About Carroll Music Studio

     The mission of the Carroll Music Studio is to enhance each student's musical knowledge and talent as well as his/her grace and poise. The goal is that with each lesson, the students become more confident in themselves and more comfortable performing and speaking in front of others.

Meet the Owner and Operator, Sarah Carroll

     Sarah is a Vocal Performance graduate from Charleston Southern University, Horton School of Music. In addition to her education, she also has extensive experience with traveling performance teams, pageant production, vocal coaching and vocal ensembles. She feels that music education not only improves upon the specific skill of singing or playing an instrument, but that it also results in self-confidence & self-discipline, encourages a goal-oriented work ethic and produces superior problem solving and communication skills.

     Currently, Sarah is a member of the Charleston Music Teachers Association, SC Music Teachers Association, and the Music Teachers National Association, as well as the National Association for Teachers of Singing.

     In an effort to support Music Education, Sarah served as the PTA Reflections Chair at William Reeves Elementary School for 2 years.

     Sarah has served as a member of the Greater Summerville/ Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce where she contributed to the annual Taste of the Town event as Director of Entertainment.

     In addition, she had the privilege of participating in the Miss SC Organization as Co- LED for the Miss Summerville/ Miss Summerville Teen pageant & Miss Charleston/Miss Charleston Teen pageant. She has had the opportunity to coach former queens in an effort to prepare them for the Miss SC Pageant.

Lesson Prices, Scheduling & the Registration Process

Lessons are scheduled in either 30 minute or 1-hour - blocks of time at the following costs. (You will get a chance at the end of this form to submit your preferred lesson day/times For those utilizing the payment plan, payment for the upcoming month is expected by the 1st lesson of each month by Cash, Venmo, Check (made payable to Sarah Carroll), or via PayPal (under certain conditions) and/or Bill Pay.

Pre-determined holidays are observed and not included in the cost below. For a list of those dates, please visit the Parents Page of the CMS website. Use the arrows at the top of the calendar to navigate from month to month. The closure dates will be highlighted in red.

Discounts Reflected:

The price below reflects an early registration discount of approx. 15%. The 'Paid in Full' amount reflects an additional discount for paying the full semester cost by the first lesson

~30-Minute Weekly Lessons~

~1 Hour Weekly Lessons~

1.) Contact Form: All new students must fill out the contact form on the CMS website, as well as returning students whose contact info has changed.

2.) Student/Parent Handbook: Continue to read pages 3-6 which outline Carroll Music Studio's policies, protocol & expectations. Complete page 7 (Signature page)

3.) Lesson Time Slot Preference Form: Indicate your top 3 lesson time slots on the lesson time preference form

4.) $40 Registration Fee- Pay via check (made out to Sarah Carroll), cash or some digital payments accepted (contact Sarah Carroll for digital payment options)

Commitment & Expectations

My Commitment to Your Students

     As instructor, and therefore another adult leader in each of my students' lives, I promise to be patient, encouraging and honest as they learn. I do not provide lip-service to students or move forward prematurely. But, rather, I challenge them according to their individual strengths/weaknesses & celebrate progress using their personal & unique starting point as the yard stick. This looks different for every student. However, the main goal- Progress- remains the same!

     In any learning environment, one must be willing to teach in an honest & practical way, and one must be willing to listen & put into practice what has been taught. And in this case, a 3rd party (the parent or guardian) must be willing to help reinforce this concept with a young person at home.

     It can be detrimental to a student's future relationship with music training if this commitment is not taken seriously. A student can easily participate in music lessons along with many other activities, as long as he/she works along side a parent or guardian who can help him/her figure out & maintain a consistent & realistic practice schedule.

     As a parent or guardian, you want to see your student having FUN! At the same time, you are investing your time, energy & salary, SO you also want to see PROGRESS. In order for 'Fun' and 'Progress' to live happily ever after, everyone must be part of the team. So, if, at any time, I feel like the parent or the student is not contributing to the overall goal, I reserve the right to discontinue lessons (according to the terms outlined on page 6.)

In an effort to provide a quantitative way to measure progress, I provide the following short- term and long-term goals for all students. These general goals, if followed, allow me to make more personalized recommendations & assessments as I get to know each student.

*Short-term Goals: 1 Attend weekly lesson. 2 Follow-through with the practice goals that are outlined by Sarah Carroll when lessons begin. 3 Complete all written work the week that it is assigned.

*Long-term Goals: 1 Memorize 1-2 songs approx. every 2-3 weeks. 2) Memorize 1-2 scales and corresponding chords each semester 3 Participate in the student recital at the end of the

*Ultimately depends on student's age, level of study & major instrument (voice or piano)

Commitment & Expectations (cont)

Student Commitment Responsibilities

     Students are expected to follow the practice guidelines that I outline for him/her. Because every student is different, these guidelines will look different for each student.

     Nevertheless, a good rule of thumb is that students should practice a little bit every day. The bulk of learning how to sing and/or play the piano is a combination of quick brain signals and muscle memory.

     In piano, for ie, the brain sees a note on the page, determines what it is and then tells the fingers what piano key to play; the finger then presses that key SO that it is played at the right time & with the right amount of pressure.

     This is the basic process of playing the piano. The above scenario starts happening very slowly when a student begins, but eventually accelerates as the student learns the language of music and teaches his/her muscles how to perform. If the muscles are not going through the correct motions on a regular basis, that process never accelerates. As a result, the student does not progress as he/she should, becomes bored with the same songs, over and over again, and loses interest.

     For vocal students, much of the process is the same. However, rather than just the fingers responding to brain signals, a singer's entire body must respond in order to produce the correct note, with an adequate amount of breath connection to hold it for a sufficient amount of time, depth & volume, without doing damage to their instrument. In addition to following the practice guidelines, students must also commit to practicing correctly, based on what was taught to them in their lesson.

Commitment & Expectations (cont.)

Parent/Guardian Responsibility

     As you can see, choosing to participate in private music lessons is a big responsibility. There are many elements that are a lot like school. Although, I try to assign appropriate amounts of homework (written and non-written) based on the student's age, grade level, years of experience, etc, there are still times when some good- ole' hand-holding is necessary.

• Guardians should encourage attendance to all lessons.
• Guardians should provide a location that allows for uninterrupted practice (but not SO far away that you can't peak in, when necessary, to make sure that the student is staying on task)

     For Piano Students- Guardians should provide the best piano they can, keeping it in tune and without broken parts. If a beginning student is using a keyboard, please talk to me first to find out what specifications to look for before making a purchase. Not all keyboards are learning keyboards.

     For Vocal Students- Guardians should provide some sort of music player that can be heard without the use of earphones. I provide practice CDs and/or MP3's on a regular basis. A mirror (in the practice room) and a recording device are encouraged. These both help the student to be aware how they really sound and what they actually look like when they sing.

     As guardians, you also hold the financial burden of paying for the lessons and any music that must be purchased. (Due to copyright laws, making copies is prohibited If at any time, money becomes the primary reason why a student must discontinue his/her lessons, please let me know SO that we can talk about your individual situation (see Page 6, Discontinuing Lessons).

Finally, I ask parents/guardians to support my communication efforts by:

1.) Reading & taking note of the info in the monthly group e-mails

2.) Responding to individual e-mails re: their student(s

3.) Supporting the student highlights on social media by liking & commenting with encouraging words (& even sharing if you feel lead)

4.) Using the Carroll Music Studio website as a parent resource before texting/emailing

I encourage students and parents to text me when necessary, but please make sure you have used all of your resources (mentioned above) before you do.

(*Please keep texts/calls between the hours of 9am-9pm. If you need to communicate with me earlier than 9am or later than 9pm, please send me an e-mail)

     Under most circumstances, make-up lessons are not offered. If there are unusual circumstances that could not be prevented (death in the family, illness, or the like), please reach out for options.

     I hope to discourage missed lessons. Your lessons should be treated like a weekly, standing commitment. If a student is not attending his/her lesson consistently, he/she is not likely to progress. If the student is not progressing, lessons become a time of frustration for both the student & the instructor, which can result in a loss of interest.

     If the parent/guardian is utilizing the payment plan, payment for the 30 day period is expected.

     If the parent/guardian paid in full, a refund for lessons not used (after the 30 day period is considered) will be issued.

I have read the Carroll Music Studio handbook. I understand, support and will abide by policies and guidelines that are set forth. I understand that by signing below, I am legally bound to the policies and procedures mentioned above. Regardless of whether or not 1 sign below, my participation in lessons (personally or as a guardian of one who participates) indicates my compliance and commitment to these policies and my legal obligation to abide by them.