Studio Information

FREE Online Consultations

Thinking about signing you or your child up for violin lessons? Schedule a FREE online consultation with me so we can meet and discuss any questions you might have! Please email me at michaelweirviolin@gmail.com so we can find a time that works for both of us!

Pricing

In the Spring 2026 semester of school, my students get 20 private lessons, 18 group classes (filled with other students from the Bentonville area), and 1 recital (our recital is really just a big celebration of learning). That's 39 whole sessions and a lot of new friends who also play violin!

This makes the cost of lessons come to about $15 for half-hour-lesson students and $30 for hour-lesson students per session. (Which is a hard deal to beat)!

Private lessons

Private lessons are held weekly. Throughout a lesson, a student will participate in various activities that will help them grow their skills and increase their confidence. These activities will cover; scales and arpeggios, etudes, games (for younger children), rhythmic and note reading exercises, ear training, help with school material, assistance with audition material, and personal repertoire. Your child will be given various pieces of music to enhance their skills and confidence in various musical areas which will ensure your child's success. Repertoire will be chosen that is not too difficult but will quickly lift your student to new levels of playing. We will also do a recital at the end of every semester to celebrate your student's progress.

Students who participate in private lessons agree to follow our studio policy. Many of the expectations outlined on that policy are also included on this webpage. Here is a copy of the studio policy: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ePX3A7O21RYSCB7WTf9RPdxCdHpnzBZD/view?usp=drive_link 

Weekly group class

Signing up for weekly lessons also automatically signs you up to attend our weekly group class, with no extra charge. This is an additional 30 minutes of instruction each week in a group setting. It is extremely important for your student to be playing in a group setting with other violinists and is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED for you to attend.

Group classes are on Tuesday afternoons.

• Beginner group (3:30-4:00)

• Intermediate group (4:15-4:45)

• Advanced group (5-5:30)

How long should my lesson be?

Shorter, 30 minute lessons, are great for young students (ages 3-9), and beginners in their first year of playing. However, once a student is in Jr High, or in their second or third year of playing, it is recommended that their lesson be 60 minutes long. Orchestra classes at school are typically 60-90 minutes long, because of this, your student should be used to longer periods of instruction. Playing the violin is a complex and rewarding experience. A longer, hour long lesson is beneficial for your student because it maximizes the amount of instruction they receive, and gives them more to practice in between lessons.

Availability

I teach weekly private lessons Tuesday through Saturday each semester. Our semester schedule is the same as Bentonville School District's semester schedule. I also teach lessons during the summer in a shorter "summer semester." Taking summer lessons is a great way to keep up your playing skills between school years and is a great way to get ahead on repertoire and audition materials. Below is a list of my available teaching times for the Spring 2025 semester.

• Tuesday-Friday I teach from 12:00PM - 8:00PM

• Saturday I teach from 10:00AM - 5:00PM

Where is the studio?

I teach right in the heart of Bentonville out of my home. For privacy reasons, my home address is not listed on my public website, however, I am about a 5-10 minute drive from Downtown Bentonville.

I will send you my address before the semester starts after you have submitted the "Studio Registration" form and we have chosen a weekly time for our lessons.

Attendance

Any student who is under the age of 18 MUST attend their lesson WITH an adult present. If you have taken lessons for at least two years AND are at least 16 years old, you may attend your lesson with an older sibling, even if they are not 18 years old yet. Students who show up without a supervising adult present will be turned away that week with no refund.

You are expected to attend every lesson of the semester. If you are going to miss a week for any reason, this must be communicated at least two weeks prior to your scheduled lesson. Preferably, parents will communicate any lessons they need to miss before the semester even begins. This two-week buffer provides time for us to schedule a make-up lesson in advance and to ensure that each lesson from the semester will be provided.

If you are late for a lesson, the lesson will still conclude at the pre-determined time. I have many students, and cannot let someone being late for one lesson push back the start time for all my other lessons that day. Your lesson will always start on time. It will not start early.

In the event of an emergency such as a funeral or injury, the parent should communicate to me right away that they are going to miss a lesson. Lessons missed last minute (which means within the two weeks prior to the lesson) because of emergency will be rescheduled.

In the event of sickness, please do NOT come to your lesson. I do not want your sickness. Please inform me as soon as you can of the sickness and we will reschedule your missed lessons.

There is a weekly group class which is HIGHLY ENCOURAGED for your student to attend. Learning in a group setting is one of the most valuable things your student can participate in. Group classes are on Tuesday afternoons. Beginner group (3:30-4:00). Intermediate group (4:15-4:45). Advanced group (5-5:30)

Tuition and refunds

Tuition is charged at the beginning of the semester and is due no later than Tuesday of the second week of lessons. Tuition can be paid online through your student portal (which includes a convenience fee), in person with cash or a check, by mail via cash or check, through Zelle, or through Venmo. Additional details, such as my Venmo username, will be provided on your semester’s invoice, which will be emailed to you a few weeks prior to the start of the semester.

THERE ARE NO REFUNDS. When lessons are missed for the reasons listed above under the heading "attendance" in paragraphs 2, 4, and 5, those lessons are RESCHEDULED. Lessons missed for ANY other reason than those listed above under the heading "attendance" in paragraphs 2, 4, and 5 will NOT be rescheduled or refunded. “We got busy and forgot” is not an excuse to reschedule a lesson or receive a refund. My goal is that every student gets the exact number of lessons they pay for that semester, however, I cannot rearrange my entire schedule because you forgot or got busy. The only exceptions I will make to my no-refund policy will occur if your student gets injured and can no longer physically play their instrument, or if you are moving too far away to continue lessons short notice.

Tuition is subject to change semester by semester. Currently, tuition comes to between $15-$17 per session for half-hour lesson students and between $30-34 per session for hour lesson students. Tuition varies each semester depending on the number of sessions. In any semester, we will have between 34-42 sessions depending on the school calendar and number of group classes and performances.

Scholarships

I believe that being kind and charitable is an essential element of the human experience. For this reason, I hold two weekly 30 minute spots in my studio for FREE lessons to students of low-income families. These spots are for students who are passionate about the violin and hungry to learn more, but whose families can't afford weekly lessons.

Students who wish to apply for one of these scholarship positions must write a 500-600 word essay to answer the following prompt: "Please answer the following questions in 500-600 words. Why do you love playing the violin? How can you use music to make a positive impact in your community? How are you going to use the musical skills you gain in our lessons in your future?"

The student MUST write the essay themselves. If the student has learning difficulties that make it hard for them to transfer their thoughts to paper, someone (such as a trusted parent, guardian, or teacher) may act as a scribe for them, but the response must be the student's own! While it is helpful for me if your essay contains proper grammar and literary elements, my assessment of your essay is not determined by the eloquence and accuracy of the essay, but rather by the passion that you have for playing the violin.

Along with the essay, one letter of recommendation is required. This letter can be from a teacher, ecclesiastical leader, school administrator, workplace boss, or other trusted adult. The recommendation letter has no required length, but MUST contain the contact information (email or phone number) of the person who wrote it.

The essay and the letter of recommendation must be emailed to michaelweirviolin@gmail.com along with a copy of the parent/guardians tax return from the previous year. This is so I can confirm that you come from a low income family. PLEASE remove any sensitive information such as social security numbers, employer ID numbers, and anything else that might be sensitive or personal information from the tax return you submit to me.

Behavior Expectations

BOTH parents/guardians and students are expected to behave cordially towards their teacher, the teacher’s helpers, and the other students in the studio. Inappropriate behavior such as bullying, hazing, harassment of any kind, foul language, or discrimination of any kind will NOT be tolerated. Parents/guardians and students who exhibit inappropriate behavior will be given a warning and a behavior management worksheet to complete. BOTH parents/guardians and students are expected to treat the studio facilities and materials respectfully and honorably. 

Practice Expectations

It is expected and required that your student will practice at least as long as their lesson at least five days a week. If your student has a 30-minute lesson, they should practice for 30 minutes at least five times per week. This is a minimum requirement.

Your student will be given a large amount of material to practice during the week and should easily be able to fill up 30 minutes or an hour with practice. Not only will your student be given material to practice, but they will be shown how to practice it and given suggestions for what they can do at home during their practice.

If your student does not meet this minimum practice requirement, it is possible that they could be removed from the studio at the end of the semester and not allowed to continue the following semester.

While this is not a requirement for the studio policy, practice should be efficient, satisfying, fun, and effective. Your student should enjoy playing their instrument and look forward to practicing! Students, parents, and teachers should all work together to help your student know how to practice in a way that they can enjoy and be successful at.

Required Materials

You will be required to occasionally purchase materials for your student to use during lessons. These materials should be cheap and readily available (such as music and books). Before your student comes to their first lesson, it is expected that they have the following materials:

• A violin that is the correct size for their body

• A bow that is the correct size for their instrument

• A case to safely transport their instrument and accessories

• Rosin for their bow

• A shoulder rest that fits their violin

• Access to a tuner (can be a free app on a phone)

• Access to a metronome (can be a free app on a phone)

• Access to recordings of their music (via a CD player, phone, computer, or other form of technology)

  • Some places still sell books that contain CDs with recording tracks of the songs in the book

  • I have a playlist of all our songs on YouTube and Spotify if you do not have the CDs

In addition to these materials, your violin and bow require occasional maintenance. A bow must be re-haired, and you must get new strings for your violin every so often. Below is a chart with the recommended times you should take your instrument in to have this maintenance completed.