Robert is my daughter's violín teacher, took my daughter a little over a year to be part of the…read morehonor orchestra at her school thanks to his guidance. great personality, will work with you and be accommodating if need be. great value!! you don't have rich to have an awesome violin teacher! we recommend him 100%

Robert Sorel is an outstanding teacher. He's a great player so when he demonstrates a passage or a…read moretechnique it really makes you want to achieve that sound! He progresses the student at an appropriate pace. He strikes a good balance between discernment and encouragement. The teaching is very individualized and he's excellent at spotting problems with technique. All that and he's a nice guy who's fun to be with and really wants to help you do well!

Kirkpatrick Guitar studio is a wonderful place to purchase a classical guitar…read more We were in search of my daughter next classical guitar - something to move up from her beginner instrument and Kirkpatrick studio came highly recommended from my daughter's guitar teacher. I really appreciate the time and personal service Mike (owner) provided us. We do not have much experience with music instruments and his expertise is exactly what we need. What impresses me most about Mike is his business approach. He asked for our budget for this guitar and he brought out many, many instruments within our budget for my daughter to try. I asked how much the guitars were and he said that he wanted my daughter to try each instrument without knowing price because knowing the price may influence how one feels about an instrument - You know...more expensive something is, the better we think it is :-). This was such a refreshing wonderful approach. We bought a guitar that was within our budget and my daughter absolutely loves. When it's time for my daughter to move up to the next level guitar, we will definitely visit Kirkpatrick Guitar Studio.

Kirkpatrick Guitar Studio is a great place to buy a classical guitar. The owner took time to find…read moreout what I was looking for in advance of my visit. He had a few guitars waiting for me when I arrived. Based on my comments on those guitars he pulled out others for me to try. I was given lots of opportunity to play each guitar and he also played them for me so I could hear them. He was very kind throughout the whole process and I ended up buying an outstanding used guitar. (he also had a great selection of new guitars.) After I agreed to purchase the guitar we spent some time talking about the large selection of strings he had available and he help me pick some so that I could try a variety of them out to determine what I like best. He also had a good selection of accessories and books, although it might be best to just purchase those over the phone or the Internet as he really doesn't have a regular store set up for browsing. A bunch of friends have also purchased guitars from him and all have had similarly good experiences. By the way I don't live in Baltimore, and found the drive to the shop very worthwhile.

"You can't shortcut the shortcut," he used to tell me. I came to him as a frustrated, self-taught…read moreguitar player, tired of the jam scene I grew up in and wanting something deeper and more thoughtful in music. I was in a hurry. I couldn't have done better than to learn under Larry Hoffman. Larry evaluated my skill set, listened to where I was and asked questions about where I wanted to go. I felt confident he could get me there. I wanted to learn the instrument all over again - start from scratch. I wanted to do it the right way this time. It was my choice, and Larry was obliging. He led me through a rigorous and disciplined regiment of theory and instrument exercises, as much as I could handle. There was no pressure - it was totally my pace, all the time. Larry did an excellent job encouraging my strengths, while also not harping on where I was weak, but if he saw I wasn't into it he could call me out on it right then. He knows how to get you where you need to be. What developed over a few years, for me, was more than the growing esteem I held for my mentor, but a deepening friendship with someone whom, I came to realize, is truly great. As I met his other students, I could see they all felt the same way. Larry is an acclaimed historian of storied blues legends, a protégé of the late, great Dennis Sandole, a producer, a composer in his own right, making his own way with his own vision. Larry knows the ropes and the corners. He is the shortcut. I recommend him to anyone who is interested to learn guitar and acquire the skills to master it.

At 18 years old I was a self-taught, play-by ear guitarist. I wanted to take my playing to the next…read morelevel so I enrolled for classes in Jazz guitar and music theory at the Peabody Preparatory School. I was pleased to meet my instructor, Larry Hoffman, who was approachable, authentic, humorous and down-to-earth. In just a few years of study with Larry, my guitar playing, knowledge of theory and songwriting improved greatly. Larry took me back to basics in an inspiring way infusing theory with his rich knowledge of music history from the masters to the blues. Larry opened up my guitar playing with exercises such as chording (and scaling) in 5 positions and improvisational jams where I was encouraged to explore. The skills I picked up from Larry remain present in my playing three decades later and I gig regularly in an acoustic folk-rock duo. Larry Hoffman inspired, encouraged and pushed me to become the best musician I could and I'm ever thankful. Michael Thiess

Bill is a talented musician and passionate guitar instructor. He has experience in folk,…read moreclassical, rock, and jazz guitar so he can tailor the classes to fit your goals. He offers individual and group classes to accommodate your budget.

I am a professional classical violin who decided to study voice. Bonnie was recommended to me by a…read morecolleague. Bonnie is not a cookie-cutter teacher. I've been teaching for very long time. I know the difference between a good instructor and a not-so-good instructor. Bonnie actually thinks about your students as an individual and designs explanations and techniques for the student to accomplish what is needed. I highly recommend Bonnie Lander as a voice instructor.

Bonnie is fun and easy to learn from. She helped me with relieving tension in my voice and is…read morehighly knowledgable and experienced in a wide array of settings including composed and improvised music.

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!

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.

My review is coming several years late but I was compelled to submit a review as I will be moving…read moresoon and I'm in the process of finding a mover for my piano, which I purchased from this store. This store came as a recommendation from my former piano teacher, Elizabeth B, when I started taking lessons from her. I had the most pleasant experience with Jarl, who I believe is the Executive Director. He showed me a variety of new pianos that were within my budget as I was on the "Rent to Own" plan. I ended up buying a beautiful Knabe upright, which still has it's beautiful color and shine after all these years. Jarl answered many of my questions after the purchase and arranged for a great delivery (I forget the name of the company but I should find out as I need them again to move my piano - LOL) that came within the time frame and it was quick and efficient. My piano teacher moved out of state and I now work closer to DC, otherwise I would sign up for lessons from here. Thank you so much Jarl and ARTI-ST! (Tor Wills aka Catrena Townes)

After two visits, I have come to the conclusion that this is not the music shop for me. I expect…read moreemployees of music stores to be familiar with all types of instruments, and that certainly isn't the case here. My first visit was for a new set of strings for my violin. I asked the person working at the counter to see their selection of violin strings and was given viola strings. While these two instruments are very similar, their strings are not interchangeable, and someone who works in a music shop should know the difference. My second and final visit was to get a shoulder rest for a 1/2 size violin. When asked to see the selection of shoulder rests, the staff had no clue what I was talking about. This is not acceptable of music store employees!! The staff should be very familiar with all products and should have basic knowledge of all instruments. I'm not a believer of the third time being the charm so I will not be returning to this store again. There are too many music shops in the area to have to settle for such incompetence.