Studio Policies and Guidelines
Welcome!
Greetings to new and returning students! I look forward to a productive school year filled with many opportunities to enhance musicianship. My name is Daniel Holland and I am the band director at Skyline High School in Front Royal VA. There have been a few changes in my policies for the upcoming year. Please read through all of the materials carefully. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
Payment
-Please review the following information regarding lesson fees:
Oboe Lessons:
-45 minutes long, $40.00 a lesson.
Saxophone Lessons:
-45 minutes long, $30.00 a lesson
Music Theory Tutoring
-45 minutes long, $30.00 a lesson
*Lessons are expected to be on a regular weekly basis (with obvious exceptions including vacations, school breaks, and the occasional cancellation by either party). True musical growth requires frequent and consistent instruction.
Attendance Policy
-Students must be on-time to lessons. I do not extend lessons due to lateness. If you are fifteen minutes late, you receive a thirty minute lesson, and so-forth. Sometimes when I am teaching lessons back-to-back, the lesson might start a few minutes late. In that case, the lesson will be extended the appropriate amount.
-If the student cannot attend their lesson, they must notify me within 24 hours. Failure to do so will result in payment due for the missed lesson.
-If the student’s school is cancelled due to inclement weather, the lesson will automatically be cancelled as well.
-If I, for some reason, am more than fifteen minutes late to the lesson, the lesson will be free of charge.
-Cell Phones are to be out of sight and out of mind. If your phone goes off during the lesson, the lesson is over.
Materials
Students must bring all of their lessons materials. This includes:
-Instrument
-working reeds
-reed case (must be able to hold 3 or more reeds)
-reed-soaking container (ex: medicine bottle)
-cleaning swab
-assigned music
-pencil
-lessons notebook (marble composition notebook designated specifically for oboe lessons)
-completed assignments
*A note about reeds:
-Reeds should be purchased from bocalmajoritystore.com (https://bocalmajoritystore.com/product-category/reeds-cane/oboe-reeds-cane/)
0-2 years of experience: Basic Reed
3-6 years of experience: Intermediate Reed
All-VA ability level or pre-college: Pro Reed
(There may be exceptions to these guidelines. Students will be notified during lessons when they need to move to the next level strength of reed.
Concert/Recital Attendance
Students in the Northern VA area are incredibly lucky to be living within a short distance from many professional and semi-professional institutions and concert venues. Students will be required to see one concert or recital a semester as part of their professional development. Options include:
-any Shenandoah U, JMU, or GMU music recital or concert
-Opera, Musical, and Orchestral performances at the Kennedy Center or Wolf Trap
-Other approved performances
Assignments
-Students will write down all assignments in their lessons notebook during the last few minutes of each session. These are expected to be completed to the best of their abilities for the next lesson.
-Students will be assigned a listening to study and reflect on for each lesson. These will include solo oboesaxophone works, orchestra pieces, band pieces, chamber works, musicals, and film scores. I include this as a weekly assignment not only so that students have an opportunity to hear the oboe in a variety of environments and genres but also because it’s a great way for students to think critically about what they hear. I recommend the parents to listen along and help create a dialogue with the student about the music.
-Students need to practice for the amount of time they need to complete all assignments. If the student is consistently under-prepared, then they will be required to keep a practice log.
The Lesson
--Lessons are broken down into several different sections:
-warm-up: breathing, stretching, reed exercises, tuning exercises
-technique: scales and etudes
-solo repertoire
-band repertoire (when needed)
-music history: general and oboe-specific
-aural skills: ear-training, chord recognition, interval recognition, sight-singing
-music theory
-sight-reading
Lesson Location
--Lessons will be located at my Prospect Street Studio in Front Royal, VA. All rehearsals are recorded both for liability purposes and also to provide a resource that students may access while they practice throughout the week.
Clubs, Sports, and other Extra-Curricular Activities
-I am very pleased that most of my students participate in other extra-curricular activities. I am willing to accommodate any scheduling issues that may arise. Please be aware, though, that committing to private lessons should not be taken lightly. It is a responsibility held by the parent, the student, and the instructor. Please be mindful of scheduling conflicts and let me know immediately if there are lessons or required events that the student cannot attend.
Goals, Expectations, and Final Thoughts
-When I was in marching band at JMU, the band director said: “There are 485 students in this program for 485 different reasons.” I believe this to be true about music in general. My goal is to provide a rigorous high-level music instructional experience that pairs well with other academic, artistic, and extra-curricular interests the student may have. I also hope to help my students succeed as self-motivated musicians and oboists, and to think critically and articulate interpretations about the music they are performing so that they are actively engaged in the musical process.
-It is relatively clear throughout this document that my expectations are very high for my students. I expect them to follow all previously-stated expectations so that they can get as much out of the private lesson experience that they possibly can. In return I will do everything in my power to help them become successful in all of their music endeavors.
Greetings to new and returning students! I look forward to a productive school year filled with many opportunities to enhance musicianship. My name is Daniel Holland and I am the band director at Skyline High School in Front Royal VA. There have been a few changes in my policies for the upcoming year. Please read through all of the materials carefully. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.
Payment
-Please review the following information regarding lesson fees:
Oboe Lessons:
-45 minutes long, $40.00 a lesson.
Saxophone Lessons:
-45 minutes long, $30.00 a lesson
Music Theory Tutoring
-45 minutes long, $30.00 a lesson
*Lessons are expected to be on a regular weekly basis (with obvious exceptions including vacations, school breaks, and the occasional cancellation by either party). True musical growth requires frequent and consistent instruction.
Attendance Policy
-Students must be on-time to lessons. I do not extend lessons due to lateness. If you are fifteen minutes late, you receive a thirty minute lesson, and so-forth. Sometimes when I am teaching lessons back-to-back, the lesson might start a few minutes late. In that case, the lesson will be extended the appropriate amount.
-If the student cannot attend their lesson, they must notify me within 24 hours. Failure to do so will result in payment due for the missed lesson.
-If the student’s school is cancelled due to inclement weather, the lesson will automatically be cancelled as well.
-If I, for some reason, am more than fifteen minutes late to the lesson, the lesson will be free of charge.
-Cell Phones are to be out of sight and out of mind. If your phone goes off during the lesson, the lesson is over.
Materials
Students must bring all of their lessons materials. This includes:
-Instrument
-working reeds
-reed case (must be able to hold 3 or more reeds)
-reed-soaking container (ex: medicine bottle)
-cleaning swab
-assigned music
-pencil
-lessons notebook (marble composition notebook designated specifically for oboe lessons)
-completed assignments
*A note about reeds:
-Reeds should be purchased from bocalmajoritystore.com (https://bocalmajoritystore.com/product-category/reeds-cane/oboe-reeds-cane/)
0-2 years of experience: Basic Reed
3-6 years of experience: Intermediate Reed
All-VA ability level or pre-college: Pro Reed
(There may be exceptions to these guidelines. Students will be notified during lessons when they need to move to the next level strength of reed.
Concert/Recital Attendance
Students in the Northern VA area are incredibly lucky to be living within a short distance from many professional and semi-professional institutions and concert venues. Students will be required to see one concert or recital a semester as part of their professional development. Options include:
-any Shenandoah U, JMU, or GMU music recital or concert
-Opera, Musical, and Orchestral performances at the Kennedy Center or Wolf Trap
-Other approved performances
Assignments
-Students will write down all assignments in their lessons notebook during the last few minutes of each session. These are expected to be completed to the best of their abilities for the next lesson.
-Students will be assigned a listening to study and reflect on for each lesson. These will include solo oboesaxophone works, orchestra pieces, band pieces, chamber works, musicals, and film scores. I include this as a weekly assignment not only so that students have an opportunity to hear the oboe in a variety of environments and genres but also because it’s a great way for students to think critically about what they hear. I recommend the parents to listen along and help create a dialogue with the student about the music.
-Students need to practice for the amount of time they need to complete all assignments. If the student is consistently under-prepared, then they will be required to keep a practice log.
The Lesson
--Lessons are broken down into several different sections:
-warm-up: breathing, stretching, reed exercises, tuning exercises
-technique: scales and etudes
-solo repertoire
-band repertoire (when needed)
-music history: general and oboe-specific
-aural skills: ear-training, chord recognition, interval recognition, sight-singing
-music theory
-sight-reading
Lesson Location
--Lessons will be located at my Prospect Street Studio in Front Royal, VA. All rehearsals are recorded both for liability purposes and also to provide a resource that students may access while they practice throughout the week.
Clubs, Sports, and other Extra-Curricular Activities
-I am very pleased that most of my students participate in other extra-curricular activities. I am willing to accommodate any scheduling issues that may arise. Please be aware, though, that committing to private lessons should not be taken lightly. It is a responsibility held by the parent, the student, and the instructor. Please be mindful of scheduling conflicts and let me know immediately if there are lessons or required events that the student cannot attend.
Goals, Expectations, and Final Thoughts
-When I was in marching band at JMU, the band director said: “There are 485 students in this program for 485 different reasons.” I believe this to be true about music in general. My goal is to provide a rigorous high-level music instructional experience that pairs well with other academic, artistic, and extra-curricular interests the student may have. I also hope to help my students succeed as self-motivated musicians and oboists, and to think critically and articulate interpretations about the music they are performing so that they are actively engaged in the musical process.
-It is relatively clear throughout this document that my expectations are very high for my students. I expect them to follow all previously-stated expectations so that they can get as much out of the private lesson experience that they possibly can. In return I will do everything in my power to help them become successful in all of their music endeavors.
