Saratoga Strings: January 2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

Teacher's Notes for February

February is here! This month, let's really buckle down and get those Federation pieces perfected. I want everyone to focus on POSTURE, POSTURE, POSTURE, this month, especially with your Federation pieces. Right hand posture should be: Perfect bow hands, no straight thumbs, curved pinkies, straight bows. Left hand posture should be loose and relaxed, with a straight wrist, straight relaxed thumb, and fingers that "drop out of the sky" instead of "come up from the basement."

Those of you in Book 3 and up, we'll work on adding finger flexing and vibrato into your Federation pieces. I know we're going to have such a successful year this year! Everyone buckle down and try not to miss a single day of practice.

I need to register everyone for Federation at the end of the week, so the $12 Federation fee is due at your lesson this week. If you can't make it to lessons this week, I'd appreciate it if you could mail me the fee; my address is: 1376 Star Circle, Saratoga Springs, UT 84045.

Group lessons will be held on February 22 and 23 this month from 4:30-5:30, and we'll be playing our most ready Federation piece for everyone at group.

Good luck with all of the practicing this month. I do have new practice charts for February if anyone is interested!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Teacher's Notes for January

Welcome back! I hope you all had a nice holiday. I'm looking forward to seeing you all this week for lessons and getting back into our great practicing routines...Federation is coming up soon! This month I will need to register everyone for Federation. I haven't received the forms yet, but I think they need to be turned in by the end of the month, so just be aware that the Federation fee will be due this month.

Group lessons will be held on January 18 or 19 this month from 4:30-5:30. Please come on the day that works best for you.

Please note that I've updated the calendar on the blog up to the end of March, so check it if you have questions on any upcoming dates, and the Phone List for Exchanging Lessons has also been updated for Winter Quarter.

Thanks everyone!

My Studio Policies

Tuition
Your tuition reserves you a weekly time slot and membership within
the studio. There will be NO make-up
lessons for cancellations made by students. Please think of your lessons as being in
class. The teacher would not hold a special class just for you if you are
absent. Teacher cancellations will be
made up. If you know that you will not
be able to make your lesson one week you are encouraged to switch lesson times
with another student. If the student is serious about learning music, few
lessons will be missed and the student will benefit in the long run. Your
tuition is figured by taking the number of lessons and group lessons taught in
a three month semester, and subtracting any weeks that I will not be
teaching. Therefore the tuition payment won’t
necessarily reflect the amount of lessons given for a particular month. Lessons will not be taught during Spring
Break, Memorial Day weekend, Thanksgiving Break, and Christmas Break. Specific dates will be posted at the
beginning of each semester. During the
summer quarter, I teach only 6 weeks (which works out to about every other
week) with a reduced tuition rate for the whole summer.

Tuition rates are as follows:

30 minute lesson: $65 per month
45 minute lesson: $98 per month

Lessons
Proper
preparation for a lesson includes:
Bringing ALL
books and materials to each lesson
If I request new
music, CD’s or flashcards, please have them for the next lesson, or let me
know if there is a problem getting them
All pieces
improved weekly!
Trimmed nails
No gum or food
at lessons
Siblings of the
student are welcome to come and watch the lesson provided they are not
disruptive and that they stay with the parent

Be prompt in your lesson attendance. You are allotted a specific
time slot and I cannot afford to infringe on another's lesson or my family when
you are late. Arriving a few minutes
early will assure the full lesson time.

Group Lessons
Group
Lessons will be held the second week of the month. You will not have a regular lesson that
week. Group lessons will last
approximately one hour and are an essential part of your child’s musical
education. These classes are only once a
month, and are part of your tuition, so please make every effort to have your
child there. Ear training, performance
practice, music history, rhythm activities, group playing, recital preparation,
fiddling and FUN are among the benefits of these classes. When students are absent, they can miss important
rehearsals for recitals and future group classes as well. Group lessons are also a great way for
students to get to know others with similar abilities, goals, and interests.

Practicing
A daily practicing and listening routine is a MUST if maximum
results are to be obtained from studying music.
Proper preparation is basic to your child’s progress as well as making
music more pleasurable for them. Listening to the Suzuki CD’s and practicing
MUST be done 6 days a week. It is more
important to be consistent, practicing in small increments of time then overdoing
practicing a few days before a lesson- this is unwise and can lead to injury. I do not require a set amount of practice time
a day if the student is coming prepared to each lesson.

Parental
Involvement
The Suzuki Method is all about parental involvement. A parent's support and awareness has a
crucial effect on the student's progress. Your active involvement gives your
child a tremendous amount of encouragement. Parents with students under the age of twelve are
REQUIRED to attend the lessons. This
will help you better understand what is taking place and what is required of
your child, as well as helping you see your child’s progress and understanding
what should be taking place during practice sessions at home.
Learning
the violin is hard work, but it should also be fun! I am always open to suggestions on how we can
work together better.

Saratoga Strings

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Monday, January 31, 2011

Teacher's Notes for February

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Teacher's Notes for January

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