Welcome to the studio! Here are some policies that I would like to establish:
Please read this section carefully!
- Contact information: Please make sure that I have all necessary phone numbers and email addresses (including a way to reach you during the day in case of an emergency cancellation). If you need to speak to me directly, please try to contact me before 3pm or after 9pm - when I’m teaching, I want to focus on your kids! Texts, emails or Facebook Messenger are all good ways to reach me during teaching time.
- Payment: Please remember to pay at the beginning of the month for the whole month (unless you have made alternate arrangements). Lesson fees for 2024-2025 are $24/30 minute lesson, $36/45 minute lesson and $48/hour. Payments can be made by cash, cheque or bank transfer. Payments may also be made every 2 months or by term (September-December, January-March, April-June). Please speak to me for more details.
- Illness: There is no charge for a lesson missed due to illness. Please do not ask me to make the decision as to whether your child is well enough for a lesson. If I am asked to make the decision, I will now automatically say no. A good rule of thumb – if they are too sick for school, then they are too sick for piano. Also, if they have to blow their nose or cough every 5 minutes or less, they need to stay home that week (they won't be able to focus anyway). Please remind your child about coughing into the crook of the elbow (rather than into their hands or a closed fist) - if everyone coughs or sneezes into their hands, then touches the piano, it gets very gross very quickly. It also increases the chances that I will get sick if I need to touch their hands or the piano to demonstrate the correct way to do something. (I do clean the piano when needed but it can only do so much.)
- Other absences: All other absences require 24 hours’ notice in order to receive a lesson credit. Any lessons cancelled by me will receive a lesson credit.
5. Parents in the lessons: Parents may attend the lesson if they choose. If you are attending lessons with your child, please remember that additional noises can cause a distraction (like taking phone calls during the lesson). If siblings are attending the lesson, please ensure that they have a quiet activity for the lesson time.
6. Allergies: Please let me know if there are allergies that could be triggered in the lesson venue. This would include food allergies, pet allergies and floral/scent allergies. I cannot guarantee an allergy-free environment, but as long as I am aware, I can do my best to avoid them [for example: my home is not peanut-free but we do our best to ensure that there is minimal risk].
7. Forgotten books: Accidents happen but please do not expect me to teach with no books! It's always a good idea to remind students to put their books directly in the piano bag when they are done practising on the day before (or day of) their lesson.
8. Assignment duotangs: These coloured folders are for practice notes for the week. Lesson notes will be written out and added to the duotangs so that students will know what to work on at home. Please make sure that these duotangs come to each lesson.
9. Finger nails: Long finger nails are pretty but they don’t do well at the piano! Please keep them trimmed so that the hands and fingers can stay in the proper position. If you can hear them click on the keys while playing, they are too long.
10. Gum/Candies: Please do not send your children into lessons with gum or any other candies in their mouths. Gum chewing actually gets in the way of playing properly - no one plays at the speed that they chew and the brain can't do both at the same time. If they need to chew for anxiety reasons, please discuss this with me so that we can find an alternative while they are playing.
11. Head lice: No one ever wants to think about this but, if you have them, I do need to know! I will not disclose names to other families but we all want to keep them from spreading!
12. Practice makes permanent!: It is really important to establish regular practice routines. Students should practise at least 5 out of 7 days a week. 7 out of 7 would be the ideal, but 5 out of 7 days are enough to ensure steady progress. Most students will need some form of parental involvement for practising, ranging from a reminder that it’s practice time to sitting in the room to make sure that they are reading their directions correctly. Older students will still need reminders occasionally! Here is a basic guideline of how much to practise at each level:
- Beginner (age 4-6): Play their pieces 5 times each session
- Beginner (age 6 and up): 15 to 30 minutes
- RCM Preparatory to Grade 2: 30-45 minutes
- RCM Levels 3-5: 45 minutes to 1 hour
- RCM Levels 6 and up: at least 1 hour
Obviously, this can differ from week to week. If you must miss a day, it is better to practise twice on the next day than to do one double-length session. These practice sessions can also be broken down into more manageable chunks – 10 minutes on scales/technique before school, 15 minutes before leaving for soccer/hockey/dance, etc. – as long as all of the material is covered.
Practising is more than just playing through the pieces once or twice – often, I ask that songs/pieces be broken down into smaller sections and worked on until they are “stumble-free” 5 times in a row. The comparison I use with students is that of the rough draft vs. good copy – if they are used to playing through, making a small mistake, correcting it then continuing to play, then this is the “rough draft” (with spelling mistakes crossed out and re-written). By working one line at a time, we are working on producing the “good copy” – something they can play from start to finish stumble-free. This system is far more efficient in the long run.
Students in the RCM grades should be practising their technique as well as their pieces. Technique is different scales and triads (chords). Without spending time on this, it will be challenging to progress to the next grade – no matter how many pieces they can play.
13. Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) exams: RCM Exams are scheduled in person 4 times a year: December/January, April (piano only), May/June and August. Online (Remote) exams are held during the remainder of the year but NOT during the in-person sessions. Exams are not mandatory to completing any level but they do provide a goal to be reached. RCM Examinations highly recommends that students take at least 2 exams before their Level 8 exam so that they are fully aware of the expectations in the exam setting. Students that are ready for an exam will receive a letter listing which exam(s), costs, and what is to be prepared for that exam.
Did you know? RCM exams can be used as University-Level High School Credits. Level 7 Piano and Level 7 Theory combine to become Grade 11 Music and Level 8 Piano with Level 8 Theory become Grade 12 Music. The 2 marks are averaged to create the mark for the credit. If you would like more information on this, please speak to me.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Here’s to a great year!