High Note 2011/2012 Season

INTRODUCTION

HighNote is affiliated with the Dancin’Stars School of Performing Arts and operates within the same premises. We offer lessons in piano, vocal and guitar. We can also prepare students for RCM examinations, as well as provide performance opportunities to showcase our young talent.

HighNote School of the Performing Arts
Schedule for September 2011- June 2012

ABOUT US

Welcome to HighNote! We appreciate your interest in us and hope that this is the start of a wonderful musical relationship. We offer individual lessons in the following instruments: Piano, Voice, Guitar, and Bass.  Whether you’re looking to become the next singing sensation, classical pianist, rocker, or just want to have fun, HighNote wants to be a part of your musical journey!

CURRICULUM

The staff here at HighNote tailor your music education to fit your specific needs and interests. All ages and Levels Welcome! Depending on what you’re looking for, you’re curriculum might include:

·         Preparation for RCM EXAMINATIONS
·         Competitions such as the KIWANIS MUSIC FESTIVAL
·         Local performance opportunities/auditions…stay tuned!

Your curriculum will most certainly include:
·         Exploration of various musical styles and techniques
·         Theory and Ear Training
·         Overall musicianship training
·         Participation in the Year-End recital in June 2012! YAY!

LESSON TIMES

We are open for lessons Tuesday, Wednesday 3pm-9pm and Saturday from 9am - 12pm and 12:30 - 5:30pm. Exact times may vary due to instructor availability. Please contact the office at 604-524-3516 to schedule your permanent lesson time. The confirmed teaching days for the following teachers/instruments are as follows:

Prices for DROP IN students:

½ Hour = $30.00/lesson + GST
45 min. = $42.00/lesson + GST
1 Hour = $55.00/lesson + GST

FIRST TIME HIGHNOTE STUDENTS receive the first lesson FREE!

PAYMENT OPTIONS

OPTION #1: Yearly payment
Students who choose this option will receive 10% off lessons for the entire year!

PLEASE NOTE:choose this option only if you are a committed HighNote Music fan as there are NO REFUNDS available for this option!

OPTION #2: Term payment
The HighNote school year is divided into 3 terms:
Term 1:September - December
Term 2:  January - March
Term 3: April - June
Students who choose this option will receive 5% off lessons for the entire year!  

IMPORTANT: Once a term payment is received there is no possibility of a refund regardless of notice. For example, if Term 1 has been paid for and you give us notice to discontinue in November, it is understood that Term 2&3 payments will be discontinued and no portion of the Term 1 payment will be refunded.

Payment methods: accepted for this option: Visa, MasterCard, Post-dated Cheques
Payment due dates: September 14, 2009; January 1st 2010; April 1st 2010

OPTION #3: Monthly payment
Students who choose this option must pay by the 1st of the month, every month from  September - June.

OPTION #4:Weekly payment
This option is only recommended to students who want to take lessons on a “drop-in” basis.

IMPORTANT: Students who choose this option must call in EVERY WEEK to confirm a time, as a time will NOT be reserved for you with this option!

It’s all about the 3 C’s:
Consistency  Commitment Communication.

This policy is necessary for eliminating the “bad” c:

Confusion! HighNote thanks you for your understanding.
Payment methods accepted for this option: Cash, Visa, and MasterCard
Payment due date: Before the lesson on the lesson day.
Please refer to the POLICIES section for more information regarding the above stated payment options.

There will be a $25.00 charge on any NSF/returned cheques, and a $15.00 charge on declined or expired Visa/Master Card.

The Triple Threat Package

Tech Class* - 1 hour + Song and Dance* -1 hour Class + 1/2 Voice Class = Triple Threat!

*group lessons

Price per month $175.32 (including taxes)

POLICIES
Our policies at HighNote are simply an agreement on what you can expect from us, your teachers, and what we expect from you, our valuable students. We have exhaustively thought about what is the most fair for everyone and we present to you our policies with your best interest in mind! Time is precious - so let’s make the musical best of it!

THE LESSON TIME IS A SACRED TIME, which means that you can count on us to be there for your time, and we’re counting on you to come for your scheduled time. The teacher and student must agree on a permanent day and time for weekly lessons i.e. if the student’s lesson is scheduled for Monday at 4pm, that time belongs to the student (and no one else unless the student says so!) and will be their time from September - June. This way there is CONSISTENCY in the student’s progress, giving you the best possible outcome from lessons!

UNFORTUNATELY, MONEY MATTERS we SINCERELY wish it didn’t but…well, you know.  It’s the way of the world (sad, but true). In fact, we hope this is the last time we ever have to bring it up! We ask you to PLEASE respect the payment due dates given, or one of the following consequences will occur (but we really hope it doesn’t!):

·         forfeit of discount privileges, depending on the option you have chosen.

·         A different payment option will be chosen and payment for that option must be received immediately.

·         Upon repeated attempt to contact the student regarding payment without a response from the student, the student will be refused lessons.

Now that we have that uncomfortable subject out of the way, please know that we do what we do because we love music and want to share the joy of music with you. We rely on your financial support to share this joy with you and we thank you from the bottom of our High Note for your understanding!

IF THE STUDENT MISSES A LESSON we are not only sad about it, but we are also unable to give you a refund! We realize that this does occur from time to time due to extenuating circumstances, so we are introducing:
THE ONE MAKE-UP PER YEAR GUARANTEE!
This means that we will give you a make-up free of charge before the end of classes in June 2012. However, you have to actually miss a lesson to get this guarantee, as there is nothing to make-up if you happen to not miss any classes! At the end of the year, for the students who do not need to use their make-up guarantee, a clean attendance prizewill be given to every student with perfect attendance at the Year End Recital! Yipee! For those of you who might miss more than one lesson,(we sure hope not!) lessons will only be made up at the TEACHER’S DISCRETION.
We also ask that you please avoid being a no-show! Even a call 2 minutes before a lesson is supposed to start is better than no call at all, although the sooner the better!

PLEASE NOTE: We will make a maximum of 3 attempts to schedule your guaranteed make-up. If the student cannot agree on a make-up time after these 3 attempts, the teacher will make no further effort to provide a make-up and the student forfeits their make-up guarantee! 24 hours notice is required to cancel a make-up! If the student does not show for their scheduled make up lesson, an alternative make-up time will NOT be made.

IF THE TEACHER MISSES A LESSON, the teacher must make every effort to find a suitable substitute for that lesson. If the teacher cannot find a suitable replacement, the student will be given one of 2 choices:

·         Reschedule the lesson for another time
·         Receive a credit towards a future lesson in the upcoming month(s)

In the HIGHLY UNLIKELY event that a teacher does not show up for a lesson (a very forbidden thing here at High Note!) this is the only instance that a refund for a lesson is possible. Otherwise, there are absolutely NO REFUNDS.

IF FOR SOME REASON YOU MUST LEAVE US we will miss you dearly! Due to the 4 payment options we are offering our students this year, we highly recommend that you only choose option #1 or #2 if you are:
·         Absolutely in love with your music lessons!
·         Sure that you are not moving to an area within Sept.-June that disables you from taking classes with High Note

The reason for this is THERE ARE NO REFUNDS FOR THESE OPTIONS REGARDLESS OF NOTICE! So PLEASE CHOOSE WISELY!

As for option #3, 1 month’s notice is required to discontinue lessons. For example, if you want to discontinue lessons for May, notice must be given on the payment due date for the previous month - in this case, April 1st.

Option #4 is simple: NO REFUNDS. We’re sorry if you didn’t like your lesson - but no refunds.

The staff at HighNote is dedicated to making sure you get the most out of your music lessons, that you get inspired, find confidence, and totally fall in love with making music! However, despite our efforts, we realize that everyone finds their calling and if yours happens to be something else, we wish you well in whatever you may choose (but we’re going to try REALLY HARD to get you to stay!)

This concludes our HighNote Schedule Information for 2011-2012!  We hope you are excited about what we have to offer as we are!  If you have any further questions: a Frequently Asked Questions section of our website www.dancinstarsbc.com will be available soon! 

Until then you can always call us at 604-524-3516, or email us at dancinstars@shaw.ca

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What should I bring to my first lesson?

Please bring yourself, your payment (if you haven’t already done so) and a notebook to record what we do in the lesson.  Bringing a notebook allows your teacher to record your homework for the week, pointers for practicing at home, and weekly goals to keep you inspired.  Your teacher will assess which level is best for you, and will then let you know which books (if any) are needed for class.

2. How soon should I expect to be able to play/sing a song on my own?

This really depends on the instrument you are learning, your teacher’s teaching style, and your individual learning pace.  Some beginners are playing songs within the second or third lesson - simple songs - but songs nonetheless!

3. Why should I call if I can’t come to my lesson?

Although you are paying for your time regardless, please remember that we are promising EVERY HighNote student 1 guaranteed make-up by the end of the year (including you!).  If people miss class without letting us know, it makes it next to impossible to reschedule lessons for others who may have missed.  Please remember the golden rule: do unto others, as you would want them to do unto you!  We thank you in advance for calling in!  We SINCERELY appreciate it!  We also are genuinely concerned for your safety - if you don’t show up we DO wonder if you’re ok!

4. I am  in the Dancin HighNote Stars Program.  What if I have a dance competition at the same time as my music lesson?  Will I still be charged for it?

No-we  will not charge you for the missed lesson AS LONG AS you let us know BY THE COMPETITION ENTRY DEADLIN that this is happening.  If you don’t let us know we can’t do anything about it, you will be charged and there will be NO REFUND. If you ever do know well in advance that you will not be able to attend a class due to a similiar outside activity, it is still wise to let us know.  The sooner we can try to reschedule your lesson but please keep in mind that we only guarantee ONE free make-up.  Beyond the ONE make-up we can’t promise anything!

5. I am in many other activities/sports/dance/hobbies/arts outside of HighNote.  Do I have to pay if I can’t makeit to class?

Your commitment to music lessons exists outside of the classroom as well.  Your progress also depends on how much you are able to practice at home.  If you are in A LOT of activities outside of HighNote, you may want to re-evaluate if music lessons are for you at this time.  YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR MISSED CLASSES. If you are going to miss more scheduled classes than you are able to take (or just as many) we will be honest with you: we don’t recommend you sign up for lessons if this is the case!   Please come when you are ready.  We REALLY do want you here!

6.  Do we have to practice?

Well, we can’t follow you home and make you practice - but you will learn more and enjoy more from your lessons if you practice.  So really, the answer is YES!  Depending on your age/level/goals, the amount of time you practice will vary.  What matters even more than the QUANTITY of time you spend practicing is the QUALITY of the practicing.  To learn more regarding this subject, ASK YOUR TEACHER!

7. I’m too nervous to perform on stage.  Do I have to perform the Year-End Recital?

Practicipating in the Year-End recital is truly the best way for you  to celebrate your accomplishments and show how hard you’ve worked all year.  Remember: the people watching you at the recital are the biggest fans you will ever have - YOUR PARENTS, TEACHERS, FAMILY AND FRIENDS! Even the most talented, accomplished musicians get nervous!  This is normal!  Your teacher will be more than happy to give you pointers on how to use your nervousness to help you with your performance.  That said, if the thought of performing makes you lose sleep at night,  we only ask that at least ATTEND recital.  You may realize in the end that Hey - maybe this performing thing really isn’t that bad!

8.  Why should I take lessons at HighNote?

HighNote provides a wonderfully warm atmosphere to learn music in.  Our teachers really do care about each and every student.  Whatever the reason you want to take lessons at HighNote, our interest is YOUR interest! We are proud to call you our students and do our very best to give you our MUSICAL BEST!