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Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Why should my child study music?
2. When will my child be able to tune his/her own instrument?
3. Why do we have a group lesson each month?
4. Do you require a certain amount of daily practice?
5. How old should my child be before they begin playing?
6. Should I buy a metronome?
7. Should I rent or buy my instrument?
8. Why do I pay a full month's fee when there are only 2 or 3 lessons scheduled?
1. Why should my child study music?
- Music is enjoyable.
- Music is a vocation for some and an avocation for all.
- Music develops discipline. Beginning students rely on parents to discipline them. Over the course of years of musical study, students move towards self-discipline. This discipline crosses over into other areas of life.
- Music gives students who are bullied, or don't "fit in" a place to belong and a way to shine.
- Music helps develop the knowledge of history and languages.
- Music helps develop an intuitive sense of math.
- Music is the universal language. It bridges dividing lines between differing ages, cultures, backgrounds and abilities.
- Music is a healing refuge. It helps to express (either by listening or playing) deep emotional and spiritual needs.
- For young students, music helps to develop "school-readiness" skills such as pattern recognition, eye-hand coordination, listening, reading readiness, discipline, left/right and enjoyment of study and accomplishment.
- Music is a way a family can enjoy each other's company.
- Musical performance and teaching is one way a student can serve in the community.
- Musical performance and teaching is in later years a way to earn money. It is a way a woman can earn a reasonable wage and still remain at home to raise a family.
- Music is a form of worship and is an activity in heaven!
- Music is a way a person can express creativity.
3. Why do we have a group lesson each month? There are 3 primary reasons for meeting together as a group. 1) I use part of this time to teach either music theory or music history. Since many, if not most, school systems do not have music theory, music history or string programs, I have tried to make my studio comprehensive. 2) The group lessons prepare the students for the Final Concert, an ensemble performance. Again, since there are very few public school orchestra programs, this gives students an ensemble experience. 3) Strings played in unison are a beautiful sound. It helps students who are unsure of a piece to play it in a group.
4. Do you require a certain amount of daily practice? Require? No. Desire? Yes! I would like to see young students (until about age 8) practice five days per week, 10 to 20 minutes each day. 8 years old or older students should be practicing half an hour, five days per week. Teenagers, especially those serious about music, should aim for 45 minutes or more per day. There is definitely a direct relationship between amount of practice and speed of progress. The student’s rate of progress will correlate with the amount of time put into practice. If a student (or family) is serious about music, it needs to be made a priority. That said, I do understand that there are great variations between students. It just may not be feasible to make a 9-year-old wiggly boy practice for half an hour each day until he hates it. Some 7 year olds are very focused and can practice for half an hour. I expect parents to make reasonable judgments about their children. You know them and their schedules better than I do.
5. How old should my child be before they begin playing? This is a common question and perhaps one not so easily answered. For violin, students have started as young as 2 or 3, however, I personally see no particular advantage to starting this young. I like to see a child starting to learn to read (words). This is usually around age 6. At this point in development, most children are ready to start violin. They also should be able to concentrate and behave for the half-hour lesson. Many students start later, around ages 7-11, and do very well because they can grasp the information faster than a younger student can.
Pianos and recorders do not come in smaller sizes like violins do. For this reason, it is better to wait until around age 7 or 8 to begin study.
Newborns through age 7 benefit greatly from taking Kindermusik classes. A "Kindermusik Kid" is very well prepared to start more focused study on an instrument in early elementary school.
And what would the upper age limit be to learn a new instrument? My philosophy is “never too old”!
6. Should I buy a metronome?There is no need to buy a metronome at the beginning. Your teacher will be able to tell you when a metronome is needed.
7. Should I rent or buy my instrument?Let’s talk about violins first. Since violins come in different sizes, it makes sense in many cases to rent. Most rental programs will allow you to apply a percentage of your rental fees towards the eventual purchase of an instrument. Check the specifics of the rental agreement.
There are reasons to buy, as well. If a family has several children, the purchase of an instrument that can be handed down will represent good savings in the long term. Also, you can buy and then re-sell the instrument when the child has outgrown it, although a market for the particular size violin is not guaranteed. I don’t recommend buying violins at flea markets or from eBay. It is too difficult for the untrained eye to know if the instrument is playable. Ask your teacher or check my links page for some reputable sources.
Pianos, recorders, and guitars should be purchased. There are many sources for instruments. Check with your teacher. I would not advise getting a used piano without having it first checked by a piano tuner. Go to my links page for a piano tuner.
8. Why do I pay a full month's fee when there are only 2 or 3 lessons scheduled? The short answer is that you are paying a set average fee. We don't charge more on months that have more lessons, or less on months that have fewer. It's too complicated. On the registration sheet, it says that there are 34 lessons scheduled over 10 months with 10 payments. So, you are paying $620 for 34 lessons.
The longer answer: When I set fees, I start by looking at surrounding areas and try to charge a bit less. For example, I pay $25 per half hour for my daughter's lessons in Indianapolis. That's too high for us in rural Boone County. I chose a rate of about $19.50 per half hour (actually, slightly less). 19.50 x 32 lessons = $624. That's where I got the $620, and where the $62 per month comes from. I feel confident that we offer a well-run studio with many benefits to justify the rate. Now, notice that I multiplied the individual lesson rate by 32, not 34. That is because of our policy of no make-up lessons. I figure that most people will miss about two lessons. So I charge for 32 lessons, but schedule 34. In essence, if you come to all lessons, you are getting 2 lessons for free (or you can look at it that you are paying a lower rate). If you miss more than 2 lessons, you are paying a higher rate. But the basic rate is based on 32 lessons (even though 34 are scheduled).
Occasionally there are months with 5 lessons, but we still don't charge more. You have to remember that it is an average rate. I set up equal monthly payments for the convenience of the families and for ease of bookkeeping. When I used to charge per lesson, it was extremely difficult to figure it out each month. Families that have done it both ways have told me that they far prefer an average. That way it's much easier to budget.
The reason we don't do make-up lessons is that we all (teachers and students) have very full schedules and just don't have time. Plus, I have found in the past that when we give make-up lessons, it starts to get out of control (ie: need a make-up lesson because dog is sick, etc.). So that's why I charged for 32 lessons but scheduled 34 (2 built-in make-up lessons), plus we give students the option of swapping lessons with another student when needed (just ask your teacher for her studio schedule). I have found that since we instituted these policies attendance has dramatically improved. There's kind of a built-in incentive to attend lessons even if your canary *did* eat your music (yes, it's happened!).
Finally, I occasionally get asked why we charge "so much". I am an advocate for teachers getting paid adequately for the tremendous amount of work and investment each has put into their training. We all started as children, then continued on with higher level training. We have all put a huge amount of investment into our instruments. We are all self-employed and therefore pay 100% of our taxes and social security. We must provide for our own benefits including health insurance, retirement and vacation. Not all the teachers have health insurance policies through their spouses. Truly, some of us really do pay a large amount out of our businesses for health insurance. Those who are employed (get a W-2) sometimes forget how much those benefits are really worth. Most of us purchase insurance for our instruments and business (liability). There are many other expenses of business that most customers aren't aware of, but they are there. So, I have tried to set a fair rate both keeping in mind our community dynamics, respecting our teachers as professionals and keeping in mind all the expenses of doing business. It's a juggling act, for sure!
The bottom line is we all love teaching our students and desire to see them grow musically and in all areas of their lives. Music is not inexpensive, but it has life-long benefits.
