I had a hard time finding this store, and almost gave up thinking it was closed or had moved. The GPS took me to a side of a building. I finally just walked around the area to find it. It has a small sign that does not catch my eye and is between a nail spa and a "cleaners". After all that I walked in expecting very little. A guy asked if I needed help and as I was still slightly miffed that it took me so long to find the place, I blew him off semi-politely. He kept asking and started joking but I wanted to hang on to being miffed a bit longer so I told him no thanks and continued to walk around. I found what I was looking for - piano music - but during this timeframe a young lady came in looking for an electric guitar. The guy behind the desk went right to work helping her, even though she tried to initially push him off as well. Within minutes he had helped her pick a guitar for the sound she was looking for, they were both sitting down and jamming, and he was showing her easier ways to transition between certain chords she was playing. Wow. The young man's name is Jessie. Absolute gold. read more

We highly recommended this location. Adam was fantastic. Awesome service, selection, and value.

This is a complaint about their billing department. I'm honestly too exhausted to provide every detail but the short version is their billing department needs a serious overhaul. Their customer service reps aren't on the same page. Each rep tells you a different thing. The credit card that I used to pay the monthly charge was hacked and I had a new card reissued. Of course this coincided with the billing date and a payment was unable to be processed even though I called to alert them and provide the new number. No phone call was received from them. The first notice I get is from their collections department. Yes, collections. I spoke to someone and they said they would reverse the late fees as a result of the situation and my attempts to inform. A month later, I discover "there are no notes in our system about this", you still owe these fees and your account is delinquent. I just wanted a zero balance at this point and had given up trying to get anything from them so I paid in full. Lastly, the last day of my daughters school year was 6/13 and my billing date was 6/10. I explained I would return the violin on 6/14 and they informed me that was ok because there was a 4 day grace period. Guess what? I return the violin and June's charge was on my account. I call and they say it's a 3 day grace period and "there are no notes that you were told a 4 day grace period". So I guess now I'm a liar. Ok. They say they will request a credit but can't guarantee. They never called me back to inform me of the status. I just called again and the lady cut me off and said "there is no grace period". I asked if I could please finish explaining so she was up to speed and she said "you can call back" and hung up. My daughter will need an instrument in the next few years and I will NEVER EVER EVER use Music & Arts. read more

I went to Music & Arts in Oakton, VA on December 20, 2022, to purchase some guitar strings, and to look at the inventory of Taylor acoustic guitars that were featured on the companies' website. This was my first time visiting this particular business. I was the only customer in the store and the employee was sitting behind the counter, appearing to be doing nothing. I quickly noticed that the Taylor guitars I came to examine were nowhere to be found, at which time the employee informed me that all of the high-end acoustic and electric guitars are only available online. The gauge of strings I was looking for was not on the shelf, and when I asked the employee if the store had more in stock he simply answered, "I don't know." Now becoming slightly annoyed, I asked him if the store intended to order the particular gauge that I was looking for, at which time he again answered, "I don't know." At this point, I asked if he would mind checking on his computer. He never did give me an answer. Settling for two sets of different gauge strings, each hanging on a hook that was clearly marked $6.99 each, I headed toward the register. The employee proceeded to ring up my purchase and I then noticed that he had charged me $7.99 each for the strings. When I told him that the strings were clearly marked $6.99 on the rack he stated, "Oh, sorry, those prices are supposed to be changed." Thinking that he would honor the listed price, since the strings were, in fact, hanging on the correct hook, he insisted on charging me $7.99. By this point I was thoroughly disgusted with the store, and the customer service I was receiving. Wishing to avoid having to drive all the way over to Guitar Center in Fairfax, I reluctantly paid the additional cost and left the store unsatisfied. I will NEVER return. read more

I wish I found the store sooner. We have two doing piano and one doing violin. The store is fantastic and has everything you need whether you're a season musician or a novice. Highly recommend the store and lessons! read more

Every time I visit, they thoughtfully provide great service. Today I gave up trying to tune my ukulele after using my guitar and electronic tuner failed me. I brought it in and they tuned it in just a few moments. When later I saw the notes represented on a scale, I learned a uk is not like a guitar!! Patient, courteous and always have what I've needed. read more

The music center is great and specially Mr B. He taught both my sons, he's absolutely amazing. Patient, professional and extremely willing to do all he can to help my sons. I am very happy with his services and recommend always to my family and friends. He loves music and it shows in the way he teaches. It's very important to have a patient teacher, he takes his time with the kids and gives them all the time they need. Mr B. Has many years of experience and is internationally renowned, he has an impeccable track record. He always does a wonderful Job in teaching kids and I highly and eagerly recommend him. read more

Music & Arts is a modest music store nestled among a bunch of other small stores in the Oakton Shopping Center by the big Giant. When you walk in, it feels like there is more space than actual items to buy but their selection is pretty decent. Jeff W was looking for a new trumpet case/bag - I believe it was because he was a bit jealous of the new French horn case I purchased earlier in the day when we were at the Chuck Levin Music Store in Wheaton. The sales girl was eager to help so she assisted him while I looked around the store. Shelves of music books were in the back, instruments in the front and to the right and instrument accessories adorned the walls on the left. I browsed some of the piano books and found ones that I had when I took lessons back in middle school and high school! It seemed like they had a good selection so if I were to have access to a piano, I'd return to pick up a new book or two. Jeff bought the new trumpet bag while I bought a cleaner for my FHorn mouthpiece. I appreciated that it was cheaper than the prices we saw at Chuck Levin's, however, the salesgirl was not as knowledgeable as the salesguys at CL ...but thankfully, not a lot of advice is really needed on a mouthpiece cleaner. I have to say - for the basics, like valve oil or slide grease or little music trinkets, come here. But if actually buying an instrument or something like that, this is not the store to come to. read more

We rented my daughter's violin from Music and Arts for years, and just over one month ago, we purchased her full size violin from them, before the holidays. Within a month of use, the string snapped and it broke the bridge in half during normal use, nothing out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to take it for repair at Music and Arts until a week after it snapped. They said it would take two weeks to fix the violin, and refused to give us a loaner, even though it was a brand new violin purchased from their store. I would not have minded - things break, it's fine, but when you've sold a violin that had a faulty bridge which snapped during normal use? You offer the loaner while your customers are patiently waiting and paying for repair. She's already been without her violin for a week. Luckily I called around, and found a place in Chantilly which could repair the violin quickly, and promised a loaner for any repair that takes over 3 days. As a general review, the store is clean and orderly, the variety of music sold is limited but engaging, and their rental program is easy to use. I would not flat-out purchase an instrument from this location again, however. read more

My daughter is taking guitar lessons with Mr B. at Music & Arts center in Oakton. The center is excellent with friendly staff and well equipped to provide all that is needed for the students to learn. Mr B is amazing. He loves music and is a talented musician and teacher. My daughter, is not only improving in her skills but is also growing her passion to music. I would definitely recommend Mr B. as an excellent teacher. read more

Rented a cello in Oct 2015 from Music and Arts Rockville Location. In the process, I made a $340.00 refundable security deposit. Contract clearly states that Music and Arts is to refund security deposit within 4 weeks of rental instrument return. Instrument was returned in excellent condition with all accessories and inspected by store employee upon return. Business failed to refund deposit within 4 weeks (after return on 6/11/16) violating its own contract. On 7/11/16, I called the corporate office customer service line and spoke to Nick on extension 1611. Nick tells me that it will take 45 days to obtain refund because it's the "busy season". Well I don't care if it's the busy season. My contracts says 4 weeks, it should be 4 weeks or less, not a day more. It's their busy season every summer so they should know to hire staff to process refunds. People report having waited as long as 8+ weeks to get refunded. I honestly believe that this business is involved in a widespread scam to defraud customers of security deposits and other unexpected charges. Their online reviews speak for themselves. It should not take more than 5 business days to process a refund in 2016. They could be pocketing the deposits or profiting from financial placements with the funds renters forgetting about. If this is not resolved, I intend to park my van right outside their Rockville store with a huge sign on it describing their business practices. I will study the parking regulations there to do this legally, even if I have to sit at Mama Lucia's next door for hours ordering drink after drink. I am interested in being contacted by interested class action attorneys about this business. read more

I went to Music & Arts in the Oakton, VA. store to try out a Yamaha saxophone, and the staff could not have been more accommodating. It was a busy Saturday morning, and they had the sax all ready for me to demo--though I decided to purchase a different sax, Jake and Keri made sure I was able to demo the sax and Jake readily answered my questions. I have been going to this store for years, and have had great work done on my saxophone as noted by other repair folks. I could not ask for better service from this store. Kudos to you folks! Sincerely, Ruben G. read more

Great place for kids and others learning music. The staff is very helpful and there are a large number of instruments to choose from. The only drawback is the super complicated billing setup for lessons. It takes longer to set up billing than to take a lesson. read more

I would like to complement the friendly staff and professional music teachers. Especially Mr. B. He is Amazing and has a magical way of teaching. He's a great asset to Music and Arts. Keep up the good work. read more

This may be the worst customer service I've had in years. First, when I asked the staff to show me how to put my son's instrument and stand together, the first two people at the Oakton store said they didn't know how to do it, and the manager said she was too busy to talk to me. Then there was some confusion in the start up of an automatic payment system, and when I called customer service to clear things up, I was put on hold for 15 minutes. When I finally got through they debited my card for more than twice the agreed amount, and then refused to call me back when I left messages about it. Today, when I finally called to discuss the error, they were so rude to me I literally wasn't allowed to explain -- the woman kept interrupting me. read more

Nate was extremely helpful in getting my 17yo daughter set up with a new set of drums. She works and saved her own money to buy a new kit. Very into drums, jazz band etc. Nate helped us find just what she wanted, was very knowledgeable and kept us from making any big mistakes. Daughter is very happy with her new drums. Thanks read more

Don't trust this company. They will continue to charge you after you return your instruments. We've been dealing with monthly multiple charges adding up to over $2,000 from them over the past year. Each time we call to address the situation, they promise it won't occur again, but it continues. They don't keep records or notes, and each time we call to address the situation it's a complete hassle all over again. The wait time is horrible, they find every excuse to hang up or not address the problem. Look at all their other yelp reviews for individual stores and you'll see a pattern of this kind of mal-practice. I've never left a yelp review in my life. But at this point, I'll be blasting every review platform this company is posted on. read more

Customer service here was the worst!! Comparing with the one in Mclean, we first rent the equipment out when my daughter started her class back in 2017 in Mclean store. Everything went smooth, no issue at all. The contract had been signed, we could exchange the equipment anytime or ended up we could buy it out. Yes, we did. We ended up buy it out including of the rent cost. It was over $1,xxx. I did buy out over at this store because it was very close to my house. When I first exchanged the size, the staff was very helpful, tried hard to sell the equipment. Yes, that made sense. I had been paying the rent which was lot of money. Therefore, I decided to exchange the size with buy out option. However, since I bought it out, my daughter really wanted the new one. I asked the staff, he said he didn't have a new one in stock. So, he needed to order new one, should take about 3-4 weeks. I had no problem with that, he committed to give me a call once new instrument was ready for pick up. I waited and kept waiting till almost 2 months passed. None phone call from them, and the class was about to started, I did have to stop by and asked. I met the lady and tried to explained my issue, she seemed to ignore us and just gave us a very hard time. I even asked if you need a receipt to show what we had paid. Guess what, she said it does not prove anything. What!?!? Took more than half an hour to look up on our record, and none of the note from the guy who sold us the instrument that we needed to exchange the new one. Ended up she found my name, but no new instrument had been requested, so my daughter had to wait another week. Miscommunication was ok to accept, but the way she treated us, I felt like we paid nothing. If your child need to rent out or buy instrument, I don't recommend this location. Try the one in Mclean. Services here was unacceptable, trust me! read more

Was overcharged for lessons and told by the store manager I would get a refund from "corporate"...never did.. I have been in 6 times with assurances that I would get money back and although I had signed up for only 7 lessons total, I was then charged in advance for the next month $128 that the manager agrees was in error but she cannot refund money and keeps blaming corporate offices. I would not enter a contract with them again.Very sleazy operation.Going to better business bureau. read more

Got my first guitar here. Everyone was friendly and helpful with helping me choose my guitar. We got a great deal with everything . Keri the manager was excellent. Superb staff in general read more

Awesome people, awesome staff...they helped is alot. I don't know what was the issue prior but the new staff is on point!

We began our journey here at Music & Arts last year with a great clarinet teacher (Stephanie). My daughter loved her and we saw the difference in her practices each week. Unfortunately, Stephanie stopped teaching on the day we could come for practice and they gave us another teacher. He was nice, but not as personable as Stephanie. This year we are back at for more lessons and we book our practices with Stephanie. Unfortunately, my daughter's schedule changed and so we went in to change the day of her practices. We were given a detailed receipt and given further instruction as to how to transition to the new day and time. We get to out new appointment and to our surprise they triple booked Stephanie. They had my daughter and the 2nd girl reschedule, but they kept the 3rd girl and let her have that practice time...even though we paid for that time 2 weeks ago. The conversation was rude and so disrespectful. I have never been talked to like that by someone I am paying. The young lady that schedules the appointments was very unprofessional. Today we ended our commitment with Music &Arts and will find another school for our daughter. Hopefully with a better outcome. read more

Our son had guitar lessons with Mr. B and we absolutely loved him. He helped my son grow not only in his expertise with different types of guitars, but also with different types of music. Mr. B is so friendly, patient, and kind. He is also an amazing musician himself. My son would still have lessons with him if he didn't go off to college. read more

I recently started working with the manager there about purchasing a new clarinet. She was very helpful in determining three options for my husband and I to choose from. We set an appointment to try the instruments with my son present to make the final choice. The process so far has been pressure free, and very pleasant. She also showed us the lesson studios, and now my son is interested in taking lessons. Great job! read more

I attempted to rent an instrument online through Music and Arts. I was told I would be contacted within 48 hours to pick up my son's instrument. Not only did someone not call me, but when i contacted the store, the customer service was terrible. I was not even asked for my first name- nor my child's name. They told me they would call me back, they did not. (I had already paid online for this rental) i called the following day, and was given the same run-around. I had to ask THEM if they needed my contract number. Once the contract was found, they informed me that "we dont' get a lot of online orders, so we didn't look". EXCUSE ME? i was then told that they had to resubmit the contract and it would be a week to ten days for the instrument to come in. I called another store and found out they had one that day. I called back Music and Arts to cancel my contract, the person on the phone gave me a phone number to call and then HUNG UP ON ME. Please do not give them your business! read more

In reference to their private lessons: I went to the store in July to arrange Sept school term flute lessons for my homeschooled child. I was given a time slot and day and told they would confirm in a few hours. Two weeks later I redid the whole thing and watched them confirm and then place the name physically on their wall calendar ( a cool invention!) We showed. She didn't. Two weeks running. Manager had teacher phone and confirm with me. Fresh slate. We go to our first (fifth) class. At end of class the teacher (in front of the manager) lashed out at us regarding her personal inconvenience of the class time. Bc my kid liked it/her we came back. Things rocked along with spotty classes occurring. We've been 3 weeks in a row with no teacher show and I noted our name has been removed from the big wall calendar. Staff and manager stand around looking confused when we point out the obvious that I've prepaid and she has once again no-showed. The whole place seems incompetent at one of their core skills: classes. I do not recommend. I can't figure out how to leave zero stars-- but that's my true assessment. read more