Studio Policy and Tuition

PHILOSOPHY My goal is for all students to have a life long love of music. Every student is a unique individual and I try to teach each one in the way she or he will learn best. Musical education is an investment in a lifetime of enjoying music.

REQUIREMENTS Students need a desire to learn. Talent is not a requirement. Students must have an acoustic piano. Students also must have a piano bench that allows them to sit comfortably at the right height and distance from the piano. The quality and maintenance of your student’s instrument is very important for their success. Beginning students must be at least 7 years old. Students are asked to practice 5 days per week. Parents should be committed to making sure their child practices. The single most important factor for student success is parental involvement.

INSTRUCTION Students have private lessons with me each week. These lessons focus on learning the skills necessary to play: rhythm, eye-hand coordination, pitch recognition, finger dexterity, and music reading. Students progress at their own rate, but are challenged at each lesson with a new skill.

ENROLLMENT When you enroll your student, you are reserving his/her placement in the piano studio for the entire calendar year. The year is divided into four terms – Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. NOTE: Tuition for the school year, September through June, is divided equally over 10 payments, and covers Fall, Winter and Spring terms – 35 lessons. Your monthly payments do not correspond to a specific number of lessons per month.

Fall term: 12 private lessons
Winter term: 11 private lessons
Spring term: 12 private lessons
Summer: 11 weeks of lessons are offered with flexible scheduling — billed by the lesson

TUITION RATES

45 minute lessons – $160 a month

60 minute lessons – $215 a month

Tuition payment reserves the weekly lesson time and is due at the beginning of each month year round.
Tuition is not reduced or refunded for missed or forgotten lessons.
Tuition is non-refundable.
Tuition does not cover music, exam fees, or performance fees.
A commitment to lessons for the duration of the year is expected when a student enrolls.
A late fee of $10 per week is assessed for payments not made by the due date.
Tuition is payable by cash, check, Zelle, Venmo, and PayPal.
Tuition may raise each year due to inflation.

MUSIC I select music appropriate to your student’s level and bill you for this music and other materials for student’s use at cost. You will be invoiced when your student receives new materials. Plan on a minimum of $50 a year for beginning to intermediate students and $75 per year for advanced students.

ATTENDANCE Regular attendance at lessons is essential for your student’s progress. Make-up lessons are limited to one per term and only for absences due to illness. Make-up lessons will not be given for no shows, or for absences for sporting events, plays, other extra curricular activities, or out of town travel. Make-up lessons will be given the week following the regular term or at our mutual convenience. Lessons missed by the teacher will always be made up. Please call or text the studio phone to let me know if your child will miss a lesson due to illness. Students must not come for an in person lesson when sick, even if they have a slight cold. Students must not come for an in person lesson if they have stayed home from school due to illness.

PRACTICE AND PARENTAL SUPPORT Learning the skills necessary to play will not happen simply by attending lessons. It takes committed practice on a regular basis to learn and retain these skills. You can easily support younger children in practicing by sitting with them or being nearby for the first few months. Taking your child to concerts also helps them learn the language of music.

OBSERVATION Parents are welcome to observe their child’s lesson. However:

Occasionally, I have had students who have not been able to focus with their parent in the room. An observing parent can create an “authority conflict.” The student may not know where to focus their attention, so they don’t pay attention or simply shut down. If this occurs, I will discuss this with the parent outside of the lesson.
If you want to talk about your child’s progress or a problem, please call me. Problems at lessons are best discussed privately, by phone or in person, without the child present.
Siblings and friends may not attend lessons.

ASSURING SUCCESS WITH PIANO LESSONS

The quality of practice time is as important as quantity. Children who practice only a few minutes a day never have a chance to discover how much they can accomplish.
Set a regular practice time 5 days a week that works for your family and don’t be afraid to insist that your child practices. If more than one child needs to practice, set up a signup sheet to coordinate access to the piano.
Respect your child’s work environment by providing a practice setting free from distraction (cell phones, noise, siblings, TV, etc.).
Make sure your child brings their assignment binder to each lesson and all of her or his current music.
Arrange to have your piano tuned on a regular basis – at least once a year. Make sure your piano is in good condition. It is very difficult to enjoy playing an out of tune instrument or an instrument with sticky or broken keys. Pianos only have a useful life of around 80 years. An “antique” piano is not a good investment. Old pianos generally have lots of issues unless the interior mechanism has been completely replaced.

PROGRESS POLICY Consistent practice and commitment to learning are extremely important for success. Lessons may be discontinued for any student who:

does not practice
shows no progress for 4 lessons
fails to pay tuition
has excessive absences
misses lessons without informing me ahead of time
has inappropriate behavior, or
consistently ignores assignments.

CANCELLATION POLICY Should you decide for any reason not to continue, I request two weeks notice.

These policy statements are in accord with the most recent recommended professional policies of the Music Teachers National Association.

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