Studio Policies
My mission and goals for each student
It is my goal to nurture the artistic spirit in everyone I work with and promote a lifelong love of music and learning through a wide variety of repertoire. I will help each student achieve their highest musical potential studying: performance, musicianship, technique, theory, sight-reading, music history, ensemble collaborations, composition, ear training and memorization. I strive to provide an enthusiastic atmosphere for learning and believe that the best progress will come from positive encouragement and good communication between the student, teacher and family.
Student Responsibilities
Please arrive to each lesson punctually with all necessary materials. Regular practice at home is an essential habit to promote positive musical growth. Each student has their own goal of how much they should strive to practice each week and they are expected to do their best to meet that goal. Students are provided with an assignment notebook in which to record their practice minutes. Of course, some weeks may be unusually busy and the practice time might be minimal. Lack of practice is not an acceptable excuse for missing a lesson. We can still work on many musical concepts during lesson time, including music historical styles, composer styles and history, theory, ear training, practice techniques, sight reading skills, rhythm, improvisation, etc.
Parent Responsibilities
Parents are welcome to attend lessons at any time. Please check your child’s notebook weekly for assignment details. To help your child develop self-discipline and good practice habits, set aside a regular time for practice each day (this can be done all at once or divided into two or more daily practice sessions). Parents may need to remind younger students that it is time to practice and even sit with them for a while, but it is my goal that by second grade the student will need only occasional supervision. The parent should provide a piano in the best possible condition, a metronome (or app), and a quiet place allowing uninterrupted practice.
Performance Opportunities
There are several opportunities to perform during the year. All students are encouraged to share their talents, but performances are not mandatory. Please refer to my website calendar for festival and competition date updates.
Photo and Video Release
I may post pictures and videos on my website and youtube. If you do not want your child’s image (s) to be used, please let me know. In general, the students love to see their pictures and videos online and they find it motivating and exciting to think that others see them performing. The students are identified only by first name.
Tuition Payment
Tuition covers not only the actual lesson time spent with the student, but time preparing for each student as well.
This includes:
Tuition will be invoiced in 9 equal monthly installments and due at the first lesson of each month. There will be a $10 late fee assessed to your account if your tuition is received after the first week of the month. Book fees, competition and miscellaneous fees will accumulate on your account and only be invoiced in December and June or if the amount becomes greater than $50.
There is a $75 per student yearly music registration fee payable in June to hold your fall lesson spot in the studio. This covers expenses such as recital hall rentals, recital programs, photocopies, CD’s or recordings made, online scheduling fees, mailings, incentive awards, etc.
Cancellation Policy
The tuition that you pay reserves an exclusive weekly time in my schedule that I cannot fill if you cancel. No payment credit will be provided for students who miss lessons for any reason. You can, however, swap lesson times with another student if you foresee a conflict. I sympathize with all of the parents who juggle busy student schedules and would be happy to try to facilitate a switch or let you know of any open possibilities if you have a conflict.
There are 2 flex weeks built into your monthly tuition rate for sudden teacher illness, emergency, or other cancellations. Some years I do not need to use these flex weeks, in which case you come out ahead. These potential absences are already factored into the tuition rate so there won't be any make-up lessons nor refund/tuition credit given.
Summer lessons
Students can make a great amount of progress with their musical studies during the summer so I require students to take the time equivalent of 6 (or more) of their regular length lessons during the summer months in order to retain their spot in my studio in the fall. These can be scheduled at your convenience through the online scheduler. During summertime you may find that you want to schedule two lessons in the same week if you are out of town often. I am happy to teach an alternate lesson plan if the student hasn’t had a chance to practice before the second lesson. And this is especially helpful for students that study both piano and voice (or flute!). Not to mention those who want to improve their music theory skills!
Easy ways to pay your lesson tuition...
1. Cash or check. Kristine Bengtson, 1753 Camelot Drive, Madison, WI 53705
2. UW Credit Union Money Link transfer: If you have an account at UW Credit Union, you can pay your tuition through a Money Link transfer for no fee. Log into your UWCU account and go to: Transfers & Payments/Money Link/Add New Connection and put in Kristine Bengtson (watch spelling) and cre8fmusic@aol.com.
3. Auto Bill Pay through your bank for the recurring monthly tuition amount. We can reconcile books, fees, etc., periodically.
4. PayPal: https://paypal.me/KristineBengtson
*Note: PayPal is a convenient way to pay, although charges me 3.49% of the payment plus 49 cents per transaction. Instead of raising my rates across the board to cover this cost, I ask that you pay adjusted tuition amounts if you are going to pay through PayPal. Thank you very much for understanding.
My mission and goals for each student
It is my goal to nurture the artistic spirit in everyone I work with and promote a lifelong love of music and learning through a wide variety of repertoire. I will help each student achieve their highest musical potential studying: performance, musicianship, technique, theory, sight-reading, music history, ensemble collaborations, composition, ear training and memorization. I strive to provide an enthusiastic atmosphere for learning and believe that the best progress will come from positive encouragement and good communication between the student, teacher and family.
Student Responsibilities
Please arrive to each lesson punctually with all necessary materials. Regular practice at home is an essential habit to promote positive musical growth. Each student has their own goal of how much they should strive to practice each week and they are expected to do their best to meet that goal. Students are provided with an assignment notebook in which to record their practice minutes. Of course, some weeks may be unusually busy and the practice time might be minimal. Lack of practice is not an acceptable excuse for missing a lesson. We can still work on many musical concepts during lesson time, including music historical styles, composer styles and history, theory, ear training, practice techniques, sight reading skills, rhythm, improvisation, etc.
Parent Responsibilities
Parents are welcome to attend lessons at any time. Please check your child’s notebook weekly for assignment details. To help your child develop self-discipline and good practice habits, set aside a regular time for practice each day (this can be done all at once or divided into two or more daily practice sessions). Parents may need to remind younger students that it is time to practice and even sit with them for a while, but it is my goal that by second grade the student will need only occasional supervision. The parent should provide a piano in the best possible condition, a metronome (or app), and a quiet place allowing uninterrupted practice.
Performance Opportunities
There are several opportunities to perform during the year. All students are encouraged to share their talents, but performances are not mandatory. Please refer to my website calendar for festival and competition date updates.
Photo and Video Release
I may post pictures and videos on my website and youtube. If you do not want your child’s image (s) to be used, please let me know. In general, the students love to see their pictures and videos online and they find it motivating and exciting to think that others see them performing. The students are identified only by first name.
Tuition Payment
Tuition covers not only the actual lesson time spent with the student, but time preparing for each student as well.
This includes:
- An individualized plan for each student’s course of study.
- Development of teaching materials, often including pieces composed/arranged specifically for your child.
- Accompaniment recordings for their practice at home.
- Recital preparation and repertoire planning.
- My time working at competitions, festivals and special events.
- Professional organization memberships.
- Continuing education.
- Music lending library.
Tuition will be invoiced in 9 equal monthly installments and due at the first lesson of each month. There will be a $10 late fee assessed to your account if your tuition is received after the first week of the month. Book fees, competition and miscellaneous fees will accumulate on your account and only be invoiced in December and June or if the amount becomes greater than $50.
There is a $75 per student yearly music registration fee payable in June to hold your fall lesson spot in the studio. This covers expenses such as recital hall rentals, recital programs, photocopies, CD’s or recordings made, online scheduling fees, mailings, incentive awards, etc.
Cancellation Policy
The tuition that you pay reserves an exclusive weekly time in my schedule that I cannot fill if you cancel. No payment credit will be provided for students who miss lessons for any reason. You can, however, swap lesson times with another student if you foresee a conflict. I sympathize with all of the parents who juggle busy student schedules and would be happy to try to facilitate a switch or let you know of any open possibilities if you have a conflict.
There are 2 flex weeks built into your monthly tuition rate for sudden teacher illness, emergency, or other cancellations. Some years I do not need to use these flex weeks, in which case you come out ahead. These potential absences are already factored into the tuition rate so there won't be any make-up lessons nor refund/tuition credit given.
Summer lessons
Students can make a great amount of progress with their musical studies during the summer so I require students to take the time equivalent of 6 (or more) of their regular length lessons during the summer months in order to retain their spot in my studio in the fall. These can be scheduled at your convenience through the online scheduler. During summertime you may find that you want to schedule two lessons in the same week if you are out of town often. I am happy to teach an alternate lesson plan if the student hasn’t had a chance to practice before the second lesson. And this is especially helpful for students that study both piano and voice (or flute!). Not to mention those who want to improve their music theory skills!
Easy ways to pay your lesson tuition...
1. Cash or check. Kristine Bengtson, 1753 Camelot Drive, Madison, WI 53705
2. UW Credit Union Money Link transfer: If you have an account at UW Credit Union, you can pay your tuition through a Money Link transfer for no fee. Log into your UWCU account and go to: Transfers & Payments/Money Link/Add New Connection and put in Kristine Bengtson (watch spelling) and cre8fmusic@aol.com.
3. Auto Bill Pay through your bank for the recurring monthly tuition amount. We can reconcile books, fees, etc., periodically.
4. PayPal: https://paypal.me/KristineBengtson
*Note: PayPal is a convenient way to pay, although charges me 3.49% of the payment plus 49 cents per transaction. Instead of raising my rates across the board to cover this cost, I ask that you pay adjusted tuition amounts if you are going to pay through PayPal. Thank you very much for understanding.