Materials
The most important piece of equipment, which every student must own, is a trombone in good working condition. You may bring whatever instrument to which you have access, and if you are looking to purchase an instrument I am more than happy to work with you to find something that meets your needs! I will review instrument care with all beginning students, and expect that every student treats their instrument with respect.
I will provide students with some printed music and other materials, so a music folder is recommended. If you own a tablet I can provide these materials digitally.
Students will be required to purchase two books within the first few weeks of study, as we will work out of them extensively. These will be the Melodious Etudes for Trombone by Marco Bordogni, arr. Rochut, as well as the Rubank Selected Studies by Voxman. There may be additional books that I recommend over the course of your study.
Please bring a pencil to your lessons, or a stylus if you are working off of a tablet. We will frequently make notes in your music to remind you what to practice!
For practicing, a metronome and tuner are essential tools. You may use an app (I recommend TonalEnergy, available on Android and Apple devices) or a dedicated tuner separate from your phone.
Expectations for Students
Be prepared for each lesson!
Follow my guidelines for practice that I have laid out for you.
Keep your equipment in good working order, and bring your instrument, mouthpiece, and music to every lesson.
Expectations for Parents
You are welcome to observe lessons at any time! Some students may want their parent in the room, and others may wish for more privacy. This is an agreement between you and your child, and I will honor whatever you decide. If you wish to observe lessons, I request that you keep comments to a minimum to streamline the process.
Encourage your student to practice daily, ideally between 30 minutes and 1 hour.
Payment and Rates
My in-person rates for weekly lessons are $50 per hour and $30 per half-hour.
My online rates are $30 per hour and $20 per half-hour.
I offer an introductory period of four lessons, after which a contract will be signed. Weekly lessons will be pre-paid on the first of each month for the duration of the contract. The length of the lesson contract will be determined on an individual basis.
Scheduling
I will work with you to find a suitable weekly meeting time within my teaching schedule. This time will be reserved for you weekly for the duration of our contract. If at any point you have a conflict with your normal lesson time, please let me know in advance and I will work with you to find a suitable accommodation.
Students will be expected to arrive on-time, and the full lesson rate will still be assessed if the student is late. Lessons will not be extended if a student is late.
In the event that I have a conflict with your scheduled lesson time, I will work with you to find an alternate time for the week. If we cannot find a secondary time, your lesson fee will be refunded. In the event I cause your lesson to start late, you will have your full lesson time either on the scheduled day or will have an extended lesson at your next scheduled time.
Rescheduling, Missed Lessons, and Make-Up Lessons
Rescheduling your reserved lesson time can be done with one week’s notice before the next scheduled lesson.
One-time lesson rescheduling and make-up lessons will be scheduled on a case-by-case basis. I have a lesson calendar linked in the top bar of this website. This calendar is fully anonymous, with lesson slots simply reading “Available” or “——” for occupied. In order to accommodate your rescheduling needs, I will need to be notified no later than 24 hours before your normally scheduled lesson time.
Barring extreme circumstances, if a lesson is missed without 24 hours advanced notice, you will be required to pay the full rate for a scheduled lesson, and there will be no availability to reschedule.
Discontinuation of Lessons
If for any reason you wish to discontinue lessons, I will require two weeks advanced notice in order to refund prepaid lessons.