Desert Ridge Music Academy

I'd like to give my perspective as a teacher here for the last 7 years: The leadership here at DRMA is wonderful. Charge and Dave, co-owners, really stick true to how they believe owners should act. They are always fair and care about their mission to help anyone learn the music they want to learn. Charge has an open door to be able to talk about everything from tax advice for his employees to the best method books on guitar/drums for students. Dave is often seen fixing a door handle, helping a student with a complicated question, and then stopping by a teacher's room because he remembered the name of that book recommendation he wanted to give you, all within 10 minutes. They are both willing to come into a lesson to help co-teach a student who, say, may be afraid to step on stage, and will talk about their own experiences openly and with compassion. Susan at the front desk will always be there to help, and if she thinks you're having a rough day, will stop what she's doing to make sure you feel heard. The entire team works together to go above and beyond to make sure everyone has what they need to succeed. Everyone - parents, teachers, and students - are always welcomed in with a smile, a joke, or asking how that swim meet this weekend went. You won't find a more welcoming environment than this. I'm honored to be a part of their team.

We have been part of this academy for over three years, and I have nothing but respect for the staff, teachers, and the entire community. My son is learning piano, and my daughter is learning violin. While my son has had some amazing teachers in the past, his current teacher, Ms. Carrie Lynn, is incredible, to say the least. She is incredibly caring and goes above and beyond to bring out the best in my son. During a casual conversation about piano opportunities, she took the initiative to introduce me and my son to the director of Young Sounds the very next day. She encouraged my son and me to visit the studio to experience the program firsthand, and he absolutely loved it. Now, he is practicing diligently to prepare for the upcoming auditions in May. If Ms. Lynn doesn’t have a student after his class, she generously spends an extra 10–15 minutes helping him prepare. We all love her, and we couldn’t have asked for a better piano teacher for our son!

Wanted to share my appreciation for this music school. Our trial session wasn’t "great" but I have no complaints. The young man that we got just wasn’t the right fit. We were then directed to Carrie Lynn. We’ve been with her ever since. She’s super patient, fun, and can be strict when needed… which I don’t mind at all. Sometimes my son needs to be corrected. She gives us full reports when the session is done and provides her email reports via email with fun links for review. I think what I like most is she finds ways to relate to my son which keeps is attention. My son is learning lots and is improving each session. Thanks Carrie Lynn!

I have known Carrie Lynn for three years as her student at Desert Ridge Music Academy and have nothing but positive experiences with her. Carrie Lynn is an excellent teacher who cares about her students. She takes time to get to know me, and she works on specific skills with me. I have grown tremendously as a musician with Carrie Lynn's help and know she will be an amazing music teacher for any student.

Both my kids come here for over 2 years, great management and staff, teachers are great and have great connection with the kids. Feels like family!

About a year ago i was looking into getting my kindergartener into music lessons. He showed a lot of interest in singing, so after asking friends and family for recommendations, we found Desert Ridge Music Academy. Susan was super helpful in getting us familiar with how the school worked and found us a good time slot for voice lessons with Miss Carrie Lynn. My son is often anxious and timid and she put him quickly at ease. I could see confidence building in him as lessons went on, and during one session i watched him perform a song he had worked hard on. Miss Carrie Lynn encouraged him to sing loud and he enthusiastically said, "i want people to hear me sing!" Not only was his confidence boosted, but i could hear the improvement in his singing. We’re now taking piano lessons with Miss Carrie Lynn and she keeps him engaged and motivated with fun lesson plans. She’s clearly skilled in what she teaches, but also has a good sense of his strengths and areas he could use work on. She checks in after every lesson to review what they had gone over and how the work is building towards when things get more challenging. I get an email from her outlining the same information through the school portal, and i’m also able to follow up and ask questions. I’m very happy with the progress my son’s made with DRMA and Miss Carrie Lynn and highly recommend them!

Such a disappointing experience. Signed my 5 yr old daughter up for a trial singing lesson with Carrie Lynn "the collegiate teacher" Van Winkle. When we arrived, we were greeted by a very pleasant woman and given a nice tour but then, unfortunately, the "lesson" was about to start. It began by overhearing Carrie Lynn’s brash interaction with the people before us telling the young girl, maybe 10 or younger, and her mom how much work she needs to do. We then introduce ourselves and she seems annoyed by us and our young daughter. My daughter goes in the room alone for about 15 min until we are asked to join. Carrie Lynn then tells us how she normally teaches at the collegiate level, is such a "music theory nerd" and then starts to criticize my daughter’s pitch, the words would be wrong, etc. She then criticized her inability to read and said that singing lessons wouldn’t be fun because it would basically be reading lessons at this point. I could slowly see the smile and the light on my daughter’s face fade. The drive home was as fun as you could imagine for a 5 year old who just had her dreams crushed. So here’s to you Carrie Lynn, the Simon Cowell of Desert Ridge, may you have a long, illustrious career destroying hopes and dreams of young children exploring an interest in music.