- Payment is due by the second lesson meeting of each month. If payment is not received by this time, each subsequent lesson will be forfeited until payment is received in full. A forfeited lesson means I will not teach. If payment has not been received by the end of the month, lessons will be terminated, and your reserved time slot will be lost. The student’s parent or guardian will be responsible for the cost of forfeited lessons.
- Missed/Canceled Lessons: If a student is to miss a lesson, I must be contacted via email or voice mail by no later than 8:00pm the day before the lesson is scheduled in order for you to avoid being charged for the lesson. I will not reschedule same day cancellations, no exceptions including sickness. Please DO NOT ask to reschedule a lesson canceled on the same day it was scheduled to occur.
- Makeup Lessons: Students are allowed one (1) makeup credit per month, which is to be used during the month in which the original lesson was missed. Unused credits do not roll over month to month.
- If a student must miss 3 or more lessons in a row (excluding holiday breaks), payment equivalent to half of the regular monthly tuition cost is required to reserve the student’s time slot. A time slot may be reserved at this price for no more than two months.
- A student’s parent or guardian may terminate lessons at any time without penalty. I cannot, however, issue a refund for lessons already paid for prior to the decision to terminate lessons. In the unlikely event of my terminating lessons with a student in the middle of a month after receiving in full the monthly tuition payment, a refund will be issued for the lessons paid for but not received.
- Lesson books will be provided for students by me as needed. The student’s parent or guardian will be responsible for the cost of these books in addition to the monthly tuition cost.
- Fun, Enjoyment and Practice: Learning music and taking lessons should be fun and enjoyable. Most beginning students, especially younger ones, aren’t sure what they think and how they feel about music nor what to expect from music lessons. Beginning students will thus need some encouragement and reminders to practice. I recommend a minimum of three 15-30 minute practice sessions each week outside of our weekly meeting. A week with no practice is bound to happen from time to time, and that’s OK. If, however, a student does not practice at home at all for several weeks in a row, it means the student is either reluctant about music (either altogether or about their chosen instrument) or is not receiving enough encouragement and/or reminders to practice. If after a few months, a beginning student persistently demonstrates great resistance towards practice, it’s probably a good idea to either try another instrument or terminate lessons altogether. Lessons can always be taken up again later. Music lessons are meant to enrich students’ lives and open up new avenues of expression, not to be a burden. If a student consistently displays general animosity toward me and/or the taking of music lessons, I reserve the right to terminate lessons at my discretion.
"Music is the space between the notes" – Claude Debussy