The Budding Pianist Studio policy.

Schedule and Tuition

• Students will be scheduled for 40 lessons/classes a year, 34 during the school year (August through May) and 6 during the summer (June and July). Outside of lessons there may also be workshops, theory classes, recitals, evaluations and other activities available for students to participate in.

• If parents choose to take the summer off from lessons, they will lose their spot for fall term and be put on a waiting list.

• Tuition is based on a yearly fee broken up into 12 monthly payments.

• Tuition will not cover the cost of piano books, apps, other materials, nor the registration fees for events with MTAC and MTNA.

Payments

• Upon registering for lessons, I will send you a subscription link through fons.com to set up your monthly payment. New students are required to pay for their first and last month of lessons upon registering. Payments through FONS will be scheduled in the last week of the month for the following month. Payments made after the 1st will accrue a $10 late fee per student.

Absences

No refunds will be given if a student misses lessons. Please let me know asap when there will be an absence. If I have another opening in my schedule that week, I will offer it to you. With enough notice, I might be able to arrange a temporary trade with another student. I do not have times set aside for make-up lessons, so I cannot guarantee a makeup.

Vacations

I take the following days/weeks off. Tuition will not be affected by my absences.

• Week of Christmas

• Week of New Years

• Good Friday and the Week following Easter

• Week of 4th of July

• Week of Thanksgiving

I do not take Monday Holidays off, for example Memorial Day and Labor Day.

I also might have to cancel lessons due to sickness or emergency. I schedule enough lessons throughout the year that if I cancel once during the year, students will still have their 40 scheduled lessons. If I have to cancel more than one lesson in the year, I will refund the student/family 25% of the monthly tuition per cancellation.

Media Release

• Due to the nature of online lessons and other events, you/your child’s image may be posted online for marketing purposes.

Practice Requirement

The coordination and dexterity that is necessary of pianists requires consistent exercise/practice. Also, students need to review the concepts they learn at their lessons daily in order to become fluent in the language of music. Please schedule an appropriate amount of time for your child to practice. Traditionally students need:

• 15-30 minutes a day for a beginner pianist

• 30-60 minutes a day for an intermediate pianist

• 60-90 minutes a day for an advanced pianist

Instrument and Equipment requirement

• Students are required to own an 88 key fully weighted keyboard with a piano pedal, a digital piano, or an acoustic piano to practice on. Please note that the better the quality of piano, the more motivated the student may be to practice.

• Students will also need a computer or tablet that is powerful enough to stream live lessons via Zoom and be able to set up their device so that the camera focuses on the student’s hands and the keys.

• Lessons require high-speed internet of 20 megabits of download and upload speed. You can check your speed at speedtest.net.

Discontinuing Lessons

My lesson planning is broken into 3 semesters, June-July, August-December, and January-May. It is best to commit to an entire semester. If you do need to cancel lessons, I require that you let me know a month in advance. Upon registering for lessons you will be requried to make a deposit to cover your last month of lessons.