Does TIA take the Summers Off? Should my child take the summer off from music lessons or classes?

We do not recommend students and families take the summer off from practice, from classes, or from lessons. Whether you are with TIA or your children are studying music elsewhere, summer is not the time to put your instruments and music away.  Music is a discipline and a journey. Music is very physical as well as cognitive for piano, guitar, wind instruments, drumming, and even vocalists. Taking an entire summer (8-10 weeks) off from regular music study, practice, and making music with a private teacher or class can be detrimental to student growth. For these reasons we strongly encourage you to keep your students enrolled over the summer. You and your children have likely invested precious time and money in practice, recitals and concerts, instruments. Taking an entire summer off is losing equity in your investment.

Another reason we would urge you to stay enrolled if you are a TIA student or family is that we are a busy academy and we often enroll handfuls of new students over the summer. If they were to be placed in a slot you are currently in there is no guarantee we can get you back in, either with the same teacher or at all. And we would hate to lose you!

Maybe your child studies elsewhere and you want to travel. We get it. You can even schedule individual lessons if you know you will only be in town a few times. We just scheduled some of those the other day. Better than missing out the whole summer!

We understand that you want a lighter schedule in the summer and so may your children. I have a family of six myself and we have the same struggle! But my daughters will still dance, take music lessons and classes, and Tae Kwon Do this summer for the same reasons; regular ongoing discipline, growth, and experience. If you are planning family vacations or needing some time off, we understand! We will have two one-week breaks. Our suggestion would be to try if possible to plan your vacation and breaks on those times (see below). If you do plan on traveling or getting away during the summer, if it would only mean missing a lesson, class, or two, we would recommend trying to arrange make-ups if possible, but still, staying enrolled and missing one or two weeks would be better in the long run than losing eight to ten, or worse, not being able to get a spot in the fall.

Skype or FaceTime may also be an option if need be. We have students in Olympia, DuPont, even Texas and Spain that have used such a technology to make that happen.

• End of Year Break, June 29-July 4^th
• Summer Semester, July 5^th through August 23^rd
• Summer Break, August 24^th-September 3^rd

Summers at TIA are a ton of fun! This summer many of us will be doing music from the 70’s!