Expectations and Responsibilities of Students

1. You are undertaking an awesome journey, so your commitment to the process is vital. Commitment and consistency are key to learning a musical instrument!  This means being prepared and showing up to lessons, consistent practice, and performances.
2. Practice daily, and keep yourself honest by logging into your student portal and tracking your practice time. Your practice time is an important data point for your teacher to understand how much “bang” for your practice time you are getting. That helps in determine what methods and repertoire are best suited for your learning style.
3. Do your best to practice in an interruption-free environment. Turn off the TV, cell phone, video games, and encourage family members to refrain from interrupting your practice time.
4. Be financially responsible and pay tuition on time.  For questions regarding tuition and your account, log in to your account here. Family accounts that are not current may be subject to suspension of lessons. Invoices are sent on the first of the month and due 5 days later.
5. Communicate with the teacher often.  Feel free to ask about music, practice habits, recitals, and contests, or anything else you need to discuss relating to your lessons.

 Student Expectations and Responsibilities

1. We firmly believe that students learn best when they take their own notes, rather than relying in the teacher to write copious notes in your music. Pencils are provided and you are expected to pick them up and take notes in your lesson. Notes in your own hand mean much more to you.
2. Arrive promptly at your lesson time. You reserve the time slot (e.g. 4:00pm to 5:00pm), not the number of minutes.

Teacher Expectations and Responsibilities

1. Provide each student with the personal attention and respect necessary to develop his/her individual talents.
2. Guide each student to a greater understanding and enjoyment of music.
3. Guide each student towards an awareness of her/his capabilities – clearly communicating short-term and long-term goals. This may be verbal or written communication.
4. Encourage a feeling of success at each student’s individual rate of learning.
5. Guide each student towards Musical Independence and Initiative through a balanced program of theory, technique, and repertoire.
   • Theory – studying the “grammar” of the language of music.
   • Technique – the physical mechanics of the instrument
   • Repertoire – a list of pieces to be learned based on standard classical, jazz, and popular music essential to gaining an understanding and appreciation for music of many different kinds

Attendance

Our tuition and enrollment fees are non-refundable and makeup lessons are not scheduled. Please plan lesson times and other extracurricular or social engagements accordingly. Lessons are billed in advance, and the rate is the same every month. In months where you or your child receive 5 lessons, the rate is still the same, effectively giving the student a month of free lessons per year.

Participation in summer lessons is strongly encouraged similarly to Fall and Spring lessons. Our students are learning a new language, and leaving that language for 3 months means a loss of the very skills they have worked so hard to develop during the other 9 months of the year. Summer lessons provide reinforcement, continuing new ideas, and a brief change of pace.

Practice

Preferably, practice every single day. We know that this is a tall order, and most likely a student will find 5 days of practice.  If the target is all days, then students feel an inner drive to keep progressing.  Set practice expectations at five days, and you’ll get three.  So, aim high!

The absolute best time for the student to practice is immediately after their lesson, definitely on the same day. Remember, lessons are not practice in and of themselves. Students need to implement their learning immediately, on their own and in their own way.

Playing the piano or any other musical instrument is a physical skill and you get out of it what you put into it. If practice is done inconsistently, you’ll get inconsistent results.

Absence

Makeup lessons are not scheduled or guaranteed. With 24-hour notice, we will make a reasonable effort to accommodate the student, but this is not a guarantee that another time is available.

Please note that makeup classes are not for students who miss lessons due to play dates, games, non-emergency doctor appointments, or family vacations.  Tuition is based on a specific time slot being made available for our students and when a lesson is missed, that time slot is forever lost.

Drop-off/Pick-up

Prompt drop off and pick up are expected. Parents are welcome to wait in the waiting area.

Private Lesson Tuition

See Tuition Contract here.

Inclement Weather

It’s Texas. Weird stuff happens. Should lessons need to be canceled due to bad weather, the lessons will be made up at no additional cost to the parent or student.  The lesson may be made up as a master/group class or regular private lesson.

Multiple Teachers

In order to maintain consistency in what a student learns, we do not accept students who are continuing study with other teachers without specific permission from the both teachers. Students and parents who decide to have two teachers will be released from the studio.