Parents Handbook
Everything you need to know about being a part of Monster Music
Table of Contents
It is AWESOME to have your child on board with us and we are very excited to be working with you! We know that you will love your time with Monster Music.
Not only will you learn how to play an instrument but you will have the chance to write your own songs, perform at concerts, play in bands and learn all of the necessary skills to craft you into the musician you have always dreamed of being.
At Monster Music, we believe that music lessons should be fun and relevant to kids today. We will work alongside you to ensure that the lessons we provide are both educational and relevant. Make sure you sing out if you ever have any questions!
General FAQ'S
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If your child misses a lesson due to an explained absence, you will be offered a Monster Make Up credit that you can use! Make sure you submit the lesson cancellation in Opus with 12 hours notice! Click here to find out more about our catch up lessons!
Please scroll down to find out more about absences.
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All lessons are paid via autopay on credit/debit card. Card information can be loaded into the opus portal and as invoices are created, they are automatically charged to the card.
Please scroll down for more information about payments!
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One of the policies at Monster Music is that students will be able to make it to their lesson by themselves. The Monster Music tutors will usually be able to go and get them from class if they haven't shown up... However this isn't ideal as it will cut into precious learning time!
We have a couple of ways to help children remember when it is time to head over to their lesson!
During their first lesson, we will give them a lanyard which will have their name and lesson time on it. Please let us know if your child has lost this/requires a new one and we will get one to them.
You can also ask their classroom teachers to help them remember. We can’t rely on classroom teachers to help children remember (they are so busy!), however this can definitely help.
Buy a watch! It doesn’t need to be a super flash watch that you can play nintendo on… Just a cheap $20 watch with an alarm function will work just fine. That way, you can set the alarm for 5 minutes before their lesson time as a que or them to head on over.
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If you would like to hear how your child is getting on in lessons, feel free to email us at office@monstermusic.nz. We can provide you with a progress report on how your child is progressing! If there is anything that we need to make you aware of, we will contact you directly.
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Generally, our lesson programme only runs through the school terms. On special occasions we will offer some lessons through the school holidays.
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Monster Music has a great relationship with Music Planet Christchurch. They are able to supply any current Monster Music student with a sweet discount! If you are looking to buy a new instrument, give Music Planet a visit and they will help you choose the perfect instrument for your child.
Getting Prepared for Lessons
Please make sure that your child is ready to learn! If you have any questions or need help with the following, feel free to give us a bell and we can help out where we can!
Monster Music has a great relationship with Music Planet Christchurch. They are able to supply any current Monster Music student with a sweet discount! If you are looking to buy a new instrument, give Music Planet a visit and they will help you choose the perfect instrument for your child!
GUITARISTS
As a monster guitarist, you will need the following,
A guitar to bring to your lessons and practice with at home (we recommend a 1/2 or 3/4 size nylon string for beginners).
A clearfile for storing all of your music sheets.
Drummers
As a monster drummer, you will need the following,
Drum sticks that you can bring to your lessons (we recommend 5a or 7a's)
A clearfile for storing all of your music sheets.
You don’t need a drum kit for a start (we have drum kits in our lesson spaces), however if you would like to purchase a drum kit to practice on at home, feel free to check out this link!
KEYBOARDISTS
As a monster keyboardist, you will need the following,
A clearfile for storing all of your music sheets.
While you don’t need a keyboard to bring to your lessons, it is a great idea to have one to practice on at home. Music Planet have the best deals on keyboards in Christchurch and they will be able to make a recommendation for you.
Ukuleleists
As a monster ukuleleist, you will need the following,
A Ukulele (these usually retail for around $60 in most music stores). Just make sure it has the standard tuning which is “GCEA” (the crew in the music shop will know what you are talking about!).
A clearfile for storing all of your music sheets.
Absences and
Monster Make Ups
You might be wondering what happens when a lesson is missed due to an unavoidable clash. Things like swimming sports, camps, day trips, school assemblies, non-school days and illness can sometimes mean that your child is unable to attend their scheduled lesson. As long as you give us enough notice, this absence will be classified as "explained" and you will be offered a Monster Make Up credit!
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An explained absence is an absence that has been submitted before 8am on the day of your child’s lesson. This needs to be done by logging into the Opus1 portal and submitting the absence (cancelling the lesson). As long as this happens, you will be offered a Monster Make Up!
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Sometimes you might be aware of something that could clash with your child’s lesson, for example, a school field trip. We usually have a pretty good pulse on the major happenings in a school (swimming sport weeks etc), however we always appreciate a heads up!
If you know of something similar to this that is coming up, please let us know with as much notice as possible. The more notice we get, the more likely we are to be able to make a lesson time change.
We will always try our best to shuffle timetables to suit everyone! But if we are unsuccessful, your child will always be given a Monster Make Up credit.
Please note, it is your responsibility to make us aware of ALL absences. Sometimes schools will give us a heads up, however we can't rely only on this!
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If a tutor is absent for any reason, we always try to A) reschedule those lessons to a different day or B) find a reliever tutor.
If we are unable to do either of these options, we will credit your account for the following term. A credit is worth 2.5% of the annual fee.
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On teacher only days, we can often take lessons anyway! A lot of schools will allow us to take lessons as per usual however students will need to be dropped off and picked up.
In other cases, we can often swap lesson days so that children can still have their lessons at school.
If, for whatever reason, a lesson is missed due to a teacher only day, you will be issued a Monster Make Up credit.
Regardless, we will keep you in the loop with what is happening here!
What is a Monster Make Up?
A Monster Make Up is an extra session offered to students that have missed a lesson due to an "explained absence" (learn more about explained absences below!). Each term, we will have a range of different Monster Make Up sessions that students will be able to pick and choose from. While these are different to usual weekly lessons, Monster Make Ups will be super fun, usually longer than standard lessons and will cover a range of musical related topics that often aren't covered in weekly lessons. Monster Make Ups are generally held in weekends or schools holidays, however some of these will fall on week day evenings. They will be generally held at one of our school locations in Papanui, however this will confirmed with you and visible on the booking form!
Here are some example of sessions that you might come across.
Bucket percussion and rhythms.
Electric guitar jam (electric guitars supplied).
How to play 40 songs with 4 chords on the keyboard.
Basic song writing.
How to operate a sound desk.
How to perform like a rockstar.
How to apply good practice routines.
How to tune a ukulele by ear.
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If you have a Monster Make Up credit sitting in your account, check out this video to learn how to use it!
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If none of the listed Monster Make Up sessions work, let us know and we can extend the expiry of your monster make up credit. We have loads of options scattered through the year so we are confident that something will work!
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We generally don’t offer this option as our tutors have very full timetables in their teaching days. It just makes it very hard for us to fit extra lessons in! However if this option is preferred, we can try our best. We can just never guarantee that we will be able to make it happen.
Monster Music has a cool and exciting wristband system in our curriculum. The idea of the wristband system is to have levels that students can work towards. Students can earn different colour wristbands (similar to karate!) as they meet certain checkpoints and pass challenges assigned to them by their tutor. Each student will receive a "wristband roadmap" in their music lessons which outlines the key skills needed to gain each wristband.
Wristband Grading
Your child will be working through one of the Monster Music curriculum books as they learn. This has all of the information, exercises and resources needed to turn them into an absolute rockstar! The curriculum books are well presented and easy to follow which means that Monster Music parents can even follow along if you choose to do so.
** Please note, our keyboard curriculum book is still in the making. This means that keyboard students will be receiving handouts as opposed to a physical book.
Check out our cool curriculum books!
OPUS
and how to use it
Opus is our online platform. After we have secured a lesson time for your child we will send you some more information on how you can access this platform. You will be able to do things like….
- See all your upcoming lessons and classes, along with time, location, teacher, room etc.
- Add a debit/credit card for payments.
- Keep your contact information up to date.
- Submit absences & book Monster Make Up classes.
- Apply monetary credits to upcoming invoices.
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It’s super easy! Here is a video explaining how to load a debit/credit card into opus for payments
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If you have a Monster Make Up credit sitting in your account, check out this video to learn how to use it!
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If your child is going to miss a lesson, make sure you cancel the lesson. Check out this video to find out how!
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If you have a monetary credit on your account, you can apply it to an invoice by following this video.
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If you would like to communicate with your child’s tutor around lesson related content, check out this video to learn how!
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No worries! If you have forgotten your login or can’t access opus for some reason, just send us an email at office@monsterusic.nz and we will update this for you.
Practicing
Practicing is an essential part to becoming a monster musician! We recommend that our students practice for at least 10 minutes, 4 times per week... The more kids practice, the better they will get! If your child would ever like some extra help/clarification on what they need to practice, please feel free to get in touch with us!
How can parents support practice at home?
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We strive to ensure that all our resources are as user-friendly as can be. How about picking up an instrument while you're at it? Encouraging children to teach you what they've learned is an excellent method for reinforcing their own learning and retention.
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Make sure your child enjoys learning music by not making practice seem like a chore. Avoid nagging or getting mad if they skip practice sometimes. Let them choose how often they practice, but encourage them to aim for at least four times a week. As a parent, your job is to be their biggest fan. While the teacher sets goals for their music lessons, your support is super important. Remember, learning music should be fun, not a drag!
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Practicing for about 15 minutes four times a week is often more effective than enduring a single hour-long session for young players. Consistency in your child's practice routine matters more than the total time spent practicing. Consider integrating practice sessions every other day during the initial stages of your child's musical journey. As your child progresses, it's important to adjust practice time to match the level of difficulty, although this requirement may differ for each student.
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Teachers assign specific tasks before next lesson. Be aware of assignments to keep child on track. Monster Music tutors give weekly homework via the Opus portal (this should end up in your email too!). For help or inquiries regarding lesson related content, approach teachers directly via the opus chat function!
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Adding your child’s music practice to your family’s daily schedule, ideally at the same time every day, can be helpful. Some families use rewards, like treats, for practice, but it's important to find what works for your own family!
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Ensure the child's music practice area is well lit, quiet, and free from distractions. Provide a music stand with sheet music readily available for effortless practice.
Performance
We help kids gain confidence through performance!
At Monster Music, we believe that performance is a very important part of being a musician. Playing instruments in front of people is a great way for the students to gain confidence both as a musician and also outside of their musical activities. It can be scary for a start, but feel free to check our performance tips pack which will help get your child prepared! Check out some of the performance opportunities that we offer our students!
Mid Year + End of Year Concerts
We host two main concerts each year, a mid year concert and an end of year concert. These events are open to ALL students that learn with Monster Music. Even if they have only been learning with us for 1 school term, the student's tutor will help them choose a simple and practical song to perform on the day. We try to keep the concerts as lighthearted and informal as possible to make sure the kids have loads of fun on the day. There are epic performers, giveaways, loads of fun and we know your kids will love it! The concerts obviously are not compulsory, however we do encourage our students to take part as we know that it is great for their confidence as a developing muso. These concerts are generally held at a cool music venue called “A Rolling Stone” which further adds to the exciting experience!
Specialised Showcases
Monster Music also puts on exciting performances known as showcases. These events cater to our advanced students and focus on specific instruments. We love to book trendy locations like Fat Eddies, Joe's Garage, Two Thumbs, MoveX, The Bog, and The Cranford Ale House for these showcases. Attending these showcases can be a fantastic motivator for your child to strive towards in their music journey.
Lunchtime Jams at Schools
During the school year, our primary aim is to coordinate engaging lunchtime concerts at each school that hosts our music lessons program. These concerts serve as a stage for every student, regardless of their skill level, to exhibit their musical abilities. These events offer our students a great chance to display their advancements to their fellow classmates in a lively and encouraging setting. These lunchtime jam sessions are particularly advantageous for students seeking to boost their confidence in performing at different occasions.
The Buskers Club
The buskers club is a fun chance for your child to "get out there" with their instrument. We have fortnightly busking gigs that our students are able to take part in. These are usually held at local markets, locations in the CBD or supermarkets and we have found this is a great way for the youngsters to gain some confidence and make a bit of pocket money at the same time! Feel free to check out the buskers club info pack if you would like to know more about this.
Lesson Fees
Monster Music’s lesson fees work to an annual set fee system. The annual fee will be split into ten payments, which are invoiced throughout the year (rather than 1 large invoice each term) The fee will be dependent on the type of lesson your child is enrolled in. Please find below the different options available.
Fees
30 minute group lessons | $920 per year, spread across ten monthly payments of $92 + CC fees
20 minute private lessons | $1050 per year, spread across ten monthly payments of $105 + CC fees
30 minute private lessons | $1360 per year, spread across ten monthly payments of $136 + CC fees
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In 2024, Monster Music will only be accepting credit/debit card payments. We will be using a service called Stripe to process the payments. Stripe charges a fee for each transaction (2.7% + $0.30). Monster Music families will be required to upload their current card information to our new online platform called Opus1. All payments are “auto pay” so once you have put your details in, you don’t need to do anything else!
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Unfortunately we can’t accept weekly payments for lessons. We have recently restructured our payment scheme to make it more affordable, rather than large lump payments (we used to charge per term!).
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Other than the first invoice, all payments will land on the 1st of every month. No payments will be expected during December and January. If your child starts at a different time during the year, you will be invoiced from that date
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As per our terms and conditions, we expect a 3 month commitment from our students/families. We will have three dates throughout the year when we will be accepting drop-outs - May 19th 2024, August 18th 2024, December 8th 2024. Outside of these dates, we will look at each request case-by-case, but will intend to stick to these drop-out dates as firmly as possible.
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Our terms follow very closely with the school terms. Generally for Monster Music, terms one and four are shorter terms (usually 8 weeks) as the very start and very end of the year are incredibly busy for students. Terms two and three line up directly with the school term (generally 10 weeks).
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GST is included however there is a credit card fee each month. The fee charged by the credit card company is 2.7% + $0.30. If your child is new to learning with us, there will also be a book/curriculum cost. This amount will vary from $20 - $35 depending on what instrument your child is learning.
Students that learn guitar, will incur ongoing $20 book costs as they complete each book (each book takes roughly 6 months to complete).
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In the case of a tutor absence, Monster Music Management will determine the best course of action - ideally a reliever. In some instances you will receive a credit which will go towards your next invoice.
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The lesson fee will still remain the same, however one of the following will happen
a) We will firstly try to find an alternative day for lessons to avoid a clash that week
b) If we are unable to make "a" work, we will offer your child a Monster Make Up!
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Unfortunately, no. We would love to be more flexible on this, but tutors still need to be paid, even if your child isn't in the lesson, therefore the annual fee will remain the same. We can however, offer your child up to 2 Monster Make Ups per school term. You can find out more about Monster Make Ups here.
Our Mission
Why Monster Music Exists
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Fun and Relevant Lessons
One of our main missions at Monster Music is to deliver lessons that are both fun and relevant! Gone are the days of teaching children nursery rhymes in order to learn an instrument. We aim to create a fun learning atmosphere where children will learn what they need to know and have fun in the process.
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Performance
Performance and learning an instrument go hand in hand. At Monster Music we teach our students music with performance in mind. We strive to give our students as many regular performance opportunities as possible. Concerts, busking and school shows are all things on offer while being part of the Monster Music family.
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Community
Community is is a key part of learning an instrument and being surrounded by like minded people can really help on the road to being that rockstar you have always dreamed of. Through the lessons themselves, concerts, fun days and fundraising you will have the chance to meet new people and make new friends that are on a similar journey to you.
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Integrity
At Monster Music, integrity is at the heart of everything we do. Our tutors are dedicated to teaching with honesty and care, ensuring that each student receives a high-quality and enriching experience. This commitment extends beyond the classroom; from an administrative perspective, you can expect integrity to be embedded in our communications, responses, and the way we handle every situation. We believe that maintaining a high standard of integrity fosters trust and creates a positive environment for both our students and their families.
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Reliability
Reliability is key at Monster Music because we know how important it is for students and parents to trust us. Our professional tutors consistently provide high-quality lessons, making sure each student gets the attention they need. We always reply to your emails promptly, and if we say we will do something, you can rely on us to get it done. With a steady curriculum and regular performance opportunities, you can always count on Monster Music to deliver a dependable and fun musical education.
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Authenticity
We are genuine people who take pride in our authenticity and down-to-earth approach. While some of our communications may be automated, you can be confident that when you reach out with a question, a real person who genuinely cares will respond. Our tutors share this dedication to authenticity and are deeply committed to your child's education and learning experience. They strive to create a supportive and engaging environment where every student can thrive.