Looking for Guitar Lessons, Evanston IL?
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Piano Power has maintained an Evanston student base since 2001. We’re proud to be part of a city with such a vibrant artistic and cultural life!
Why is it great to be a music student in Evanston?
With so many live music and art resources at their fingertips, piano students in Evanston have plenty of opportunities to enrich their music education in addition to lessons with Piano Power.
The amazing concert venue SPACE hosts concerts for musical lovers of all ages. Many music-related festivals, including the YEA! Young Evanston Artists Festival, allow students and their families to enjoy music with their community.
Evanston is also home to the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, which offers a wide range of family-friendly programming. Some of our students have reported hanging out near Wildcat Alley to catch the marching band warm up before a Northwestern football game!
Piano Power founder Abraham Levitan has participated in First Night Evanston, the annual downtown New Year’s Eve fest. In addition, Piano Power students have been known to rock the E.T.H.S. Battle of the Bands, and to enjoy the programming of Dance Is My Everything (D.I.M.E.), and the Evanston Art Center.
Age recommendations
Learning guitar takes more initial muscle strength than learning piano, and it also has less instant gratification– in other words, it’s harder to play something that “sounds like a song” in the first few months. Therefore, we recommend that students wait until age 7 or 8 before starting guitar.
Piano is the foundational instrument– it gives a great theory background and a great sense of how music works. Once a student has two or three years of piano under their belt, it’s a lot easier to transition to another instrument.
Read why you’ll never regret taking music lessons as an adult.
Practice expectations
Your guitar teacher will work with you to create a practice plan that works for your student’s schedule. The single most important element of guitar practice is regularity. We know our students are busy! But devoting even a modest amount of time each day to guitar practice produces much better results than relying on weekly “cram sessions.” Ideally, your student will make guitar a regular part of his or her day.
Read teacher Adrienne Schroeder’s amazing advice on how to practice.
We don’t have a guitar. Where should we get one?
In general, it’s better to start with acoustic guitar– it’s always easier to transition to electric later, rather than the other way around.
We also recommend that, no matter where you get the guitar from, your student comes with you so the store can get the right size. (There are three-quarter-sized guitars for young students, and full-sized guitars for older beginners.)
Keep in mind that a beginner doesn’t need a top-of-the-line guitar — something around $200 or $300 is probably fine. Guitar Works in Evanston is a great store, and Guitar Center in Highland Park is a decent backup option.
Read this Guide to the 10 Sizes of Guitar from National Guitar Academy.
Piano Power recitals
If your student has been receiving guitar instruction with Piano Power for three months or more, he or she is invited to participate in our annual spring recital. Held in June and December, the recital is a wonderful, low-key way to celebrate your student’s achievements. Our guitarists perform a huge variety of repertoire — from classical to original compositions to Top-40 radio hits.
Read more about what makes Piano Power recitals so cool
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We’re ready to match you with a great guitar teacher!
We’d love to talk more with you about our terrific Evanston guitar teachers, and how to get the most out of your guitar student’s experience. Our abiding goal is that our students develop a lifelong love of music.
Ready to connect with a teacher today?
