Studio Policies

Tuition

There are 40 lessons per calendar year, and tuition is divided into 12 monthly payments. The schedule aligns with the Eugene 4J School District calendar, and also includes four lessons over the summer. Tuition covers the cost of lessons, lesson preparation, materials, recitals, and masterclasses. Payment must be received before the first day of each month for that month’s lessons and may be made via Zelle or mailed check.

Lesson length is recommended by the teacher in consultation with the student and guardian if the student is a minor. Recommendations may vary depending on student age, level, and availability.

At the studio or online

$100

$140

$180

30 minutes

45 minutes

60 minutes

In your home

$120

$140

$180

Attendance

Students progress more quickly and enjoy their lessons more if they attend consistently. As a courtesy, the studio provides four make-up lessons per student each calendar year. The studio cannot assume responsibility for make-up lessons beyond these four per year.

In cases where a student must miss a lesson for religious observance or truly extenuating circumstances, they can request additional make-up options at the teacher’s discretion. If a student stays home from school or work the day of their lesson due to contagious illness, they must not attend their lesson in person. The teacher reserves the right to cancel the in-person lesson of any student who appears ill. If the student is feeling well enough, they may have that lesson online.

Lesson Cancellation

When a cancellation is necessary, please notify the teacher immediately via text message, email, or phone. To ensure continued progress during a planned absence, students may select from the following alternatives:

Schedule an online lesson at the regular time.
Submit a video recording via WhatsApp, Google Drive, or YouTube link, which the teacher will review at the scheduled time. The teacher will respond with a written critique and a new assignment for the week.
Schedule a lesson on one of the make-up days provided throughout the year.

Should the teacher need to cancel for any unforeseen reason, they will notify the students by text, email, or phone call. In such cases, the student will be offered two make-up options. Once a make-up is scheduled, it cannot be rescheduled; if the student is absent, the lesson is forfeit.

Inclement Weather

In-person lessons are generally cancelled when Eugene 4J Public Schools close due to weather. If roads are deemed safe and passable by the lesson time, students may choose to attend at their own risk. Lessons will proceed as scheduled during one or two-hour school delays.

On days when schools are closed, lessons will transition to an online format to prioritize safety and maintain the learning schedule. Students should have their music, assignment book, metronome, and a pencil ready. Please sign on five minutes early to adjust technical settings and call the teacher at your exact lesson time.

As an alternative to a live online session, students may submit a video recording for review. The teacher will utilize the scheduled time to listen, provide written feedback, and assign new material for the following week.

Practicing

While well-attended lessons are essential to successful study, an estimated 90% of productivity and musical ability come from daily high-quality practice at home. General guidelines are as follows:

Students ages 9 and younger should spend 10-20 minutes practicing daily, five days a week with a parent or guardian until they can complete all practice steps independently. Students should focus more on task completion than time spent in practicing. The teacher will provide assignment sheets and checklists to facilitate productivity and motivation. Parents may provide rewards at their discretion.
Students between the ages of 10 and 12 should spend 20-30 minutes practicing daily, five days a week independently. Focus should be spent more on task completion than time spent in practicing. Assignment sheets and checklists will be provided to facilitate productivity and motivation.
Students between the ages of 13 and 18 should practice the same number of minutes as their lesson daily for five days a week. Students taking 30-minute lessons should practice 30 minutes a day. Students taking 45-minute lessons should practice 45 minutes a day. Students taking 1-hour lessons should practice 1 hour a day.

Lessons will include the development of effective practice skills so that students (and parents, where applicable) are clear on how to practice. Practice builds skill, muscle strength, coordination, problem-solving skills, focus, self-discipline, a sense of accomplishment, and the enjoyment of being able to play beautiful music through the process. The student will greatly improve their musical proficiency.

The teacher spends a high percentage of each student’s lesson time demonstrating how to practice to maximize their rate of progress. During each student’s lesson, the teacher writes down the practice steps they demonstrated during the lesson in the student’s assignment book or sends that information via email. It is the student’s responsibility to refer to the practice steps in the assignment book for every practice session. If the student does not understand the assignment and practice steps, they should ask a parent or the teacher for help.

The assignment and practice steps are designed to facilitate mindful, focused, and deliberate practice. They serve as active and thoughtful processes in achieving solutions.

Materials

The teacher will provide all method books, sheet music, notebooks, and folders that the student needs for their lessons. Any lost or damaged materials must be replaced at the student’s expense. Piano students must have an upright or grand piano in good condition, tuned every six months, or an approved digital piano with 88 touch-sensitive keys and an attached pedal. Voice students may use a keyboard app to give themselves pitches. Students who have their lessons online or in their homes must be in a well-lit, quiet room free from distractions. Online lessons work best if the student is able to see the teacher on a large screen, such as a laptop or tablet, rather than a phone. Before lessons begin, students should make sure their speakers or headphones are working well enough that they can hear and that their microphones pick up both their voices and their instruments.

Lesson Termination

Any student who wishes to terminate lessons must give notice in writing 30 days before their final scheduled lesson. The student will need to pay for all scheduled lessons in the 30-day period after they notify the teacher. Any borrowed music or materials must be returned to the teacher at the conclusion of study. The teacher reserves the right to dismiss a student at any time, effective immediately.