Liz Wisniewski has inspired my daughter to practice and develop a love for playing the violin. Liz…read moremodels how to play while showing patience, knowledge and expertise. She works with my young musician to choose appropriate repertoire that she enjoys. We are thrilled to continue lessons with this talented teacher!

QueenEarth plays monthly at my yoga studio during our Happy Hour class. The vibe she brings to the…read morestudio is calming, nurturing and energizing. I always walk out with a renewed sense of connection to the beauty of soulful music. There's nothing fake about her persona, she's authentic in who she is, the music she represents, and her genuine desire to share the gift of music. As a community focused studio, I love her commitment to building a stronger, more supportive local community. And what I mean is a community that thrives on local/small business, art/music, education/youth empowerment, and connection with each other. I highly recommend QueenEarth for any of your music/education related needs. She conducts herself very professionally and is easy to work and share ideas with. She understands what we need and accommodates her self accordingly. She always prepared with promotional material and does a great job promoting our collaborative events on social media and other internet based channels. Thanks for all your time and energy QueenEarth! You definitely enhance the service we offer and we're thankful for the unique vibe you are bringing to the San Jose community.

I had to write an essay for a position I am applying and Melissa was amazing at not only making it…read morevery professional, but also making sure the essence of the essay didn't change. She was very patient and I was very impressed with her creativity.

Purchased my son's first electric guitar today and Logan helped us out. He was patient and helpful,…read moreand it was apparent he enjoys his work. We left the store feeling his excitement for my son's music journey.

They have a ridiculous policy on rescheduling lessons. They refuse to do so even when they are at…read morefault for the scheduling problem. It's clearly all about making money not customer service. The store is run by teenagers who don't care about customer service at all. There wouldn't have been a scheduling problem if the dates had been put in correctly by the staff the first time.

Nancy and Phil first and foremost put their customer needs first and have been a truly wonderful…read moreblessing for our son who is on the spectrum - they will go the distance to meet your needs. Their teachers go out of their way to help students that aren't even their own! Incredible atmosphere here. As a business owner myself, what I can tell you is that if you miss the days in which the business owners will try everything in their power to help you, and for them to actually care about you, the customer - this is the place for you. What you will ultimately get out of doing business with them will be the best you can hope to get anywhere nearby. The one negative review I see here - the writer strikes me as an impossible to please and/or passive/aggressive kind of person - my gut tells me he's crafted an intentionally exaggerated one-sided story because he was unhappy when he found out that his piano was not worth as much as he was hoping. Phil is in fact very polite, professional and upfront, so something doesn't add up in this story. When you come here and actually meet with Nancy and Phil, you'll understand. Other competitors in the area are also run by good folks, but Nancy and Phil are outstanding and are head and shoulders above. Check their Google Maps reviews and you'll see more praise for them. Highly recommended.

Phil with Maryland Piano was AWESOME! I contacted him on short notice to come assemble a Williams…read moreSymphony Grand II piano that I had ordered for a Birthday present. He drove out on June 26th and met my deadline for having it assembled in time for the surprise! Thanks again Phil! You were a lifesaver! I couldn't be more pleased. Hearing Phil play the newly assembled piano was an even greater treat! Maryland Piano definitely has all of my future business.

Probably more difficult than figuring out which guitar to buy when I decided to pick it up was…read moredeciding on a teacher. The internet is filled with many instructors with impressive credentials. What I noticed about Dave's website is that, unlike others who focused on what they know, Dave focused on how he would teach a student. There is that big, big difference between knowing something and teaching it, and Dave was focused on helping the student to learn. I have been with Dave for two years this month and am very happy with my choice. Yes, of course he knows how to play, and knows this intricacy of the fretboard and that intricacy of theory. But anyone teaching should know those things anyway. What I like about Dave, and why I highly recommend him, is that he is interested in getting me to play that way, and will go over a piece, or even a measure, as many times as necessary to get me there. Thankfully, he not only knows how to teach, but also possesses that most important attribute for someone in the field: the patience of Job.

I've been taking lessons weekly with Dave for over a year now. When I started, I'd never played an…read moreinstrument before--except for the trombone back in 4th grade band. Dave worked with me to help me learn how to read standard notation and tabs, get familiar with the fretboard, and begin developing as a guitar player. Dave's got an amazing depth of knowledge of styles and theory. He's helped me with flatpicking and fingerpicking styles, and I'm now able to play some rudimentary versions of Doc Watson and Rev. Gary Davis tunes. I want to emphasize that his help has allowed me to get there in just a year of playing--friends of mine who've been playing for years are surprised by my playing, and I give full credit to Dave. His greatest assets as a teacher, without a doubt, are his patience and encouragement. There's been hundreds of times when I've flubbed notes and chords over and over, and he's never once shown any frustration, but just said, "that's all right, take your time." He's passionate about the music he teaches, and that enthusiasm definitely inspires me to practice, practice, practice! Dave is friendly and knowledgeable, a calm and patient teacher, and an amazing guitar player. You won't regret picking Dave to teach you how to play!

I had a wonderful experience their with nice people and they had all my son needed thank youread more

Worst experience with this music school, both on the knowledge side and service side. The owner…read moreonly cares about the tuition and nothing else. We never saw his performance, even at recital. From our only five month experience, our kid can learn all the songs within couple weeks. After telling him that we decided to leave the school, we were told that we need to pay one more month tuition, and our kid didn't learn one new song. We then figured out he purposely cancelled our last lesson, which means we paid the whole last month tuition only with three weeks of class. I decided to write this review because I want to share our experience with everyone else. To be honest, I don't how he got voted as the best teacher in Howard County. There are many great piano teachers in our county.

We have had our children attend Columbia School of Music for 6 years since the oldest was 6 years…read moreold. We cannot thank Ms. Mary enough for the kind and effective piano instruction she has provided as well as her flexibility with accommodating our changing schedules. Would absolutely recommend this school for piano without reservation.

I have nothing but good things to say about Playtime Arts Academy! As both a student with the…read morecompany as a kid and then a teacher as a young adult, Playtime has served as a source of positivity and joy for me. As a student, taking lessons was always fun and enjoyable. It was always nice to have the yearly recitals for which to perform what I had been working on over the course of any given year. Such a great idea on the parts of Scott and Harlene McGowan, the husband and wife founders of the company. I did not expect to return to Playtime as a teacher later on in life, but as fate would have it, that is exactly what happened. And it was such a rewarding, enjoyable experience. It helped give me a sense of purpose and it was the perfect fit for me, as I already knew what it was like to be a student for the company. So I was able to relate my own experiences to those of my students and it really was a wonderful thing. The McGowans were great bosses just as much as they were teachers and I was paid decently, too! Playtime Arts Academy really has served as the go to company for music lessons in the Greater Baltimore area. What a positive impact the company has had on so many lives, including mine. Scott, you should be very proud. I 100% recommend!