General
Our typical students start at 5, but we have had some exceptional students start as early as 3 years old, with shorter lessons. It is a question of their attention span, interest and ability to focus. Add your desire to expose them to music at an early age, and that should help us determine the readiness.
Young beginners typically start with 30 minute weekly lessons. As the child progresses, it may be apparent that moving to 45 minute or longer lessons. Since the lessons are designed around each student, as the student progresses, your teacher may recommend to lengthen the lesson or have multiple lessons within the same week. It is also recommended that students practice the same amount of time daily as the length of their lesson.
An acoustic piano at home is nice, but many of our families use electronic pianos. As a student is beginning, there is little difference. Some even argue that the light feel of less expensive keyboards are a help to the young students. As a piano player progresses, then the differences in a real piano, or at least, a nice electronic piano become more important. We always recommend to start small. There is nothing wrong with starting lessons on a "cheap" keyboard and make a better instrument one of the goals as the student moves along.
We are located in Newport Beach, and serve the coastal communities of Orange County. All our teachers live in this area and our recitals are in Costa Mesa. Our focus on this small area keeps us most effective to our families needs.
Yes. We have two recitals per year, in late Spring and early Winter. These are included in your tuition. They are highly recommended as a great goal to work towards. The students come off the recitals totally energized towards the next one!
Financial
Yes, we do offer a discount for multiple lessons in the same home.
Yes. We accept all major credit and debit cards, as well as checks.
To maintain lesson consistency, we operate as a year-round music school with a flat monthly tuition. Invoices are mailed out each month, and payments are due on the 1st. Paralleling this, we have a very liberal make-up policy. If there is a conflict, simply call the office and a reschedule will be set up.
Since every family and student's needs are unique, we tailor a program for each student. We have different options for rescheduling or skipping missed lessons that further affect the cost. Please call or email for more information .
No. Most of our current families were referred by other families. We like the genuine nature of these referrals. To the same degree, the new family likes the fact that their friend is telling them about us because of their own terrific experience, not for a credit on their bill.
Still, we have started sending special "thank you" gifts to these families that we know are spreading the news of DMA.
