Terms and Conditions for Online Tutoring
Please read all of this. It's not very long, and it's not the usual mumbo-jumbo.
Our tutors will not do your homework for you--so please don't ask them for answers.
Instead, they will help you learn the material by asking questions that will engage you in the process of music theory and help you learn on your own.
Do not expect a last-minute miracle.
If it's the night before a test, a tutor can help you polish your skills, brush up on the details, and reinforce concepts you have learned. But he/she cannot and will not help you catch up on an entire semester's worth of missed or poorly-understood material.
There is an expectation of basic music literacy appropriate to the level you are studying.
For example, you might be in a third semester theory class and are having trouble understanding augmented sixth chords. Great--your tutor can help you with that! But if you are somehow enrolled in that third-semester class, and still don't understand the basics (for example, major and minor scales), the tutor will attempt to help you understand the fundamentals before moving forward.
Your theory teacher is always the final authority.
There are many different music theory books, analysis methods, and teaching styles out there. When in doubt, communicate with your tutor and clarify with your teacher. If there is any disagreement, then your teacher is always right.
Make sure your tutor knows:
Our tutors will not do your homework for you--so please don't ask them for answers.
Instead, they will help you learn the material by asking questions that will engage you in the process of music theory and help you learn on your own.
Do not expect a last-minute miracle.
If it's the night before a test, a tutor can help you polish your skills, brush up on the details, and reinforce concepts you have learned. But he/she cannot and will not help you catch up on an entire semester's worth of missed or poorly-understood material.
There is an expectation of basic music literacy appropriate to the level you are studying.
For example, you might be in a third semester theory class and are having trouble understanding augmented sixth chords. Great--your tutor can help you with that! But if you are somehow enrolled in that third-semester class, and still don't understand the basics (for example, major and minor scales), the tutor will attempt to help you understand the fundamentals before moving forward.
Your theory teacher is always the final authority.
There are many different music theory books, analysis methods, and teaching styles out there. When in doubt, communicate with your tutor and clarify with your teacher. If there is any disagreement, then your teacher is always right.
Make sure your tutor knows:
- What textbook you are using
- Your teacher's preferred scale-degree naming system (movable do, fixed do, numbers, etc.).
- Your teacher's preferred Roman-numeral style (All caps/mixed case).
- The type of terminology you are using. (For example, "natural minor" / "pure minor," "half cadence" / "semicadence," etc.)
- How your teacher/textbook labels cadential six-four chords. (I6/4, C6/4, V6/4, etc.)
- Any technology you will be using during the session.
