Dixiefiddler.com

String Lessons

 

"Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you."

2 Timothy 1:6, NIV

 

 

Lesson Policies 

Due to the volume of students that I teach, it is necessary for me to establish certain guidelines and policies for private lessons.  Please reread through these policies even if you are fairly familiar with them.

1)  Lessons are given on a weekly basis.  Each student is assigned a time slot and expected to be present each week at his or her appointed times.  If a lesson has to be missed, a make-up lesson should be scheduled a day or more in advance, otherwise the lesson is forfeited and no makeup lesson is given for absences without prior notice.  If I can utilize your missed slot for another student's makeup lesson, this gives you credit; so I must be alerted to cancellations 24 hours or more in advance of the regularly assigned lesson.

2)   Lesson payments are to be made in full for one month in advance on the last lesson of each month.  Please be prepared to pay the FIRST LESSON of each month.  To avoid confusion and to simplify bookkeeping, the monthly fees are a weekly flat rate and applies to the months with four week lessons.    Failure to pay promptly will cause your time slot to become available for other students.  If prepayment is not possible due to financial reasons, please contact me to make prior arrangements that are suitable.

3)  Lessons are paid monthly at a flat rate of how many lessons the student attends.  This is why it is important to reschedule make-up lesson in advance if a student cannot be present at his or her appointed time. Please call or email the day before the lesson to inform me of cancellation and to reschedule a make-up lesson. If a student  is absent at his or her scheduled lesson time and no prior contact has been made, the lesson and payment cannot be made up.   If you are late on a payment, there will be a 10.00 late fee attached to your bill for the month. Unfortunately, I have had to implement this in the past four years to prevent payments trailing into the next month and months afterward due to negligence or simple forgetfulness!

 

How to contact me during the week.....I prefer to be contacted by email, facebook or text-message, since I do not take phone calls during the daytime hours when I teach students.  Please be considerate of other student's time and refrain from calling me during my teaching hours 11am-5pm; I will discreetly answer text messages during lessons as this doesn't distract.  If your lesson is upcoming that afternoon, I will answer the phone but am unable to discuss any details because I'm presently teaching another student. 
 

Multiple students from one family: rates are pro-rated at discounts according to number of children taking lessons  Contact me for multiple student discounts & group lesson rates. 

Note: Every three months there is an extra 5th week; makeup lessons and ensembles are scheduled during this week. No regular lessons are given.  I will contact or make arrangements with you if/when an extra lesson is needed as a makeup. If you have a question, feel free to ask or remind me about your makeup lesson!

4)  String Ensemble music is encouraged for the purpose of developing orchestral technique.  At various times during the year, each student is assigned to a mixed level ensemble according to his/her maturity, level of achievement and amount of weekly practice.   Additional ensembles in lieu of private lessons are sometimes scheduled in order to provide for additional rehearsals. Rates do not change but will remain apart of the monthly payment as one hour ensembles are substituted in lieu of the 30 minute private lesson.

5) No lessons will be given on the following Holidays.  If the holiday falls on a regularly scheduled lesson, a makeup lesson will be scheduled on the next occurring fifth week month.
Spring Break (if it falls on a fifth week month)
Memorial Day    (May)                   Thanksgiving    (November)
Fourth of July   (July)              Christmas Eve/Day  (last week of Dec)
Labor Day   (September)         New Year's Eve/Day (first week of Jan)

6) Some years I hold a recital for students who are interested in participating.  Preparation for this requires three to four months of concentrated practice and memorization of recital compositions.  The fee for this is $25 per student which covers the cost of the auditorium, piano accompaniment music, cd practice recordings, additional rehearsals and a copy of the recital DVD. Regular public performance is encouraged for ministry, community and musical development purposes.  In some cases, this fee is waived if we can obtain a facility for free and all the accompaniment and violin moms coordinate and provide the reception foods. If you wish for your child to have more frequent performance outlets, contact me as I can arranage for him/her to perform at various churches in the area throughout the year.

 

Advanced Student Rates

 

 

Monthly Rates applied to individual students:
Advanced students

Bi-weekly Lessons

60 minute lessons         

Rate: $80 per month, pre-paid