Student responsibilities
Provide and care for instrument
- rent/purchase an appropriate instrument
(correct fit, quality/condition, etc.)
- provide proper accessories for instrument
(such as case, rosin, cleaning supplies, etc.)
- learn and maintain proper care of instrument
(new strings/ bow hair as needed, storage care, weather care, etc.)
Provide learning materials
- purchase learning materials as required by teacher
- take care of and return learning material provided by teacher
- bring all required learning materials to every lesson
Attend your lesson
- students are expected to attend all scheduled lessons. Absences effect the entire studio, not just the student/teacher relationship.
- students should attend their lesson even if they feel they are not well-prepared.
- the lesson time serves as a valuable time to learn about effective practicing and to keep a forward momentum going. Missing a lesson causes a student to lose momentum in their skill development.
Be on time for your lesson
- plan to arrive before your lesson time to allow time to prepare for lesson.
- string instruments need to be properly acclimated to certain temperatures before they can be played. Arriving ahead of your lesson time ensure that your instrument will be ready to play at the start time.
- lessons will end as usual regardless of start time. Any missed lesson minutes will not be made up if the student is late.
Practice
- plan to practice DAILY. A daily routine is much more effective than long bursts of practice after a lack of playing. It is not beneficial to anyone’s time if the student has not spent sufficient time with their instrument between lessons.
- keep a log of home practice
- for young students: parents need to take an active role in their child’s practice sessions. Weekly practice goals will be set with the teacher; the parent is asked to monitor each practice session.
Seek out performance opportunities
- public performing is important for personal growth and development of musical abilities, no matter the size of the audience.
- perform once a semester at any St. John Lutheran Church worship service (times are 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 am) (required for students taking lessons at St. John only)
- perform once a semester at the student recitals.
- seek out one other performance opportunity and document it. I will plan to review this if I am unable to attend the performance.
Be respectful to the teacher
- I will not tolerate inappropriate behavior. This includes, but is not limited to, rudeness, foul language, poor attitude, extreme silliness, inattentiveness, and violent tendencies. I reserve the right to terminate a lesson in process without the possibility of a make-up lesson if I feel that the line of appropriate behavior has been breached.
- for young students: The parent is the at-home teacher six days of the week. It is important that the student and the parent share a mutual respect during practice at home.
parent responsibilities for young students
Attend the lessons
- Students age 4 to 8th grade (TBD on individual basis) are to have a parent in attendance for their lesson. The parent is there to take notes in their own words so that they may be of help during practice time at home.
- Remember: the parent is the teacher the other 6 days of the week... being in attendance for all or most of your young student's lessons will only accelerate their learning.
- Take effective notes: the information you write down is the only information taken from your child's lesson. I rely heavily on being reminded at the beginning of a lesson what was covered the week prior and what was worked on during at-home practice. This allows me to spend the entire time working with the student instead of stopping to write things down.
Be a silent observer
- It is important that this be a time for just the
student and the teacher to interact. Focus is key to a successful lesson, and
oftentimes children may lose focus if there are multiple adults speaking
during a lesson.
- Write questions down for a time other than during the lesson unless it is absolutely necessary to ask in the moment. Your
questions are very important in order to ensure that what is taught in the
lesson can be reviewed correctly at home.
Be present during home practice
- It is important to remember that the parent is
the at-home teacher. A certain amount of child-led practice is okay, but the
parent should try to be available during the entirety of the child’s practice
time to facilitate appropriate practice behavior.
Stay positive!
- Make practice fun! Come up with incentives and
games to keep practice enjoyable and exciting! (If the word “boring” ever comes
up, change the routine!)
- Avoid showing frustration with your student.
Being a student at any age is hard, so try to remember that children don’t have
as strong of an understanding about how learning something new can take a while
or be difficult.
- NEVER use practice as a punishment.
Stay consistent and committed
- Children crave routine. Pick a specific time or
times per day to practice and stick to it. Then pick a specific order of
practicing.
- PRACTICE EVERY DAY! Dr. Suzuki once said
“Practice only on the days that you eat”. It is crucial to the development of a
skill that it be ingrained on a daily basis, not squeezed into an hour cram
session right before the lesson. (And keep in mind… we teachers can tell when
practicing didn’t happen…)
- When offering incentives, see them through. An
incentive only works if the child believes they will benefit from it being
offered in the first place.
- Bring instruments along, even when it’s
inconvenient. A week-long vacation can “destroy” much of what has been learned
in recent weeks. Even just bringing along the Suzuki CD for travel listening
will keep things fresh.
- The Suzuki method, like many worthwhile
activities, takes a lot of commitment on the part of the parent. There are many
extras that go along with being a Suzuki parent than driving to a single lesson
each week. If you show your commitment to your child’s musical journey, they
will most likely reciprocate that same drive.
Refer to your notes
- Keeping the notes handy for quick recall is
helpful. Much is covered in one lesson, and you cannot be expected to remember
everything!
- Ask questions if you don’t know/understand
something the teacher has said or can’t remember something in your notes (I
check my email at least twice daily, and am always happier to fix something
immediately rather than do a week’s worth of remedial work.)
