My daughter has been taking voice and piano lessons for almost a decade with Kimberly (as she works…read morereally well with any age.) We absolutely are so proud of what our daughter has learned. Kimberly is the type of teacher who adapts to each student and meets them where they are, she knows how much to push without adding stress. My kid is really sensitive and nervous but was instantly at ease with Kimberly. She loves going to her lessons. Also, she always gets to perform really trendy songs or good classics. Kimberly constantly makes new audio recordings of our kid's latest songs which we share with family. The recitals are sometimes in a cafe and they're wonderful but not mandatory. She works out of Downers and Aurora. She's given us all a gift.

Never met a music teacher with such laser focus and aptitude in finding a students strengths. Her…read morestudio is equipped with state of the art recording equipment and musical instruments to meet her students needs. We felt encouraged and right at home. She is supportive and puts her students at the ease. If you are fortunate to get a spot in her schedule you will not be disappointed.

We love Bach to Rock. The instructors helped rebuild our child's confidence after a rough school…read moreyear by teaching him to play guitar in a supportive, friendly setting. He loves being in a band with his friends and it's so cool to see him take ownership over this new skill and responsibility. I am grateful for everyone at Bach to Rock and I'll never stop recommending them!

I can't say enough good thing's about this school. The facility is bright and inviting, and easily…read moreaccessible from Naper Road or 75th Street. My instructor was knowledgeable, friendly, and on target with his coaching. The fees are reasonable and competitive. Run, don't walk, to this place. You'll be Bach!!!

My 14 year old son joined Garage Band U two years ago playing the electric guitar. Jamie, the…read moreowner, found a wonderful group of boys the same age to create a rock band with a singer, guitar, bass guitar and drums players. Playing in front of people has given them so much confidence and it's been so fun watching them improve with each performance. They have played to large crowds at Tailgaters in Bolingbrook, Ballydoyle's in Downers Grove, and Grove Fest in Downers Grove. Charlie, their band director, has done a terrific job helping them to perform as a group and helping with stage presence.

I can't say enough good about my experience at Garage Band U. It was absolutely fantastic…read more I'm relatively new to guitar, only playing for about 15 months. At the urging of my teacher, I enrolled in Garage Band U to help advance my skills. I was rather nervous going into it....Being on stage playing guitar is (well, now a "was") bucket list item for me. I've always wanted to do it, but didn't think I'd ever be able to. James helped to pull together a great group of people to play together. His practice area is great, his direction was spot-on, he helped us pick songs that would work well and then provided input on how to best play them. All this culminated in a set at a local bar which incidentally went great! It feels great to be able to check this one off my list, but all it's done is made me anxious to sign up again. I can't do it next semester, as I need to be home a bit more, but I will definitely be back in the fall. What might be most amazing about James' program - the wide range of ages that participate. I'm guessing that there were people ranging from approx. 9 to 55 in the program, and they all sounded great. Thank you, James, for a great experience, and I look forward to working with you again! I'll be seeing you soon.

Miss Sarah Gasse is patient, kind, and strength based in her Suzuki approach. She has kids, which…read moremay be reflected in her patience for her students' antics and ways of being and learning. I'm taking violin lessons with my 5th grader and I couldn't be happier. She is encouraging, kind, and insightful. I've taken music lessons before and I do not respond well to rigid instructions, Miss Sarah is fluid and graceful. Excellent experience. Free and easy parking.

Our son has been taking violin lessons at the Gasse School of Music since 2005, (ten years!) The…read moremusic school has a wonderful, sincere, genuine gift of bringing music into peoples' lives for whatever the purpose---pleasure or professional. A lifelong love and respect for music has been the result for our son given by the instruction of Sarah and Dr. Gasse. Both instructors have provided lessons, group classes, and chamber lessons for our family that are not intimidating, but filled with high standards, while keeping the learning process enjoyable and pleasurable. In addition to that, they have provided many opportunities for our son to perform in public-adding to his confidence level. With all the choices out there for our child's music instruction we have had ZERO desire to explore options---we know we are at the "BEST." Thank you for going above and beyond average expectations!!! -Mark & Brittney Militello (parents)

Great people to work with. The owner is friendly and knowledgeable. I've taken lessons there as…read morewell as had work done on my guitar. Mike really went the extra mile with the setup/repair. Also been happy with to lessons - learning solid theory but as I'm learning songs I enjoy playing

If you are a professional string player with thousands to spare this is the place for you…read more I went here to buy to look for an intermediate violin for my 17 daughter who has been playing for less than a year. Because of this we weren't looking to spend a super ton of money on a violin, just one better than her student one. The older gentleman, who was the main luthier, was really annoyed that we didn't make an appointment (we didn't know we needed one), didn't know the make of her violin, and said he had an 11am appt coming that we'd have to basically leave before. My daughter is new to violin but not string instruments so when she asked to see violins in our medium price range with a warm tone and a high resonance he said that would be impossible cause we weren't willing to spend a lot. This is obviously not true cause we have gone to other shops and found ones in our price range matching that description. We ended up buying a fiberglass bow that was pretty expensive but i still would never give them my business again. This store is very prissy and not nice to newcomers or people who aren't wanting to spend ton on a violin. Would not recommend

As a violin teacher and being a retiree of 34 years of public school orchestra teaching in the…read moresuburbs, I can say that the reputation of this store has always been excellent, over decades. They know stringed instruments, and they know how to repair string instruments. I was there lately to help a student choose a new violin, and I was impressed with their knowledge of violins, bows, and cases for the violin. In re to repairs: they actually turned down a repair of an older violin that had been repaired a few times, because it looked too delicate, may cost more than the value of the violin, and referred my student to a second shop for another repair estimate. That's an unheard of level of honesty in this business. I would recommend this shop and I'm super picky. I generally drive into Park Ridge where many of the CSO musicians go for their repairs to MBecker, but I'd comfortable having something repaired here or buying a new item.

Our high school son has played guitar for years with various instructors at other places. He just…read morestarted with Rock Academy a few months ago. He loves it, and we wish that we would have found Rock Academy sooner!!!

This is a great and safe environment for kids to learn to express their musicality. The teachers…read moreare really terrific.

Erinn is great with kids and truly loves her students. My three kids all love her and each child is…read moretaught with an individual lesson plan. She is motivating and easy to work with.