Below, you'll find my teaching policies for the Fall/Winter 2010 semester. If you have any questions about these policies, please call me at (303) 664-1514 or send me an email. A printable version of this information is available here.

MAKE-UPS:
The last week of the semester (Monday, December 13 through Friday, December 17, 2010) will be reserved for a single make-up for one missed lesson of your choice within that semester.  Unless we agree to another day and/or time, this make-up will be given at your regularly scheduled lesson time. If you didn’t miss any lessons over the semester you have this week off! For all other cases (such as illness, birthday parties, etc., please use the exchange list).

I will provide a make-up if I need to cancel or if the weather is unsafe to drive in.

EXCHANGE LIST:
I will email you an exchange list with my student’s names, phone numbers and email addresses. (Please let me know if you’d rather not take part in this). It is your responsibility to try to switch your lesson with another student's if a conflict arises with your schedule. Every student reserves the right not to trade if it is inconvenient for them but please be courteous and get back to those who contact you. Please let me know as soon as possible of any exchange or cancellation.

RECITALS:
Recitals are very important because they prove to be beneficial in a student's sense of dedication, presentation, and accomplishment. There will be 2 mandatory recitals during the school year, one per semester. The ten dollar recital fee is included in the payment plans.

Those students having to miss the recital due to illness, travels or some other emergency will be asked to prepare some other musically creative assignment, such as a paper, artwork, etc.

Parents are asked to bring snacks to share for the reception that follows each recital.
Dates, times and a map to the location of the recitals will be given.

LESSON BEHAVIOR:
Good behavior is important for a successful piano lesson. I have found that this is more easily achieved when I am able to work one-on-one with the student. This is why for most cases I ask parents to simply drop their child off for their lesson. You may contact me by phone or email if you need to discuss something or please let me know if you’d like to speak with me at your child’s lesson. Parents will be made aware of behavioral problems and the lesson may need to be ended early or the student dismissed if the problem persists.

Please try to arrive no earlier or later than 5 minutes of the start and end of the lesson time. Rather than ringing the door bell or knocking, please come right in quietly in case another lesson is in progress.

I ask that parents picking their child up not park in my driveway as I have been getting some oil spills.

PREPARATION:
Practicing is crucial to the study of and advancement at the piano. I strongly encourage consistent, everyday practice. This produces quicker results than irregular, unscheduled practice. The parent's participation in this process is so important. Please confirm every week that your child has prepared their entire week's lesson and is bringing all their books and materials to each lesson. Please help younger children with theory assignments and song-playing. All children/teenagers should be listened to regularly to give them a sense of pride and achievement in their progress. A grade using a system of smiley faces will be written in each student’s notebook after their lesson which will let parents see their child’s preparedness level and/or behavior for that lesson.

All students need to keep their nails trimmed to facilitate their technique at the piano.

Also, please keep your piano in tune and working properly. (Tuners usually suggest once a year.)This is important in a student's ear training and also makes playing much more enjoyable!

GROUP LESSONS (for Children):
Group lessons provide an important opportunity for students to interact with other children in learning about musical theory and history by performing for one another, playing musical games, learning about classical composers, listening to musical C.D.'s and watching educational videos. These hour and a quarter or hour and a half long group lessons will occur about every month and a half in place of the private lesson for that week.

I will ask for your daily schedules for that week of group lessons and arrange a small group of kids within the same age range.

PERFORMANCE GROUPS (for Teenagers/Adults):
The teenager and adult performance group in which we share in a pot luck is a fun chance to meet other students, perform for each other and learn about a composer, instrument or other musical theme. These meetings generally last about 2 ½ hours and will occur about every month and a half in lieu of the private lesson for that week. Please let me know if you would like to host.

Thank you for choosing me to help you and/or your child uncover the wonderful gift of music!