Dear Students and Parents,
I am very excited that you chose to study a stringed instrument through private lessons! We will be working on solo pieces for your instrument along with scales, etudes and any music you may need help with from school. I have a few policies in order to maximize student learning at every lesson.
A. Lesson Fees: $34.00 for a 30 minute weekly lesson, $68.00 for a 60 minute weekly lesson. Payment for the month of lessons will be due at the first lesson of every month. I accept check, cash or online payments. You will receive a payment reminder and a receipt for your payment by email for every month.
B. Lesson Attendance: Students are expected to attend their reserved lesson day and time
every week unless we have scheduled an absence. This is crucial to making progress on an instrument. Students who are not in regular attendance may be asked to give up their lesson time.
C. Student Ages: I work with students starting from the age of six through eighteen-through college preparation pieces. I wait until age six, so I can introduce note reading along with the foundations of playing the instrument at the same time.
D. Cancellations: Lesson cancellations must take place twenty-four hours before the start of your lesson. If the lesson is canceled accordingly, I will schedule a make-up lesson upon availability or credit your payment towards the next month of lessons. If twenty-four hour notice is not given, I will not be able to schedule a make-up lesson or credit the lesson. It will be considered a lost lesson. If I should have to cancel a lesson, I will schedule a make-up lesson or credit it towards the next month. Make-up lessons will not be offered for scheduled make-up lessons. If you do not attend a scheduled make-up lesson, you forfeit the lesson. Make-up lessons can’t be guaranteed. They are scheduled upon availability, so it is always best to attend your regular lesson day and time when at all possible. Please report lesson cancellations by text or email at 913-568-9672 or violinerin@gmail.com. Emergencies will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
E. Illness: If you are sick, please don’t attend your lesson. Let me know that you are sick. If you are feeling up to it, we will replace our regular in-person lesson with an online lesson that day. If this is not possible, we will schedule a make-up lesson when you are feeling better.
F. Lesson Times: It is important to be punctual for your lesson because lessons are scheduled in back-to-back blocks of time. If you are late for your lesson, it will still end at the scheduled time. We will just have a shorter lesson that day. Please be considerate of the student taking a lesson before you and only come in five minutes prior to your scheduled lesson time, so every student can get the most out of each lesson.
G. Practice Expectations: Regular practice is the key to being a successful string player. Most students do not practice on their own naturally, so it will take gentle encouragement. It is easiest to keep practice a scheduled routine that happens around the same time every day, just like homework. Students will be asked to bring a notebook to each lesson to record their practice assignment for the week along with important scheduling information or material requests. Here are practice goals for each level of musician:
• Very Beginners: 10 minutes, 5 days per week
• First year: 20 minutes, 5 days per week
• Second year: 30 minutes, 5 days per week
• Third and Fourth year: 35 minutes, 5 days per week
• Five plus years: 45 minutes plus, 5 days per week
H. Materials: Students are expected to bring these materials to every lesson: instrument in the correct size, bow, rosin, shoulder rest (violin and viola only), rock stop (cello only), music, music bag, lesson notebook, cleaning cloth and pencil.
I. Inclement Weather Days: If we have an inclement weather day and schools are closed, I will contact you. We will replace our regular in person lesson with an online lesson that day.
J. Holidays: The studio will be closed on these holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If your lesson day happens to fall on one of these holidays, we will not have a lesson on that day. We will just skip the lesson, so you will not be charged. If you celebrate holidays other than these listed holidays, we can make individual arrangements.
K. Proper Instrument Care: Students will be learning how to take care of their instrument in lessons. One of the most crucial things in caring for a stringed instrument is protecting it from extreme temperatures. Since our instruments are made of wood, they expand and contract in heat and cold. Never leave your instrument anywhere that doesn’t have heat or air conditioning. Your instrument can crack or the finish can melt. Take care of your instrument like a pet.
L. Instrument Sizes: Instruments come in different sizes. Students need to be measured by a music store to make sure they are getting the correct size that fits them. Fully grown adults play the instrument sizes we see in movies, but children need much smaller instruments. A student trying to play on an instrument that is too big would be like a child trying to ride a bike that is too big. They would automatically think they aren’t good at it just because they can’t reach the pedals.
M. Encouragement is Essential: When you hear a string player playing in public, they have most likely been playing for years. It takes time to develop a good sound on a stringed instrument. They are slow learning instruments in comparison to something like piano. On the piano you can push a button, and a note comes out. On a stringed instrument you have to learn what to do to make the right note come out and then how to make it sound good when it does come out. This means there may be some strange sounds in the beginning. Always have a positive attitude about the sounds you may hear in order to encourage playing and practice. Everything will get better with practice!
N. Discontinuing Lessons: In the event that you need to discontinue lessons, please give two weeks’ notice. Lessons are paid by the month and are non-refundable. If you decide you need to stop lessons during the month, it is best to attend the few remaining lessons of that month. If you need to stop lessons because of a scheduling issue, be sure and let me know because we can often find another lesson day and time that works for both of us.
Music Stores in Our Area
Below is a list of music stores in our area that can help with your musical needs. Each of them offer different services from selling instrument and music books to instrument repair. Some of them specialize in certain services. If you need a specific service, and you are unsure of which store can fit your needs, talk to me for guidance. This is not a complete list. It is for your convenience as a starting point.
Egeen Violin Shop
150 W 5th Avenue Denver, CO 80204
303-777-6908
Gorsett Violin Shop
6692 E Asbury Ave Denver, CO 80224
303-756-7787
Music and Arts
8475 S. Yosemite St Suite B, Lone Tree, CO 80124
303-799-1253
Music and Arts
5158 S. Broadway Englewood, CO 80113
303-788-0707
Sound and Fury Violins
1470 S. Quebec Way #28
Denver, CO 80231
720-364-8669
Von’s Violin Shop
6740 E Hampden Ave #103
Denver, CO 80224
303-778-1349
Lesson Materials List
1) Instrument Books:
***Check with me before purchasing your books to make sure you are purchasing the correct level of books
1st year: Essential Elements for Strings, book 1, Suzuki Book 1
2nd year: Essential Elements for Strings, book 2, Suzuki Book 2
3rd year: Essential Technique for Strings, book 3, Suzuki Book 3
4th year (plus): Advanced Technique for Strings, book 4, Suzuki Book 4, Suzuki Books 5-7, Standard Concertos
2) Pencil
3) Music Bag (plastic or cloth)
4) Soft Cloth to wipe rosin off instrument
5) Rosin
6) Lesson Notebook-regular notebook with paper (for your weekly practice assignment)
7) Shoulder Rest (for Violins and Violas only): Each student needs a shoulder rest. Music stores offer the sponge shoulder rests, but I require a higher quality shoulder rest. I have found much success with Everest, Viva or Kun shoulder rests.
8) Rock Stop (for Cello only)
9) Instrument
10) Folding Music Stand (for home practice only)
Private Violin, Viola, and Cello lessons in Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Parker, Castle Rock, Castle Pines Colorado