Hertfordshire Music Service Arvostelua 

We have been involved with Hertfordshire Music service for around 7/8 years. Both of my children have had instrumental lessons and been involved in ensembles at Mid Herts and more recently have been playing in County ensembles.
They have been taught by dedicated, passionate teachers and their ensembles have been led by inspiring, energetic musicians. They have always enjoyed their lessons and come away from the ensembles smiling, laughing and happily chatting with the other young musicians.

The staff at Mid Herts have always been so friendly and helpful, going above and beyond to help keep my children supported and playing. They have helped with music, timetabling, even ad hoc instrument repairs!

We were not a ‘musical’ family, but I wanted my children to have the opportunity to play, which is why we originally went to HMS. It has been one of the best decisions that I have made for them. The opportunities and experiences that they have had as a result have been life-changing. They have played at extraordinary venues, met wonderful musicians and developed a love of music that I could never have imagined for them.

As a direct result of their time at Mid Herts/HMS, my children were offered places at a specialist music school and at a number of junior conservatoires. They accepted their offers, but will continue playing with HMS at a county level - they can’t imagine not being a part of Herts music service still!

Five stars! My child takes piano lessons here and absolutely loves them. The piano teacher James , make learning fun, and it is wonderful to see how much joy they get from visiting the music center each week. Highly recommend!"

My son has enjoyed the music lessons at his school for the last year.

You are Professionals , outstanding, and my child got very good skills in a short time. You made him love music . Thank you for being a part of my child during school time. Wish you all the best
Kind regards

Absolutely fantastic teacher, but the inability to pay monthly means I have had to cancel those lessons as I cannot afford such high amounts of money so far in advance of the lessons being delivered. A real shame, as will be looking at lessons elsewhere where monthly payments are an option. HMS need to catch up in terms of payment options!

Fantastic teaching - my son thrives in his saxophone lessons with L.Miller.

Communication is always timely and useful.

A pleasure to deal with.

My daughter has been taking group violin lessons with HMS at Mid herts, and we have been very pleased with her progress. The quality of teaching is excellent, and my daughter's confidence and musical skills have grown significantly. Highly recommend!!

Hertfordshire Music Service sent the Trustpilot link to invite reviews of the Explore Beethoven day in 2026. It was excellent. It was aimed at primary school children who have instrumental lessons. Plenty were pre-grade-1 level instrumentalists who had never played in an orchestra before. The learnt to sing Ode to Joy, did some creative improvisation and the full orchestra played the opening of Beethoven 5. There were also fun quiz questions. A wonderful introduction to playing in an orchestra and an inspiring introduction to the music of Beethoven.

My daughter has been learning to play the flute for more than two years with Hertfordshire Music Service and her teacher has been fantastic - encouraging and supportive.
She is currently preparing to take her Grade 3 ABRSM exam in the summer and we've had clear and consistent communication throughout our time with the music service.

I echo what others have said about the requirement to make large payments well in advance of lessons, followed by fairly aggressive cancellation warnings if payment is not made within 14 days. A more reasonable approach would be to offer flexible payment options, as is common with most children’s clubs, or at least align payments more closely with the term itself.

My experience with the lessons has also been inconsistent. Since joining, there has been at least one cancelled lesson per term. More concerning was an extended teacher absence in February, during which no replacement was provided. This was not a last-minute issue—there was sufficient notice—so it is difficult to understand why cover could not be arranged.

The default response from HMS is to rely on their terms and conditions and issue credits or refunds for missed lessons. While this addresses the financial aspect, it fails to account for the disruption to a child’s learning and the loss of continuity, which is arguably the more important issue.

I have suggested that a more effective solution would be to put a contingency plan in place, such as having cover teachers available to step in at short notice. This is a fairly standard approach in many services and would help ensure continuity for students. While unexpected illness is understandable, the frequency of cancellations experienced suggests a more proactive system is needed.

Overall, the current approach feels overly administrative—focused on payments and refunds—rather than on delivering a consistent and reliable learning experience for students.

Edit:

Their below response is an absolute red flag for anyone viewing this. plenty of waffle about appreciating the feedback with the 'promise' of reviewing processes but have failed to do this since the first negative review in July 2025 about the challenge with payments. seems theyve been doing a lot of 'exploring' regarding payment options probably why they need the money. Its a classic copy and paste response to ensure the algorythm works in their favour (ensuring they have a response to all comments). Firmly moved me from 2 star response to 1 star.

My child really enjoys the wind band sessions at Bishop’s Stortford Music Centre. Friendly tutors, great atmosphere, and a big boost to their confidence. Highly recommend!

As Christmas approaches we have attended the fourth of the concerts that my children have played in during the course of December. Although not all of these concerts were arranged by Hertfordshire Music Service, all of them were enabled by it because of the fantastic teaching that they have given my children. I cannot praise the teachers at this music service highly enough: they have turned my children into accomplished musicians, given them the confidence to perform in public and just as importantly provided them with a wonderful community of other musicians of all different ages drawn from many different schools in the local area and created lasting friendships in the process. HMS has given my children such amazing experiences performing in such a variety of venues. We are so fortunate to have had access to this music service and the teachers who work for it.

My child really enjoys the Sing, Make, Play sessions! The staff are friendly and welcoming, and each session is fun and creative. It’s a great way for kids to explore music and build confidence. Highly recommended!

Wonderful experience with HMS. The teaching is fantastic, and my child looks forward to every lesson. I really appreciate how clearly and promptly the team communicates. I'm always kept in the loop, which makes a big difference as a parent.

I found the whole experience quite bizarre. You ask to borrow an instrument and no one gets back to you. Even when chased. Then all of a sudden you get 14 days to pay a bill and lessons start. Without an instrument. So then you have to purchase that as well. Lessons were good and teacher seemed nice. Then another bill hits without a pay day within the 14 days.
Customer service is shocking. You ask questions and you are thanked for your feedback without them actually giving you any answers
I don’t believe this is making music ‘available to all’. It is just as easy- if not easier to find someone local to have private lessons with and not have to fork out £200+ 9 weeks before the lessons even start. It’s a shame as I have now pulled both my kids out of lessons with hms.

My son absolutely loves his guitar lessons with Hertfordshire Music Service! His tutor is fantastic—encouraging, skilled, and makes learning fun. Communication from the team has been clear and supportive throughout. Couldn’t be happier with the experience!

The teachers are good and very helpful. But I don't understand why the payment request has to be so early, and there is no direct debit monthly pay system. I have just received an email demanding payment within 14 days for the term starting in September. That's £300+ demanded in 14 days!!!! A direct debit with a monthly payment would be more convenient and demonstrate greater compassion from HMS. Seems like a heartless organisation.

The music teacher is great and when I contact her directly she always comes back to me in a timely manner. She has has helped me chase HMS when I didn't get a response. Unfortunately it is very difficult to get a response from HMS. I was chasing the hire team for 2 months and spoke to the same person 3 times before they suggested hiring from another company because they couldn't get in touch with anyone from that department.

HMS has been a great service for my daughter. She has thrived under Mr Winter's tutorship and is really enjoying her piano lessons.

I’ve been really impressed with the music service—not just the quality of the lessons, but also how clear and timely the communication has been. The staff are incredibly helpful and committed, and my child has really benefited from both the lessons and the group activities.