May 10, 2025: Saturday Remix
Teachers and Staff: Happy Saturday!
And… Happy Mother’s Day!
Reminder: this weekend (Saturday and Sunday, May 10-11) are off-days (school is closed for Mother’s Day weekend). No regular lessons. Also, Saturday is our first annual Destination Recital… we will be on a charter bus headed south for a day of music-making, music education, and fun!
Musical Ladder Begins May, 2025
Next week, we will start notifying students, parents, families, and teachers about students’ placement on the ladder, and next steps! Students who have been with the music studio over three months will receive a certificate and wristband representing their current level. New students are on the ladder, and will be able to receive their first certificate and wristband in one, two, or three months (depending on their start date).
All students will be included initially (including adults and Mommy & Me - everyone), but any student can opt out of the program, as desired.
The Musical Ladder System will reward students with certificates, wristbands, and trophies based on certain longevity and milestone achievements along their musical journey and development.
Teachers will receive separate emails with step-by-step instructions as we launch this program and make it a regular part of our music studio procedures, methods, and policies.
Reminder: We Provide All Lesson Books and Materials
Remember that we provide all student lesson books and materials (with some exceptions). Please never ask students or parents to purchase books or materials without emailing the Office first. Please let us know what books and materials you need for your students. We will get them for you. (Or if we don’t, we will let you know and then we will speak with the students/parents.)
When you request books and materials, if they are not part of our standard curriculum, please send links along with exact titles, levels, and authors.
The Introductory Music Lesson - The Basics
Every music teacher at our music studio should know how to give an Introductory Music Lesson – our way! Here are the basics. More details will be provided as we go along. And you can always email me or office@dennisfrayne.com with any questions.
Introductory Lessons are not trial lessons. Also, we want to call them by their full name, Introductory Lessons, and not abbreviated as “Intro Lessons.” We use the full word Introductory because we believe this word most accurately reflects the intent and purpose of these lessons.
Introductory Lessons are 30 minutes. (Regular lessons are 60 minutes.)
Introductory Lessons are PAID music lessons (students pay; teachers get paid). (They are not “free trial” lessons. They are not “meet & greets.” Teachers are not on trial. Teachers teach things and students learn things at these lessons.)
The purpose of Introductory Lessons can be summarized as follows:
a) Students, parents, and families have a reason and opportunity to visit and experience the school. (Exceptions if the introductory lesson takes place in-home or online.)
b) Students learn some things about music and their instrument and/or focus.
c) Students learn some things about the teacher – although the teacher may or may not become their regular teacher if they enroll in lessons. You might better say: Students learn some things about our school’s teaching philosophies, strategies, methods, style, deportment, and culture. Every teacher should represent these things similarly and accurately for our studio.
d) Teachers learn some things about the student. (This is super important.) The teacher will communicate the things they learn about the student to the office. The About Me and Teacher Notes forms are integral for this purpose.
e) Students, parents, and families receive some additional information about next steps, pricing, scheduling, and other details about enrollment in ongoing lessons.It is essential that teachers ask students/parents to complete the About Me form in person (unless they already completed it online). If they need to complete it in person, it will be on the clipboard in the teacher box with a post-it note. If they have already completed it online, a printed copy of the completed form will be on the clipboard instead, also with a post-it note. The teacher can read it, and parents can make any additions or corrections by writing on the printed version.
It is essential that teachers complete the online Teacher Notes form immediately following the lesson. This should be done right after the lesson, at or near the location where the lesson just took place. Please do not wait for much later. Remember to enter your actual time into your timesheet, up to 15 minutes before and after the introductory lesson (but only the time you actually are present and working).
It is the teacher’s responsibility to provide a meaningful lesson and to learn about the student. It is not the teacher’s responsibility to answer all parent questions. It is wonderful if you can answer basic questions, or questions about their instrument, for a few minutes. But it should not be more than a few minutes, and it should not be questions related to scheduling, pricing, etc. Those questions should be answered with the flyers and handouts and by having them contact the Office.
More will follow later about Introductory Lessons, including some instrument-specific requirements and suggestions.
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Q. Can I access previous versions of the Friday Medley and Saturday Remix if I did not receive those emails?
A. Yes! You can find them here:
(These are on the Dennis Frayne Music Studios website under the drop-down menu item Newsletters.)
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Thank you, everyone, for all that you do!
Have a magical Saturday, a musical weekend, and a safe and healthy coming week.
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Thank you,
Dennis Frayne
"Dr. Dennis"
Laguna Niguel School of Music
Dennis Frayne Music Studios
30110 Crown Valley Pkwy, Suites 105/107/108
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 844-9051 (office cell)
(949) 468-8040 (personal cell)
www.lagunaniguelschoolofmusic.com
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