Piano Lessons in San Antonio

2023-2024 STUDIO POLICIES

Instrument

Each student must have an acoustic piano or digital piano for home practice.

Acoustic pianos should be tuned at least once a year and kept in working order (it is very discouraging for your child to play an out-of-tune instrument!). Please contact the teacher for recommendations on a piano technician.

If you prefer a digital piano, please invest in a full-size keyboard (88 keys) with weighted, touch-sensitive keys and pedals.

A student's progress is determined by dedicated practice, not by simply attending lessons. Ideally, students should practice 4-5 days a week.

Practicing a little each day is more effective than cramming practice into one or two long periods of time.

The best time for a student to practice is right after their weekly lesson. This will help them remember what they have just learned.

It is important to help your child stick to a practice routine, and make sure there are no distractions during practice time. Treat practicing like other homework and expect it to be done daily.

Responsibilities

Students are expected to respect the teacher and her home, be able to follow instructions, and arrive at each lesson well-prepared.

Students should bring all of their music books and any other assigned materials to each lesson.

Students are sometimes sent home with books or other materials to borrow from the studio. Each student is responsible for taking proper care of these materials and returning them in a timely manner. A replacement fee will be charged for any materials that a student misplaces or severely damages.

Attendance

Each student is expected to attend a weekly lesson. When you enroll your child in lessons, that specific time is reserved for them each week.

Being punctual is very important. If the student is late, this simply takes time out of the lesson, (i.e. if the lesson is scheduled for 4:00-4:45, the lesson will always start at 4:00 and always end at 4:45, regardless of the time they arrived).

Students who arrive early are asked to wait outside/in the car until 5 minutes before their lesson is to start.

Please choose a lesson time in which you feel confident. If a student is not able to make it to their lesson, please contact the teacher as soon as possible to let her know.

For any known, upcoming absences, please be courteous by notifying the teacher at least 24 hours in advance.

"No show" lessons are forfeit. Please put a "piano lesson" reminder on your phone —whatever is necessary— in order to avoid forfeiting a lesson.

Missed Lessons

In the event that a student simply cannot attend their weekly lesson, they are given the option of an online lesson or a video lesson.
An online lesson is a one-on-one live lesson on Zoom or Doozzoo.

A video lesson is when the student records a video of themselves playing through all of their assignments and sends it to the teacher in advance of the lesson time. The teacher will then watch the video during the student's weekly lesson time, and provide feedback for the student through the form of notes, a video, or both.
Video lessons must be scheduled and recorded in advance of the student‘s actual lesson time.

These are also great options if a student must miss a lesson due to weather or illness.

Tuition

Tuition is based on 40 weekly lessons that occur August 1 - May 31. Tuition for these lessons has been evenly divided over 10 months to help avoid any confusion. Your child will attend 5 lessons some months and 3 lessons other months. It varies depending on which day of the week the lesson is scheduled. There is an average of 4 lessons per month. Instead of charging more for some months and less for others, a set amount is charged.

The parent/guardian of the student will receive an invoice at the beginning of each month. Monthly payments are due by the 15th of each month. A $10 late fee will be added each week that a payment is late. In the event that tuition has not been paid within a month's time, the student will be suspended from lessons until tuition is paid in full.

Tuition may be paid via cash/check, or credit/debit card via PayPal or Venmo. Accounts with two or more late payments will be required to enroll in auto-pay to continue lessons. Failure to pay monthly tuition will result in discontinuation of lessons.

Tuition covers much more than the actual lesson time spent with the student. This includes time preparing for each student: creating individualized lesson plans, furthering education and experience, developing teaching materials, creating games and activities, recording videos for students, and searching for new repertoire. Tuition also covers: subscriptions for the studio, books for the lending library, studio-licensed music, incentives, prizes and awards, and practice resources.

Tuition does not include books/materials. Books/materials are paid for separately each time the student receives them. Book/material fees will be added to the monthly tuition statement.

The teacher reserves the right to raise tuition rates at the beginning of the academic year.

Hannah Mussulman
Certified Piano Teacher