Thank you for your interest in Lammas Green Music Studio. Here is more information about our lessons and our policies. If you have questions or would like to join the studio, please visit our contact page.
Please note that as well as offering in person lessons, we continue to provide online lessons. Please click here for more information.
What we teach
- Stringed instruments: Violin, Viola
- Woodwind instruments: Clarinet, Recorder, Flute and Saxophone.
- Additional services: Piano, Music theory, General musicianship, Chamber music coaching
All lessons are one-to-one. We do not teach groups or small group sessions.
Availability, Time and Place
Lessons are normally held once weekly. Some students prefer one lesson per fortnight, or two lessons per week. We can advise you as to the appropriate frequency of lessons for your goals.
Our availability varies month to month and is very limited. In general, we try to stick to the following:
Jill Valentine (strings, piano): Sunday and Monday afternoons, Saturday mornings at SE21 8NS (LGMS)
Jernej Albreht (Woodwind, piano): Saturday mornings/afternoons and Monday afternoon/evenings at SE21 7HW (St. Stephen’s Church)
We schedule lessons in calendar months, not terms.
Students use Tidycal to schedule their lessons. Once monthly, LGMS will release an updated calendar for the coming month. LGMS typically releases this one week before the start of each month, i.e. the 21st of the current month. For example, students wishing to book June lessons will be able to do so once LGMS notifies them that the calendar is updated for June, and this will happen as close to 21 May as possible.
Lessons are booked on a first come, first serve basis, but students can book the entire month at once which helps to keep times as consistent as possible.
Lessons will last 30 minutes for students under 8 years old, 45 minutes for students aged 8-9 at our discretion, and 60 minutes for all others. Exceptions to this, such as students interested in 90 minute sessions, can be discussed on a case-by-case basis.
NB: All students come to us. We cannot come to students’ homes due to the high demand for our time.
Materials and Content
We use a variety of method books for our students, maximizing our flexibility to tailor to individual needs and learning styles. All of our method books are progressive and in several volumes. Students will be expected to obtain their own copy of the book we assign to them. Used copies are perfectly fine as long as they aren’t heavily marked.
All lessons will include warm-ups, technical work, scales and repertoire. Depending on the student’s goals, which will be discussed at the first lesson, more time may be given to particular aspects, i.e. scales and repertoire will be stressed more for ABRSM preparation.
Lesson essentials
- Instrument and any accessories for it (read our beginner’s guide for woodwinds and strings)
- pencil and notebook for recording lesson topics and personal practice
- method book
- other repertoire assigned
The notebook is incredibly important as it allows the student, the teacher and the parents (if applicable) to see the student’s work ethic and both their short-and long term improvement. Improvement is slow and much of the work required for learning an instrument will be done alone, between lessons. When students get discouraged, it is helpful to have a notebook full of the work they’ve done so far to see what concepts used to be challenging but are no longer so.
Performance opportunities
At LGMS we aim to give our students as many performing opportunities as we can. Lessons will feature many duets and opportunities to feel the nerves of performing and holding one’s own.
We encourage students to occasionally bring a parent or peer to a lesson to listen, and if both our tutors are present we may have the other tutor listen to well-prepared students.
At least twice per year we schedule Studio Recitals for the students of LGMS to gain performance experience. View our past studio recitals below.
Trial Lessons
We run a trial series for prospective students to try lessons with us before committing to further study. Having refined it from past experience for both tutors and students (and parents, if applicable), we have a system that works as follows.
Students book two lessons with us, one week apart (or as close to this as possible). Students can borrow our music books if they do not have their own yet (see below regarding instruments*). In this manner, students avoid having to commit to monthly billing and purchasing their own books before they have a holistic picture of what learning with us will be like.
Why two lessons instead of just one? In the past, students have enjoyed their trial lessons but not realised the integral importance of practicing in between their lessons. Ninety percent of a student’s improvement will be done in between lessons with the regular, ideally daily practice planned by their teacher. Thus, with a single trial lesson only, it has happened too often that despite enjoying the idea of learning an instrument, new students have not been fully prepared for the experience and ended up wasting time and resources by continually attending lessons they have not prepared for.
Therefore, we have our two-lesson trial system. Once the date and time of these lessons are in all parties’ agreement, we invoice these two lessons together and they are confirmed upon payment. Please note that the trial invoice has to be settled 48h before the first of the two lessons. If the student feels ready to continue learning with us after this, we arrange for times during the remainder of said calendar month and invoice the rest of the month separately. The student is then on track for the regular monthly billing cycle for all LGMS students, and they will also be expected to obtain our recommended written materials for themselves.
*Important note: We do not provide instruments for students to use in trial lessons except for piano students. String and woodwind students must procure an instrument before trials with us. Please read our beginner’s guide for woodwinds and strings for details on how to procure an instrument.
Rates
- 30 minutes: £34
- 45 minutes: £47
- 60 minutes: £60
Lessons will last 30 minutes for students under 8 years old, 45 minutes for students aged 8-9 at our discretion, and 60 minutes for all others. Exceptions to this, such as students interested in 90 minute sessions, can be discussed on a case-by-case basis.
Payment
Students will receive an invoice for booked lessons, and any booked lessons are only confirmed once fees are paid. Lessons are paid for by calendar month, except during Summer holidays when the holiday period may be billed as one. Fees are due before the first lesson of the month via bank transfer. If payment isn’t received by the first lesson, LGMS reserves the right to a weekly late charge of £5 per week that will be added to the monthly total until payment is made.
Rescheduling and Cancellations
Lesson fees, paid monthly, are not refundable.
LGMS reserves the right to reschedule a lesson if needed. We will make every effort to reschedule within that week, and if this is not possible you are credited an additional lesson. We will never cancel a lesson entirely. Tutors at LGMS are incredibly busy performers as well as teachers, and while this adds to the experience that we can pass on to our students, it means that we may have to change our lesson plans at shorter notice than we would like to. We thank our students for their flexibility and understanding and keep them informed of any concerts we perform that would be of interest to them.
If the student needs to reschedule a lesson, this must be done at least 48 hours in advance. If a student must reschedule within 48 hours of the lesson, LGMS is not obligated to comply with a change in time on the day, to reschedule the lesson, or to refund that lesson’s fee.
This policy is in place so that time is used wisely, but also because lessons will be most beneficial for the student if they are taken seriously and commitments are kept.
Lammas Green Music Studio 