Frequently Asked Questions
How young do we start beginners in music lessons?
Answer: See the page "Is My Child Ready for Structured Musical Instruction?"
Answer: See the page "Is My Child Ready for Structured Musical Instruction?"
How do we start lessons?
Answer: Call the School, 301 498-4479 or e-mail aroda@laurelschoolofmusic.com to arrange for a visit or to SCHEDULE the FIRST LESSON. If you leave a phone message we will get back to you within a couple of days. The registration can take place at the first lesson.
Answer: Call the School, 301 498-4479 or e-mail aroda@laurelschoolofmusic.com to arrange for a visit or to SCHEDULE the FIRST LESSON. If you leave a phone message we will get back to you within a couple of days. The registration can take place at the first lesson.
Is there a Registration Fee and what other charges, other than Tuition, can a new student expect at the first lesson?
Answer: Every new student or family (if 2 or more members of the family register) has a Registration fee of $15 applied at the first lesson. Other charges that may be applicable are book fees. For our piano instruction, the School uses the Bastien series of piano books and has them in stock so that parents and students do not have search all over town to find the books. Cost for the books may vary with the different levels.
Answer: Every new student or family (if 2 or more members of the family register) has a Registration fee of $15 applied at the first lesson. Other charges that may be applicable are book fees. For our piano instruction, the School uses the Bastien series of piano books and has them in stock so that parents and students do not have search all over town to find the books. Cost for the books may vary with the different levels.
Do you have lessons for adults?
Answer: Absolutely!! We instruct adults of all ages and levels in every instrument that we offer lessons for. We even have adult bands, such as our Classic Pop/Rock Cover group "4Fathers" that rehearses and performs as one of the School's Performance Ensembles.
Answer: Absolutely!! We instruct adults of all ages and levels in every instrument that we offer lessons for. We even have adult bands, such as our Classic Pop/Rock Cover group "4Fathers" that rehearses and performs as one of the School's Performance Ensembles.
Do you have lesson slots available on Saturday or Sunday?
Answer: We have a limited amount of lesson slots for guitar and piano lessons on Saturday mornings. Please inquire with the School as to lesson time availablility since these lesson times are incredibly popular. We do not schedule regular weekly lessons on Sunday.
Answer: We have a limited amount of lesson slots for guitar and piano lessons on Saturday mornings. Please inquire with the School as to lesson time availablility since these lesson times are incredibly popular. We do not schedule regular weekly lessons on Sunday.
When can lessons start for a new student?
Answer: Lessons can start anytime, all-the time, whenever an instructor and a weekly lesson time can be scheduled.
Answer: Lessons can start anytime, all-the time, whenever an instructor and a weekly lesson time can be scheduled.
Are lessons one-on-one? Do you offer group lessons?
Answer: All our lessons are one-on-one. Except for some of our summer programs and ensemble groups, we do not offer group lessons. It has been our experience that with mutliple students in one lesson, instruction becomes inefficient after a couple of lessons - each musician learns at different rates and absorbs material differently. We have found that often by week 2 or 3 each musician is on very different levels of material.
Offering only one-on-one lessons allows each instructor to let each individual student progress at that musician's comfort rate.
Answer: All our lessons are one-on-one. Except for some of our summer programs and ensemble groups, we do not offer group lessons. It has been our experience that with mutliple students in one lesson, instruction becomes inefficient after a couple of lessons - each musician learns at different rates and absorbs material differently. We have found that often by week 2 or 3 each musician is on very different levels of material.
Offering only one-on-one lessons allows each instructor to let each individual student progress at that musician's comfort rate.
Will my child get to learn from the same instructor every sessions ?
Answer: Yes. We assign one instructor to each individual student. We place great emphasis on the personal relationship between an instructor and the student.
The only time that there will be a change is if a teacher may be on vacation, we will at times have another instructor substitute for the vacationing teacher. All our piano instructors of our beginning to intermediate level piano students teach from the same series of books and use the same resource materials, so all the instructors are familiar and skilled at instructing from the same materials. We have asked parents many time whether occasionally substituting with other instructors has been an issue – the answer almost always is that parents appreciate maintaining the consistency of a weekly lesson, even if the instructor is a temporary substitute.
Answer: Yes. We assign one instructor to each individual student. We place great emphasis on the personal relationship between an instructor and the student.
The only time that there will be a change is if a teacher may be on vacation, we will at times have another instructor substitute for the vacationing teacher. All our piano instructors of our beginning to intermediate level piano students teach from the same series of books and use the same resource materials, so all the instructors are familiar and skilled at instructing from the same materials. We have asked parents many time whether occasionally substituting with other instructors has been an issue – the answer almost always is that parents appreciate maintaining the consistency of a weekly lesson, even if the instructor is a temporary substitute.
What if a student needs to change their weekly lesson time?
Answer: We understand that all students (and teachers) have lives and activities outside of the Laurel School of Music. Every week we work with students if they need to change their weekly lesson time. We first try to find another lesson date and time with the same instructor. Usually we are successful in doing such. However, especially with our beginning to intermediate piano students, there are times when the student may need to switch to another instructor. See the section above to see why this has not been an issue for our students.
With 9 piano instructors, 3 guitar instructors, 2 drum instructors, 2 woodwind instructors, and 3 strings instructors, the School usually is very successful in transferring students between instructors of the same instrument.
Answer: We understand that all students (and teachers) have lives and activities outside of the Laurel School of Music. Every week we work with students if they need to change their weekly lesson time. We first try to find another lesson date and time with the same instructor. Usually we are successful in doing such. However, especially with our beginning to intermediate piano students, there are times when the student may need to switch to another instructor. See the section above to see why this has not been an issue for our students.
With 9 piano instructors, 3 guitar instructors, 2 drum instructors, 2 woodwind instructors, and 3 strings instructors, the School usually is very successful in transferring students between instructors of the same instrument.
Do Students and Musicians have opportunites to perform in Recitals or Public Performances?
Answer: Yes. We offer students at least 2 Recital Performance opportunities every year. We also offer students dozens of public performance opportunities. This is what separates the Laurel School of Music from every other music education facility in the area. The Laurel School of Music offers its students opportunities to perform for THE GENERAL PUBLIC. There is a universal difference between performing in a Recital (in front of family and friends) and performance for the general public. We believe that performance in front of a general public audience is a wonderful and useful opportunity to instill in student musicians an invaluable experience in performance presentation.
We understand this difference and it is important to our School that we offer BOTH performance opportunities to our student musicians.
For students that would rather perform in an intimate and familiar setting, we offer the School's Recital program.
For those that want to tackle the challenge of public performance in front of the general public, we offer numerous civic events whereby student musicians learn to perform for the general public. The Laurel School of Music has partnered with local civic groups, the City of Laurel, as well as Churches, to provide all manner of music to various civic events. This means that every month (and often multiple times a month) our students perform publicly for the many civic events in Laurel and the surrounding area. Examples of such are as follows:
Main Street Festival - Student rock bands and individual musicians are invited to perform for this yearly festival.
Laurel Dog Show and Laurel Flowermart - students perform in a recital style setting providing backgournd music to these yearly civic events.
Laurel Historical Society Events - The School is invited numerous times every year to provide background music and headline music for various Society events at the Laurel Museum. This has been a wonderful opoortunity for public performances of our more advanced student performers.
There are a dozen more opportunities too numerous to list.
Answer: Yes. We offer students at least 2 Recital Performance opportunities every year. We also offer students dozens of public performance opportunities. This is what separates the Laurel School of Music from every other music education facility in the area. The Laurel School of Music offers its students opportunities to perform for THE GENERAL PUBLIC. There is a universal difference between performing in a Recital (in front of family and friends) and performance for the general public. We believe that performance in front of a general public audience is a wonderful and useful opportunity to instill in student musicians an invaluable experience in performance presentation.
We understand this difference and it is important to our School that we offer BOTH performance opportunities to our student musicians.
For students that would rather perform in an intimate and familiar setting, we offer the School's Recital program.
For those that want to tackle the challenge of public performance in front of the general public, we offer numerous civic events whereby student musicians learn to perform for the general public. The Laurel School of Music has partnered with local civic groups, the City of Laurel, as well as Churches, to provide all manner of music to various civic events. This means that every month (and often multiple times a month) our students perform publicly for the many civic events in Laurel and the surrounding area. Examples of such are as follows:
Main Street Festival - Student rock bands and individual musicians are invited to perform for this yearly festival.
Laurel Dog Show and Laurel Flowermart - students perform in a recital style setting providing backgournd music to these yearly civic events.
Laurel Historical Society Events - The School is invited numerous times every year to provide background music and headline music for various Society events at the Laurel Museum. This has been a wonderful opoortunity for public performances of our more advanced student performers.
There are a dozen more opportunities too numerous to list.