I think this studio is awesome... I wanted to start learning to play the piano again for awhile,…read moreand I thought it would be hard to get back into it - but surprisingly it wasn't that bad. I looked at a few schools prior to finding this one, Five Hands did a good job making me feel comfortable right from the start. Rick made it very easy to get registered and is very accessible, although the studio is geared for a younger audience, it offers everything for an adult student. It has professional yet down to earth teachers, good challenging coursework which is not overwhelming and a comfortably informal environment. I would highly recommend anyone to this studio to reignite your love for playing music.

My 10 year old started piano lessons about 2 years ago and he loves them. They make it challenging…read moreand rewarding. The no stress recitals are so fun for the kids and it's really great for them to see all the different levels of progression. Another wonderful perk is the fantastic pool party Rick throws each summer.

I had the owner set up an older used Larivee that I bought from another Evanston guitar shop where…read moreI was told it couldn't be set better than it was. Hogseye turned a good guitar into a great one for relatively little money.

Jim is one of the best you can possibly have to work on your guitar. I have been bringing my 1970…read moreMartin D-35 in to Hog Eye for several decades and he does a wonderful job at repairing all the little and big things that happen to an instrument as it ages. Not only that, Jim is the nicest guy in the world. I highly recommend you bring your acoustic instruments in to Hog Eye for repair or tune up or if you're looking to buy something to play that's made out of wood.

We are truly loving working with Martin Metzger. Our 12-year old son looks forward to his lessons…read moreand is excited to play the music he and Martin choose together. Martin strongly believes in allowing kids to follow their interests, and has the talent, interest, and patience to help them do so in a wide range of genres. Martin is knowledgeable and dedicated both as a musician and as an educator. We travel a bit of a distance for lessons and are convinced it's well worth our time. We recommend him highly to anyone at any age looking for a great guitar instructor.

Choosing the Metzger Music Studio has truly been one of the best decisions of my and my wife's…read morelives! Our daughter goes to Martin for guitar lessons and I fear I may not be able to convey here just how amazing he is and what his instruction has meant for our daughter as a musician! I would recommend Martin and his crew any day! We wanted to get our girl started on guitar very early, only because she was exhibiting an affinity toward music and guitar that got us thinking it wouldn't hurt to try her at guitar, so we contacted Martin. He readily welcomed the notion of trialing and the rest is history. Besides being a phenomenal guitarist, his being an amazing person and having a Masters in Education have both manifested in the amazing way in which Martin teaches our girl to play the guitar. He works with her at her own pace, taking cues from how she learns in order to tailor his instructions to suit her learning, all the while making the lessons equal parts guitar and fun, entertaining our girl's every whim to be jovial and enjoy learning the guitar. He shows her the utmost respect and teaches her in a way that has inspired her to look up to flamenco legends. For her age, that level of aspiration itself is awe-inspiring and the credit goes to Martin. He doubles down on skills that our girl is good at while helping her elevate those she needs more work on, from strumming to chords to rhythms to percussion to improvising. We love his holistic approach of teaching the pupil to actually feel music and rhythm rather than just to learn to play the guitar. His methods have resulted in wonders! We have been fortunate to witness moments of our girl's performance that have impressed even Martin. That is the level of quality of instruction one can expect from Martin. He stresses on practicing, practicing and practicing some more. He also encourages playing at recitals that he arranges for his students, which is a great way for the student to be inspired and be audience-ready. He has also started our girl on sight reading, which is helping her to learn to play the guitar while reading music. I would characterize Martin's overall approach as informed (no unnecessary attachments to old or new methods just for the sake of it), inspiring, feedback-loop-based, very disciplined and simply amazing! And his guitar skills? Incredible! Let me put it this way, we have considered migrating to a warmer climate and one of the top considerations that have kept us in Chicago is that we don't want to lose Martin as our friend and our daughter's guitar teacher. And he's been a great friend to our daughter too. There are great guitar teachers everywhere, but there's only one Martin. Our girl's weekly guitar lesson is one of the highlights of her week that she looks forward to. It is a joy to see her learn to play the guitar and have the time of her life while at it! As for the rest of his studio, Martin has 16 teachers on every instrument (and even voice) who travel to people's homes for lessons, which is convenient for many families. The teachers are well-educated, passionate about their instruments and art, and they are wonderful with children. As I alluded to earlier, the studio also puts on three recitals free of charge every year! I only give online reviews when I feel the recipient absolutely deserves it and reviewing Martin and his studio was a no-brainer! I wholeheartedly recommend the Metzger Music Studio for any potential student interested in developing a lifetime love for learning music!

We had a wonderful visit to Seman Violins. We were purchasing our son's first violin. Noah was…read moreextremely helpful and helped us find lots of options in our price range. We had previously rented a violin with Seman Violins, which was also a great experience.

Wow, this place is a hidden gem. Actually, it's not hidden at all as it's right out front with a…read morebig storefront on very visible Oakton St but passing through this area quite frequently, it is hidden from the mind when not thinking of stringed instruments. We came here to see if we could salvage my daughter's 30 year old violin for a grand-darling who plans to start up next year. We were greeted by Ben Arnett, one of the talented violin makers here. He looked it over and provided a detailed and very reasonable sounding quote to restring it, rehair the bow, and do some other optional work to further improve the quality. Overall, the instrument was in quite fine shape we were told. It was a very nice and fun visit and more than we hoped for. As many of the reviews state, we were treated very courteously and very professionally and Ben had a knowledgeable ear for our needs and any concerns (we were only looking for minimal fix-ups and he nicely provided that along with various options and considerations). So, we went with a minimal scope for now of a restring ($35) and a bow rehair for $76. Other scope of about $280 can be done to the full size violin when it fits the little one in a few years. They have a great culture here and I can believe that they value and respect every customer whether you're a total novice or a professional musician. Ben even gave us a personal tour of the shop when I mentioned what a cool place this was. I had no idea the shop was as large, and that they work on many stringed instruments (cellos, violas, and guitars) and not just violins, and that they also build violins from scratch here. Also interestingly, they have a performance room with a capacity of about 60 and have cozy and intimate concerts maybe once per month (admission fee of about $25) and it's a BYOB event. The concerts sound wonderful and we will try to attend one one day. Many of the staff are graduates of the Chicago School of Violin Making (one of only 3 such schools in the entire country!) just down the street on Oakton St and are like a family. We came in on a Saturday and it was a busy place with musicians and instruments visiting in a steady stream. Another interesting side note for our visit is that Ben actually found my name in their customer records. I did not even know or remember that we were customers but back in 1995, we apparently rented a student violin from them for my daughter. We only lived 1/2 mile from this store for 14 years from 1982 - 1995. Great business with a long history and with great staff and I highly recommend!

Cass is extremely patient and creative with my son. This was his first time at piano lessons and…read moreshe welcomed him with positive energy and so much patience. She even played drums with him which he loved! We will definitely be going back for lessons and are lucky to have found such an amazing talented teacher.

Cass is a wonderful and patient teacher. My 6 year old is making great progress. Cass has been very…read moreaccommodating working with my daughter's personality. She has a warm and welcoming home - Exactly as you imagine a piano teachers home to be. Plus there is lots of art in every corner to look at.

Great local music store for basic music instruments and lessons. Staff is friendly and…read moreaccommodating, just a really great place to have in any community.

Highly recommend. Piano instructor Eric is outstanding. Loads of patience. Figured out exactly what…read moreI was looking for in instructions. Staff, which I'm sure are accomplished musicians in their own right, friendly, helpful and excellent to deal with. I am a senior student ( age, not talent haha). Have taken many lessons over the years. Eric cannot be beat.

This music school is absolutely a dream: from the very involved teachers to the convenient location…read more( I never had to worry about parking). My son starter taking individual violin classes since he was almost 5 years old and his progress is amazing. Alin, the owner is very reliable and approcheable, the teacher is really devoted and puts her heart and soul to make the best of the 30 min that she spends with my son. The comunication between the teachers and the parents is always on point and the overall atmosphere is fantastic. I highly recommend it to all the music lovers out there !

My son has been taking piano lessons as Northside Music Academy for more than a year and we have…read morebeen so pleased with his progress! While my son was hesitant to start, the warm atmosphere and personal attention at NMA have really helped his confidence and ability. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for lessons.

There is no other way to say it; they pretended I wasn't there. I went in on a Thursday afternoon…read moreat 1:00, looking for a low-watt tube amp. There was absolutely ZERO acknowledgment of my existence, let alone any kind of welcome or greeting. I found a nice selection of low-wattage tube amps, all priced substantially above the market. I stood looking needy for a few minutes. crickets. I left without either of the two neo-hippies ever acknowledging me. Goodbye forever and no loss.

I love this store! As a beginner bass player, I'm a bit sheepish coming in with all my questions…read more But the staff puts me at ease and Tim is so knowledgeable, patient, and pleasant to work with that it feels like home. Erwin who works on the basses is awesome as well. Growing up in Evanston, I always knew this place rocked, but until I decided to switch from keys to a stringed instrument, I never had a reason to check it out. Now I see just how special it is for E-town to have a guitar store like Guitar Works. I highly recommend stopping in -- the selection, sales staff, service and ambiance is topnotch. Even if you're just window-shopping, they'll welcome you, allow you to try out the instruments, and answer all your questions.