Every day, we watch our students grow from beginner musicians to confident and inspiring rock stars in their community. Browse photos, videos, posts and more to find out why School of Rock Chicago West is more than just your local music school.
We offer private and group rehearsal instruction for guitar, bass, drums, keybaords and vocals. Our students often play other instruments or get the opportunity to play them in seasonal concerts but formal study is in these five instruments above.
We are located at 1913 W. Chicago Ave., just a few blocks west of Ashland Ave. (north-south) and 5 minutes west of the West Loop.
We teach electric guitar to students as young as 7 years old. We are happy to instruct in accoustic guitar also. We do however emphasise electric guitar and amplification.
We teach bass guitar to students as young as 7 years old.
No. We practice open enrollment regardless of where our show seasons are. When your student is ready to get started, we're ready to help them get enrolled! You can call us at 312-526-3978.
We do not offer group lessons. At School of Rock Chicago West we focus on private instruction for our students in guitar, bass, keys, vocals and drums. However, we emphasize 'band rehearsals' for students to go along with their private instruction. This is our Rock 101 program and our Performance Program. School of Rock is a song first, performance-focused music school, and we have found over the last 21 years that this is the most effective way to get young students playing with enthusiasm, proficiency and confidence.
Yes, we do! We teach students as young as 4 years old. We offer a group class setting we call Little Wing. It meets once per week for 45 minutes and it emphasizes making music class fun for very young children. Students learn basic music foundation concepts like time, keeping beats, harmonies, active song listening, activities, games and more. We even encourage students to experiment with real instruments in the class room to help them develop an affinity for playing music and taking lessons. To learn more call us at 312-526-3978 to find out class times. We have an open enrollment (sign up anytime) policy.
Yes. Our instructors and performance directors are highly experienced teachers who also continue to perform live themselves at venues throughout Chicago, the midwest, nationally and abroad. Most all of our instructors also hold advanced music degrees and are highly fluent in music theory. All of our instructors are passionate about their students and their students' improvement.
We do offer private lessons and group rehearsal and performance opportunities for keyboard students. Our in-school keyboards all have weighted keys so that students can easily switch from piano to keyboards and bsack again. Our keyboards instructors are highly experienced in multiple genres like jazz, classical and rhythm and blues.
We have open enrollment. Students and families intersted can reserve a demo lesson to see if our approach and our facility is a good fit. Students who wish to enroll can do so immediatley or for a time that is convenient. We charge families once per month for 4, 45-minute lessons and 4 90-minute rehearsals. There is no penalty for ending a student's membership for any reason. Most students stay and learn in the program for years.
Our Performance Program students (the vast majority of students in the school) regularly perform in venues all over Chicago like Reggie's Rock Club, Subterranean, Empty Bottle, Hideout, Chop Shop, Beat Kitchen, House of Blues and many more. These venues host our seasonal concerts and provide professional sound and lighting on their feature stages. Families and friends as well as the general public are encouraged to enjoy these shows and see their students' rapid progress and growing confidence. Our 'House Band' students perform at fundraisers, festivals (Do Division, Wicker Park Fest, Lollapalooza), sporting events (Chicago Fire), and conventions (Chicago Auto Show).
We are very different from other music programs... for many reasons. But perhaps the two most important are...
We are a performance-based music program. We believe performance, and the preparation required to perform, is the key to rapid proficiency. Students in our program are immersed in private lessons and concert (performance) rehearsals, culminating in a weekend of concerts for family, friends and the public. This emphasis helps students focus on required techniques, learn how to play as an ensemble, understand and execute song structure, and most importantly, create friendships and a sense of team work.
And, we are the only music program anywhere that provides its students with a proprietary home practice app (called the Method App). The app is a rich resource for song transcriptions (over 2,000 song library), individual instrument exercises from beginner to advanced, built-in accuracy evaluations, and instructor communications. It is a powerful (free) technology for our students not available anywhere else.
School of Rock teaches guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboard + piano, and singing. What sets School of Rock apart from traditional music lessons is our Method™ which combines one-on-one instruction with group rehearsals and live performances, teaching students how to play together as a band.
School of Rock sells guitars, bass guitars, drums, keyboards, microphones, recording equipment, amplifiers, effects pedals and much more through our exclusive GearSelect program. We’ve partnered with some of the music industry’s biggest brands to offer everything students need. Browse over 1,000 products.
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