Drum lessons from Sol started 5 months ago. -Full disclosure- Ive never hit a drum head before And Honestly, walking in the studio I thought to myself that this is probably going to be a brief episode in my life. Little that I know I'll be meeting Sol. A very engaging eccentric personal! His attitude towards the craft and towards me(the pupil) really applies and sets oneself to improve and develop. I've never imagined I'd be at this level of playing in only 5 months. Workin and learning from Sol is a trip Leave aside the array of musical skill the guy possess He adds on content to any subject I bring to the table. Highly intellectual and interesting person. read more

Music lessons with Sol continue to be rewarding for my now 11 year old daughter, although she would never admit it! We highly recommend Sol for his engaging piano lessons. Through learning piano with him, my daughter has developed her own appreciation for playing the piano and every now and then, will seek out new songs on sheet music and learn on her own. Sometimes she'll even piece together different songs to make her own mashup, lol. It's also amazing to me to see her sight reading and playing a new song on the fly when someone asks - such a wonderful skill. We all enjoy the live piano music at home! Much thanks to Sol! read more

My daughter has been taking lessons with Sol for the last two years. He was recommended to us by a friend of ours who drummed professionally and took lessons from Sol as well. Sol is an excellent teacher who takes students through a natural progression of skills. He has improved my daughter's technique each week, expanding her repertoire in genres including rock, shuffle, and blues, and it's amazing what she can perform now compared to when she started. He tailors lessons to the needs of his students, and he use his own material for each week's assignments. Sol is very personable and has a great sense of humor. I highly recommend Sol for drum lessons. read more

I had my first Plano lesson with Sol and will be returning on a week for another. He is friendly and quickly analyzed my existing limits skills and moved into demo and some practice assignments. I think he focused very clearly on who I am and what I need to do to get started with jazz piano read more

About 6 months ago I decided to find a creative outlet to the stress brought about by work, the pandemic, and life in general. Although I had never played drums, it seemed like the perfect solution. So I researched for an instructor who was skilled, trustworthy, and reasonably priced. Sol's studio was one of the first that popped up but, as a female, I had my reservations about going to someone's home. After reading some reviews, I decided to give Sol a try. Best decision ever. Sol is a really great guy. Down to earth, funny, and unimposing. His studio is in his home where he teaches piano and drums. His family is around, and it's a lovely neighborhood with plenty of street parking. His drum studio is in the basement, and he's set it up so that there is appropriate social distancing. In terms of his skill, Sol makes drumming fun. I will never be a professional drummer but I'm already having fun playing along with friends in our garages. I'm challenged but in a way that makes learning fun. I highly recommend Sol. read more

Sol is a very good teacher. He quickly noticed my son's ASD. He taught my son accordingly. When he struggled with Classical piano, Sol said "Let's try Blues and Jazz". Again it was better suited to my son. While there are many music teachers out there Sol was the first we tried. He nailed it. We looked no further. Check Sol out. The first lesson was 1/2 price ! read more

I have seriously enjoyed taking drum lessons with Sol. As a young woman I greatly appreciate Sol's ability to create a safe and respectful learning environment, one which I look forward to each week. He challenges me to keep working and improving and I have found that his lessons with music extend and apply in other areas of my life as well. Learning how to play the drums has been a blast-- I highly recommend seeing Sol for music lessons. Also, traveling to Sol's from downtown Chicago has been an ease. I have always been able to find street parking right in front. I can take the blue line when I don't feel like driving, too. read more

I've always loved listening to drums and percussion, but it wasn't until my late 40s that I decided to pursue actually learning to play. If you're 35 or older, please read on! At first, I tried a handful of lessons with a few different instructors -- all very enthusiastic and talented young drummers -- but I soon found that I needed a teacher that is able to understand the psyche of a 40-something learner. I was looking for a mentor that could create a dynamic plan according to my ability, schedule, and other life and work commitments. Sol does exactly that. His approach teaches the foundational, essential rudiments of drumming, but he's also able to flex or scale on demand. Often I don't have the time to practice prior to having our lesson, and instead of cancelling or repeating previous lessons, we take scenic tours through conceptual territory. Don't misunderstand-- the only way to become proficient is to practice regularly, but Sol intuitively senses when rigor is counterproductive for me. He creates a new, temporary path for me that gives me a chance to learn about the other aspects of being a musician. Playing well with a band, being your "own personal mixing board," and the role of a drummer are just a few examples of lesson topics that you don't see much of on YouTube. In summary, my lessons with Sol are fun and challenging, and I always feel inspired at the end. Sol has been a great mentor, coach, and even a philosopher and counselor at times. Highly recommended for students of all ages. read more

Oliver (aka Sol) is an amazing instructor. I've been working with him for several months now and am very happy with my progress. He's also very flexible with scheduling and really knows his stuff. He has tailored his lessons specifically to what I have been interested in learning and has been very communicative along the way. read more

My grandson, who has ADHD in spades, takes drum lessons at this school. He likes it very much, and the teacher, Mr Garnier, is very patient considering the child is quite difficult to teach. As a music teacher myself, I can see that he is working every angle to see that this child responds positively to his musical instrument. I am particularly grateful for this, because the boy needs probably more than the average child when it comes to a tactical approach. I recommend the school to anyone who wishes to learn the drums. read more

Sol is not just an amazing teacher -- he is a great person, a true professional, and our 10 year old loves his lessons. We first heard about Sol from another music center, where our son took lessons as part of a large rock n' roll group class. Some of the young drum teachers there told us Sol is who they and other pros learn from. We quickly found out why: not only he is a great teacher, he holds our son accountable if he hasn't practiced and lets him know when he is on track. He involves the parents as much as they want to be involved --without pushing, and he teaches an appreciation for the music and music history right alongside the techniques. We transitioned for a while to virtual drum classes using Skype during the initial quarantine, and are now back in person since Sol is committed to social distancing, masks for everyone, and best practices regarding cleaning between students. We wholeheartedly recommend Sol, and consider ourselves very lucky that our son has such an excellent mentor to learn from. read more

I am also baffled by the rave reviews. It started out well but when my active 14 year old didn't do all the assignments, Sol asked him if he had a learning disability and if he was on meds. If I had not heard it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. As an educator, I immediately addressed him. He plays drums well and my son was learning a lot, but he really needs to work on his approach in teaching. read more

Awesome drum instructor! Sol is my first music teacher. I began lessons with him in November of 2014 and have been going pretty regularly since. He has made learning drums very enjoyable with his great sense of humor and his exemplary knowledge of music in general and percussion in particular. read more

Fantastic drum teacher! I started taking drum lessons from Sol for about one year, I'm very impressed with his creative teaching style, he'll challenge and motivate you towards your goals. But it's done in such an enjoyable way. Before you realize it your playing the drums and understanding the concepts behind it. I highly recommend Sol as your drum instructor. read more

Nobody better. My son has been studying with Sol for 3 years now. Its because of Sol's high energy, drive and expected accountability that my son has improved in music week over week. Sol has so much to offer. He teaches technique, reading, theory, performance, all different styles from Latin to jazz to rock and double bass....he delivers in all disciplines. He also teaches band skills, how to audition, shares knowledge based on years of experience. He's simply fantastic and we are grateful we have the opportunity to study with him. What we like most about Sol is his integrity as a teacher. He won't let you go...you are accountable to your lessons. He works hard for you and expects you to work honestly on the assignments he has given. He stretches you but never beyond your abilities. If you're serious about learning music, you will not be disappointed. Highly recommended. Thanks!! read more

Sol is a truly wonderful teacher. I've been taking drum lessons for the better part of a year now, and it's been exactly what I was looking for. I'm a 40-something adult who studied music all my life, and was already fronting a local band. And though I love rhythm and have always thought playing drums looked like the most challenging kind of fun, I'd not yet ventured to really try it. Then I did a little google search and found Sol. He pushes me to keep improving and growing my knowledge, skills and confidence each week - and we always have a great time too. Sol is incredibly professional - he has created a safe and comfortable environment that, as a female showing up at a male stranger's home-studio for the first time, put me at ease right away. Along with that - my lessons are always filled with fun and laughter - Sol has taken the time and care to get to know my personality so he can push me to improve each week, yet not let frustration sneak in the door, which is all too common when learning any new skill. And we have a great time just talking music and bands. He's just the best kind of teacher you could hope to find! read more

Sol is a stellar teacher. I have been playing for 30 years and was looking to add to my scope of playing styles. Sol not only helped me with jazz and brush techniques, but added a lot of useful tools to my rock & funk styles. He approaches the drums not only from a technical view but more importantly from a musical view. I would highly suggest Sol - I studied music through grade school, high school and was a music major in college. He is by far the most engaging instructor I have work with. read more

Sol is a great teacher to my six year old son. My son really enjoys the drums and his confidence has gone up from his experience with him. He is very intuitive when it comes to children and is very patient and encouraging. We have been with Sol for about 8 months so far and my son is really excelling. I highly recommend Sol for anyone looking for lessons. Pricing is very reasonable. read more

TL;DR This is your new drum teacher. I'd wanted to play drums my entire life, but as a child my parents said it was too loud and said I could play guitar instead. After devoting my entire childhood to playing guitar I never felt a huge passion for it nor could I get the drumming bug out of my system. I downloaded an iPhone drum set app (which I played for, quite literally, hundreds of hours), had some of my friends in high school teach me basic chops, and finally bought myself an electric kit senior year of high school after I saved up enough money with my fry cook job to buy the cheapest piece of crap from Guitar Center. I went to college at Northwestern University, and my move from guitar to drums only intensified. I still couldn't afford lessons, but I lobbied the RA at my dorm to buy a drum set for the practice rooms in the basement, and then moved my electric kit up to Evanston when I got an apartment. I practiced all the time: watching YouTube videos, talking to music school students, trying to replicate my favorite bands by ear, but I knew lessons had to happen if I was going to go anywhere with my drumming. So this January I finally made the move. I put aside a lot of my outside of school activities, got a job, and started looking for lessons. I found Sol's page and thought he most fit what I was looking for: an intimate teaching environment, lots of personal attention, no cookie-cutter lesson plans or programs, i.e. not just teaching out of the book. I gave him a call and we set up the initial lesson. Life-changing decision. This dude is fantastic. Right from the first lesson he gauged my current skills and complimented me on the couple of basics I'd mastered on my own, but it wasn't long until he started dropping the hammer. He laid out, mincing no words, what exactly I needed to improve and all the work I'd need to become a true musician and off we went. After almost a year of lessons my skill has drastically improved. I practice every day and never lose interest in the material. There isn't a plan we painstakingly and tediously plod through, instead we unlock new abilities almost every lesson and weave them into the pile of material we've already covered. Additionally, we don't just go through new chops and practice reading, he makes sure to teach the theory behind every new skill and how everything fits together. Of course not everyone will be as serious a student as me, and perhaps you're just looking to start up a new hobby. Either way, Sol's the guy. No matter how intense you want your lessons to be, or to which kind of drummer you'd like to aspire, Sol will make sure you achieve what you're looking for, and every lesson will leave you wanting to come back for more. I can't recommend Sol enough. Just do it. read more

My 5-year-old son has been taking piano lessons from Sol for several months now and we couldn't be happier with the experience. Sol is a terrific teacher. He has the perfect combination of patience and enthusiasm to work with young learners. I am amazed by just how much my son has learned in a fairly short time. Most importantly though, he has a lot of fun at his lessons and is enjoying playing the piano and developing a love of music. Highly recommended. read more

A little more than a year ago, I was faced with the challenge of finding a new drum teacher. I had been taking lessons for several years, but my previous instructor told me that he could no longer teach me and that I should find a more advanced teacher. My searching began near my home in Oak Park, but none of the local teachers matched the skill level I was at. Eventually my searching led me to Sol. After one lesson, I knew that Sol was the teacher for me. I enjoy every lesson, and I always find myself challenged by the assignments that Sol gives me. With a broad range of topics covered, the lessons never feel repetitive. From dynamics, to grooves, to fills, and even the occasional break to eat one of Sol's homemade cupcakes, each lesson is more enjoyable than the last. Sol's knowledge and passion for music are clearly present in every lesson, and he is a great guy. Even though he has a funny accent, if your looking for a great teacher, look no further than Sol Garnier. read more

Excellent teacher! He is well knowledgeable and works with each student on their individual goals and pace. Has a great sense of humor- every lesson is fun and different. read more

Sol is great piano teacher. The lessons are fun and challenging. He has the unique ability to push you quickly towards improvement while keeping it a very enjoyable and exciting experience along the way. Definitely recommended. read more

Sol is a gifted teacher! A good teacher is forever intrigued with the lesson, tailoring each exercise to the students level and needs. Sol has met me at my absolute beginner's level, guiding me through the the lessons with patience, while giving me appropriate challenges. He cares about his students! read more