Welcome to private lessons! I look forward to working with both you and your family on this exciting endeavor. Together we will help guide you down your most successful path towards musical growth. I have put together these guidelines and policies to outline some general information about being a part of my studio. I also hope to describe expectations we should have of each other. I ask that parents and students read this together and submit the "Acknowledgment of Understanding" at the bottom of the page. Feel free to contact me if there are any questions or concerns you may have.
I think it's important for students to set goals, and I periodically sit down with students and talk about goals. Once we have a goal in mind, I provide materials and instruction to help students reach these goals. Here are the goals I strive to achieve with each student:
Bring all appropriate equipment to lessons every week. This includes, but is not limited to:
You may purchase these supplies at your favorite music store or supplier, but I have added hyperlinks for your convenience under the "Supplies" this website.
Lesson curriculum is discussed each year between directors and coordinating private instructors. We carefully design exercises and select literature that we believe will be the most beneficial for student learning. Every student has their own set of individual strengths and weaknesses, and every student will move at a slightly different pace. It is our job to asses these individual skills, and provide instruction and literature accordingly.
Students are welcome to purchase and practice alternative literature during their own time, but we will only play alternative music in lessons if it is approved my myself or prescribed by their band director.
Practice ExpectationsPrivate lessons are most effective when instruction is reinforced through regular individual practice. Students will be given specific weekly assignments along with instruction on how to execute each assignment. It is the expectation that students return to the following lesson thoroughly prepared. I encourage students to plan ahead and practice 30-60 minutes a day. The quality of practice is more important than the length of practice. I recommend that students break up their practice times into smaller intervals with specific goals in mind. This keeps our faces fresh and minds alert! Practice should be done in a quiet environment free from distractions. |
We will establish a regular weekly lesson time, but there may be times we need to reschedule or cancel. I will do my best to give you ample notice before canceling or rescheduling lessons. I kindly ask that you give at least 24 hours of notice when canceling a lesson. This gives me the opportunity to adjust my schedule accordingly. It is unfortunate to drive 30 minutes across town for a lesson, only to discover my scheduled student is absent. For non-emergency cancelations without 24 hours of notice, including “no-shows,” I will require payment for the missed lesson.
What is an ExcusedAbsence?
Illness: If your student stays home from school with an illness, this is excused. Staying home and resting is important for the well-being of your student and the other students at school. I am more lenient on the 24 hour policy in these cases, because sometimes you don't know whether or not you student is staying home until the morning of. However, I still need an email or text message if a decision is made to keep your student at home. If not, the lesson will be considered a no-show and I will require payment for the missed lesson.
Family emergency of a serious nature: I understand that emailing a lesson teacher is the last things on your mind if an emergency were to arise. Please email me at your earliest convenience to fill me in, and I will mark this as an excused absence.
Family Trips: Try to avoid a scheduled lesson times if possible, but let me know in advance if you decide to take a trip. I can schedule make-up lessons more easily with advanced notice.
What is an UnexcusedAbsence?
Illness before/after school, but attended class during the day: This scenario has shown up time-to-time while I was teaching sectionals as a band director. Ultimately it was decided that if your student is well enough to attend school, they are well enough to participate in scheduled before/after school activities. This will be considered an unexcused absence.
Dentist Appointment: If you plan far in advance, please review your calendar to make sure there are no dentist appointments that will conflict with weekly lessons. If there is, try to reschedule the appointment or let me know about the conflict in advance. Without 24 hours of notice, this is considered an unexcused absence.
Also, review your band program's handbook about braces. If your student currently has braces, try and avoid appointments for tightening braces the day before or day of a scheduled lesson. There is often too much pain involved to have a productive lesson.
Field trips: Please check for conflicts with any arising field trips. I think it's great for students to experience different places & activities, but it's not so great when I arrive to teach a student who is not on campus. Without 24 hours of notice, this is considered an unexcused absence.
It is the student's responsibility to arrive to lessons on time. Students who are late to their scheduled lesson will only receive the remaining time allotted to him/her and will be charged for a full scheduled lesson. With the exception of in-class lessons, I encourage students to arrive a few minutes early, take their instrument out of his/her case, and wait for me by the lesson room door.
If a student has not arrived for a lesson, that lesson will be considered canceled once 50% of the lesson time has passed. These lessons will still need to be paid for.
Scheduling student's lesson days, times, and lesson duration is a very challenging task. I will do my best to adhere to lesson requests, but due to the length of class periods, high school marching practice, lesson room availability, available before and after-school slots, and number of students signed up for lessons, I may only be able to offer a shorter length than requested. This is in interest of sharing learning opportunities for all students who would like extra help. I thank you for your flexibility as I try to accommodate for each student.
Note: Scheduling priority is based off of tenure in my studio. Students with longer tenure will get first scheduling priority for their requests. Once these students are scheduled, priority becomes first come first served based off sign up time. This does not guarantee an in-class lesson, as I also need to ensure I provide adequate time for schools with larger studio numbers.
Scheduling make-up lessons will require some flexibility on both ends. Understand that while I will do my best to schedule make-up lessons, they may be different from your normal lesson time (i.e. before/after school or during class).
Note: If we are unable to schedule a make-up lesson, lesson payment for excused absences will roll over into the next month's invoice.
While rarely implemented, a private lesson instructor may drop a student for the following reasons:
Parents may terminate private lessons at the end of the month with advance notice to the private lesson instructor and to the campus director. The final lesson date should be discussed with the instructors to accommodate for payments received.
At the beginning of each month you will receive an emailed invoice for the month's scheduled lessons. I encourage parents to review the dates/fees, and respond with any scheduling conflicts or financial discrepancies you may see. You are welcome to send payment in at a lesson, mail a check to my address listed on each invoice, or pay online via PayPal (this will incur a 3.75% convenience fee to cover credit card processing fees). Please make checks payable to: Matt De Vries. Please submit payment within two weeks of receiving your invoice. Failure to do so may result in suspension of lessons until payment is received, and you will still owe for lessons missed during suspension. I am open to discussing other payment options, such as week-to-week payment, if this is more suited to your needs. Payment will roll over to the following month if we have fewer lessons than originally billed.