Program Information and Student Expectations The Mountain View Luthier School Guitar Building and Repair sessions are shop and classroom intensive programs. Hard work, dedication and total respect for the shop, tools, instructors, fellow students and school policies are required. This is an adult course that requires self-discipline. Classes meet Monday through Friday between 8:00 and 4:00. We employ hands-on training, and students can expect one-on-one, intense, in-depth instruction in all phases of Lutherie. Your goals as a student are the forefront of our mission. Demonstrations, presentations in theory, and practical application round out the student’s education. Punctuality and motivated, effective time management are essential to success, and we encourage students to take full advantage of their shop time. Access to the shop and power tools is only available with instructor supervision, restricting independent, after-hours shop time to very rare occasions. The number of guitars built will depend upon the course undertaken by the student, and their personal skills and abilities. Mountain View Luthier School LLC cannot guarantee the maximum or the minimum number of instruments undertaken by students, as individual skill sets may be more or less depending on experience, motivation, and/or effective use and management of time within course time frame constraints. Students who progress faster may begin another instrument with the instructor’s permission. However, the student will be responsible for purchasing his or her materials for any extra instrument or project. Tuition includes "student grade" wood. Better quality woods are available at additional cost, which can range from $300.00 to $2000.00+. We do not recommend buying master grade woods for your first instruments. We do suggest keeping your first few instruments very basic, focusing on learning and executing the fundamentals in a clean professional manner. Students provide all guitar hardware, including tuners, pickups, cases, etc., allowing for greater design flexibility. These material costs vary, due to the wide range of options. A conservative estimate of cost is $300 to $400 for electric guitars and $150 to $200 for acoustics. Students are required to have a basic tool kit, which includes:
These can be ordered through Luthiers Mercantile International (LMI) or Stewart-MacDonald with a 10% student discount, as long as the order destination is Mountain View Luthier School. As a student, you will find and make additional tools that will augment your basic kit. We encourage you to develop a complete, personal tool kit with the guidance our instructors during your time at Mountain View. Bring: 1. Your fretted instruments for repair. 2. Drawings or designs of guitars you wish to build. 3. An open mind complete with attention to detail, and a willingness to listen and learn. Students who successfully complete all course requirements are awarded a Mountain View Luthier School Certificate of Course Completion. Your documentation of your guitar construction and repair work, as well as the instruments you build, will serve as your resume. We will make every effort to assist qualified graduates in job placement. However, we cannot in any way guarantee employment. Housing is not considered part of tuition, but it is available at no additional charge to existing students. School housing is located on-site above the shop. Students have a private room, with a common kitchen, laundry and living area. There are two full (shared) bathrooms. Space is limited for on-site housing. Housing is available for students only: There are no facilities for pets, partners or dependants. If on-site housing does not meet a student’s needs, s/he has the option to secure other accommodations. There is no adjustment to tuition when a student seeks off-site housing. Early Termination: Students choosing to terminate their studies early will have their tuition rates reassessed. If the student received an enrollment discount, tuition rates will be recalculated based on the actual term of study. If tuition was paid in full, Mountain View will issue the student a refund using the following formula: [Intended Term of Study (in months) If the student is paying on a monthly basis, any difference in tuition will be due when studies are terminated. A non-refundable $500 deposit is required to reserve your room and bench space. If staying two months or less, the total tuition is due upon arrival, less the reservation deposit of $500.00. If staying more than two months, the balance of your tuition is due in equal monthly payments. Please email us at info@mountainviewluthierschool.com if you have any questions or need to arrange a payment plan for tuition. |
|
