mrs. tina's Studio lesson policies

•  Lessons take place in my living room studio. Parents are welcome to watch lessons, drop off, or pick up—whatever they prefer!
• There is a waiting area adjacent to the studio where families can quietly wait, but you are also more than welcome to sit in Mrs. Tina's studio during the lesson.

Unlike most teachers, I do not charge for missed lessons, but I do strongly encourage good attendance. In my experience, engagement with music lessons is directly related to consistency; the vast majority of the time students quit, it is due to inconsistent practice and lesson attendance. While I do not require a strict quota, I strongly recommend aiming for 80–100% lesson attendance (avoiding three or more missed consecutive lessons) to ensure steady musical progress.

• Practicing Through Absences: If a lesson is missed, it is the student’s responsibility to keep practicing their material during that week. Students are always welcome to contact me if they would like an additional assignment or wish to send progress updates through a video.
• Flexibility & Makeup Lessons: I am happy to offer lesson reschedules when conflicts arise—you can view my lesson schedule above for potential available times. Because I balance a busy studio with family commitments, my availability for makeup lessons is more limited than the schedule suggests.
• Studio Flow: To keep my teaching days running smoothly, I occasionally need to adjust lesson times to consolidate my schedule or accommodate family needs. While these adjustments generally work in one direction to protect studio efficiency, I deeply appreciate your understanding and cooperation when these shifts are necessary.
• Balancing Activities:  I encourage my students to pursue other extracurricular activities outside of music. However, if activities like sports begin causing frequent scheduling conflicts to the point that it's impacting your student's consistency and/or the flow of my lesson days, let’s touch base to discuss the best path forward for their musical development.

 Practice Quality

• Review first: Spend a couple of minutes reading your lesson notes before you touch your instrument.
• Target the trouble spots: Play through your pieces 3 to 5 times daily, focusing extra attention and time on your specific "pain points."
• Practice smart: Goal-oriented, focused repetition (practicing smaller chunks containing the pain points) wins out over mindless playing of the entire piece.

Daily Time Commitments

• Suzuki Book 1 / EE Book 1: 15 minutes / day
• Suzuki Book 2 / EE Book / Scales: 20 minutes / day
• Suzuki Book 3 / Etudes / Scales: 30 minutes / day
• Suzuki Book 4 / Etudes / Scales / Arpeggios / Double Stops: 45 minutes / day
• Standard Repertoire / Etudes & Technical Exercises / Scales / Arpeggios / Double Stops / Chamber Music: 1 hour+ / day

Orchestra Music: If you have orchestra music to practice, add it to the list above. Do not replace your usual practice material with orchestra. Likewise, during lessons, Mrs. Tina expects you to be current with your solo and technical assignments when we are working on orchestra music during the lesson.

A Quick Note on Practice Consistency: Life happens and skips happen—missing one day is totally fine, but try to avoid missing two or more days in a single week and try to practice extra the day after the missed day. Mrs. Tina expects all lesson notes to be learned. If a particular challenge made it tough to complete your notes, be sure to chat with Mrs. Tina about it during your next lesson!

•  Any theory assignments given are required to be completed. I use the Tenuto app for theory instruction, and there may be other supplemental theory materials provided, including other music phone apps.
• I encourage students to listen to and watch recordings of professionals playing their instrument during free time. Even just a couple of recordings per week helps greatly! Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube are great resources for this!
• I also encourage watching LIVE PERFORMANCES, especially to support your fellow studio mates - this is so beneficial for your child's musical development. The spirit of a live performance is something you can't get from YouTube.

•  I host 2–3 recitals a year at local venues such as a retirement community, West Michigan Piano, or St. Cecilia's Wege Recital Hall
• I accompany all of my students on the piano for free. Please do not pay me for piano rehearsals!

•  Studio Etiquette: Please refrain from playing, talking while Mrs. Tina is speaking, playing, or typing. This includes "noodling" or very soft sounds like plucking your piece quietly (We know this can be challenging, but please give it your best effort!)
• Respect: Show respect to Mrs. Tina and your parents. Your parents are working in partnership with Mrs. Tina, so please listen to them at home when they guide you.
• Support Your Peers: Offer kind words or highlight something you appreciated about your studio mates' recital performances. Negative remarks regarding anyone's playing—including Mrs. Tina's—will not be tolerated.

•  My students range from 7 to 40+ years old. I teach strings and piano (about a 50:50 split), teaching 30+ lessons a week (some students take both a string instrument and piano simultaneously).
• I travel during the summers and some winter months due to my boys’ music activities, but I try my best to offer makeup lessons to anyone who wants them. This season, I reserved two weekdays for this purpose.

• Rates: $30 per 30 minutes / $45 per 45 minutes/$60 per 60 minutes
• Payment Methods: Most families pay by Venmo, but I also accept cash and checks. You can pay weekly or for groups of lessons at a time.
• Important: When paying via Venmo or leaving an envelope, please note the dates you are paying for so I can easily keep track.
• Extra Time: I tend to run a bit over the lesson time, but I do NOT charge for extra time. If you accidentally pay me for extra minutes, I will gladly give you a refund! 😊

• Please bookmark the lessons website page I created for my studio announcements: https://westmichiganlivemusic.com/lessons
• This website contains all the messages I have sent out thus far, so if you ever miss or lose one, you can easily catch up there.
• It is the parents' responsibility to stay current with all my announcements, some of which contain important information regarding my schedule.

• Fractional-size instruments that I own are lent out for free on a first-come, first-served basis.
• If a repair is needed, families are generally responsible for the cost. However, I may contribute on a case-by-case basis depending on the situation.
• Routine bow rehairs are always the responsibility of the borrower.

 1. Digital File Requirements

• File Formats: Send me music in JPG or PDF format (not iphone HEIC files please).
• Delivery Method: Email all files directly to tintoonify@gmail.com (not via text).

2. Printing & Photography Standards

• Lighting: Photos must be taken in a very well-lit room to ensure a white background.
• Shadow Control: Ensure there are no shadows on the page

High-brightness, white backgrounds are required to save toner during home printing.

3. Bulk Music Handling (> 15 Pages)

• For more than 15 pages, please allow me to mark up your physical copy
• Turnaround Time: Drop off the music and allow ~1 day for markup before picking it back up.