Total Music

Excellent customer service. Gary was very pleasant. This little store feels old school neighborly.

Fantastic store to either rent or purchase instruments! My child has been renting a clarinet for the last 2 years. Very helpful and knowledgeable with every musical instrument known to man! I actually ended up taking guitar lessons with one of the teachers there and it was fantastic and reasonable price per hour.

Great little store. Gary inspected, replaced the stings and lubed our 40 year old violin in 15 minutes! You could tell he knows his stuff and loves what he does. No BS kind of guy!

A small but well-​stocked music store with everything your little budding musician needs for orchestra and band. I was a clarinetist, so I could always get whatever reeds and ligatures I needed here, and purchased both A and B-​flat instruments here. The sheet music selection was fairly complete, and they are always willing to order anything you need.
I also want to highly recommend Gary Karner, co-​owner and woodwind instructor, who is a first-​class clarinet teacher for serious students. It’s no fluke that his students are always at the top of clarinet sections in the bands and orchestras of the northern suburbs. I studied with him for eight years, from starting clarinet in 5^th grade up until moving away to get an undergraduate degree in music performance.
Mr. Karner studied with one of the finest American clarinetists, Robert Marcellus (principal clarinetist of the Cleveland Orchestra). As a result, lessons focus strongly on developing a rich, full tone as well as technical studies. But Mr. Karner’s teaching shines when working on the great clarinet repertoire from Mozart and Weber – he has a real passion for music-​making, and spent substantial time on expression and phrasing. He is a tough teacher but encouraging, and is can find performance opportunities outside of the usual school ensemble playing.
Mr. Karner’s prices are reasonable, and he is flexible – he won’t charge for occasionally missing lessons due to illness or vacations. If you or your child are looking for a clarinet teacher, try to get on Mr. Karner’s schedule.