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February 2020 by Win Maung
Best place around
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August 2018 by Katie Long
We've been attending SMID for just five months and Ms. Rhea has already had a tremendous impact on my son. I look forward to many more years!
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May 2018 by Kelly Gandy Olson
SMID has an Excellent atmosphere, phenomenal teachers who dedicate so much time to their students.
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September 2016 by Pamela C.
This school builds children that are strong in character and discipline, and it builds musicians that love to play music!
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May 2015 by Michelle B.
My daughter has been attending the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas since 2004 with Dr. Bret Serrin as her piano teacher. This summer will mark her 12th year of playing the piano. When she was four, I researched the Suzuki method thoroughly and visited some summer institutes to observe lessons with her. She was part of the decision to learn to play the piano, even at her young age. In this method, students learn an instrument like they learn a language. They listen, the teacher models, they practice at home with a parent as their "coach" when they are young, and they learn to LOVE music, their instrument, and develop such a sense of pride and accomplishment. I am very surprised to learn through Yelp reviews that some families have had experience with competitiveness and the desire to move students along, even if they are not ready. In all of these years, we NEVER once experienced this. The goal has always been for my daughter and all students to move forward at the pace that is appropriate for that individual AND for all students to celebrate the levels and accomplishments of everyone. From the youngest little "Twinkler" to the the advanced students, the monthly piano "Play-Ins" provide a chance for all students to perform with pride, grace and poise. It is true that the Suzuki method is a significant commitment, but the results and the sheer love of music that the students experience are unparalleled! My daughter, who is going to be 17 soon, commented recently that she would rather cut off her left foot than stop taking piano lessons with Dr. Bret. I took lessons with my daughter when she was in Book 1, and it gave me such an appreciation of the difficulty and dedication involved in learning to play the piano, that helps me now as I attend her lessons and take notes now that she is in Book 6. We no longer benefit from the Group Lessons and the Theory Classes because we moved to California. But, we take "instrument only" lessons with Dr. Bret via Skype. At this age, I just attend the lessons, take notes on what she needs to be working on during the week, and the rest is up to her. Instead of monthly play-ins and the final recital, she performs at local retirement homes about four times a year and has done two formal piano concerts at Saint Mary's College for her Book 4 and Book 5 graduations. I can't say enough good things about the Suzuki method and the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas! I highly recommend this school for anyone serious about learning an instrument, loving music, and having a community.
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January 2015 by Aimee V.
As an experienced musician myself, I searched for the perfect music teacher for my own budding young musicians. I am beyond thrilled with the Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas. This school has phenomenal teachers, fabulous group music classes, and unparallelled theory and composition training. All their students study individually with instructors as well as in ensemble settings, and all take separate theory classes. They perform at least 4 times per year, which is great practice! It's a wonderful music community, one I only experienced when I got to college! I wish they had had a school like this when I was a child! We are not planning for our children to be professional musicians (and indeed I am not, either), but I appreciate that my children are in an environment that maximizes their potential. My children play piano, and it has always been fun, move-at-your-own-pace, and encouraging. My little ones are pretty sensitive, so negative pressure or stress would really turn them off--but they love this place and all their teachers, and happily skip into the building each week! The classes and the practice are definitely a time commitment, but the kids love it, and we are committed to making music an integral part of their lives. There is excellent instruction for all levels, from pre-schoolers and young children (like mine) through high school. Some of their recent graduates have gone on to study music at Juilliard and the Eastman School of Music.
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October 2013 by Kara C.
I drive 45 minutes each way to bring my 3.5-year-old to this school twice a week. My husband plays an instrument and had heard good things about SMID from some fellow musicians, so we took our daughter for a trial lesson when she turned three to evaluate the school and prospective teacher, and so the teacher could evaluate her readiness to begin learning an instrument. We got stuck in traffic that first evening, and it took us over an hour to get to the school - I recall thinking to myself when we finally parked, "we'll go in just to be polite because we have an appointment, but no extra-curricular for a child this young is worth this commute!" About 10 minutes into the trial lesson, I completely changed my mind. I had never seen my daughter respond so intently to anyone or follow instructions so willingly. The teacher was amazing with her and clearly had a lot of experience working with young children. We began lessons a few weeks later and are so happy to be part of the SMID family. I will admit the school requires more of a commitment than we had anticipated when we started the search for a music school. We were so impressed with our initial experiences, however, that we decided to go all in and give it a fair try - the tuition is not insignificant, which in my mind, was all the more reason to take it seriously and put in the time and effort to practice daily, listen to the CD, and participate in the full range of classes and activities the school offers. We have not been disappointed. While getting a child that young to practice an instrument daily can be a challenge, I truly believe my daughter and I have grown closer through the experience, and I have seen an amazing transformation in her as she has mastered new skills and begun to develop her own relationship with her instrument. She looks forward to her lesson, group class and music theory class - in fact, I often have to bribe her to leave! Every time I'm at SMID I hear the sounds from all the studios and see kids of all ages playing, doing homework, sharing a snack, practicing their instruments, making music together, and just generally hanging out between classes, and I think to myself what a wonderful "second home" this is for the students.
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October 2013 by Ray C.
I am an alumni of this outstanding music school! In all the 10 or more years I was there, I never felt anything resembling competitiveness. I read about these parents feeling competition?? what? Obviously my parents had it right....if there is competition, it is the parents perception. Maybe they did not know how to practice with their kid. I will send my children and my grandchildren to the Suzuki Institute of Dallas . It was the happiest time of my life and even though I am a doctor now, I will always alwyas play my violin. It is my life
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July 2013 by AM T.
We decided to enroll my son in Suzuki Music Institute of Dallas because we believe strongly in the Suzuki method. I did not agree with the contract committing us to remain in the school for a full year. I also was disappointed in the Parent Education classes, finding the information inadequate, especially since I have been trained as a Suzuki violin teacher. However, it was important to us for our son to have a good experience and to learn using the Suzuki method and agreed to use the school. I was sorely disappointed with the experience. His group class had 30+ students, which did not allow for any individual attention. Additionally, the group teacher (not his private teacher) focused her attention on her students. She only spoke to my son once in several months. The teacher required that parents remain in the group room, and expected younger siblings to be present and silent. Obviously this is not realistic and caused great tension for the parents. While we believed strongly in group lessons, we considered removing our son because we did not feel that the teacher was kind to our child. When we decided to swtich from violin to viola we were faced with more frustrations. Our son was now in a smaller group lesson, which was great, but the school did not provide space for the teacher to hold the group lesson. She held it in her room, which was not an adequate space. The school is very violin-focused and did provide support for violas at all. Even the parents and other students often ostracized the viola students. The final blow came during the last concert. The teacher who organized the concert reserved seats for all of the performers except for the young violas. I was appalled that she forgot this group of children completely. The program was not split between the instruments and the cellos, violas, and harps had significantly less time on stage than the violins. This is exceptionally frustrating because it is quite easy for all of these instruments to play in the same key, yet the director intentionally gave 2/3rds of the time to the violins. Yet, not all of our experiences were negative. The support staff at the school is kind and has learned the names of all the students. Additionally, Dr. Karl - who teaches theory - is an excellent teacher and the students seem to love him. The school moved to a new location and was intentionally on providing the children with a quiet room so they could do homework. The parents in the viola group formed a cohesive group. Finally, my son's individual teacher is amazing and has been an invaluable resource for our family.
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January 2013 by Lee M.
I've had two kids enrolled here; one in the string dept., and one in the piano dept. This school has a lot to offer, but it is not for everyone. First of all, you really need to do your due diligence on the method itself; then again on the teacher in question. Not everyone teaches the Suzuki method in the same manner. This school as a whole, especially the string department, comes off as somewhat cultish. Dr Suzuki was a dear soul, a good motivator and an inspiration to many. He was NOT a great musician, nor a great technician. If you are looking for a place where your chid will receive a pre-fab, one-size-fits-all musical education complete with a LOT of pressure to keep up, in a school that has a cliquish environment, and asks the parents constantly to donate of their time and money (in addition to all of the daily practice), then this might be the school for you. They like to say that it is a "family environment", but it never came across that way to me. The fact that they require you to take a "parent training" class before allowing your child to take lessons should speak volumes. It is not optional, even for parents who are highly trained musicians. It is about indoctrinating you in the concepts taught there, many of which are questionable. They expect you there for three hours a week, for your private lesson, your group lesson, and the theory class, which makes participating in other extra curricular activities difficult. (BTW, the claim that things have changed since earlier years are only partially true.) One up side to this school is the fact that you will not be alone in your efforts. You might feel like you are in the army, but you will certainly know exactly what you and your child are supposed to do, and how often. If you have no experience with music at all and just want your child to get some, then I can recommend the piano department with good conscience. The piano teachers all seem well informed as to proper technique, whereas the string teachers are hit and miss. (You may not think that it matters, but it does. Playing with poor technique year in and year out will take its toll in the end, both on the music, and on your child's body.) (An aside: Strangely, one teacher REQUIRED me to purchase an additional "practice c.d." they made themselves, designed to keep us in line at home.) Another positive is that there are many opportunities for your child to perform, which is nice. However, you should be warned that there is a lot of pressure for the students to move ahead, regardless of readiness, which often results in a poor performance. If your child does not have a good experience performing, their enthusiasm will wane. Afterward, they will have to face their teacher's disappointment (which is totally unjustified, because they are the one responsible for the child performing a piece beyond their ability in the first place.) As a parent, you need to remember that YOU are ultimately the one who will decide if your child is ready to perform. Don't give in if you have doubts. Another plus is that a lot of thought has been put into the repertoire. More so with the string books, than the piano, IMHO. It is nice that the kids get to play REAL music, right off the bat, rather than some of the silly pieces that are published in other methods. That said, you will want to make sure that the teacher in question is willing to break with the designated Suzuki repertoire. Their books are lain out according to "teaching points," which develop a specific skill. The progression of skills taught in the string books is impressive. Every child is different, however, and if your child needs to re-enforce a certain skill, which could be accomplished by using other repertoire, but you are stuck with a teacher who refuses to break with the Suzuki Book, then your kid will be one of those kids who does not get a solid foundation and later flounders. It seems that the piano department was more flexible with this than the string department. This begs the question: "If yo
