FAQ

I am a huge fan and I want to tell you how much I love your music! How can I get in touch?

Thank you so much for your support! You can send me a note using the form on my Contact page. Please understand that I get a lot of emails and I'm not always able to respond to all of them, but your words are always appreciated! (Sometimes I'll get back to you three months later, the equivalent travel time of carrier pigeon!)

I signed up for the mailing list, but I didn't get my Last of the Mohicans download! What's up with that?

First of all, thanks for signing up for the mailing list – there are lots of goodies to be had down the line and I’m happy to have you in the Hot Violinist community!

I use MailChimp for my newsletters, and so they know I’m not just adding people willy-nilly, there’s a two-step process to get signed up for the list. You have to:
1. Sign up through my website
2. Click the link in the confirmation email that will be sent to you

Sometimes readers don’t get that all-important confirmation email because their spam blockers are on high alert. If you don’t see the email, check your spam folder. Hotmail has proven extra-pesky, so if your email account is with them you might need to add my email address to your address book first and then try signing up again.

If you received the confirmation email, clicked the link, got to the page that says “Thanks for confirming,” and still couldn’t get your download to work, send an email to the Hot Violinist Help Desk and we'll get you sorted out.

When are you playing in my area of the world? How can I follow your tour schedule?

I am taking a year off from touring with my band Circa Paleo. We have a new violinist so that we can share the touring work and I am still involved creatively and as the manager of the group. If you like my kind of exotic music, and you enjoy the violin, I highly recommend you check them out. Our new fiddler, Corrin Evans, is one of my very dear friends and she is also my favorite violinist in the world. Visit their website and take a look at the Shows page to see when they will be touring near you. I occasionally perform web concerts with my sister Kelly, and the best way to find out about those is by signing up for the email list. If I book a guest appearance for any other live shows I will definitely notify the email list and post the details on my Events page.

Can we chat before I purchase lessons? You know, like an interview or something?

Unfortunately, I don’t do interviews with students before they've purchased lessons. There are a few reasons for this:
– I want to jump right into helping you on your violin! If we do the work to coordinate our schedules, I want it to be for a lesson not an interview.
– Once I get started talking about violin, I have trouble stopping. 15 minute interviews are not enough to get down to the nitty gritty.
– I offer a money-back guarantee on my lesson packages. This takes away the risk for you in purchasing, but also separates out the people who are seriously interested in lessons. I've never actually had a request for a refund but would be happy to give one if you feel we aren't a good fit, or if I'm unable to give you the value you need from your lesson.

Do you teach group lessons?

At this point, I don't offer any group lessons. I cater my teaching to each of my students according to their learning style and what they want to learn. Doing 1-on-1 lessons also allows for more flexibility with the schedule, since we're only coordinating two calendars instead of a whole group's!

Do you teach lessons in person?

All of my lessons are taught via video chat on Skype or FaceTime. Which is kind of great, because you can show up to your lesson in your pajamas!

I live in Brazil/Turkey/Australia/some other equally-awesome place. Can I still do lessons with you?

Yes. I teach my lessons via video chat on Skype or FaceTime, so geographic distance poses no barrier to you becoming a Hot Violinist!

Some of your videos show a part for guitar. Do you teach guitar lessons?

The guitarist in my videos is my lovely sister, Kelly, and she will occasionally take on a guitar student via Skype. Because she has less time to devote to teaching, she prefers working with people who are trying to learn something specific (like a particular song) rather than doing ongoing lessons for general improvement. If you're interested in taking lessons from her, use the Contact form to get in touch.

What is your cancellation policy?

I understand that learning an instrument in a busy adult schedule is very challenging, so I strive to be flexible and do what it takes to make the lesson schedule work for you.

At the same time, I find that it's very beneficial to keep as regular a schedule as possible for the lessons. It's best for your learning, and it also helps me out because it can get very complicated with multiple students changing plans at the last minute.

The official policy is that a student or I can reschedule with no penalties up to 24 hours prior to the scheduled lesson. If a student cancels within 24 hours of the lesson, that lesson is forfeited. If I have to cancel within 24 hours of the lesson, I will reschedule your missed lesson and add an additional free lesson to your package.

Do you ship internationally?

Definitely! I really value my overseas fans and I don’t mind absorbing the extra shipping cost.

I'm a super-fan and want a poster of you to put on my wall next to my other musical idols! Do you sell something larger than the 8×10?

I'm honored that you would want a poster (and that you would consider giving it such valuable wall space!) but the largest photo I have to offer is the 8×10. If you want to tile 12-20 of them together to fill your poster spot, please contact me to discuss my “Andy Warhol bulk discount…”

I'm interested in purchasing a violin through your site, but I'm concerned I won't like the instrument. Is it possible to try the violin before purchasing it?

The violin shop I work with has a very open return policy and satisfaction is guaranteed. After purchasing you can try the violin for a week. If it doesn’t fit your needs, you can return for a full refund of the purchase price. I understand that violin choice is highly personal, so I will help you arrange hassle free return if you decide not to keep it.

Additionally, the violin shop extends a pretty awesome trade-in deal: For the life the violin, you can trade it in toward a violin of equal or higher value and receive credit for the full value of initial purpose toward the new instrument. (Of course, this requires the violin be in good condition!)

GENERAL QUESTIONS