STUDIO POLICIES

Private Lessons

We offer in-person lessons on the Westside of Ann Arbor. If you are interested in online lessons, we are also happy to accommodate you. 

  • For 8 and under, we are offering:
    • Online lessons for 10 mins, 4 days a week 
    • One 15 minute in-person lesson per week
  • 9 and up 
    • Weekly private lessons (30, 45, or 60 minutes)

    Guardian Expectations

    This is a Suzuki studio so you are always invited to be involved.  Under the age of 10 you are required to be at the lesson until all parties are comfortable.

    • 7 and under
      • Parent is expected to be at all private lessons and practice with their child
    • 8-11 years old
      • Parent is expected to be at all private lessons and encouraged to take notes and gently supervise practice during the week.
    • 12-15 years old
      • Parent is encouraged to attend lessons and help to gently organize the practice schedule during the week
    • 16 and up
      • Parent is invited to be at the lesson with the understanding that we are growing your child to make decisions that are intrinsically driven.  At home, parent acts as a go-to when emotional support is needed.  Conversations about schedule are also highly encouraged

    Home practice

    Practice is a complex topic. The beauty of studying practice as a child lies in the intrinsic understanding that practice can be gentle and rooted in enjoyment of the moment of doing, rather than simply the accomplishment of quality.  

    The early stages of development allow for a lingering in these phases of learning so that they become more easily accessed in adulthood without trauma or shame.  With your gentle guidance, you can help your child exist in these states.  If they feel supported, they will try more often.  More tries will give birth to better playing.  If the trying feels smooth, the improvement will be inevitable.

    The nature of the mind is restless and if we pull it back with too much force, we create little traumas in the learning process that create more stress around the process and less benefit.  

    If your child is practicing from a place of fear, anger, or worry – negative emotions, then their relationship with the instrument will be rooted in those emotions. We strongly encourage you to think about how you address the child if they are distracted, tired and don’t want to practice. Learn to recognize their edge and not constantly push them past it. As with any practice, understanding your edge is the key to longevity in that practice as well.  This approach will give you the emotional capital that you will need as they transition from developmental stage to developmental stage.

    • 6-7 and under
      • We recommend a predetermined time when you know your child is not going to feel tired.  Practice with a very light touch, but be intentional.  There should be lots of playing, hugs and saying things like, “You did it!”  Though your child may not know that you are being intentional, your intentionality will give them the space to experience and try. Do and do again!  Allow their mind to wander and then find a practice for yourself to gently bring them back smoothly.  Children between the age of 3-6, don’t have the capacity to understand quality. To expect quality from them, focuses them on things that are not relevant to them and can be deeply detrimental to their connection with you and by extension the outside world. 
    • 7-10 or 11 years old
      • We recommend a predetermined time that you decide with your child.  This is the age where concrete thinking starts to happen in the mind and frustration starts to develop when challenges are too hard.  Frustration is a normal part of the process. Now, building on the foundation of love for everything they do, you notice their process and help them use tools to process their frustration. These tools usually involve slowing down and feeling the accompanying feelings that slowing down brings. This is a time to gently help them through thoughts and feelings.  Gentle return to the task has also been built in from your practice with them in toddlerhood.
    • 11-14 or 15 years old
      • This is often one of the first really difficult stages in Suzuki-based violin studies, but perhaps the most important. Most important because your child is becoming aware of your feelings and is extremely susceptible to negative feedback like sarcasm and/or annoyance and anger. We recommend a different type of involvement here.  Though your child likely does not want your feedback, they do want your undivided attention and company. Together, you can set practice times and lesson-note review, but you should not interfere with what happens during that time. There is too much going on in their head to expect them to be able to focus like they did when they were younger. Rather than try to push into critique, at this stage we recommend an emphasis in conversation about what kind of music they like to listen to. What is the music they love? Encourage them to find and listen to it, regardless of genre.  You can share the music you love with them as well and this will allow you to continue to gently influence their development.
    • 15 and older
      • We recommend that you help almost exclusively with time management.  Executive function is not fully formed for your teen, even if their vocabulary suggests that it is! Most discussions about violin should be led by your child. Follow their interest without judgement.  If their desires have been carefully supported up until now, a proper discipline will form around a daily practice.  Practice should emerge from an intrinsic desire to be with the instrument and can be managed with conversations that rest on the foundation that you have built of joy of doing, joy of understanding, joy of finding what you love, joy of discipline in the areas you love most.

    Makeup Policy

    As much as we would love to be available for makeups that you cancel, we cannot promise them. If we are able to find an alternate time for you, we will schedule you an extra lesson. However, we cannot guarantee it as a makeup lesson. (If we cancel, of course a makeup lesson will be scheduled.) You will need to ask Steffani for the makeup lesson with an email. 

    **If you need to cancel your lesson for any reason, please text Steffani at 303-916-3328.

    • Bad weather
      • In the case of bad weather, the lesson will be online.
    • Sickness
      • If you or your child isn’t feeling well, we do not recommend pushing them for a lesson.  Their health and mental capacity is more important to us than their violin lesson. 

    Communication

    We want to be in close communication with you about your child.  While each family is different, there are stages that every child goes through in their development.  Part of our job is to help you navigate these stages by reminding you that ability is always there and that understanding the hills and valleys of practicing a skill will help you deepen your relationship with your child.

    • Notifications
      • The majority of communication will be via email
      • You can text Steffani (303-916-3328) for last minute questions and changes
    • Parent meetings
      • We will be offering Parent Meetings 3 times per year.  These meetings are for you to feel a part of a community of like minded people dedicated to building strong and loving adults.
      • We highly encourage attending these parent meetings.
    • Consultations
      • We are available for phone calls and emails up to two hours for the year. After this, we will need to meet for consultations and to charge our full fee.
      • We have built into your tuition a one hour consultation. You will be charged for it whether you use it or not. This is in an effort to encourage you to use the time to come see us and discuss any thoughts that either of us might have. You will need to schedule that time with Steffani when you feel you need it before the end of the school year. If you do not, you will lose that hour.
    • Leaving the studio
      • If something does not feel right to you or your child, please begin a conversation with us immediately.  It is best to talk things through instead of waiting until you are considering quitting or changing teachers.  If you do choose to leave, we ask that you give us 1 months notice to be able to wrap up with your child and transition gently.

    Tuition/Payments

    • All payments will be via emailed invoice
    • Your tuition includes 29 private lessons, 25 group classes, all parent meetings, a private consultation, recital fees, pianist fees, and other overhead fees.

    Schedule

    • This year, your tuition will include 29 private lessons, 25 group classes
    • Group Classes
      • Group Classes are required and a part of your tuition.
    • Recitals
      • We will have 2 recitals this year.  They are not mandatory in order that they only be used as a place that we share when we feel ready.
      • We want everyone to have the chance to perform regardless of their preparation but know that we are trying to work with them so that their foundational work is done by the recital.  This means picking their performing piece well in advance and walking through the process we are laying out in the lessons.
      • Generally speaking our standard for performing is:
        • The child wants to perform
        • The piece has been worked foundationally (through our five step process)