Violinnovation Studio Policies, 2009-10
All private lessons bill at $16 per half-hour. Please email for current consulting rates.
Bartering of services may be considered in lieu of cash payments for local students. My wish list includes: landscaping, Spanish lessons, remodeling work (drywall repairs and touchup, retexturing of ceilings, painting, door framing and hanging, etc.), carpet cleaning.
Payments are due the first lesson of the month.
New students starting mid-month will be pro-rated.
Lesson billing and payments occur monthly based on the number of lesson weeks in a calendar month.
Webcam students: Invoices are sent and paid via PayPal. They are sent to the principal e-mail address listed on your registration form approximately a week before they are due.
Local students: Lessons may be paid for using PayPal, cash or personal check. Returned checks will result in an additional charge; thereafter, cash payment for lessons will be expected.
There are no refunds for lessons missed by the student, regardless of the reason. Lessons missed due to illness or webcam technical issues may be rescheduled at instructor's discretion. Lessons missed by the instructor will be credited.
Each prospective student receives a ten to fifteen minute consultation as part of the first lesson. The first month of lessons must be paid for at or before the first lesson. For local students, the time will be used to discuss your personalized lesson plan. Webcam students will also receive an equipment and connection check and any necessary tech support.
If the student continues lessons, the initial consult is free. If you don't wish to continue after the first lesson, the consult is $32. I don't want to make this more difficult than necessary, so if you decide not to continue, I need to know at the end of the lesson so that I can issue your refund at that time. Webcammers opting out will be charged $37, because of the additional fees charged by PayPal. Again, I need to know at the end of the first lesson, so that I can process your refund immediately.
The studio Parent Education Course is $100. Please see the "Parents" page for details.
My studio is located in Norwalk, Iowa. We are on Central Standard Time and observe Daylight Savings Time.
The studio address and phone numbers are given directly to students for internet security reasons. In case there is a legal problem needing resolution, the laws of the State of Iowa will prevail.
I normally let the answering machine take calls while I am teaching. I will, however, hear your message should you choose to leave one.
Instruments taught: violin (acoustic and electric) and viola.
Students taught: Students may begin lessons at age 3 locally and age 5 via webcam, upon completion of Parent Education Course. There is no upper age limit.
Parent Education: parents of students 4th grade and under must complete a five-lesson parent education course before their child starts lessons. The course is designed to be an informational tool for parents, containing sections on the Suzuki and studio philosophy, home practice, motivation, and other important topics regarding music study. Anyone who is interested in learning more about talent education is welcome to participate.
15- to 20-minute private lesson: for beginners on institutional accounts, studying up to the middle of Suzuki Vol. 1.
30-minute private lesson: for beginners, transfer students, and adults who have not completed Suzuki Vol. 2.
45-minute private lesson: for students who have completed Suzuki Vol. 2. Students are requested to upgrade to a 45-minute lesson at the beginning of Suzuki Vol. 3.
60-minute private lesson: primarily for advanced students, small chamber groups and adult students, who may find that they have enough material to cover during lessons that an hour-long lesson is practical and beneficial.
Group lessons: groups of students studying at approximately the same level. Group lessons are a supplement to private lessons, allowing time to work through repertoire or techniques, review and polish older concepts, and to provide students with motivation and mentoring.
Students should bring the following to each lesson:
themselves and their instrument
shoulder pad or sponge (if required)
foot chart (if required)
current Suzuki book and other sheet music/books as assigned; I use the revised versions of the books and CDs in Suzuki series, now available for violin books one through 5.
a pencil
a music stand (webcammers)
a three-ring binder for use as a practice notebook. Set-up instructions will be given at the first lesson.
Prepared attendance at every scheduled lesson is expected.If you did not practice, please tell me at the beginning of the lesson.
If you will be late, please call.
Absences due to illness or webcam technical difficulties may be rescheduled at the instructor's discretion.
Twenty-four hours notice for an absence due to illness is appreciated, if possible.
If I have to miss a lesson, it will be credited to your account.
Summer lessons are available most summers. However, because of necessary surgery, there will be no lessons or consultations from June 3 until after the first week in August, 2010. I sincerely apologize for my unavailability, but it can't be helped or put off any longer.
There are NO regular lessons during the following times: TBD Spring Break week, and the calendar weeks that contain Independence Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
Lessons are in English. Spanish lessons would be gratefully received in lieu of lesson payments.
I am a firm adherent to the "one point lesson" for beginners and younger students.
Review is a component of all lessons. Any piece a student has played in the Suzuki literature is fair game.
Older students will generally play a warm-up exercise, passages from the current working piece, sight-reading and previewing of new material.
Students generally stand for lessons, unless asked to sit or have a disability that requires accomodation.
Lessons start and end on time, as much as possible. I do not hesitate to go over time when needed; the lesson ends when I'm convinced the student (and/or parent) understands and can do the assignment. I have also been known to end lessons early when necessary to keep frustration in check.
Parent should ask for regular reports of their student's progress. I try to send written reports via email, but don't always get it done.
A parent or guardian is generally required to be present at the lessons of children under age 12. If lessons are at school and not attended by a parent, an adult teacher or aide must be present.
To protect your child's safety and mine, all webcam lessons for minors (and some local lessons) will utilize multiple age-appropriate levels of security. Webcam parents must agree to this policy during the initial registration process.
Until we get to know each other really well, a parent, grandparent, school teacher or guardian of students under the age of 13 will be required to be on camera for the entirety of the lesson. If an adult listed above is not present at the start of the lesson, the lesson will not begin until he/she appears on camera. Similarly, if the adult has to step out of the shot mid-lesson, the lesson will be stopped and the student will be instructed to practice until the adult returns to camera.
Parents, grandparents or guardians of students aged 13 and above are strongly encouraged to be in the room during the lesson, but are not required to be in camera shot. Students of this age should be capable of taking their own lesson notes and marking their music themselves.
The lesson may be recorded on my end for quality control or training purposes. If I have recorded your lesson, a copy will be provided to you at no charge at your request.
In-studio students may choose to have their lesson recorded if they wish to have a copy to review later to help with practicing. I occasionally ask for permission to record in-house lessons for training purposes.
There will be at least one formal studio recital per school year. The date(s) will be posted well in advance and all students are expected to participate to the best of their ability.
All selections will be performed from memory, with appropriate accompaniment.
Other performances may be scheduled as I become aware of opportunities.
Recital attire: church clothes are fine. Students are welcome to go as dressy as they like.
If you are going to dress-up (especially ladies planning to wear higher heels), it is highly recommended that you practice your recital piece several times wearing your performance attire.
Practicing is generally considered to be essential to progress.
On the one hand, if the violin is important enough to pay for lessons, it might be important enough to spend some quality time with on a very regular basis.
On the other hand, if there isn't really a "should" or "have to" involved. The fact is that if a student wants to practice, he will. If he doesn't, he won't.
Some students are highly motivated to play well from the beginning. Others take a while to find something that motivates them.
The standard for beginners to the end of Suzuki Vol. 1 is generally 30 minutes daily, minimum, plus the same amount devoted to listening. This changes as a student becomes more advanced.
The amount and structure of daily practice is usually determined by the level of the student. It depends on what you need/want to get done. By the time a student has completed “Song of the Wind,” the daily practice session will ideally consist of variants of the following: tonalization, review, current pieces, previewing, and sight-reading and orchestra music (if applicable).The bulk of time, regardless of level, will probably be spent on review.
Practicing in smaller chunks of time is often easier, less stressful and highly productive. It works for any age group and can be a lot of fun, especially for young students. Use a timer if you have trouble stopping.
Students under age 8 should not practice by themselves. Up to age 10 or so, most students need considerable supervision, encouragement and guidance from a parent in order to properly complete the practice goals for the week.
I am glad to help you create a schedule that will make practicing easy and fun for everyone involved. If you need help, just ask.
If you get confused, don't wait til your next lesson to tell me, please e-mail or call me ASAP.
Every student must own a recording for each current and completed Suzuki volume, and the current one should be listened to daily.
Please make copies of your master CD or cassette tape. This is allowed under the Fair Use provisions of the United States Copyright Law. The copies may be useful if one gets lost, wears out or if listening is inconvenient. They can also be loaded into the computer's media player (Windows media player, iTunes, etc.)