Studio Policies
updated 08/28/2023
Lessons will be held at Sanctuary Church (185 Plain Street) in Marshfield. There is ample parking. Come in the doors in the middle of the building. Most lessons will be held up the stairs and to the right, in our Meeting Room. Ocassionally lessons will be held in one of two other spaces where there are pianos. Your teacher will most likely be in the courtyard or just inside the building waiting for your student, especially in the first few weeks of lessons.
THE SCHEDULE
Lessons will be held weekly except for school holidays. Sarah and Cece will begin teaching the week of September 11. Sarah will have availability on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Cece will most likely be teaching on Mondays, but is still waiting to confirm her school schedule.
The fall session will be between 12 and 14 lessons, depending on what day your student has their lessons. Sarah will be doing an uncharacteristic amount of traveling this year and will send out her schedule via email and reminders about missed lessons via text or email.
If your student needs to miss a lesson for any reason, please let us know at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled lesson time. If your student missed school because of an illness, please do not bring them to their lesson that day. Let us know and we will work with you to make up the lesson if possible. If you forget about a lesson or schedule something else during a lesson time and forget to let us know about the change 24 hours in advance, you will still be charged for the lesson.
PAYMENT
A half hour lesson with Sarah is $30. Most of Sarah's lessons are 30 minutes. Some of her students are ready for longer lessons, which Sarah does offer. If you think your student might be ready for a 45 minute lesson, please let Sarah know! Typically these are students who have studied their instrument for at least 3 years and/or who are in 6th grade or older.
A half hour lesson with Cece is $22.
For all students, there will also be a one time $25 resource fee to help pay for books and other materials your student will need throughout the year. This fee will be billed at the first lesson.
Please plan on paying for lessons a month at a time. Cash or checks made out to "Sarah Huber" are welcome. You can also use @bornstringed to pay on Venmo.
PRACTICE TIME AND PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
This should go without saying, but we'll say it anyway: students should plan on practicing regularly throughout the week, so be prepared to help your child find a regular time to practice every day. Taking music lessons is a big time investment as well as financial investment for any family. There’s only so much we can do with your student in one half hour each week and we send your child home with things to practice and work on every single week. To make sure your student gets the most out of their lessons, practice is essential. They *will* make progress if they find the time to practice at home.
We know families are busy, but practice is just part of the process of learning an instrument. We encourage students to practice 5 days a week for 10-15 minutes. But you know what? 5 minutes is better than 0 minutes. What matters is that they practice and that they practice regularly. And they'll need your help in prioritizing practice time and making it fun! Think of music lessons being less like story time at the library, where you go and don’t think about it until you go again next week, and more like math class, where what you learn this week builds off of what you learned last week and you need to practice adding during the week to get better at it before you can learn to subtract. Make practicing a part of the family weekly schedule. Use it as a way to break up homework sessions. Help make it fun for your student.
Support from parents is crucial to the student’s success. We will write down their assignments for the week in a notebook or on assignment sheets and send home music and the occasional worksheet in a folder. Read that with them, help them remember what they worked on in lessons, ask them to teach you what they’ve been learning, ask them to play something for you. It'll mean a lot to them and it'll help them enjoy practicing.
INSTRUMENTS
Musicians play instruments. For the greatest amount of progress and success in learning an instrument, possession of an instrument is ideal. We realize that this can mean a large financial investment, but it doesn't have to. There are plenty of affordable options that don't involve running to Walmart for a guitar. Even for young students, having a real instrument is preferable to having a toy or very inexpensive instrument. Real ones stay in tune better, are easier to play, sound better, and will inspire greater pride as your student gets older. Yes, they are more expensive, but they are worth it.
Pianos are their own challenge. We don't expect every family with a piano student to run right out and purchase a baby grand for their living room. But, rather than not having any keyboard at all, shop Facebook Marketplace and try to find an electric keyboard in your price range. Or visit some yard sales. Or check out a music shop and see if there are any used instruments.
Sarah is more than happy to talk to you about instruments and help you find the right one for your student, your family, and your wallet.
PERFORMANCES
Students should realize that a huge part of being a musician is playing in front of people. We will be offering various opportunities during school year to perform in front of people. Please be open to these opportunities and help your nervous students realize that music brings joy to people, that nobody will be judging them, and that the more they play for people the easier it will get.