Violin & Viola Studio

Studio Policy

Lesson Times

Every student is required to have a regular lesson time. If the student is unable to make the regular time, the parent must reschedule ahead of time. Cancellations require at least 24 hours notice. Otherwise, please be prepared to pay for the lesson. If I have to miss a lesson for any reason, we will find another time to make it up.

Payment

Please pay at the beginning of each month by check (to Eva Gerard), cash, or Venmo. This gives us a chance to discuss scheduling. Lesson rates are as follows:
30 minute lesson - $45
45 minute lesson - $70
60 minute lesson - $90

Parental Involvement (children under 10)

The most effective musical training occurs when the child has someone to practice with at home. Please attend your child’s lessons, take notes, and video-record. There are different methods of absorbing and remembering the details of your child’s lesson. Some people prefer to take videos, others have excellent note-taking skills; one parent I worked with even typed up each week’s assignment for her son! No matter how you choose to do it, the important thing is to help you and your child remember what happened in the lesson and exactly how to practice each part of the assignment. Progress happens more quickly when children master skills correctly the first time. This is a lot of time for you to commit, but it is so worth it! If one of your goals is to have your child value music, the very act of taking notes in lessons will send him/her the message that music education is a high priority.

Parental Involvement (Children 5 and under)

Your job as practice partner is even more crucial if the student is five years or younger. Children this age are so fun to teach and have a strong bond with their instrument from a young age. However, parents have to do more hands-on work. When I teach a young child, I expect the parent to put the violin up for the child, learn how to help him/her make bow holds, and perform any other number of physical tasks. Therefore I require parents to take three private lessons with me prior to bringing their child. This is a foundation of the Suzuki method and it really works. When the parent knows what he/she is doing, the whole process is so much smoother. Not to mention that children this age love to do what they see their parents doing, so they will be inspired to practice when they see their parents doing so!

Home Practice

Every student needs to practice every single day. Here are some guidelines for practicing:
Beginner/Early Book 1: 15-20 minutes
Late Book 1 (Allegretto and up): 30 minutes
Book 2: 35-40 minutes
Book 3: 45 minutes
Book 4: 1 hour
Book 5 and up: 1 1/2 - 2 hours

Create a good environment for practicing at home. Help your child find a quiet place and time where he/she can focus and reach his/her potential. This also means taking into account what times of day your child is most alert. One of the greatest challenges of taking music lessons is finding time to practice. The sooner you and your child create a practice routine, the sooner he/ she will progress.

Lesson Requirements

Please bring the following to every lesson:

1. instrument

2. rosin

3. notebook and writing utensil

4. music

Recitals

Every student is required to play in studio recitals. We will have one recital every semester, usually in January and May. I will let you know the dates at the beginning of each semester so you can reserve the time. The student and I will discuss which piece to play about 6 weeks prior to the recital, but this will always be a review piece, not the student’s newest piece. This is so the student can perform to the best of his/her abilities, rather than struggling with new and difficult material.

Group Class

After the first year of instruction, students are required to participate in group class, either one of my group classes or another teacher’s. The point of this is to get children playing together as early as possible! Playing with other kids is not only fun, it is also motivating and teaches kids how to learn from others, work together, and be leaders. As they grow older, I encourage all students to join local youth orchestras.