Serving Des Plaines · Est. 1930
Music Lessons in Des Plaines, IL
Private lessons for Des Plaines kids, teens, and adults at The Arlington School of Music in downtown Arlington Heights — or online from home.
From Des Plaines, The Arlington School of Music is about a 15-minute drive up Northwest Highway (US-14) — and the Metra UP-NW line runs from Des Plaines to Arlington Heights directly, with our studio a short walk from the station.
Des Plaines students come to us across every department: piano and guitar for beginners, strings and winds for school musicians working toward better seating and honor ensembles, and voice for singers preparing choir and musical auditions.
Since 1930 we've served the whole Northwest Suburban corridor along US-14; lessons are weekdays 3:00–9:00 PM, weekends by appointment, in person or online.
Popular Lessons with Des Plaines Students
Piano Lessons
Piano is where most musicians begin — and at The Arlington School of Music, it is one of our largest departments. Our piano faculty is led by Scott Hendricks, a concert performer whose playing spans Chopin and Rachmaninoff to jazz standards, blues, and boogie-woogie, with festival credits including Taste of Chicago, Navy Pier, and Summerfest in Milwaukee.
Learn more →Guitar Lessons
The guitar department at The Arlington School of Music is led by Executive Director Nico Angel, an international concert artist who has headed the department since 1967. He teaches classical, folk, and popular guitar, and specializes in concert flamenco in the style of Sabicas and Paco de Lucía — a style he studied with grand masters of the guitar in Spain, Mexico, Canada, and South America.
Learn more →Violin Lessons
Violin students at The Arlington School of Music study with conservatory-trained performers. Faculty violinist Erin Yerin Kim is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied under Jaime Laredo and Stephen Rose. She was the youngest musician in history to join the roster of the New World Symphony — at eighteen — and has served as concertmaster of orchestras including the Honors Performance Series Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
Learn more →Voice Lessons
Voice lessons at The Arlington School of Music are led by Andrew Gilstrap, Head of Vocal Studies. Instruction centers on healthy, sustainable vocal technique — breath support, resonance, diction, and range development — applied to the styles each singer loves, from classical and musical theater to pop and jazz.
Learn more →Drum Lessons
Drum and percussion students at The Arlington School of Music study with Michael Pfannkuche, a former Drum Corps International and Winter Guard International performer. Lessons cover drum set, concert snare, rudimental drumming, and mallet percussion — the full range a school percussionist or aspiring drummer needs.
Learn more →Visit Us from Des Plaines
The Arlington School of Music · 320 S Arlington Heights Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60005 · Lessons Monday–Friday 3:00–9:00 PM, weekends by appointment. Online lessons available.