Studio Policies

Regular, weekly lesson attendance is expected of all school age children. If you are unable to attend your lesson in person. Here are some options:

- If the student is sick on his or her lesson day, please let me know as soon as possible. Please do not come if you are sick—this compromises my health and your child’s well-being. In many cases, we will be able to do a virtual lesson instead.

- I will offer a swap list at the beginning of the school year as an optional solution to rescheduling needs. Parents and adult students can opt in to this list at any time. The swap list rules are listed on the spreadsheet. It can be accessed HERE.

- If you know ahead of time that you need to miss a lesson, you can record your pieces for me to review during your scheduled lesson time and I can offer comments and suggestions for practicing.

- If a parent would like to use the time for a lesson, I’m willing to do that as well. Alternatively, we can talk about your child’s progress and I can share ways to help the child with his or her practicing.

There are no make-ups or refunds for missed lessons, class lessons, recitals, or events.

Adult students can choose weekly lessons or the number of lessons they would like during a term (i.e. every other week). However, non-weekly lessons will not guarantee a certain time slot but we will schedule lessons based on availability. All other policies apply.

In the event that I am unable to do a lesson in person, I will either reschedule or offer an online lesson.

Tuition is paid by the semester via bank transfer (Zelle—preferred) Tuition due dates are:

Fall Term August 15

Winter Term January 2

Spring Term March 22

Summer Term June 1

You can find me on Zelle by my email: r@renej.us, or phone number: 703-362-4699.

Tuition includes lessons, class lessons and recitals. It also covers piano maintenance, continuing education, and the time required from me for participation in NVMTA events (usually 3-6 hours/event).

Festivals and competitions are billed separately based on participation. All students are expected to participate in NVMTA’s Theory Mastery Day. (possible exceptions would be Primer level. Adults are not required to take the theory tests. Theory test fees are included in Winter tuition for non-adult students.)

Late payments will be charged an additional $20. A returned check fee is $35.

Music books are not included in tuition and are to be purchased by parents at my recommendation/request.

Payment of tuition indicates acceptance of these policy terms.

Parking: Park on Oakland Street (not in front of my house).

Please do not go into my neighbor’s yards. I would like to always maintain the good relationships I have with my neighbors.

Please wait outside until the start of your lesson and the previous student has been excused.

Parents are welcome to attend lessons for young children (usually this applies to ages 5-8) unless it is a distraction or interferes with my teaching or relationship with the child.

Students are expected to come fully prepared to lessons. Students should refer to their lesson assignment book daily and complete all assignments.

A daily practicing record is expected. If a student repeatedly comes unprepared for piano lessons, he or she will be asked to give the lesson time to another student on the waiting list.

As a guideline, students should practice at least the same length of their lesson five to six days per week. Make this a regular part of your daily routine! For younger students, it is often helpful to divide the practice time into 2-3 segments each day. Regular, daily scheduled practice time is an essential key to success in piano study.

A well-maintained piano to practice on. If you have a keyboard, it should be full size (88 keys) with weighted keys and a pedal should be available. If it is an acoustic piano, please have it tuned regularly 1-2 times a year. Having the proper instrument makes a big difference to the student!

Short fingernails and clean hands.

A Metronome.

Theory book assignments should be completed weekly and brought to each lesson.

I recommend that students take at least 4-6 lessons during the summer. It gives them a nice head start on their Fall Festival pieces and helps them retain skills they have worked hard to develop during the school year. I’m usually gone for part of the summer and students also travel so there are built-in breaks—which are important too. I will send a signupgenius link in late spring for coordinating lesson times when we are both in town.

It is understood that students are committed to study for the full term. This commitment includes financial responsibility for the full term’s tuition. If it becomes necessary to terminate lessons, this occurs at the end of a term. Please give 30 days notice if you plan to discontinue lessons. In the case of moving, FaceTime lessons can take the place of in-person lessons until the end of the term.