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Ali G.
Where to even begin? Monica is amazing! A little back story - In 2017, my then boyfriend got me a ukulele for our first Christmas together. He's a music guy & hoped it would give me an outlet for when I got stressed. Over the next couple of years, he teased me about how I rarely played it. We got engaged in November 2019. I knew then that I wanted to surprise him with a performance at our wedding. I found Monica online that weekend, and we started texting. We decided to wait until after the holidays to have our first lesson. Come January, Monica had everything ready to go! To say she went above and beyond would be an understatement. I wanted to sing with the song I was playing, but the song was high & my voice is low. Monica was able to re-work the song in a lower key for me. She also was super patient with me when I had issues loosening up - she took her time and taught me different ways to strum until we found one that worked. I decided to bring a bassist in to fill out the sound a little bit, she worked with both of us to get it right. She took all proper precautions when we started up lessons again after the first stage of the pandemic. Her rates are very reasonable. Again, Monica is great and I recommend her to anyone!
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James McLearen
Monica makes the lessons both fun and informative. Exactly what I was looking for in an instructor. Highly recommended for anyone.
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Isabella Mosquera
I like her because she is kind, listens and adheres to your wants and needs, and is overall a great teacher. She is so helpful, and knows what she’s talking about. I’m so exited to keep learning from her!
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Spencer Coyle
I had been trying to learn how to play guitar online for over a year and found that my progress had slowed. Monica pointed out changes to my technique and provided music theory background that helped me move forward again. Monica’s lessons are both enjoyable and productive.
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Jeanne Sirovatka
Monica is very flexible in recognizing previous experience and tailoring lessons to the genre and style that I want to learn. She's very good at identifying flaws in technique and correcting them so playing guitar gets easier and easier. Her explanations are clear and specific. Don't settle for youtube - get a live instructor! I'd highly recommend Monica for any starting guitar student!
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Judy Cicero
Monika makes the lessons enjoyable. She is very patient and offers helpful tips and suggestions.
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James Grimm
Monica has a great understanding of how to play the guitar and is a great teacher! She has made my beginner lessons easy and simple to understand! Highly recommend!
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Bruce Smith
Monica is very patient and does a great job of explaining what you should be doing. Very positive but will challenge you to bring out your best
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Jerry OToole
Monica is an excellent and engaging instructor. She has an excellent student in my daughter (Ukulele) and a not so good student in myself (guitar) but she provides effective instructions for both of us. My daughter had taken previous lessons at one of those strip mall music places and she showed more progress in one or two lessons with Monica than in the two 6-week lessons she took previously. She currently offers lessons outdoors in her backyard and it is a very pleasant and comfortable environment. I highly recommend Monica as an instructor if you are considering taking lessons. She makes it fun yet challenging and you walk away from each lesson feeling like you’ve learned something. Now maybe if I practiced a bit more between lessons (like my daughter) I’d have made more progress .... but that’s on me. ;)
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Margaret Sheehan
Monica is very helpful and encouraging with teaching ukulele. She explains how to play in a way that is creative and easy to understand. She is able to see what I am doing incorrectly and gives me both visual and auditory tips/examples that help me to see differently
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Shantelle Whitehead
Monica is an incredible teacher and musician. She is challenges me each lesson, while also being encouraging and helpful.
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Laura Kilicarslan
I started lessons with Monica at her home. Then, with the Covid19 distancing mandate, we changed it and now use Zoom. Monica was very patient with me while I figured out how to use this method and get set up. Monica has two cameras that she uses and is able to send me music and lesson materials. I have to say, I'm not someone who is technologically savvy, and I've found that the lessons are fun and a great way to connect with a wonderful teacher. I'm glad to keep the lessons going, especially since I have so much extra time at home to practice!😄
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Deb Z.
Monica loves music and you can tell. If you are thinking of taking lessons I would recommend working with Monica. She's a great teacher and can break playing an instrument down into easy steps. She is technology savvy and will walk you through your lessons. I was worried I couldn't learn an instrument over the internet but she is able to share the screen with me, write on the music virtually so I can see what to do and make notes on my own music, as well as play music with me. In case you are wondering how a lesson may look we both log into zoom. During the lesson we work on a variety of songs and strum patterns. When I'm having difficulty she splits the screen so I can see the music, her face and/or her ukulele. Happy strumming :)
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Art Andersen
Currently receiving lessons online, it is working perfectly.
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Steve Gnatz
I've written a review before regarding my excellent experience with Monica as a ukulele teacher. That experience has been further enhanced recently by her willingness to continue her lessons with me virtually during the current pandemic. Monica has been able to bring her excellent teaching skills across the internet! She continues to supply me with her insights and helpful tips as I improve. I find her abilities to provide me with such valuable lessons remarkable - and I believe that it goes to show how talented a teacher she really is!
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Ted Margaris
Monica is a fantastic music educator. She knows how to adapt to the particular needs of each student. She is enthusiastic and patient. I enjoy my lessons.
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Art Andersen
Monica is a pleasure. Patient, knowledgeable, and professional. Plus she make learning fun!
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Karri Neal
I love how Monica teaches you what you want to learn. The first lesson she asked if I was looking to learn notes, chords, or both and has structured each lesson towards what I’m looking to get out of it. She asked before my first lesson what type of music I wanted to learn to play so I can learn songs that are exciting to me! It’s also so much fun to go to each lesson and have her play with me. I would absolutely recommend Monica to anyone looking to learn guitar.
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Ali
Great experience!
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Richard Pye
I've tried learning guitar with different teachers before Monica and on my own, but had little to no success. Monica's approach is to teach as she would like to be taught. She explains concepts clearly, answers questions patiently, and knows it takes time and practice. I highly recommend Monica to aspiring guitar players.
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Kimberly Cohen
She goes at your pace and tries to teach you step by step...learning the basics and giving suggestions on what will help to play better and encouraging!
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Laura Kilicarslan
Monica is a patient and encouraging teacher. She is very knowledgeable and teaches in a way that is comfortable, fun, and challenging.
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Louis Reece
Monica understands the level of playing that I’m at and so far has been challenging me with new ideas and methods.
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Demi Wang
Friendly, knowledgable
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Steve Gnatz
Monica is very patient and has great experience teaching!
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Dennis Dybowski
Monica is patient and easily adjusts to my learning ability. It's only been for my 2 acoustic guitar lessons but I will be continuing for quite some time. The 30 minute lessons are perfect for reviewing material and any trouble areas, presenting new material, and outlining future learning.
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Kiran Thali
Monika Kaplan is no doubt one of the most humble, approachable, and skillful guitar teacher you can find in West Chicagoland. I have been studying with her for the past few months. I have been learning guitar for some years now and Monika was not the first music instructor I had. Monika is however, the best one so far by a large margin. Since the first lesson she has been extremely professional and organized in his teaching methods. She is able to quickly identify my strengths and weaknesses as a player, tailor her lessons to fit my capabilities, and help me improve in great effectiveness.
I am a professional with a busy schedule both on and off work, and really don't get much time to practice but with Monika I am able to greatly improve nonetheless and can see noticeable improvements. Thank you Monika, you are the best!
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David Zacher
Monica is very knowledgeable and very patient.I am an older player just getting back to guitar after a long hiatus; I decided to take lessons with some trepidation as generally folks my age are not who you see taking beginner lessons. Monica has exceeded my expectations in every possible way so far.
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Rick Begler
Monica was great. She totally explained guitar when countless books and online videos only had me confused. After only a few lessons I was confident I would become a guitar player.
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Sheila Bangs
Monica is very patient and explains everything in detail. She listens to what your goals are in playing, takes into account your experience and then tailors your lessons to fit your needs. We couldn't have asked for a better teacher for our son.
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Mirza Baig
Exactly what i was looking for, as a beginner i was trying to find the right techniques to learning and Monica truly provided that. She is someone who is ready and passionate to teach and really understands your pain points and works you through those.
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Robert Moore
Monica is exactly what you want in a teacher. She is extremely knowledgeable, observant, encouraging, patient and treats you with respect. She is a great listener and taylors the lessons to your speed. If your looking for someone to teach and ecourage you to play guitar, you wont find anyone better than Monica!
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Anagha Modak
My son has completed a few lessons with Monica and my overall experience with her is great so far.. As a teacher she is very friendly and knowledgeable. She also lent her guitar to use while my son is taking classes from her and that was a big help! I look forward to having her as my son's guitar teacher for longer term.
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Ita Keasip
I signed up with Monica through Lessions.com and are currently learning ukulele with her. She is very kind and patient in teaching. When I asked for learning new songs, she has been alway prepared before the lessons. Monica goes extra miles for her student!
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KaraLee Anderson
She is organized and a great communicator! My daughter loves taking ukulele lessons and looks forward toward the goals they have set for her progress.
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Amanda Mary
Monica was very helpful and informative. I was able to learn how to play all of my favorite Taylor Swift songs! Since taking lessons from Monica, I have been able to apply what I’ve learned to other songs. Monica is patient, kind, and a fantastic teacher! I recommend her lessons to anyone wanting to learn how to play the guitar.
