TESTIMONIALS:
"...you are simply the best teacher Tor has ever had in any subject and as you know he has had a lot of teachers. You meet him where he is and prioritize cultivating a relationship of trust and respect. You always teach to his strengths while finding ways to try to support his deficits. After 5 years, His music classes end as the first one began; With a keen sense of curiosity and a desire to know more. You find ways to challenge him yet you always make sure he is succeeding and progressing so he feels a sense of accomplishment". (Victoria, parent)
"Eric has transformed the kids’ attitude about piano from refusing to practice to begging to be first for their weekly lesson. They both look forward to their time with Eric on FaceTime, and moving from physical lessons to virtual over the past few months has actually helped increase their focus. Eric is always cheerful, kind, and positive. His student-led approach to teaching takes the pressure off, making the kids actually want to learn more piano and practice throughout the week. He is very adaptable and able to assess the kids’ fluctuating interest and energy levels to go with the flow and get the most out of their lesson time each week. We have had Eric as our piano teacher for two years now and strongly recommend him as a teacher for any level of music instruction". (Shannon, parent of two students)
"Our family would highly recommend Eric as your new music teacher! He is skilled and passionate about music and is able to translate that passion in very tangible ways to his students. When he started with our child, he did not have one prescribed agenda but took the time to find out what interested our child and to determine the best style of learning for them. He is flexible to listen and learn what motivates our son and is able to weave in the things that do not come so easily. We wondered if moving to online classes would be challenging but have found that they have not missed a beat together. Eric has been flexible with our schedule, keeps our child's attention well and helps them continue to learn on the digital platform. We love not having to travel for lessons and now with the gift of technology, others can benefit from Eric's teaching too". (Jesse, parent)
OUR SCHOOL
Looking to begin, continue, or restart music lessons? We offer organized high quality online lessons for piano, guitar, ukulele, bass, trumpet, and euphonium. Our teachers have advanced degrees and decades of experience teaching all ages. We specialize in making music lessons fun and our goal is to provide life long access to playing and enjoying music at any level.
Our Philosophy - 'learn to practice sounding good'
While this may sound counter intuitive, the least important moment in a weekly lesson is the actual lesson.
How can that be and why is it a good thing?
Our teachers work to teach students what, and more importantly, how to practice. In this world of handheld electronic devices and instant gratification it is more important than ever for students to discover and experience the joy of achieving success because of their daily practice over weeks or months. Music can bring great joy to a student's life but this joy will be a greatly different variety of joy than the instant elation say of playing video games or playing in the playground.
Musicians train similarly to the way athletes train:
- good form and technique
- consistent dedication
- organized purposeful effort
- with the support of a network of activities and community
What is the parent's role?
- we expect parents to follow and understand our policies so that lessons run smoothly
- encourage and support students in creating a daily practice schedule at home (10 minutes every day is far superior than 1 hour of practice twice a week for example)
- do not set expectations for your child's performance level or learning speed. Every student is unique and will develop naturally given the opportunity. Most students will not work harder or improve more because of pressure or guilt - in my experience I have witnessed that the students who quit are often feeling pressure and develop the WRONG idea that for some reason they shouldn't bother trying because they'll never be good enough, and most importantly they stop enjoying music lessons or practice
WHAT SETS US APPART?
Our school is owned and operated by Eric Weiden, a professional trumpet player and multi instrumentalist.
He has:
1) toured internationally playing lead trumpet for Broadway show productions of Annie and Victor/Victoria
2) spent 4 months in Tucson at Wavelab recording studio where he learned to engineer for recording and where he performed on records with GiantSand and Calexico
3) attended the famous Indiana University School of music for Jazz Studies
4) toured internationally playing with The Guy Lombardo Orchestra and The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
5) performed with The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
6) recorded his own jazz quartet 'Through Haze' featuring the iconic Canadian Jazz musician Brad Turner.
Why is Eric's performing history relevant to teaching music?
Eric has performed professionally for nearly 30 years and has experienced a variety of the many ways musicians relate to music. This has provided Eric a broad perspective that helps him meet each student where they are and to respond to students' interests in an authentic manner. It also gives him access to hire the finest professional musicians and teachers around when students come to him who need something he can't offer himself.
THOSE WHO CAN DO, THOSE WHO CAN'T TEACH - WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!
This is a horrible myth and misconception that is outdated and should be put to rest. After years of touring and performing Eric has chosen to spend the past decade focused on teaching, both as a school teacher (grades 7-9 in a private Montessori School where many students had unique learning needs) and as a private music instructor. He has had students win national competitions, had adult students who studied with him for 10 years consecutively, and has regularly taught children with unique learning needs.
Our school is not the cheapest is town or online. Our aim is to provide our teachers with a liveable wage and to keep a small percentage for operating costs. This makes us stand out - your funds go to the teachers meaning we can afford to hire the best teachers around for your lessons. Many other schools keep a much larger portion of the fees therefore they end up hiring less experienced teachers who are willing to work for less money - that does not guarantee the best teacher for students, nor the best life for the teachers!
Want to study voice or an instrument not listed in our services - no problem, just inquire and we will find you a teacher and get you on your way making music!
For those families of children with unique needs, we are happy to provide an experienced teacher who has the tools required to create a healthy learning environment - please inquire for further details.
Rates:
- $260 monthly for 1 hour weekly lessons
- $200 monthly for 45 minute weekly lessons
- $135 monthly for 1/2 hour weekly lessons
- scholarships available to reduce monthly costs for those who qualify - please give us a call to see what we can arrange
- if you refer a new student who registers and begins paying for monthly lessons you get a one time $50 deduction in your fees; after 6 months if the student is still taking monthly lessons you will receive another one time $100 deduction in your fees
Contact us at onlinemusiclessonstudio@gmail.com or 778 990 9902 to book your FREE TRIAL LESSON and to register.
POLICIES:
We take our teaching schedule from the EPSB calendar but we do realize that during Covid-19 these schedules may be less certain than usual and we will work together with you to adjust as the situation evolves.
- all lessons may be rescheduled for no additional cost with a minimum 24 hours notice
- lessons will not be made up without 24 hour notice unless an additional fee is paid
- permanent schedule changes will be accommodated as quickly as possible but will need to fit into your teacher's schedule
- payments are due at the start of each month - there will be a fee of $25 for each week the payment is late
- any insufficient funds will incur an additional $50 fee
