We have been taking our kids to Music and Arts in Schaumburg, IL for a little over a year. At first that location seemed great, but some problems with make-up as well as some change in staff made things difficult for us there. Luckily the Itasca location was a similar distance from our house and the staff has been a much better fit for us. We met guitar teacher Kim who recently moved to the Itasca location and she has been wonderful for my son. He has really been rocking and rolling in his progress. Don't hesitate to give them a call and ask for Kim. read more

Great place for musical instruments repair. Had a trumpet and cello bow repaired recently. Great experience at this place. Nice people, reasonable pricing. read more

Called the day before and was told to come in. Arrived a little after 11am during posted hours and doors were locked. Waited for 40 minutes and still doors were locked. I saw several people walk in and out, even passing me as I tried to enter and still the doors locked. No one said a word. Called from my car and phone rang for 30 minutes. Still no one answer. I drove 40 mins each way and had to head home with a broken instrument. I even called the Schaumburg store and told them - no help at all. I am so disappointed with Music &.Arts; I need to find a place that actually respects working hours. Ridiculous. read more

I drove an hour to rent an instrument at this location. Before leaving I called an asked if a deposit was needed for the rental and if they would do a hard credit check. They said no deposit was needed and that they would do a soft credit check which wouldn't impact my credit score. When I arrived at the store they said I needed an $1100 deposit (for a student bass clarinet) and i later found out that the credit check dropped my credit score by 6 points. read more

Horrible communication and unsympathetic workers! I've been emailing this company since March trying to return my daughters flute that has just sitting here wasting money. So I finally returned on the 17th and they told me to call customer service to see about refund. So I call and the woman tells me she can't do anything about it as I didn't do a pending return! I'm trying to figure out why I was not told that I could do a pending return in March when I emailed that I wanted it returned! I finally called a store in July as I did not hear anything and was told I could bring it in! I was charged $27/month since March to just be sitting on the shelf! I specifically said in my March email I do not give Authorization to keep charging my card and it still did! numerous times it has taken funds out as they are not there which charged me overdraft fees! I have not been working so my funds are very limited and I feel this is wrong that no one informed all of us back in March about returning! My daughter doesn't want to play flute and literally has not touched it once she it was in our possession! Now I'm not only out $150 dollars for the months it just sat there and no one responds to emails when they do they say what's your zip so I can look for a store?! When it should of said what's your zip code and let me process this pending return! Never ever again will I waste my money with this greedy people. read more

Music & Arts - The BS email I was sent - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Itasca, Illinois

My oboe playing daughter needed a new reed as hers broke during her music class. She practices at least an hour every night, so I needed one by the end of the day. My normal go to store located near her high school had no medium soft reeds available. A Maps search of music stores nearby gave Music & Arts in Itasca as the closest store nearby. I called and was informed that they had 3 different medium soft reeds. Drove the 15 minutes (actually closer to us than the other store), and decided to purchase one of each brand a Jones, an emerald, and a third one that was labeled handcrafted (whatever that means...I confused it to mean handmade, but I do not think it is.). The store is easy to find, has ample parking, but could use better lighting along the walkway. Inside, the store is spacious and appeared neat, organized, and had a variety of items on their shelves. Two sales associates at the counter greeted me when I came in. When I explained that I called about the oboe reeds, one of them immediately pulled out the bin of reeds from behind the counter and directed me to the medium softs. After inquiring about their return policy, I inquired if they had an oboe teacher for lessons. They did not, but it did open the door between the other gentleman and I about oboe opportunities and he gave me the name of a possible teacher. He also recommended the $100 dollar synthetic reed which is supposed to last a year. (We've already spent $100 on reeds for my daughter in 2022. Oboe reeds are expensive!) Both employees were friendly and professional. Why did I buy 3 different brands? So my daughter can figure out if she likes one over the other. Upon inspecting the reeds, my daughter found 2 with issues unobservable to the non-oboist (me). We returned to Music & Arts and, since they were unused, we did a straight exchange for ones that past my daughter's meticulous, visual inspection. For the supply of reeds and for the great customer service, I will return to Music & Arts in the future. read more

Been using them since my oldest son started band in 5th grade. My eldest is now in college. Bought his Yamaha Sax here, my daughter's Yamaha clarinet, my youngest's yamaha digital piano and beginner's clarinet. They had a red tag sale for woodwinds recently. Not accurate. They were selling the Buffet r13s nickel at $3300+. Not on sale. You can get the same from all other music stores. The weekend we were there, we had an appointment. it was pointless because they didn't have my name on the list. Their staff are clueless, sale event was poorly ran. One lady told me I could get $100 off the upgrade. When I told Angeline (didn't wait and came back on a slow Monday night), she was hesitant to give me the $100 off. Then I noticed the 10% off for current customers on any one purchase. When I asked her about it, she said it doesn't apply to Buffet R13, and that I'm already getting the $100 off. (How convenient). I said I'll take the 10% off over $100. She said it doesn't work like that. She offered me 18% financing for 12mos! I asked if I get addt'l discount if I pay for it cash. She said no. I told her they don't have customer loyalty or legacy bec of our purchase history. They don't appreciate repeat customers apparently. The whole entire experience was quite disappointing. The staff acted like they were doing me a favor by selling me a $3300 clarinet. I told her I'll take my business elsewhere. I'm glad I did because I found a very well maintained 2nd hand Buffet r13 clarinet from a well-reputed music store in Evanston. I saved myself $1300 at least and it came with free maintenance and repair for 6 mos. Something Music and Arts will charge you for an addt'l $200-300. read more

Have been to this location one time in the past impressed with the selection of all items and staff Today we were helped by Joel he was fantastic we brought in our daughter's clarinet in for a cleaning/repairs whatever is needed Our daughter needed a new mouthpiece Joel had her try several different ones since hers is cracked we went with a new Vandoren 45 which really makes a difference on her existing clarinet which we are leaving for a "Tune Up" Very nice experience he is very knowledgeable took his time with us. Looking forward in getting the clarinet back cleaned with new pieces and repairs. Highly recommend this place and Joel read more

We've been going here for instruments, repair and lessons for a few years now. Never thrilled with the services, but very convenient location with little choice locally. I recently brought in my son's clarinet, which we purchased as a previously owned instrument from Music & Arts, for repair. They said due to COVID, the instrument needed to be in "quarantine" for 5 days...ok. Ten days later, they call me to ask when I'll be picking it up. I asked what the repairs were and the cost - Oh, it wasn't repaired. They didn't have the part. I headed up to PM Woodwinds in Evanston - a long hike, but they were recommended to me. PM called me back within 20 minutes of dropping it off - said it was a screw. It was fixed, I could pick it up any time and they refused to charge me for the repair. Was it a special screw that needed to be special ordered? Nope, just a tiny screw, easy to find. Needless to say, I'll be driving to Evanston for all my instruments repair and purchases from now on. read more

Horrible billing and customer service. Got charged without authorizing them to do so, then my account (which I do not use regularly) was overdrawn. When calling them I got the most flippant people who couldn't care less, wouldn't help resolve the situation, and kept transferring me around to tell the story over and over again. In the end I had to call and refuse payment to the bank and go that route. I will never use this company for anything long term. They just aren't in it for the love of music. They're greed is showing read more

Excellent Customer Experience! I don't often write reviews, but in this case I really find need to. Jeff was the most courteous, helpful and accommodating person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. It is truly GREAT to know that there are still people in this world who care about the customer, and as such, have gained my support for all my future business! read more

Daughter's flute had a key spring pop out. Needed to get it looked at and repaired very quickly for a concert. Spoke with them on the phone and was told it could take a couple weeks but bring it in to take a look. Brought it in and they took care of it on the spot! read more

DO NOT RENT an instrument from this place unless you like being treated rudely by staff who do not know what they are doing. I rented a viola from this store two years ago. At the time of rental. it took three people three attempts to complete the rental agreement. They had to get technical help with their computers/registers and confer about instrument information. At the time I was very patient because I figured it was just a bad day....That should have been my first clue. Two years later my daughter needs a larger viola. I called on a Saturday morning to inquire about the process of replacing my daughter's viola. The person who answered put me on hold and then told me to come in and they would simply swap out her 14" for a 16, which they had in stock. When I got there, they told me that they did not have any in stock, The woman at the register told me that she would order it and that they would have it in a day or two. She said that she would call me when it arrived. Life got busy for me and I forgot about it..... Four weeks later, I called them and they did not know what I was talking about. Someone told me he would call me back that day but didn't call me back until 3 days later. He assured me that the viola was ordered (although I doubt that) but that somehow they didn't receive it. He assured me that it would be there in a day or two. When I went in to pick up the viola (8 weeks after my first visit) I was appalled by the customer service! The guy at the counter asked me if I received a call to come in.... and then took forever to find the viola. Then he wanted to give me the case without opening it to look at the instrument inside. I asked him for an explanation for why it took so long to get the viola, and he did not even acknowledge my complaint; he was trying to push me out the door because they had a recital starting. THEN, I asked for a new tag to put on the handle of the case, and they had the nerve to charge me $3 for it. I received the first one for free and that was before they had inconvenienced me. They should have AT LEAST given me the stupid tag for all the trouble I've had with them. They were so rude and even asked my child to be quiet and then to leave the store because their recital was starting. The store was OPEN??!! I have to ride out my daughter's contract, but I would NEVER rent from this place again! read more

If only I could rate them a "zero"! My son was forced in band class in 2015 by school. There was no way out so I was forced to "rent" an instrument for his participation in band class. December 2017 was his last day in band class and his alto sax WAS turned in! Music and arts claim sax was never turned in. We are still being charged monthly and it is January 2020!!!! DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THEM!!!!!!!!! MUSIC AND ARTS ARE AN ABSOLUTE HORROR TO DO BUSINESS WITH!!! THEY ARE THEIVES! read more

After weeks of waiting to hear back and leaving voicemails, we finally made contact today. My wife and I explained the story to Rachel and she was kind enough to listen. Within a couple of hours she was able to get ahold of higher ups and find a remedy to the situation I am eating a three out of five stars because my wife and I had to hound this company for weeks but they did find a solution. I feel three stars is fair. read more

I took my son in to review instruments before making a choice for purchase/lessons. Joel took a great deal of time showing him exactly how a few of the instruments worked, including a short mini lesson on each of his top three favorites, with demonstrations and opportunities to each of them himself. He ultimately decided he wanted a guitar, but I made him sleep on it. We went back in the next day and Joel was busy so worked with Jeff on the final purchase. He was accommodating in every way and talked us through the rationale of each component needed so we could make a good choice for him. They were both patient with my son and I and I was so thankful for their help! read more

This is a great place with exceptional customer service. They have a wide range of merchandise in store and the ability to order just about any musical product you can imagine. The rental program is great because you're not just throwing your money down the drain. You can actually build up money to put towards an instrument. read more

Lauren I have contacted customer service & Accounting multiple, multiple times and nothing has ever come about it, it's very frustrating. You have an older woman whose in customer service that is beyond rude and very unhelpful that even though I have asked to speak to her manager or supervisor, she puts me on hold and has not ever once successfully transferred me to anyone. Accounting is not as bad, however they won't even consider helping me until I pay off my part of my balance. I finally decided that this is all not worth going through for my daughter to learn a musical instrument, especially since there are other companies who would treat their customers much better! My next step is to speak to my daughter's school and tell them of my experience and hopefully other parents won't have to go through all that I've gone through. If you'd like to contact me you may, but I'm done trying to jump through hoops to get someone to help me. read more

BUYER BEWARE!!! DO NOT RENT FROM THIS PLACE! We rented a LeBlanc Clarinet from this place in 2012 for my daughter in 6th grade. They had pick up at the school and we returned the instrument in 2013. This place has the instrument and sent me to a collection agency for $478! When I call they confirm they have the instrument and I do not owe the money however continues to report to collection agency that I owe! I have called the store in Itasca, spoken to Rachel & Adrian who tell me there's nothing they can do. Left multiple msgs for corporate general manager Robin & Kelly but to no avail no one calls me back or has any help in removing this debt from my credit reports! Trans World has emailed them asking to verify if debt is owed and NO ONE emails them back from corporate office. BUYER BEWARE, DO NOT RENT INSTRUMENTS FROM THIS PLACE! This has been ongoing for many years with NO help from this place! I will NEVER rent from them again! read more

RENTERS and BUYERS BEWARE!!! This store erroneously canceled my rental order so my child never received the instrument at school and when I called to inquire they actually blamed me and insisted that I or some mysterious person with my information called and cancelled my order. I later found out that another student's parent actually called to cancel THEIR order but the store canceled ours instead and actually charge the other family for the instrument that they technically cancelled! I don't think they ever got their money back!!! It was such a mess and aside from paying for an instrument that should have been canceled, and our child not ever receiving an instrument the employees were beyond rude and unhelpful. Do NOT rent or buy from here!!! read more

So sick and tired of this place. Our sons school uses them so that's where his original trumpet came from. It was time to upgrade to new trumpet in high school and were told we only had 12 mos to pay off a several thousand dollar instrument. Huge stretch for us but our son is going to continue playing in college so it was something we had to do. Anyway, at time of purchase we were offered a one year maintenance plan which we took. It just ran out in Oct and I come to find out there is a two year plan or we can extend it but only after we pay the $117 for regular cleaning and additional $50 for dent work. This is where I get mad. Had we been offered a longer maintenance program we would have done it but we weren't and now they are jacking us over to get back in. No thank you. Oh and 5 mos into owning this trumpet his brand new case had the zipper completely break. When we took it in for his 6 mos maintenance cleaning they told me they couldn't fix the case and wouldn't give us a new one. They said that I could buy a new one. Are you kidding me? It's only 5 mos old. My business will be elsewhere from now on and I will tell everyone I know to avoid them like the plague. Shady business for sure! read more

My daughter rented an oboe from this location for over 2 years. During that time, we had numerous adventures with the repairs department. Sometimes, loaner were not available. Sometimes, they would not fix her oboe for months and would call, demanding their loaner back with no clue about where her original rental was (they thought it had been returned to her). Sometimes they would call to tell us the repaired oboe was ready - and when we drove the 40 minutes to their store, we were told the Oboe was nowhere to be found. We dealt with it - things happen. Our credit card number changed. We gave the store the new card number when we went in to pick up a repaired oboe. Two months later, I started getting nasty-grams in the mail saying that I was behind in my payments. I called to say that I would gladly pay the rental fees but that I would not pay any late fees. I gave the updated credit card number to the store. They insisted that I was responsible for calling the corporate number with the new credit card. The store does not update corporate. How was I supposed to know that? I rented from a store. I provided the original card to....the store. Ugh. I refused to pay until they stripped-out the late fees. Unresolved to this day. During this time, we accrued over $1000 in credit toward the purchase of an instrument. When we went in to shop, we were informed that our credit would only apply towards the purchase of a "student oboe" (beginner). After 2+ years of rental, our daughter obviously needed something intermediate or advanced - no dice. Too bad - so sad - they were unapologetic. Ok - time to end the rental. We returned the oboe and explained that there was a discrepancy over the bill. The person at the store suggested that I contact a specific person at corporate to work this out. I tried - no luck again. I got a call from their accounting department a couple of weeks later asking for the balance. I explained again that I would pay the rental fees. No luck. I got another call a week later from the same department (different agent) explaining that I needed to return the oboe or I would be billed for it. I explained that the oboe had been returned weeks ago. She told me that she had no record of the return and that the "burden of proof" for that return was "on me". It was sheer luck that I was able to find the receipt for the return. I called the customer service number back and provided the transaction number. No apologies - as if I should be expecting anything from this organization at this point. The saga continues. For 6 months, they've been calling to harass me for the balance. It's just silly. Their agents are rude. Their communication between the stores and corporate is broken. And there is no accountability for service in their organization. read more

I can't go through the whole story again because I've told so many people already but I bought a 3000k clarinet for my daughter that was new and supposed to have been "looked at" before we picked it up. Wasn't right. Their techs looked at it and said ok. Took to a clarinet expert. Needed 200.00 worth of adjustments! Went back to talk to manager. His response was a coupon of 20 % off my next purchase. How about this? I will get 100 % off my next purchase because there will never be another!!!! read more

We have been going to Music and Arts for years. When we unexpectedly lost my son's instrument and music materials in a fire, they immediately replaced everything so he could keep the stability of his music in the midst of chaos. The staff there are always helpful, and my son's music teacher is wonderful. As a former music teacher myself, I can really appreciate her skills. Now, my daughter is getting ready to start lessons soon as well. We will be customers for years to come. read more

The Itasca location gets one star. The Schaumburg location gets two stars. The Aurora location gets four stars. Itasca: the employees give advice based on less expertise than you'd expect. They also hold conversations in front of customers that are not professional. The manager, Jeff, refused to investigate an error on my account. In fact, he claimed he owned the store and there was no regional manager who could help us with our impass. His only solution was for me to forfeit the equity I had bin my rental and turn the instrument back in right then and there. I didn't. Instead, I contacted the schaumburg store shortly thereafter to see if that manager could help. The employee asked if I was just at the Itasca location. Hmmm...how and why would they ask that? That really made me feel embarrassed. Then, they told me there was no manager available. So, I figured if I was going to be perceived as unrelenting, I would call another store a little further away in Aurora. I explained my whole story to the store manager. Lo and behold he found a discrepancy on my account, advised me to check with customer service, yet continued to inform me of several possible actions as next steps instead of passing me off or shutting down the conversation. I now have a few options to consider and losing hundreds of dollars in rental equity is not one of them! Oh, and he confirmed the stores do indeed have regional managers! I'll try to update this review after the issue is fully resolved. read more