CHRIS FRIESEN'S TEACHING POLICIES

How to be Prepared

    Please come prepared with your instrument (which includes cables and picks if applicable), a notebook and pencil for notes, your curriculum, and any previous documents we’ve created together. If you’re studying with me remotely, please have everything listed prior along with your tuner and metronome nearby. Your instrument should be tuned before we meet. If you have come across questions during the week between lessons, having them listed on paper is very effective. 

Curriculum

    The texts studied will vary from student to student depending on skill level and agreed-upon goals. Once a book has been decided upon it will be the student or parent of the student’s responsibility to acquire the text. Please do not neglect this as it will hinder the results of your investment. 

Resources

•     I have created free PDFs to download that many students may find useful for taking notes. Please visit my website to find free TAB, Chord, and Staff paper for your instrument. Once you download them, you’ll be able to print as many as you find useful. A simple way to save some money for more specific note-taking. 

•     My website also features a blog with 52 free lessons to view. If you’re looking for some examples of other projects, you’ll find this useful. 

•     My YouTube channel hosts several playlists of music-related content. I have several interviews with local Oregon musicians about musicianship and a realistic path of proficiency. If you need a video uploaded of a piece of our lessons it will be posted here. Finally, it will also include my tour vlog. 

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Make-Ups/Cancellation
    I am willing to attempt to reschedule if you find yourself in a conflict with your weekly commitment. To be eligible for a make-up please give me 24 hours notice and I'll offer you available slots. If we fail to coordinate a make-up, I will credit your following months' invoice for the absence. Make-ups to your re-scheduled make-ups are not an option. If you no show for a lesson, you are ineligible for make-up. 

Illness
    If you or your child is unable to attend your lesson due to illness, it is your responsibility to notify me with at least 24 hours' notice. When the required notice is not given, the lesson will be billed. I understand that it is natural to gets bouts of illness, so I will grant one free missed absence (without notice) due to illness per quarter. 

    Please do not attend lessons if you are sick and/or have missed school due to illness. If a student is showing symptoms they will be sent home. We will be stern about this because contagious illnesses put me and other students at risk. We all share instruments and I am not compensated for sick days. 

Holidays

    I intend to be teaching on all holidays except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve/Day.  When any other absence will be taken me you will have at least a weeks’ notice.  Please take your holidays as you wish.  My only requirement is that you give me at minimum 24 hours’ notice.

Right to Refuse

    I reserve the right to stop working with any client. 

Consistency

    At the point that you’ve missed 3 lessons in a row without warning or drop below 70% in attendance, I reserve the right to give the time slot to another student on my waitlist. Please remember that these are private lessons. Parents are welcome to sit in and observe. To maintain a focused environment, I request that if a friend wants to sit in on the lesson that I have 24 hours' notice. 

Practice

    This is a key component to the success of a student’s lessons. If you are wanting to see noticeable growth in the craft, thirty minutes of practice five days a week is the recommended time commitment. I encourage everyone to have their own relationship with music, and we’ll set goals accordingly. If commitment starts to lag beyond normal, I will give the parent and student both notice of my concern. If it continues to be an issue, I will cancel further lessons after the end of the month to give another student on the waitlist an opportunity to be serious with the practice. 

Payments

    Invoices will be sent out before the beginning of the month lessons to the email account you’ve provided. Just to be clear, you are being billed in advance. Each invoice will have a breakdown of the current months' lessons and any previous balance or lesson credits. At the bottom of the invoice will be details of payment methods. Payments are due within two weeks of billing and are made to my name via cash, check, or Venmo. 

Scholarship 

    I will reward different tiers of practice with free lessons per month. What I like about this concept is that you can work your way up to a free ride. It also holds students accountable for their practice. Please reach out if you would like to apply. 

• The first free lesson is awarded 2 1/2 hours of practice per week that is logged for each week of the month. (example 30 minutes 5 days per week)

• The second lesson will be awarded if there are two recorded performances per month.

• The third lesson will be rewarded for publishing one recording per month.

• The full ride is reserved for students performing and recording at least three songs live for an audience of their selection.

These will all be awarded as credits to the following invoice.

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Contacts

    You can get in touch with me in several ways. Texting my phone will likely yield the quickest response. Feel free to call and leave a voicemail if I don’t pick up. My email works well for less time-sensitive issues. Please be aware that if you reach out during business hours, there is a strong likelihood that I will be in a lesson with another student. This means that it may be up to a couple of hours before I can respond. 

phone: (503)784-8305
email: www.cfriesenmusic@gmail.com
teaching website: www.chrisfriesenmusiclessons.com 

Artist website: www.cjfmusic.com
YouTube: www.alturl.com/xz2cv

Venmo: @Christopher-Friesen
Google Business: https://g.page/cjf-music 

Thank you for taking the time to review these policies. If you have concerns or suggestions I would be happy to hear them.