Location and contact information

I am thrilled that you are looking into violin lessons for you or your child! For privacy reasons, I do not have my phone number or my home address listed online, however, please feel free to send me an email.

Address: My house is located less than a minute away from the Bentonville Brewing Company on SW 14th Street in Bentonville.

Email: michaelweirviolin@gmail.com 

Meet Mr. Michael

Thinking about signing yourself or your child up for violin lessons? Schedule a free online consultation with Mr. Michael to discuss any questions you might have. Please email Mr. Michael at michaelweirviolin@gmail.com if you would like to set one up.

Michael Weir Violin LLC does not offer "trial lessons" to potential students.

What happens in a private lesson?

Private lessons are held weekly. Throughout a lesson, a student will participate in various activities that will help them grow their playing skills and increase their confidence. These activities include; scales and arpeggios, etudes, games (for younger children), rhythmic and note reading exercises, ear training, help with school material, assistance with audition material, and assigned personal repertoire.

Students will be given various pieces of music to enhance their skills and confidence in many musical areas which will ensure their success and provide a fun and satisfying experience. This repertoire will be performed at the "studio recital," held at the end of every semester, to showcase student progress and celebrate success.

Anyone who participates in private lessons must agree to follow the Studio Policy. Please become familiar with it. Many of the expectations outlined there are also included on this website.

Cost of lessons 

When you pay for lessons, you are paying for...

• Instruction provided by an experienced and certified teacher with nearly a decade of teaching expereience.

• The ability to learn inside an established studio with a quiet and productive learning environment.

• An opportunity to perform in recitals at the end of each semester.

• Access to online recordings and videos that will assist with learning.

The cost of a 30-minute lesson is $30 and the cost of a 60-minute lesson is $60. Since I teach out of my home, I don't have a lot of overhead and therefore can charge less than a teacher who teaches out of a large studio.

Tuition for the entire semester is due at the conclusion of the first week of lessons. This ensures that you have your first lesson before you have to pay anything. I realize that paying upfront can be an issue for some and I am willing to work with you if you need to split the semester into two or three payments.

I do not offer weekly or monthly payment options.

Scheduling and Admission

I teach violin lessons Monday through Friday from 12:00PM-8:30PM.

Lessons are always held weekly and last either 30-minutes or 60-minutes.

Thirty-minute lessons are great for beginners in their first year of playing, but you must be at least 11 years old to join my studio. Sixty-minute lessons are great for students in their second or third year of playing.

You may register for lessons by filling out the short Studio Registration form on the Studio Registration page of this website. After you submit the form, I will reach out within a couple of days to discuss scheduling.

I have room for 40 students per week during any given semester. Because students might move away, graduate, or get too busy to continue lessons, there are many opportunities for new students to join the studio. You can join the waitlist for one of these spots if my schedule is full.

Attendance 

Any student who is under the age of 18 must attend their lesson with an adult present. Students who show up without a supervising adult present will be turned away. Certain students may be approved to attend their lesson with an older sibling if circumstances allow. Please email me for questions on this topic or for approval.

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

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 ten days prior to your scheduled lesson in order for it to be rescheduled. Preferably, clients will communicate any lessons they need to miss before the semester even begins in order to provide more time to schedule make-up lessons.

If you need to miss a lesson within ten days of the lesson for any reason other than for an emergency or sickness, that lesson is skipped and not refunded. Please communicate any emergencies right away, and if you are sick, please do NOT come to your lesson. I will happily reschedule your lesson as soon as possible. I realize that life is busy, so I give each of my students one "oops" per semester.

You are more than welcome to bring multiple people to your lesson, however, please keep in mind that everyone who comes to your lesson must be in the studio with us. I do not allow anyone to be in any other part of my house other than the studio when I am teaching. For this reason, it may be wise to bring quiet things for siblings to do if they must come to your lesson with you.

Scholarships

I believe that being kind and charitable is an essential element of the human experience. For this reason, I reserve three weekly 60-minute lesson spots for students whose families couldn't normally afford violin lessons. These spots are for students who are passionate about the violin and hungry to learn more.

Students who wish to apply for one of these scholarship positions must write a 300-500 word response to the following prompt: "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. While it is helpful for me if the essay contains proper grammar and literary elements, my assessment of the essay will not be determined by eloquence and accuracy, but rather by the student's passion for the violin.

Alongside 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 and phone number) of the person who wrote it.

The essay and the letter of recommendation must be emailed to michaelweirviolin@gmail.com to be considered for the scholarship.