5 Best Music Schools in Chicago (2026)

Merit School of Music runs a dedicated West Loop building offering group classes, private lessons, and early childhood music education across nearly every instrument and vocal style. Its Selective Programs, including a tuition-free, audition-based conservatory track, aim to remove cost barriers for advanced students, and its community programs extend into Pilsen, Near North, and South Shore. The school also runs services for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, a specialty that goes beyond a typical music school's offerings.

ACM School of Music is a nonprofit that has served Chicago for over 20 years, offering private lessons and group ensembles in piano, guitar, voice, and strings out of a Wilson Avenue location with a coffee shop and event venue attached. It runs Chicago's only classical music street festival and produces community concerts alongside its regular lesson schedule. The flexible membership model lets students start anytime and adjust their schedule rather than committing to a rigid term.

Chicago College of Performing Arts is a music conservatory operating inside Roosevelt University's downtown campus, offering degree programs alongside intensive orchestral studies for students focused on classical repertoire. Its proximity to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera gives students direct access to the city's professional classical music scene. As a university conservatory, it's built for students pursuing a formal music degree rather than casual lessons.

Music and Company is a Roscoe Village studio offering private lessons in piano, guitar, voice, violin, ukulele, drums, and trumpet for all ages and levels. The studio pairs individual instruction with regular ensemble and band opportunities, including performances at neighborhood venues, giving students a chance to play with others early on. Its smaller scale means a tighter-knit community than the larger institutions on this page.

Music Conservatory of Illinois is an Evanston studio offering personalized lessons in piano, guitar, and voice for students of all ages and skill levels. Reviewers describe a family taking cello and AP Music Theory instruction there, and long-running relationships with individual teachers who work around students with specific learning needs. Its location just north of Chicago proper makes it a natural fit for North Side and North Shore families.