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GUITAR TUITION, POLICIES, AND INFORMATION
LESSONS
Guitar lessons are 1/2-hour long one day per week. Tuition is $80 per month, based on a 4-week month.
My
studio is up and running all 12 months of the year: Fall/Winter
Session (when school begins to Winter Break), Winter/Spring Session
(after Winter Break to May), and Summer Session. (June to when school
begins).
My teachers and I may like to meet with you and your child before beginning lessons to see if we make a good "fit".
TUITION
Monthly tuition is based upon the amount of weeks that month of lessons. Tuition is due and payable on the 3rd of each month. The monthly tuition reserves and guarantees your child’s time-slot as my student. You will receive an invoice via email with your actual dues for the month, including any books that your child requires.
Summer Session is paid in advance for the entire session, which consists of eight weeks of lessons.
RECITALS, MASTER CLASSES AND PERFORMANCES
We have two recitals each year – one in the late fall/winter (before Christmas break), and one in the spring (April or May). There will be a minimal fee per family per recital performance to cover the cost of the recital hall. This cost is required even if you are not able to attend the recital.
In
addition to recitals, we hold what are called "Master Classes". These
are held every quarter and are fun opportunities for the students to
play the song(s) they are working on for the other students, plays
games and have snacks.
I also plan opportunities for the children to play for our local retirement center. These will be announced as they are planned.
SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS
We
will provide lesson books and supplies for each student, and will
bill you for the cost of these.
Each student needs to provide at the first class:
1. 1 1/2 inch three-ring binder with pockets
2. Dividers with tabs to go in the notebook (to divide extra music and handouts)
3. A spiral notebook
4. A canvas bag or backpack to carry all items and books easily to class.
Please bring the above items to the first class.
All appropriate supplies and materials must accompany the student to each lesson.
Makeup Lessons and attendance
As stated previously, your monthly dues reserve and guarantee
your child’s “time-slot” as a student. Even when a lesson is
missed, I have still held that time for your child and no one else.
Because of this, please make every effort to make every lesson.
Please understand, however, that
make-up lessons will NOT BE offered EXCEPT in the case of illness,
death in the family, a musical performance of another instrument (such
as band camp or band performance), or if the teacher is not able to make a lesson
time and has to reschedule. I will not be able to reimburse for any
missed lesson days that do not follow these guidelines.
The teacher may choose to reimburse for valid missed lessons in lieu of makeups, depending upon their schedule.
I will allow 2 makeups (or reimbursements) for valid absences per year (see paragraph above).
If
you do need to miss a lesson, you may contact one of the other parents
to see if they can “switch” with your child for that particular week.
The Agreement Sheet allows a space for you to initial if you would like your name put on this contact sheet and I can get you a copy of the list. Sometimes
another student may be able to change lessons with your child, and
sometimes they may not. Without a doubt, several lessons may be missed
due to schedule conflicts and you are unable to make a lesson, and are
unable to find a person to switch with you. As with other practices or
classes such as baseball or ballet, for example, this is bound to
happen.
However,
if the teacher is personally unable to make a lesson, they will
reschedule it to another day during that week, or give a makeup lesson
at another time. If you find that your scheduled lesson
time no longer works for you, please let me know as soon as possible so
that I can change your lesson time to a different time frame, if
something is available.
PRACTICE
****Please make sure that as you commit to guitar lessons for your child, that this is a priority in his/her schedule.****
If the student has not had sufficient practice time between lessons, you will hear much of the same music repeated again the following week ... that’s a sign that your child needs more time working on his/her lesson assignment.
PLEASE don’t expect your child to go to his/her instrument consistently without being reminded, even if they enjoy playing. Typically children need reminders to do anything until they are out on their own. It’s the “nature of the beast”. We will try to make lessons and their assignments as enjoyable as possible, but it is not all going to be a piece of cake, and they will need to apply consistency and discipline. These skills will be beneficial in every part of their lives. We have to help them with these skills. We will do what I can to give them “tips” on how to make this happen. Often, once they START practicing often they don’t want to stop.
Like most things in life, learning an instrument isn’t much fun unless you keep moving forward. The only way to achieve advancement and to play the kind of music you enjoy hearing is to practice a little bit every day. Depending upon your level of accomplishment and the music you are working on, practice time needed may be as little as 10 minutes 4 times a week, or as much as 1 hour a day. For all of my students, I recommend touching their instrument every day for at least 5 minutes.
Timeliness and waiting area
It is very important that students arrive at their lessons on time. We make very effort to begin and end your child’s lessons in a timely manner. If your child arrives 10 minutes late, we will not be able to extend their lesson for 10 minutes. And, please call the teacher if you will be late or absent! It is most important that we finish the last lesson of the day on time.
As
the parent, you are welcome to attend the first couple of lessons to
see what we do and to help your child feel more comfortable, if need
be. After that, you are welcome to take a seat in the teacher's
assigned waiting area. We’ve found that the children are much more
responsive if the parent is not in the room. Many parents just drop
their children off and run a quick errand or sit in their car outside
while the lesson is taking place, if they don’t wish to sit in the
waiting area.
SCHOOL BREAKS, HOLIDAYS AND SUMMER LESSONS
During the school year, the guitar lesson schedule will be roughly the same as the Katy School District schedule. There may be a few minor changes, depending on the amount of weeks in a month. You will be provided with access to the studio calendar.
We
have three different sessions, which will be referred to as such:
Fall/Winter Session (after school starts up to Christmas break),
Winter/Spring Session (after New Years up to end of the school year),
and Summer Session (June - before school starts up).
During the summer months, we do continue lessons. I
would recommend that all our students continue through the summer as it
is much easier to keep “on the roll” than picking up after the summer
months. Those summer students that wish to continue in
the fall will be guaranteed a time slot, so if you would like to
continue with lessons in the fall I would recommend that your child
take through the summer. If your child does not take lessons during
Summer Session, you risk the chance of not securing a time-slot in the
fall.
During the summer I allow three vacation weeks: One during the 4th
of July Holiday week, one for your vacation, and one for the teacher's vacation.
Therefore, the Summer Session is 8 weeks worth of lessons, which will
be paid up front.
EXPECTED BEHAVIOR
We do expect good and respectful behavior from all of my students. This means listening to instruction, proper position at the instrument (body language), speaking with respect and also treating their instrument with respect. If we feel that the child is consistently acting completely bored or tired during lessons, even if we are attempting to give them a song/assignment that might be enjoyable for them, we will also ask if lessons is appropriate for them, or they may be “overbooked”. This might be remedied by clearing out their schedule or getting them to bed at an earlier time. A child’s body language speaks volumes.Be assured we will try to make lessons as fun and enjoyable as possible; however, if your child is consistently slumping at his instrument or not following instructions, we will assume he is either too tired and needs more sleep or his schedule is too full, or he is just absolutely not interested in lessons. I will talk with the parent if the teacher sees either of these being an issue.
We cannot reward disrespectful or disruptive behavior, and if the child has been disrespectful, disruptive in class, does not appear to pay attention, or refuses to do as the teacher asks, I will discuss this with the parent. This rarely happens, but it certainly can. So far, we have found all of our students to be delightful and really enjoy their lessons.
TERMINATION OF LESSONS
Student/Parent must a give 30-day notice prior to terminating his/her scheduled lessons.
Thank you so much for your interest in giving your child the gift of music! I know we will have a great journey together!
PLEASE CONTACT MEIF YOU ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE ABOVE POLICIES AND WISH TO INQUIRE ABOUT GUITAR LESSONS.
Tammy