Dan Ryker

3996 NW Walnut Ct Corvallis, OR, 97330 United States

541-231-0897

Dan Ryker is a performing musician and a private music instructor.

TEACHING POLICY / SCHEDULE

Tuition / Payment

  • Tuition is $142 per month, which gives a weekly 30 minute lesson slot.

  • Invoices will be emailed at the start of each month for the lessons coming up that month. You can:

    • Pay on-line by using the link in the invoice email. Many students have found it convenient and secure to use the auto-billing option.

    • Pay with Venmo to user @Dan-Ryker

    • Pay with a check or cash..

  • You may choose to attend your lesson in-person or remotely with a live video lesson. If you decide to change from your normal mode on a given week, please text or email to let me know what to expect.

  • All students should have a way to do a live video lesson even if they typically do in-person lessons. If I am sick, but still well enough to teach, I may move all lessons for that week to live video lessons. Also, many students have found live video lessons to be helpful in allowing them to still do a lesson when they are out of town or a little sick.

  • If you let me know ahead of time when unable to attend a lesson, I will reschedule within a 1 week time frame depending upon available teaching slots. I appreciate it when you are able to give me advance notice and it helps other students who might be seeking a make-up lesson.. When you notify me to cancel a lesson, let me know if you want to be notified of make-up lesson slots. If you don’t ask for a make-up lesson, I will assume life is busy that week and I will just see you at your next lesson.

  • If you are more than 15 minutes late to a lesson, I may assume you are not coming and leave the studio.

  • If I have to cancel a lesson for some reason, I will credit your account $35.50.

  • There are some holidays when there are no lessons, yet tuition remains the same. These days are:

    • Memorial Day

    • 4th of July (if it lands on a weekday)

    • Labor Day

    • Spring Break (1 week, TBA)

    • Thanksgiving (Wed., Thur., Fri.)

    • Christmas (1 week surrounding, TBA)

    • New Year’s (1 week surrounding, TBA)

  • I DO teach on school inservice days, Halloween, Veterans Day, MLK day, Presidents Day, Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, etc.

  • Students are responsible to pay for their own music. I will send invoices for books purchased from me.

  • If we are doing a live video lesson and my technology fails, making it so we can’t do the lesson, I will issue a lesson credit. I am not responsible for a tech failure on your end. If you would like to test your setup ahead of time, let me know and we can set a time to do that.

  • It's OK to have a friend or family member use your spot if you can't make it to a lesson (I teach piano and short runs of guitar.

  • If you are going to be gone for several lessons in a row, you can request that I fill those lessons with someone from my waiting list who is seeking a short run of lessons. However, most people are looking for on-going music lessons, so I can’t promise I will have someone or that I’ll be able to schedule them during your slot.

  • You may stop lessons at the end of any month. I appreciate it when you are able to let me know in advance so I can try to fill your spot for the next month. I will be happy to hear from you again in the future if you decide to take lessons again. But please be aware that I might not have a spot available right away.

  • I’m not able to accommodate people stopping for a couple of months or the summer and still have their slot available. I will need to fill it with another student. Please see the FAQ section below for more about this.

FAQ

  • Why do I have to pay if I’m sick or out of town?

    • You should think of your tuition as securing you a weekly time slot for music lessons. Also, as a business person, I need to have the stability of a tuition based approach to have my finances make sense.

  • Do I need to pay full monthly tuition if you (Dan) are out of town or sick?

    • No. I rarely have to cancel lessons, but if I do, I will credit your account for each lesson canceled.

  • Why isn’t tuition less when there is no lesson during those major holidays?

    • As a self-employed person, these are the only times I am able to have time off without losing income. This is basically my vacation time work benefit, but I’m choosing to place it where students don’t usually want to have lessons anyway. If I ever miss lessons at other times, I don’t charge for them.

  • What if I just want to take some time off, or will be gone during the summer?

    • In the past I have charged by the lesson in the summer, but this creates a number of problems for my business. First, I make less money. But I also spend way more time trying to schedule single lessons where they are available. And yet it’s not really fair to those people starting new lessons in the summer because I won’t have an on-going slot for them once the other students start up again. And I do have a long waiting list from which I could fill the open slots. However, if you are going to be gone for several lessons in a row, you can request that I fill those lessons with someone from my waiting list who is seeking a short run of lessons. Most people are looking for on-going music lessons, so I can’t promise I will have someone or that I’ll be able to schedule them during your slot.

  • If you have other questions, please let me know.

GENERAL POINTS

  • Students and parents must be committed to practicing in order to make good progress and to enjoy lessons.

  • Parents are welcome at any time to observe the lessons.

  • If you will be taking Live Video Lessons, be sure to read the information on setting up properly for Live Video Lessons.

  • Please wash your hands in the hallway bathroom, and if your shoes are dirty please take them off by the bench in the entry.

  • Be sure to bring your assignment and all current music to lessons.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

  • Parent involvement is crucial to the success of a child flourishing in their musical development.

  • Students who receive diligent encouragement during the week from parents will generally advance much quicker and derive greater pleasure from music than those who are left on their own.

  • Even parents with no musical background can provide the structure that children need to focus, persevere and have fun with music.

  • Be Interested in what your child is doing. Even if you don't understand it all, pay attention to what is being learned that week. It helps a student to answer questions from you about what they are doing.

  • Encourage your student in what they are doing. When they are sounding good, then tell them so. If they are getting frustrated or are having trouble being devoted to practice, then encourage them that it is worth the work to keep going.

  • Review the goals for that week with your student. Do this soon after their lesson, but also periodically during the week. This will help them keep it clear in their mind what they are trying to accomplish.

  • Set a daily practice goal with your child. This goal will be different for different people depending on their age, season of life and other factors. So, I like parents to be apart of this discussion, but I am happy to give input as well.

  • Help to schedule your student's practice time throughout the week. Will they practice all at one time each day or a couple of short times each day? At what time of day will it occur? Etc..

  • Consider setting up a reward system. In the past, I have used Jelly Bellies at the lesson, but this isn’t an appropriate reward for all kids, and it’s really not that sanitary. I can help by keeping track of ‘points’ in the lesson and you can decide what those points might be worth as a reward in your home. I typically assign 1 point for each day of practice and 1 point for each star on a song.

  • Check in on their progress during the week. Even if you don't know the songs or understand music, you can tell if they are progressing. Ask the student to play their assignment songs for you as a little mini recital.

  • Know when not to help. Sometimes it is better to back off and let them go on their own. As the parent, you can judge if it is helping or hindering for you to be more or less involved during the week.

  • Be excited about your child's progress.

** If you choose to receive music lessons from Dan Ryker, then you are agreeing to the terms of this "Teaching Policy Agreement".

Thank you,

Dan Ryker
(541) 231-0897
dan@danryker.com