Lesson Fees

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Fees, also known as tuition, include more than the regular weekly lesson time your teacher reserves for you.  They also account for the time your teacher invests outside of scheduled lessons to answer questions, create individualized lesson plans, track attended and missed lessons, schedule makeup lessons, issue monthly invoices, maintain studio instruments used during lessons, continue to maintain and develop their own skills as a musician, etc. Please be aware there are no refunds.

The teacher reserves the right to increase tuition. Current students will receive an email announcing a tuition increase 60 days in advance.

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New students are placed on the yearly tuition plan after three (3) trial lessons. Trial lessons count towards the total of 40 lessons on the yearly tuition plan. By having three (3) trial lessons, both the student and teacher are able to make an informed decision before committing to additional lessons.

Your tuition purchases a reserved lesson time for you to use or not use. The yearly tuition plan includes a maximum of 40 private lessons and five (5) missed lessons. Lessons are taught the entire year.‍ ‍This allows for a maximum of 40 lessons out of 52 weeks. The date a student begins lessons is the first month of the yearly tuition plan. Students are encouraged to do at least two mock live performances.  More information on mock live performance(s) is available in the performance opportunities section of my studio policy. (Link will open in a new window)

Some students need more than five (5) missed lessons.‍ ‍Additional missed lessons are provided with the understanding that the student is still responsible for paying for all lessons included on the yearly tuition plan. There is not time to schedule makeup lessons for students who exceed the five (5) missed lessons included on the yearly tuition plan. Please remember there are fixed studio expenses whether or not students attend lessons. These expenses are part of tuition and are not reduced when the student does not attend their lesson. Continued payment holds the student’s regularly assigned lesson time. Discontinuing lessons will result in losing the student’s regularly assigned lesson time.

Makeup lessons are not offered for missed lessons. The only exception is when the studio is closed due to weather related school closings. A makeup lesson will be scheduled once the student has missed five (5) lessons. After the makeup lesson time is completed, the student will have one missed lesson removed from their total. This will be shown on the next invoice.

The yearly tuition plan was designed to help students spread the cost of private lessons over an entire year. This tuition plan works like a monthly subscription service. Students pay the same tuition each month regardless of the number of lessons attended. Lessons are limited to once a week unless the student is preparing for an upcoming audition or performance less than two weeks away. Monthly rates are shown below. Please note that yearly rates are for reference only.

Payment is due on first day of the month, with the remaining monthly payments due on the first of the following 11 months.  Payment must be received by the 10th of the month. All payments are made through the monthly invoice emailed on the 23rd of the month.

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Notice for discontinuing lessons must be emailed to michelleiedelman@me.com. No other form of communication will be accepted for discontinuing lessons.

Students on their three (3) trial lessons may discontinue at any time without paying additional tuition.

For all other students, please provide a minimum of 30 days written notice before discontinuing lessons. All students stop taking lessons at some point. Ideally, this decision is made thoughtfully with plenty of discussion between all parties so lessons can conclude with a positive sense of closure.

Students who discontinue lessons before the 15th of the month are responsible for tuition of the current month. Students who discontinue lessons after the 15th of the month are responsible for the tuition for the current month and the following month.

At the discretion of the teacher, students may be asked to discontinue lessons at any time due to unpaid lesson fees, persistent missed lessons, failure to prepare for lessons, failure to honor studio policies, and inappropriate or disrespectful behavior.  Written notification is given and time will be provided to correct the situation before lessons are discontinued.

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All payments are made through the invoice.

Invoices allow payment through ACH bank transfer, debit or credit card. 

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Invoices for current students are emailed on the 23rd of the month. Payment is due on the first day of the month. Payment must be received by the 10th of the month.

New students will be emailed an invoice after they have confirmed their lesson time.  Payment of the invoice reserves the lesson time and covers the cost of three (3) trial lessons.

Each invoice includes the number of lessons attended, number of missed lessons and the number of months completed for the current yearly tuition plan. This information is provided to help students plan ahead.

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