GENERAL INFORMATION
LOCATIONS
Music lessons are typically held Monday-Friday in the afternoon hours, and are structured in 30 minute slots with the instructor and the student meeting at the same time every week. This way a level of consistency can be maintained for both business and educational reasons.
Lessons are $35 - $45 per lesson (online/in-person) and the monthly tuition payment varies depending on the amount of days in the month (ex. 5 Thursdays= 5 lessons or 4 Wednesdays = 4 lessons). For more detailed information please see the Lesson Policy Below.
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To inquire about lessons please click
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All lessons are now held online using the Zoom Video Conferencing platform.
For more recommendations and tips regarding online music lessons please see the following:
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LESSON POLICY (Updated 3/17/2020)
Dear Students and Parents,
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This is an official notice stating my policies and requirements for music lessons. By agreeing to the following terms it will help to reduce or eliminate any confusion or miscommunication later. Please take the time to read each item thoroughly.
Rates and Payment:
Fees for music lessons range from $35 per half hour lesson(online) to $45 per half hour lesson (in-person) with 1 regular lesson scheduled per week. Payments are tuition based with the full amount for each month being due at the first lesson of each month, excluding holidays. Electronic invoices are sent via email on the 1st of each month through “Freshbooks” and payment can be made via cash, check or electronically using either Zelle(preferred) or Venmo. Seeing as how each month varies in weeks, I use the following format for payments:
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(Online lesson example)
4 week month= $140 for 4 half hour lessons
5 week month= $175 for 5 half hour lessons
By paying for the month, this reserves your time slot and lesson for every week of the month. If for any reason you are unable to attend the scheduled lesson time, you will need to schedule a make-up lesson(see next section).
I will not accept prorated payments due to cancellation as make up lessons are the method used to supplement the missed lesson(see section below). If for any reason I cannot attend a scheduled lesson time, you then have the following options of either (1) forgoing payment for that lesson, or (2) you may schedule an additional make-up lesson. In addition to this, late payments of more than 4 weeks will be subject to a $25 late fee.
Make-Up Lessons:
To be eligible for a make-up you must give a reasonable notice of cancellation. 24-hour notice is required, but in the case of sickness, I will accept phone calls up to noon the day of. I can be contacted by either email(preferred) or phone in the event that you need to place a cancellation.
Only 1 make up will be allowed per month(every 2 months for online students) with the lesson being made up within one month of the missed lesson. If you miss more than once, the second lesson is forfeit. In addition to this, if a make-up lesson is cancelled or missed, they become forfeit as well. No shows are considered forfeit and cannot be made up which includes lessons that go past 15 minutes of the scheduled time. Please bear in mind that make up lessons are not guaranteed and are only as scheduling may permit.
All make lessons can be scheduled using the online Make-Up Lesson Calendar which can be found via our private Discord server. Simply select a date to see what times are currently available, select a time and then fill out the appropriate information before submitting. Once the make-up lesson is confirmed you will receive a message or email to confirm at the address that you provide. It is up to you to decide whether or not you would like to have a make-up lesson or forfeit the missed lesson all together.
Holidays:
Here are the following Holidays that I do not teach: New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Weekend (Thursday-Sunday), Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. As I am not affiliated with any school district, keep in mind that a school holiday other than those listed above is not a holiday for my teaching schedule. Please keep in mind that these are to the actual calendar day and do not adhere to any particular vacation schedule set by your local school district(s).
Online Students:
Online students will be expected to have the following to participate: a properly functioning instrument, a metronome, a strong internet signal (Wifi Preferred), and the proper technology for video conferencing. This would include some combination of the following: smartphone, tablet/iPad, computer, webcam, and printer(recommended). For all electronic instruments, there will also need to be some form of amplication so that I can hear them throguh the webcam.
All online lessons are held using the Zoom Video Conferencing app/program which is available for most platforms(Mac, PC, iOS, Android, etc.) and can be downloaded and installed through either their website (zoom.us,) or through an appstore. Please be sure to install this software before our first agreed lesson time so you have an ample amount of time to troubleshoot any issues prior to the lesson starting.
Extended Leave:
For Students who require an extended leave of absence there are 2 options available. The first being that in order to hold a particular time slot, it must be paid in full for the particular length of time desired regardless if the student attends or not. The benefit here is that upon your return we can simply resume our lessons as regularly scheduled. The second option, is that you simply leave without payment with the hope that your slot will be available upon return. Please keep in mind that unless a time slot is paid for in full, I am obligated to make it available to others who wish to meet at that time.
Multiple Instruments:
For students wishing to study multiple instruments, there needs to be a minimum 1 month commitment to any particular instrument before switching back. In the case of when the student concert arrives, there needs to be a clear decision made in writing from the parent/student as to what instrument they would like to perform on. 6 weeks must be given in order to be ready for the performance and no instrument switching will be allowed once we begin preparing for the Concert.
Stopping Lessons:
In the event that you decide to stop taking lessons, I require a minimum 2 week notice. This will be based on the first notice that I receive of a student deciding to vacate their lesson slot. If a student decides to stop sooner, they will be required to pay for the 2 weeks missed, following the first notice to vacate.
Other Policies:
If for any reason I am not available for a scheduled lesson time, you will receive a notice either by email, phone call or both. As listed in the Rates and Payment section above, you will not be charged for the lesson times that I am not available for unless you choose to schedule a make-up at a later date. Also, I reserve the right to drop students from my active roster if they no-show or no-call on a regular basis.
I hope that this statement of policy helps to clarify my position on these issues. If for any reason you have questions or comments about the things listed above please feel free to contact me. I look forward to helping my students meet and exceed their musical goals- and have fun while doing it!
Philosophy
Teaching is something that took time for me to fall in love with. After receiving my degree in 2008, it took me about a year to begin focusing on teaching as I held on to this fear of being the boring music teacher that students hated to go to. Growing up I often heard horror stories from many peers about their parents dragging them to lessons every week, and I knew that I did not want to become that person. I wanted to be the guy that students loved to come and talk to. The teacher that students never wanted to stop learning from, or the teacher that students felt that they could come to about anything. I’ve had teachers like that in my life before, and the things I learned from them along the way have made a tremendous difference in my life. I wanted to be that person for some one else.
Once the opportunity arose for me to become a music teacher I came to the realization that I would never become that guy if I never gave teaching a shot. I had to start somewhere if I was ever going to become that person. So in June of 2009, I took on my first teaching job at Rockin’ Robbies/East Bay Music and have been teaching ever since.
One of the primary components with my style of teaching is to bridge the gap between 2 main styles of playing and learning. On one hand you have the more traditional approach of learning which involves reading written music, while on the other hand you have the more unconventional method of learning by ear. Both require a different skill set that when coupled with the other help the student to understand the music at a deeper level. Learning to read music is very similar to learning a language and therefore you have to be consistently interacting with it on a daily basis. Learning by ear, or by what my father calls “the-electric-type-writer-method,” where you memorize the pattern of playing notes, forces you to rely on the order and sound of the note(s) in succession. Equate this process to having your grandmother show you how to cook spaghetti vs. reading the recipe out of a book. Both require skill, patience, and time with similar outcomes, but different processes. I also like to put a lot of attention on technique so that students develop good habits from the very beginning and won’t have to digress later on in order to continue with their craft. And for those that are comfortable with their instrument I always like to work on music theory to tie everything together. All of these things, blended with a fun and inviting atmosphere help me to impart the joy and passion that I have for playing music to others.
Online Lesson Guidelines
Online lessons are taught using the Zoom video conferencing software which is available to all devices including iOS, Android, Mac and PC. Meeting information and Zoom links will be emailed directly to each student individually. If you do not have this app/software please use the following link to download it:
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It is highly recommended that you consider doing the following while partaking in online lessons:
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Find a quiet place in your home to conference from to avoid interruptions
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Be sure to have a pencil and paper handy to take notes with
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Position yourself close to your router so that you can have the best signal possible to avoid drop outs and glitching. For a more solid connection consider hardwiring into your router via ethernet cable.
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If possible, it is preferred to conference from a device with a large screen(computer preferred) as it makes it easier to share images across the screen.
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For wind instruments it's highly recommended to have a music stand to place your music on as it can be difficult to read the music if not at the proper angle.
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Have a metronome available on a separate device than the one you are streaming with so that we can maintain rhythmic consistency.
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Additional Settings
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After using the Zoom software for a little while I have found a couple of settings that can be adjusted to optimize the software for playing instruments. The system automatically defaults to "suppressing audio" keep background noise to a minimum but this tends to suppress or mute the audio when students are playing. (Please keep in mind that these settings can only be adjusted on a computer and not on a tablet or phone). To adjust this please follow these instructions:
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Find "Mute" button in lower left hand corner and click the arrow next to it.
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Once the menu opens select "Audio Settings"
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From here the Settings window will open onto the Audio Tab.
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Navigate to the heading titled "Music and Professional Audio"
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Check the box that says "Show in-meeting option to enable "Original Sound"
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Now close the setting window and return to the main video window
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In the upper left hand corner of the video window will be a selection that says "Original Sound: Off"
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Click on this to change it to "Original Sound: On"
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And that's it! Now we are optimized to play some music online!
Testimonials
I had been wanting to put my daughters in piano lessons for a while, but I was very picky about it. I took traditional piano lessons as did my sons and I knew I wanted to go a different route with my girls. I had considered Vince years ago but he only had in-person lessons that were pretty far from us. Once he moved to virtual lessons, I knew that was the right opportunity and jumped on it.
My 2 daughters (then 8 and 15) started taking virtual piano/music lessons with "Mr. Vince" March 2020. In just over a year's time, I've seen them progress quite a bit. They are both playing pieces, reading music, and developing their love of music. So much of that has to do with Vince's practical approach to teaching. He engages them as individuals, demonstrates an infectious passion for music, and is very positive and encouraging, while also challenging them and holding them accountable.
I highly recommend Vince as a music teacher. He has a formal musical education, he has been a gigging musician for most of his life, and he plays multiple instruments which gives him a very broad view of music. Most of all, he loves teaching and sharing his love of music with others.
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Chris and Maria
Vincent Rillera of Real Era Music has been tutoring my 16 year old daughter since she was in the 7th grade.
We felt she needed more one on one learning than the public school education could give her. He's helped her with breathing exercises, scales, order of scales, circle of fifths, jazz music, classical, school recital practice and auditions, music to learn at each grade level/course selection. He's instructed her on an alto, tenor and even baritone saxophone. He's taught her virtually how to play the flute and clarinet. I still have on my computer the recording session he did individually with each one of his students when we met at Rockin' Robbie's, in Concord, for lessons.
Vince holds annual Winter concerts at a venue in Concord, Cue Productions. He's asked for her input on music choice, practiced, performed with, recorded & produced additional music scores for these concerts.
During the pandemic he has become a lifeboat for my daughter. He has reliably shown up every week. Vincent is her routine. Her normal. He asks how she's doing. He gives advice. She enjoys their sessions that she is still taking, even with a gap year from school music. That's what I, as a parent, appreciate most about Vince, his accountability. He delivers consistently with my daughter through mentoring both musically and as a positive role model.
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Melchia and Thalia
Not only is Vince an excellent musician, but he is an amazing teacher as well. He is highly educated in music, with years of training, skill, and experience under his belt.
Even while on Zoom, his teaching method is thorough and instructive, and he is always keeping my husband and I in the loop on what my daughter has worked or needs to work on. From week to week, he has kept my daughter interested and motivated to build her skills playing the piano. She now loves to practice every day, without even being asked to!
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He has such a wonderful way with children, enthusiastic yet gentle, and my daughter always comes away from a lesson with the biggest smile on her face. He is always professional and personable. He is very intuitive to my daughter’s needs, and pushes her when she needs the challenge, but is also extremely patient with her if she’s had a rough day.
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I feel very fortunate to have him as my daughter’s music teacher, and I highly recommend him as an instructor, at any level.
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Janice and Rylan
Our son took trombone and piano lessons with Vince for over 7 years. Not only did Vince share his expertise in musical technique and theory but was able to do it in a caring and approachable way.
He had the ability to identify our son’s needs and worked towards his strengths. Vince was a role model and offered guidance in music and in life. He shared his passion for music as well as the importance of responsibility.
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Debra and Garrett
We enrolled our daughter at the beginning of the pandemic. We knew that she needed an activity to keep her busy. Vince was offering classes over Zoom and it was the perfect opportunity to enroll her in his piano class.
Vince is an amazing teacher who is committed to bringing out the best of his students and finds ways to make lessons relatable to their interests. I can see my daughter growing more confident in playing the piano with each lesson.
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Jessica and Jovi
Finding a music teacher that relates well with kids was just as important as finding a music teacher who knew how to teach music. Vince fits the bill on both fronts. Not only is he incredibly versatile musically but makes the process fun. I often hear my son giggling in the other room in between chords during virtual lessons.
Thanks to Vince my son has increased his love for playing cello, and gained confidence after having mastered a difficult piece. I appreciate that Vince likes his job and likes kids too. Can’t recommend him enough for any of the MANY instruments that he can teach
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Annie and Soren
