Hawaii Musicworks

Reviews

• JD

  J Durnell

  Sep 24, 2025
  5.0
  Hawai‘i Music Works has been such a wonderful place for my daughter to learn piano over the past three years. Her instructor, Mr. Mark, has been patient, encouraging, and truly dedicated to helping her grow in both skill and confidence. The staff has also been welcoming and supportive every step of the way, making the entire experience positive for both my daughter and our family. Although we unfortunately had to end lessons due to school and extracurricular commitments, I am so grateful for the foundation she built here. I would highly recommend Hawai‘i Music Works to any family looking for high-quality music education and caring teachers who genuinely invest in their students’ success.
• JN

  Jennifer Nikaido

  Sep 21, 2025
  5.0
  After 10 years of keyboard lessons for both of my sons, I can confidently say that Mr. Mark, Ms. Kira and Aunty Dale have provided far more than just music education—they have helped shape the young men my sons are becoming. From the very beginning, the lessons were a place where my boys could not only grow musically but also build confidence, express themselves freely (often with a bit of silliness!), and connect with positive adult role models who genuinely care about their well-being. Mr. Mark and Ms. Kira have consistently gone above and beyond—taking an interest in my sons’ lives outside of music, encouraging their involvement in concert and marching band, and even supporting them through private school admission processes by authoring recommendations. Aunty Dale has provided consistent communication about scheduling and payment while always offering a welcoming smile to students and families as they walk thru the door. Over the years, Mr. Mark, Ms. Kira and Aunty Dale have celebrated milestones with us, offered guidance during challenging times, and shown a level of dedication that make them an extension of our family. Their presence throughout my sons' childhoods has made a lasting impact—one that goes far beyond notes on a page. If you're looking for instructors who are not only talented musicians and teachers but also compassionate mentors, you will find no better.
• JA

  JR Alvarado

  Aug 26, 2025
  1.0
  Update: Mr. Mark, To be clear, this was not a "misunderstanding." The issue isn't how your comments were interpreted, but the actions you took. You admit you used our daughter's playing as an "example" to critique another instructor. A child cannot separate criticism of her playing from criticism of herself. When you did that publicly, you made an example of her. A mentor's role is to guide and improve, not use a student to air a grievance. What did you truly gain by mentioning the other instructor at all? You could have simply guided our daughter and discussed any concerns with us privately. Instead, regardless of your intention, you stopped being her teacher in that moment and used a timid child as a prop to win a point. You made her a target, and your actions were unprofessional and deeply upsetting. Your explanation focuses on defending your intentions rather than taking accountability for the real harm you caused. Original: We signed up our daughter, who is pretty timid, for group piano here. Since she was a total beginner, we thought it would be a good way to help her get more confident and maybe find a new hobby. And at first, it was great. Her teacher, Mr. Mark, seemed to know his stuff and gave us good feedback. Our daughter was really getting into it, so we asked the school if they offered any one-on-one lessons. They told us they couldn't fit us in, so we decided to keep her in the group class here while also letting her try out a private teacher elsewhere. We were just trying to see which style she liked more. But everything changed at the last lesson. When Mr. Mark found out our daughter knew the intro to a song from her other teacher, his whole attitude shifted. He announced to the whole class that having two teachers "makes no sense," made her play it on the spot, and then criticized her performance. To make it even worse, when my wife came for pickup, he continued to argue his point with her right in front of our daughter, who was made to feel even more caught in the middle. The impact on our daughter was awful. She got home crying but couldn't even explain why she felt so bad. When I gently asked her what happened, she started shaking and said she felt sad and didn't want to talk about it. For a quiet kid like ours who was just starting to build her confidence, this was crushing. When we told the Dale, the director what happened, she just defended the teacher, calling the behavior "passion." There was zero accountability for how unprofessional it was or for the genuine distress it caused our child. We trusted this place to help our daughter love music, and instead, they created a memory that makes her shake. We’ve already pulled her out and are now just focused on helping her feel safe and confident again. If you're a parent, please take our story seriously.
• DR

  David Rosenfelder

  May 13, 2025
  5.0
  Our three girls have been taking lessons here for a while now and we have absolutely loved it. One is doing bass guitar, one is doing vocals and one is doing keyboard. All of the staff are super nice and crazy talented! If you're looking for a place to get music lessons for your kids (or yourself!), I wholeheartedly recommend Hawaii Musicworks!
• JJ

  jamie johnston

  May 10, 2025
  5.0
  Highly Recommend Hawaii MusicWorks! When I first inquired about beginner keyboard lessons for my son, I spoke with Aunty Dale. She is incredibly sweet and sets such a positive tone—it’s clear from the start how wonderful this place is! My son looks forward to his weekly group keyboard lessons with Mr. Mark. Learning alongside friends makes the sessions fun! He really enjoys getting to choose the songs he learns to play. In my son’s words, Mr. Mark is "patient, caring, and nice." It’s evident that he truly cares about his students. When my son felt stressed over a school assignment he didn’t understand, Mr. Mark actually went out of his way to help him. He was so happy to tell me about it. Happy kid, happy mom—Hawaii Music Works has been a fantastic experience for us!