Please note: currently weekly lessons in your home are only available in West Linn and Lake Oswego.
During the week, the best times to call are mornings and early afternoons, usually before 2:00 pm. After that, JD is usually out teaching until well into the evenings. You can also call anytime on the weekends.
Send an email to ThomaStudios.
Please visit this page for ThomaStudios payment policy.
You can fill out the online form here on the site and JD will contact you directly.
Local references are gladly given upon request. You must call however. References are not given out via email or text.
To read what past and present parents and students have to say about ThomaStudios' lessons, visit the Reviews / Testimonials page.
Lessons in the home are scheduled weekly. It is not possible to schedule a bi-weekly (every other week) or less frequent lesson in the home. This is due to scheduling difficulties for the alternate week (the week without a lesson). That opening, coupled with the travel time on either side of the lesson, would make it impractical and impossible to manage scheduled times efficiently. Since lessons are scheduled with only the necessary travel time between them, anything other than weekly is not possible.
Moreover, experience has shown that with less frequent lessons, the lack of weekly continuity dramatically affects the progress of students of all ages.
One request is asked when you consider scheduling lessons: try to be as flexible as possible. The weekly lesson schedule tends to run more or less the same each week. There are the inevitable changes that occur with everyone, but by and large things stay pretty constant week to week. Occasionally someone will say they can only do a lesson on a certain day and at a certain time, or a certain time frame, with little or no wiggle room on their end. This can create a situation where scheduling is extemely difficult, and frequently just not possible nor practical. Each day of the schedule tries to focus on a specific local area to keep travel times between lessons manageable. Additionally, JD deals with 40 or more families each week, and their various schedules. Please keep this in mind.
One question that does arise from time to time is whether ThomaStudios offers an initial trial or free lesson. No, that is not available. But local references are gladly available just by asking. Contact JD for this reference.
Additionally, ThomaStudios respectfully asks that all new students be willing to agree to a 6-lesson minimum commitment. This allows the parents, the student and JD to properly assess the student / teacher dynamic to see just how the lessons work and whether they are in everyone’s best interests. This is impossible with only one lesson and it’s only fair to allow the lessons to settle in for everyone.
ThomaStudios has learned from experience that group lessons are not the best approach to piano lessons. There is always an inherent difference between two or more students' ability to take in the material covered during the lessons. Some catch on quickly, some more slowly. That disparity makes group lessons difficult for most students. Some may feel bored, being held back by the slower students; or the slower students find it difficult to stay on pace with the faster students. ThomaStudios one-on-one approach is far more effective since the lessons are automatically adjusted for a student's strengths and weaknesses, and the material and pace is adapted accordingly.
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