If I could 0 stars I would! I normally purchase from Guitar Center or Chuck Levins but decided Id try to support a local branch. I purchased MLS900 Active Speaker to tru out for music gigs. Unfortunately the speaker was not loud enough for the venue I played at so I returned it the next day. I put my card in for a refund and didnt think any thing of it. Normally the refund is the next day or same day. As Friday approached I was concerned because it wasnt in my account. So I called the corporate REP to find out the status. She exclaimed to me the refund for 540.59 wasnt processed and the store owner told her something was wrong with the system. So she finally rectified the situation and sent an email...but the store owner told her the amount was 340.59...which is 200 dollars less than owed. I responded back with the receipt for return and no answer. So I called back again and finally got another rep to put the right amount in. Whats concerning is that this location wasnt gonna call me to tell me the refund didnt process. The second concern is that that lied ans said the refund was 200 dollars less than owed. This was my first and last time purchasing from a Music and Arts location. Guitar Center and Chuck Levins will be my first and only choice going forward. I highly recommend not purchasing any equipment from this place. After reading other reviews Im seeing a trend..poor customer service, lying to customers, as well as poor instructors. I am a persistent person and I had to talk to 3 people at customer service to get my full refund. This process was exhausting. I have never had this at Guitar Center or Chuck Levins. Youve been warned. Trust the reviews. I didnt. read more

Update / you can see they responded and gave an email to make it appear they actually have customer service. Multiple emails and never a response to me. Never will step foot in this rip off place again. Local shops by local owners is what we use. Stay away Old review / These people are flat out liars. They lied about my rental plan details. They lied about being able to get a piano after renting a violin and sax. They lied about the value of the instrument I was renting and when I returned it the employee even said I just quit and my last day is this week as I can no longer lie to customers. I had $600 in rental credit and was told my by out for a sax that is worth about $500 - was $9 Do not ever shop at music and arts they are liars. I'm a member of the Recording Academy and sit in the DC Board. If anyone needs a real instrument and doesn't want to be ripped off, go to a real music store. read more

If I could I would not give any star to the music and art store in bowie. I had a piano class for 1 month for my kids, and they billed me for 2 extra months which I called to cancel and get a refund. they have refused to give me back my $400 refund, they have no customer service, and those in the store say they don't know how to refund the customer their money. I need help and I need my money back read more

I believe they have some good employees and talented tutors, but they were proven to be very unreliable. We originally scheduled 9:30 Saturday appointments and the first day the tutor shows up at 10. So we agreed to 10 o'clock appointments. We were originally told that we wouldn't have to pay for an upcoming Saturday that we knew were were going to be out of town. Two weeks later, we were told that wasn't their policy. We dealt with that. Strike three was when we rescheduled for 2PM today and the tutor didn't show up and no one notified us. All this occurred in just over a month! I give them 2 stars instead of 1 because the tutors really seem to care, but the communication and organization is just horrible. read more

I had a phenomenal experience renting my daughters flute. Overall the employees was very friendly, knowledgeable, and the process was very easy to understand. I received no hidden fees and the price was very affordable. The location is in Bowie Towne Center towards the rear a little pass the Macy's. read more

I definitely enjoyed my experience while looking for a guitar last week. The worker who helped me, Alfred was very knowledgeable of products. He has a passion for music and I can see it. Again thank you all for your great customer service! read more

A friend of mine forwards me information regarding a special. It seemed to too good to be true. A free guitar when you sign up for lessons! I walked in and was able to select frm several guitars. I had the pleasure of meeting Alfred, who patiently walked me through the purchase and to schedule my lessons. Everyone was so professional and personable. This was THE BEST BLACK FRIDAY EVER!! Looking for to meeting my instructor. read more

Do not entrust young "Impressionable" novice and beginner students to violin instructor Megan Mizumoto. She gets an A in discouragement and an F in encouragement. My 11 yr son just started violin in September. We started his very first weekly lessons on Nov. 7th. During the first lesson she criticized my son's orchestra teacher because my son didn't hold the violin properly. Lesson 4 (Nov. 28), Megan tells my 11 yr old son that "He's horrible." Who tells an 11 yr. that he's horrible? Who tells a student that's only been playing the instrument for 3 months that they are horrible?!? My son is crushed, he told me tonight that he didn't want to play violin Anymore! I called the Bowie store to cancel the lessons. I spoke to store rep Alex. Alex did his best to quote the store policy and mentioned that Megan is rough around the edges, but according to the cancellation policy I have to pay for an additional two weeks, and which credit card did I want to put the payment on. WTH? Alex tells me - it is my "Choice" not to bring my son back to Megan for the last two additional weeks - despite the fact that I paid for the month of November in full. If I choose to transfer my son to a different (More suitable) instructor, I will still be subject to the same additional two week cancellation policy. People - protect your impressionable kids from the disillusionment and discouragement that disparaging instructors like Megan Mizumoto dish out without thinking of the impact of their word on our youth. Our kids deal with enough negativity from bullies in school. We don't need to pay instructors to make our kids feel incompetent when they are doing their best. -Daniela B read more

Ordered something online and picked it up at the store. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. It looks like the store has been renovated since I visited there last and it looks nice. Definitely will come back. read more

Dreadful. This company is BEYOND INCOMPETENT. Seeking a guitar to surprise my husband for his birthday, the store told me they did not have what I wanted but could order it for me and it would be delivered to the store in 3-5 days. Two weeks passed, no call, no confirmation. I called the store, and was told even before I mentioned my name or the item that my order wasn't there. When I noted he didn't even know what I was looking for, he merely said, "There are no orders here at all." Ok... He next informed me there was no way to track orders, and that I would just have to wait until it shows up. When I pointed out that this was well beyond the 3-5 days promised and there was no apparent delivery in sight, he apologized but said I'd just have to wait. I asked to speak with a manager, and was told none would be available until sometime next week. He recommended I call M & A online customer service. After 35 minutes on hold, M & A CS brusquely informed me there was no record of my order and that store failed to place the order for me. Now, under the gun for the birthday event, I reordered the merchandise from another, most excellent, online company but had to pay Fed Ex shipping to get the gift on time. Two hours later, Bowie M & A called back and said, "Good news! Your package was here all along." "Bad news, " I replied. "Return it and credit my cc back the charge." You wanna bet they fail to do the credit? This company is pathetic. read more

Having been in several music shops, this place doesn't come near in quality and quantity of those places. Appears to provide music instructions and has a small quantity of a few instruments. read more

If you're renting an instrument, you might get decent service. Picking up a music book, accessories, etc... forget it! Get it together!!!

Staff was very helpful, and seemed knowledgeable. Reading over reviews is quite disheartening. Guess time will tell. For now 5 stars

Around 6/19/17, I submitted an inquiry, via the Music & Arts web site, about guitar lessons at the Bowie, MD store. On 6/22/17, 1:52PM, I received a call from Katie. I had just got out of the shower and needed to get dressed to get ready for work. I asked her to call me back in 10 minutes. She said she'd call me back later in the evening. I asked her again to call back in 10 minutes. I work 3-11PM and knew I wouldn't be able to talk to her if she called back after 3. She said she'd call me back in 10 minutes but never did. The next day, at 1:31PM, I called the Bowie Music & Arts store to follow up on my inquiry about the lessons. An employee named Amanda answered the phone. I explained to her that what I really wanted was a consultation with a guitar instructor, not to commit/sign up for lessons. I had taken lessons elsewhere for about a year and a half, and was still having problems with some techniques and just wanted to get a second opinion. I advised her that I would be willing to pay the cost of a lesson, just to meet and consult with a particular instructor who I had researched that morning. Amanda said she didn't know if he would just meet with me (vs. give a lesson), but that she could call him and find out. I asked her how long that would take, and she said she could call him "right now" and would call me right back. She never did. The next day or so, I submitted a complaint to the store manager, Joshua, via the Music & Arts web site submission form, about two of his employees not calling me back after they said they would. Joshua replied that he would look into it, and he did schedule a free consultation for me with a different instructor during their open house on 7/16/17. I responded back thanking him for this, but I also asked if he ever found out why his two employees didn't return my phone calls. That, he did not respond to. I believe that this may have been the second time I had asked him via the web site online submission form. Since he did not respond to my online request about my complaint about the two employees, I called the store on two different occasions to try to speak to him about it. I was told he was not in both times. I did not leave my name or a message. I figured if he didn't respond to one, maybe two, written requests as why the two employees didn't return my phone calls, he probably wouldn't return my phone call. If it had just been the one employee who had not returned my phone call, I wouldn't have bothered posting this review. However, I was not going to let a second employee not calling me back after she said she would, and then store manager ignoring my request(s) as to why go unanswered. read more

We love everybody at Music and Arts Bowie. From staff to teachers they are the best you will find.

This is an exceptional, user friendly store. We came to the store with the intent to upgrade the instrument for our daughter. The sales representative Mark is extremely knowledgeable and goes the extra distance to make us 100% sure we felt comfortable with our decision. Not only did he explain in detail the differences in the various levels of quality, but he also arranged for two other instruments from neighboring stores to arrive at their store just so that my daughter could personally try them out. Being able to physically hear the tonal differences made our decision that much easier. He certainly didn't have to do that, but went above and beyond. Lastly, his musical advice to my daughter was priceless, increasing her love for music and motivation to stay committed to practices. This store puts parents more at ease when making such big investments in their children's musical growth. I highly recommend checking this store out and asking for Mark's assistance. read more