My Responsibilities:
I will teach your child the language of music. I LOVE music and I hope my students will come to love music too. My purpose in teaching is to help my students understand the language of music, so that they appreciate music and are able to use it to give "voice to that which cannot be put into words", as several famous people have said in slightly different words.
I promise to tailor each student's lessons to his or her individual learning style. I promise to give my wholehearted and enthusiastic attention to helping him or her learn and enjoy music, and to always use a positive (rather than negative) approach to learning.
Student and Family Responsibilities:
Your main responsibility is to fit piano music into the daily fabric of your home life. If sitting down in front of the piano becomes natural for you..... you will progress ..... and if you progress, you will develop the love of music that is our goal. (And all the other wonderful side effects of increased brain power, etc, will follow!)
Students agree to arrive at their weekly lesson punctually, with their assignment books and music.
Please let me know if anything occurs which might affect the student's lesson focus. I would rather you erred on the side of telling me too much, rather than too little. A short text giving me an alert to something important that has happened could make the difference between a terrific lesson and a difficult one ...
Except in special circumstances, all students are required to play at the two yearly recitals, one before Christmas break and one in June. Students are also encouraged to take part in as many of the other performance opportunities as possible, such as Studio Performance Hours. I do not charge separately for any of these performance opportunities, as they are factored into the annual tuition.
Parents are strongly encouraged to provide their home with a well tuned, acoustic piano. Starting out for the first 6 months to a year on a keyboard is acceptable, but after that an acoustic piano is necessary. If circumstances require a keyboard, please ensure it has pedals, 88 keys and weighted keys. (Initially, rental may be an option for some families.)
