MICHAEL LANGER
MUSIC STUDIO POLICY
Master of Music, Piano Performance, Boise State University
B.A. Performance, University of Mary
B.S. Music Education, University of Mary
Adjunct Faculty, University of Mary,
Bismarck State College and Dickinson State University
Member of Bismarck-Mandan Music Teachers Association
And Music Teachers National Association
Phone: 701-226-2280
Email: mjlanger@gmail.com
Home address: 513 Macon Dr., Bismarck, ND 58504
www.youtube.com search "Michael Langer piano"
PAYMENT OF FEES
Tuition is a flat rate of $120 per month for weekly 30-minute lessons and $240 for 60-minute lessons. The monthly fee is due in advance by the first lesson of the month. Cash is acceptable. Checks can be made payable to Michael Langer. Paypal is also an option.
LESSONS
Location
Lessons will be held at my home studio at 513 Macon Dr. in Bismarck. Please arrive at least five minutes early to allow your child to start immediately at their scheduled time. You are welcome to wait in or outside my home studio or return at the end of the lesson to pick up your child. If you do leave, please do not be late to pick up your child. Please contact me with any scheduling or other business items you may like to discuss outside of your child’s lesson time, and anyone else's lesson time.
Schedule
The Fall semester will run from September 1 to December 21. There will be no lessons on the following holidays.
Labor Day
Thanksgiving
Halloween
There will be no lessons from December 23-January 1.
The Spring semester will run from January 2 to May 31. There will be no lessons on the following holidays.
Easter Monday
Memorial Day
Rescheduling
If I am unable to give a lesson at your scheduled time, I will contact you and try to reschedule. If a make-up lesson time cannot be found, I can credit you the cost of that lesson to the next month. If you are unable to make it to a regular scheduled lesson, please call me and try to reschedule. Rescheduling must be done at least 24 hours previous to a lesson; if not, the lesson will not be refunded.
Cancellation
In the event of cancellation of piano lessons, notice must be given no later than 30 days in advance of the final lesson. If notice is not given 30 days in advance, tuition will be due for the next 30 days following the date that notice is given, i.e. if you tell me you plan to quit lessons in two weeks, tuition will be due for an additional two weeks following the final lesson. Why is this? When you quit, I have to find a student to fill your time slot, and that can take several weeks.
In the case of illness that is contagious, lesson attendance should be avoided. I am not interested in sharing your child’s germs, and neither are the rest of my students. If I am sick I will cancel lessons. If possible, I will make them up at a later date. Skype or Zoom can be an option in the case of inclement weather or if a student needs to stay home but is not too ill to participate in a lesson.
Summer Lessons
Continuing lessons or scheduling less frequent lessons during the summer months are options and can be very beneficial. This schedule can be flexible to suit the individual needs and schedule of the student. Three to four lessons per month is the same monthly rate of $120. One to two lessons a month will be charged half price at $60. The summer term runs from June 1-August 31.
PRACTICE
As the saying goes..."Only practice on the days you eat."
Playing piano is a skill that takes time and effort to develop. Your child should have a regular, non-interrupted daily practice time on a good quality, tuned piano. I can make recommendations of piano tuners if needed. A digital piano is acceptable for beginners only; however, if a student plans to advance in piano, an acoustic piano is an absolute necessity. I can make recommendations on purchasing quality and affordable pianos. Students are encouraged to keep a practice record in their assignment notebook. I expect that each student practice 15-20 minutes a day for beginners, and at least a full hour a day for intermediate to advanced students.
I recommend that parents of beginning students monitor your child after each new lesson to listen to them play and to make sure they are practicing ALL of their assigned material. I will keep a record of their weekly assignment in their music journal. Your support at home includes encouragement, praise, and discipline when needed. This will help the beginning student immensely. Some students may need more encouragement than others. ALL students will have day they don't want to practice. Someday they will thank you for making them practice.
If a student shows signs that they are not practicing at home then I will contact the parent to assess the situation and help create a solution. If the problem persists, this may be grounds for dismissal from the studio.
PURCHASING AND REIMBURSEMENT OF MUSIC MATERIALS
Music books and other materials can be purchased online. I will let you know in advance when your child needs new books. I commonly order and purchase books myself, and can be reimbursed when the next month’s tuition is due. Festival and competition entry fees can also be reimbursed to me.
RECITALS
Dress Attire: Students should dress formally. Black and white is preferred. It’s good to test out the clothing at your piano at home to make sure it's comfortable to play in.
Boys: Dress shoes, dress pants, shirt and tie and/or vest, jacket.
Girls: Dress pants, dresses or skirts. Everything should be modest and knee-length or longer. Shoes need to be comfortable and make it easy to use the piano pedals. These especially should be tried out at home.
DATES
Recitals:
Fall/Christmas Recital
TBA (typically, the Sunday before Thanksgiving)
Winter Festival Recital
TBA (Sunday, late January or early February)
TMC Piano Festival Solo/Ensemble
Friday-Saturday, February ??
Piano Festival Concertos / makeups
Friday-Saturday, March ??, Bismarck Public Library
Spring Piano Recital
TBA, Sunday in late May or early June, Bismarck Public Library
Competitions:
Belle Mehus Piano Scholarship Competition
Application Deadline February ?
Auditions Sunday, February ?, Bismarck Public Library
Grades 6-11. $200
Greg Slag Scholarship Competition
Application Deadline February ?
Auditions Monday evening, late February, Bismarck Public Library
Only for Seniors planning to major in music in college. $500
BMMTA Scholarship Competition
Saturday morning, April ?, Bismarck Public Library. $200
TMC International Music Camp Scholarship Competition
Application with recording (no live audition) due by April ?
Grades 6-11. $150
NDMTA Poppler’s Music Piano Competition
Application Deadline May ?
Elementary-College
Wednesday, June ?, Fargo, Grand Forks, or Dickinson
MTNA Competitions
Application due mid September
State Division: Late October, Valley City
West Central Division: early January (different state every year)
Nationals: late March, Spokane, WA (different city every year)
I’m more than happy to answer any questions you may have concerning this studio policy or my teaching procedure. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any concerns. I’m looking forward to working with you and your child!
Updated October 2021