel comfortable getting my guitar worked on here just based on the level of expertise I surmounted from the conversations I had. But a good place to buy gear nonetheless if you know what you are looking for. Parking is just a little challenging since it is in the middle of old town Gaithersburg. But in the past I have come on the weekends and there is some parking across the street at the museum.

I used to be a fairly loyal customer but cannot continue to patronize a store that does not…read moreappreciate and respect ALL of their customers. There are many better options in the area such as Chuck Levins and Bill's Music that are more welcoming and frankly have a much larger selection of instruments. EDIT - Tony, you know exactly what you did. You thought you were being funny but ended up insulting a group of people that you may disagree with, but are still some of your customers or potential customers. I do not feel comfortable doing business with companies that do not treat all of their customers with the same level of respect. I respect your right to have your opinions, but we all have choices.

I took 2 clarinets for repair. They listened to me and made the repairs. When they saw that another…read morematerial had been installed on the instrument they called to discuss the options .

I sent my oboe and english horn went in for standard maintenance. It was projected to take 3 weeks…read more After 7 weeks work had still not been completed. Steve, the owner, was incredibly rude and made it very difficult to get my instruments back. When they were returned he neglected to return my oboe's bell. The work was poorly done, and my instruments are in worse playing condition than when insent them in. The top joint and lower joint no longer fit together as the wrong size cork was used. The cork pad used on my f sharp key was replaced with a bladder pad without asking if that is what I wanted. I now need to find a different shop to fix the damage they have done. Avoid ar all cosr

I hired Gregory Butler for his piano technician services. I recently moved to the Gaithersburg, MD…read morearea and was looking for a piano tuner. I found Gregory Butler online at http://www.ptg.org/findATechnician.php the registered piano technicians guild website. Based on his information online and 30+ years of experiences I made my selection. He came and tuned my 1937 Baldwin upright. My piano was in reasonably good conditioned and has been tuned/maintained regularly so its needs were minimal. He was very polite and informative. I expressed an interest in learning about the process and my instrument's needs. He offered to demonstrate information on my piano as he was conducting his service. I felt the quality of the tuning was above my expectations. He was able to bring out the natural sound and quality characteristics of my instrument. I did not get the sense that he was suggesting unnecessary fixes or that I was getting "taken to the pea patch" so to speak. I would recommend Gregory's services to anyone with an instrument of any age. Mine happens to be in good working order but I have confidence that Gregory is capable and experienced enough to trouble shoot even the most neglected of pianos.

My kids started lessons when six years old, and I was inspired by watching them learn. I finally…read morehave time to start taking piano lessons for myself. I know how hard it is to find a good teacher, I am glad that I found a teacher as patient, friendly, and knowledgeable as Diana. She tailors the sessions to my interests, is incredibly patient and supportive, hand-by-hand correcting mistakes. This correction is a valuable experience for adult learners, as it is crucial for developing proper techniques. I genuinely think she is the best piano teacher, or at least the best that I have found. I'm really enjoying my musical journey, I look forward to every session and can't wait for the next piano lesson!

I took lessons with Diana for over 20 years as a returning/adult student. It was always fun and…read moreshe looked for music I would enjoy, yet would need to work to master. It was one of the few things I did for ME, and just for my own pleasure. (I would still be taking lessons for fun except I am now caregiver for my disabled husband.) She is a great teacher and remains a wonderful friend.