Flatts & Sharpe Music Co.

Excellent place to learn music! I’ve been coming here for five+ years for guitar lessons. Diverse clientele and staff, who treats everybody with respect, regardless of age, interest, or experience. You learn the music you want and love, but you also get the instruction you need.
I’m very happy with my progress at Flatts & Sharpe!

It’s nice to have a neighborhood music shop. It reminds me of my childhood when I use to run to the store excitedly to pick a new song to learn on guitar. They’ve got a decent basic collection here and prices are standard. It’s a charming place, really. Their estimate to repair an old, but rare, guitar I picked up was a bit ridiculous, so I passed on it. Everything else is pretty cool. I take lessons with someone else (Sandip Burman), so I can’t speak for the instructors, but the prices seem reasonable. I’m glad they’re in the area.

Great location. OK music store. There are much better in Chicago. Service was average. knowledgeable about guitars, but really nothing else. I asked to speak with the owner about a repair, never met her yet. I used to work in a similar music store (small mom and pop shop). The owner I worked for was very good about keeping the store clean and organized. Flatts and Sharps doesn’t have the same love and care. carpets need to be vacuumed. Sheet music needs to be inventoried and organized. I found it hard to find standard books for my beginning lesson students. With some TLC and more knowledgeable employees this shop would be great. I hate to say it, but Guitar Center on Halsted was a much better more personal experience.

Don’t leave your instrument with these guys.
Took my horn in to have it cleaned and get a new valve. They had it for two weeks.
They shipped it to a different store and didn’t tell me that. So, I go to get my horn the day that I was going to fly to my gig. So yeah, I call and they said they didn’t get my valve and they didn’t bother cleaning it and that my horn wouldn’t be in until 6pm because it was at another location. Luckily I had changed my flight due to some storms sweeping through otherwise I would have gotten to my show with no horn. Nice. Did they care? Nope. They didn’t care at all and were not helpful at all. Guess I will keep my horn in Los Angeles. One would think that Chicago had their shite together but no, no they do not.

My son has been taking guitar lessons at Flatts & Sharpe for about 6 months and was taking them at his school thru F & S for 2 years before that. We cannot say enough about this place — we love it! My son’s instructor, James, is so patient and kind with my son and at the same time cool and hip and teaches my son songs that he is interested in. The owner, Chris, is also very cool, hip and sweet.
We’ve had so much fun going to the performances and being involved with this business and plan to for many years to come!

The only reason I give it 2 stars is because they give lessons and showcase students’ talent. Besides that, I’d give it a solid ONE star. If you need anything ordered, repaired, suggestions about an instrument, etc, do NOT talk to the owner. She has no clue about band instruments. I received a Clarinet that was broken, and along with it, was given a broken reed. I took it back to get a different reed and was given a SAXOPHONE reed instead. If you own a business, make sure you leave the details to those that know how to do it. Don’t just give customers something you think will work to get them out the door quicker.
Also, the customer service was pretty lame. I didn’t feel like I was «cool enough» to be in on their conversation at the counter.

I started taking lessons at F&S about a year and a half ago and between the lessons and the twice-​yearly performance opportunities i have been able to rapidly advance in terms of music theory, technique, and everything in between (although still got a long way to go!) everyone is always very friendly and go out of their way to help. Ive purchased a bunch of helpful music accessories as well as had my guitar set up and been very happy. I always feel at home when I am in the store.

Guitar Center’s floor generally doesn’t really care whether they can help you or not; I’ve walked in there ready to buy countless times but left instrumentless and headed to a mom and pop store where the folks actually try to answer what you’re asking. Flatts and Sharpe not only gives my neighborhood local color but also goes out of its way to let me try, reconsider, and come back and spend without regret. I’ve had a bass guitar fixed and bought two guitars, an acoustic amp, and countless strings, straps, picks, books, steel slides, stands, and kapos. Some prices are a little jacked on maintenance items, but on the major purposes the slight difference was worth it for the time the folks put into my personal needs. They could diversify their inventory more, but still one can find some internationality.

I had «learn to play a musical instrument» as an item on my life’s wish list for more than 2 decades. Each year it was relegated to the bottom of my wish list because I was too busy or maybe I felt it was too indulgent. This May, I decided to begin guitar lessons at Flatts & Sharpe. I’m so glad I did. The shop is a wonderful small business owned and operated by musicians and those who love them. As an adult coming to music lessons so late, I can’t praise this place enough for making lessons so accessible, reasonably priced, and unintimidating for beginners. My progress is slow due to my own lack of time for practice, but the lessons give me great pleasure. All the teachers are working musicians who happen to be very skilled at teaching adults who have never played. If you’ve always wanted to learn an instrument, go here. My guitar lessons at F & S have become one of the highlights of my week.

Not good customer service. First off their hours are horrible. You can call there in the daytime and they will answer the phone, give you info on products but then show up right afterward to be informed they are not open. I walked right in the door only to be told immediately they were not open, while there was someone at the front counter being waited on. If you refuse to make a sale then no one should be there to mislead those walking by.
Also they don’t have a good inventory of instruments. Some people would say oh well they sale beginner instruments. The contrary is true. It’s much harder for a beginner to learn on an inferior instrument than a quality one. A music store for musicians is gonna want their students and patrons to succeed at playing. Store profits is the only positive outcome to selling junk instruments.

Still terrific. Dashed in as they were closing because the nephew is now into jazz. Got a terrific fat book of standards for him from the wonderfully helpful woman in charge. Thanks and keep on rockin’!

The worst experience in my life, spcialy the Banjo lesson, and the owner seems very rude, she was talking to one of her employee and she act like askd al a B… dont go there if you want to buy an instrument, the prices are so high. i dont recommand this shop to anybody.

totally successful trip! I Found all the suzuki violin books for my daughter, got some piano sheet music for myself and signed my son up for drum lessons! This is a full service store.

My whole family loves the painted bird guitars in the window. I love being able to run in there when I need a last minute cord

A good neighborhood music store. They have the mid priced stuff, and a good selection of sheet music. Not every store can have über high end stuff, and this one doesn’t, but it has decent stuff to for a quick string change, upgrade, fix and mid priced guitar items. Lots better than Guitar Center in terms of service. Someone below complained about cheap $ 100 plywood guitar? You think GC would treat you better? Crazy.

I went into Sharps and Flats with my boyfriend just before Christmas 2008. I was looking for a less than standard size guitar, as I have very small hands and wanted one that I could really learn on. My boyfriend decided to buy me the guitar for Christmas. The night that we made our purchase was great. We went in, were helped promptly and we selected a ¾ size acoustic. It was inexpensive, just under $ 100. I was pleased.
However, less than 2 months later, the guitar started to twang on the E string and the more I played the worse the twang got. We assumed that the fret had raised and took it back to Sharps and Flats where they agreed to fix it at a reduced cost. Well so much for that… the next day they called and told me that the guitar was not fixable at the price they quoted me or any other price. They offered to sell me an upgraded guitar for half off. When I arrived to pick out the replacement guitar the owner explained to me that the guitar I had purchased was cheaply made, not under warranty and not fixable (never mind that this was the same gal who told me she could and would fix the guitar 24 hours earlier). When I started looking at more expensive guitars to replace my now apparently worthless guitar, she told me that she could only offer 50% off of the exact same ¾ size guitar. The same guitar that she had mentioned less than a minute before was cheaply made and not worth buying. So I asked her «Why I would spend money on the same guitar when you just got done telling me that instrument is a piece of sh**t? She really had nothing to say expect «I don’t really know what else I can tell you. The guitar you bought did not have a warranty. It sucks, I know.» So I asked her about the 50% off of a new guitar the guy on the phone had mentioned. She just said that she could not offer the 50% off of anything expect the same exact guitar. I kept tell her that this was a customer service issue. We did not come in at Christmas to buy a cheap badly-​made guitar. We came in to buy a nice instrument and this was the guitar that we were sold by her employee.
In the end we just took the broken guitar (which, according the gal at Sharps and Flats, has a warped neck and that is why it can’t be repaired) and walked out. My boyfriend should have just thrown his 100 bucks out a window because we got NOTHING for our money. Not even an apology.
We will NOT be back. I am going out tomorrow to buy a new guitar elsewhere and will NEVER give my business to this store again. I am a big lover of local businesses and not giving money to the corporate giants, but in this case, I would have been better off at Guitar Center. Total let down!

A great local music store (and by music store, I mean instruments and sheet music, not albums and CDs).
I take guitar lessons here because its local to me and the people have always been very, very, nice. They offer all kinds of music lessons and have a decent selection of guitars and sheet music. If they don’t have it, they are willing to order it for you.
I’ve been eying a harmonica but maybe I should master my guitar before I step out into entertaining down in the «L» tunnels with this economy.
But at the prices that this store charges, I know I can still afford my music lessons! Check it out!

Nothing but good experiences here. Super nice staff, cheap and dependable repairs. Good spot.

This is going to be a brief review.
Flatts & Sharpe is a great local music store. I love the fact that it is walking distance from Loyola.

Under new ownership. I believe the new owners name is Chris.
Flatts & Sharpe Music Co. is as cool as it’s ever been.
Whenever I stop in to see what new guitars she has in stock, I always see someone getting piano or guitar lessons.
I’ve been looking at a silver steel guitar with the resonator, and the Washburn frettless bass guitar, and may be making those purchases soon.
They also have drum sets, microphones, guitar pedals, tab books, instrument cables, and more.
note: If your looking for recording studio gear or software, this is not the place for you.