Don’t Stop Rockin’ Enrollment Page

Private Piano & Vocal lessons enrollment is ongoing, you can join us at anytime. Email james@dontstoprockin.com or call 512.694.7301 for our schedule and more details.

The Spring 2013 session of Don’t Stop Rockin’ group guitar starts March 4th. If you are here today and it is past the start date, do not fear, it might not be too late. Email James for details.

Below are the details about our Private lessons. If you would like more info about group lessons, mosey on over here.

Looking for more info regarding our summer private lessons or camp options? Check out this link: Summer 2013

Policy Scmolicy

In the interest of being fair to you, other students, your instructors and Don’t Stop Rockin’ we feel it is appropriate to set-up some standard practices when it comes to our music lessons. Please read these carefully and feel free to ask us if you have any questions.

Type of lessons:  We love Rock n Roll, it’s what we do, but that certainly doesn’t mean this is the style you have to learn in private lessons. You can learn from a broad range of styles, from Classical to Pop to Country and of course Rock, in both our private Piano, Vocal & Guitar lessons.

Who’s my teacher?: 

Rob Bentley (guitar) graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Berklee College of Music and began his masters at the University of North Texas. He has taught music for 14 years and has played in 26 states and six European countries. He actually lives and breathes rock. Rob teaches (and created) the group guitar program, and also teaches private 1-1 guitar lessons.

Doug Marcis (guitar) has been studying and performing guitar for 17 years. Since 1995, Douglas has been teaching guitar to hundreds of students in all age groups. During this time, Douglas has developed fun and rewarding methods to learning the instrument. Douglas holds a bachelors in classical guitar from Lambuth University. While in Tennessee, Douglas acted as adjunct faculty for both Lambuth and Union University teaching beginning and classical guitar. Douglas uses teaching methods that incorporate a solid foundation of music theory, sight-reading, performance, composing, and ear training skills

Todd Siff (Piano and Voice, guitar) hasn’t stopped Rockin’ since he learned to sing and play music at the early age of five. He received his BFA from Boston University, where he studied Music and Theatre Arts with voice as his principle instrument. He has had the privilege of studying voice privately with industry leading professors for over 12 years and has been teaching both children and adults – Piano, Singing, Acting, Guitar, and Songwriting for the past seven years. Todd has rocked out with many bands and currently is playing shows as a singer/songwriter in the Austin area. For more instructor bio’s check out the bottom of this page.

Nathan Campbell (guitar) graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Texas San Antonio School of Music and relocated to Austin with his band Fatback Circus.  He has been teaching guitar for 10 years and hasn’t stopped Rockin’ since his first pawn shop Peavey in 1996.

Tuition: Private lesson tuition is $106 per month (weekly, half hour, private lessons) drafted electronically on the 3rd day of the month by either checking account or credit card. Don’t Stop Rockin’ group guitar is $295 for the 11 weeks of classes. The BIG show performance is free to you.

What about your registration fee? We like to give you the freedom to choose, so you have options with us. You’ll need  a folder to be able to store the materials your instructor will give each to practice. If you’d rather buy one from us, no worries, they’re $3. In piano lessons, you can buy the material book from us at cost price or pick one up yourself if you can find it somewhere cheaper. We have several options and the range from $7 – 10

What about the contract? Contracts don’t rock! We’re not a cell phone company and don’t believe in them. We do have a deposit of $53 ( 2 lesson value) that will be applied to your final months tuition, so long as you give us two weeks notice.

During class. You are more than welcome to sit in on any or all of your child’s music lesson. A chair will provided for you in the room. It is advisable to plan on doing this with young children (under 7’s) for the first several weeks, until they are comfortable. Once they are, you are free to wait in the lobby, or run errands. Due to limited space in our group room, parents & guests will only be able to sit in if there is room.

Make-Ups
Please recognize that your lesson time is reserved specifically for you. This means that your lesson slot is unavailable to other students and the teacher has made a commitment to instruct you at that time. Please make every effort to come to your lesson and avoid scheduling other activities during your lesson time. Consistent attendance helps ensure good progress.

If you must cancel or reschedule a lesson, a minimum of 24 hours notice is needed if you would like to receive a make-up lesson and will afford us the opportunity to give your missed class to someone else as a make-up. Make-up lessons must be scheduled through James only (not your instructor) and will be offered on a first come – first serve basis. We will send out daily email alerts when / if a make-up time becomes available.

The tuition fees for lessons that are cancelled with less than 24 hours notice are forfeited. Your teacher is not obligated to provide a make-up lesson for “no shows” or “late cancellations”. Students may not use “credit” from a missed lesson to reduce the tuition for a subsequent month. The tuition remains the same; there are no refunds for missed and cancelled lessons, unless caused by the teacher’s unavailability.

Don’t miss class because you haven’t practiced. We understand that life sometimes gets hectic & you or your child may not have practiced as much as you would have liked. However, it is better to come in and review the material so progress is not halted & you can continue to rock!

Late Arrival
Please note that students arriving late will not have their lesson time extended.  Our teachers typically have many students scheduled consecutively throughout the day and they will not impose upon another student’s lesson time, because that’s just not cool. If you arrive late and your teacher is not in the lobby, please go directly to their room and let them know that you’re present so no additional time is lost.  If you’re running more than 5-10 minutes late, it may be a good idea to call or text ahead and let us know that you’re on your way, but running late. The best way to avoid any problems will be to schedule your arrival time 5-10 minutes prior to your lesson starting.

Care of Young Children
We love kids! Our way of changing the world for the better, is to help inspire a new generation of people that will go on to become creative, responsible, citizens that rock. When you come to HQ you will quickly see that this is a family friendly environment geared to encouraging positive growth. Feel free to drop off a few minutes early if you have errands to run or other kids to attend to. You are welcome to enjoy our comfortable lobby (super-duper wi-fi speed available for free) and your other children can do homework, watch a movie, meditate, read a book or play a game. Please respectful of other guests.

If you are dropping off and a different adult is picking up, please let your instructor know this ahead of time. We will not let a child leave with someone not authorized to pick up.

Sno-Cones (Pizza, and any other food that gets everywhere) We love a sno-cone as much as the next dude, but we don’t like them all over our furniture. Feel free to eat and drink in the lobby (not the lesson rooms please) but expect someone to hand you a cloth (and potentially an invoice) if you or your kid get stuff all over the place.

Class Transfer. In the event that you wish to transfer your class time permanently, we are happy to accommodate if possible.

Withdrawal Unfortunately, sometimes people just have to stop rockin’ In the event that you need to withdraw from lessons, we require students/parents to submit a completed withdrawal form in person, to Rob or James only, no later than the 15th day of the month for withdrawal from lessons and cessation for tuition charges.  Withdrawal forms can be emailed to you. Withdrawal forms submitted after the 15th of the month will result in tuition being charged for the following month even if you choose not to or are unable to attend those lessons.  To avoid potential miscommunications, we do not accept verbal communications with your instructor or messages left on voicemail for withdrawals.

A deposit equal to two lessons ($53) is mandatory.  This deposit is refundable and may be used as credit for the student’s final two lessons, or returned in full if the month’s tuition fee has already been collected and notice has been given by the 15th of the month. As a courtesy to the music instructor and program, we must receive a minimum of two weeks notice to discontinue lessons or the ($53) refundable deposit is forfeited.

Substitute Teachers
Occasionally, a teacher may miss a lesson due to an illness or family emergency.  If this happens, we will arrange for a substitute teacher or will attempt to reschedule your lesson.  We’ve found that many students actually enjoy an occasional lesson with another teacher.

Holidays
Our schools are closed on most major holidays.  These include New Year’s Day, the week of Spring Break, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Break, and New Year’s Eve.  Occasionally, your lesson will fall on a holiday and you will not have a lesson.  There are no tuition adjustments or make-up lessons given for lessons that fall on the above major holidays because all students receive additional lessons at no extra cost on months where an extra (5th) week occurs. The major exception to this policy is December in which Don’t Stop Rockin’ is only open the first two weeks.

Please note that we do not follow public school system schedules for staff preparation/student holidays.  If the public school system has for example, a teacher “in-service” day, do not assume we are closed.  When in doubt, please call / email us so you do not forfeit your lesson.

The BIG Show Is the legendary end of session performance put on by our group guitar Don’t Stop Rockin’ students. If there is room in a particular group (due to less than 6 students enrolled or an absence for the show) and your child (under 16 years of age) wishes to perform, we are happy to arrange this IF your instructor feels that your child knows how to play the song(s) proficiently.

Leave of Absence
Sometimes a student will leave town for the summer or must discontinue lessons temporarily.  As a courtesy to the instructor and just as importantly to stop the auto draft on a timely basis, we still require the same advance notice to discontinue lessons temporarily as we do if the student is withdrawing from lessons.  Again, please let us know by the 15th of the month if you will miss lessons in the following month and do not wish to be charged.  If you must miss lessons for an extended period of time (more than 3 weeks), please let us know with as much advance notice as possible. It is sometimes possible for a student to return to lessons in their old time slot, but we can not “hold” or guarantee the student’s old time slot when the student will miss lessons for an extended period of time and does not wish to be charged during the time when lessons are being missed.

Rental gear When available, you are welcome to rent a guitar, bag, cable & tuner from us for only $12 per month.

Enrolling with us is simple. All you have to do is select your option from the shopping cart below, enter your child’s (or your name for adult classes) and the day / time you wish to enroll in. We will email you shortly afterwards to confirm the payment. *If you wish to pay with a different method, cash or check etc or SPLIT the tuition payment, we are happy to do so for you. Just email james@dontstoprockin.com

Don’t forget your guitar rental too.

If you do not own a working, electric guitar, you can rent one from us (comes with bag, tuner, cable and strap) for $35 per session. Once you enter the payment page just click continue shopping. You can do this if you are enrolling multiple people, the 2nd rocker & adult classes are priced at $275.

Wanting to pay for your private lesson tuition? Please email james@dontstoprockin.com and he will send you an e-voice directly.

**By enrolling in Don’t Stop Rockin’ you agree to allow us to take totally rockin’ pictures of your child in class or at the big show and you give us your permission to use these images on our website, facebook, marketing material or to email them to you. Of course, if you do NOT wish for us to photograph your child that’s cool too. Just let us know by email that you wish to opt out. Also, Don’t Stop Rockin’ retains the rights to all photography. Thanks!