Private Lessons

Lessons Policies Year 2007-08

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. They are also found on my website at www.dixiefiddler.com

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 in advance, otherwise the lesson is forfeited and no makeup lesson is given for absences without prior notice.

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 at this time. To avoid confusion and to simplify bookkeeping, the monthly fees are a weekly flat rate and applies to the months with five weeks as well as those with four weeks dividing the cost of the extra fifth week lesson into three payments over a three month period. 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. I prefer to be contacted by email 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 daytime hours; I do answer emails & text messages during lessons as this doesn't distract. If your lesson is upcoming, I will answer but am unable to discuss any details because I'm presently teaching another student. 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.

Monthly Rates applied to individual students:
Beginning/Preschool Student 20 minute lesson       Rate: $37 per month (4 weeks)
Beginning to Intermediate         30 minute lesson        Rate: $55 per month (4 weeks)
Twice a week lessons          two 30 minute lessons      Rate: $96 per month (4 weeks)
Intermediate w/Ensemble   30 min lesson & 1 hr ensemble    Rate: $145 per mo (4 weeks)
Advanced w/Ensemble 1 hr lesson & 1 hr ensemble Rate: $189 per month (4 weeks)

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.

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 during the summer months 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, no make-up lessons are rescheduled; however, in most cases, this will not affect a student's appointed lesson.
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.