Lesson Fees

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Fees, also known as tuition, include more than the 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, etc. Please be aware that 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.

The yearly tuition plan includes 40 private lessons and eight (8) missed lessons. Lessons are taught the entire year. 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 eight (8) missed lessons. Additional missed lessons are provided with the understanding that the student is still responsible for paying for all 40 lessons included in the yearly tuition plan. Continued payment holds the student’s regularly assigned lesson time. Stopping payment will result in losing the student’s regularly assigned lesson time.

Makeup lessons are not offered for missed lessons. The only exception is when there are lesson cancellations due to weather related school closings. Lesson cancellation for a weather related school closing must be initiated by the teacher to qualify for a makeup lesson. The teacher will schedule a makeup lesson once the student has missed eight (8) 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.

A student who has attended 40 lessons before the end of their yearly tuition period may request additional lessons. Additional lessons will be billed at prorated lesson rates. Please email me to request additional lessons.

The yearly tuition plan was designed to help students spread the cost of 40 private lessons over an entire year. Each monthly payment is equivalent to three (3) and one-third (1/3) lessons per student. This tuition plan does not work like a monthly subscription service. Students who discontinue lessons before completing all 12 months of the yearly tuition plan are required to pay for all attended lessons that haven’t yet been covered by the yearly tuition plan. 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.

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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.

Please give 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.

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.

Students are responsible for the full amount on the final invoice. The final invoice includes the regular monthly payment for the yearly tuition plan which covers three (3) and one-third (1/3) lessons per student plus any additional lessons that were attended, but not yet covered by the yearly tuition plan. For each month prior to the final invoice, students have received an invoice that included the number of lessons attended, number of missed lessons and the number of months completed for the current yearly tuition plan.

Before issuing the final invoice, I compare the number of lessons attended to the number of lessons covered by the yearly tuition plan. Lessons scheduled after receiving written notice to discontinue will be counted as attended lessons. Students with more than eight (8) missed lessons will have additional missed lessons counted towards the number of lessons attended. When more lessons have been attended than covered by the yearly tuition plan, the difference is added to the final invoice as an itemized withdrawal fee.

Prorated lesson rates are used when a student decides to withdraw and they’ve attended more lessons than those covered by monthly payments on the yearly tuition plan. Prorated lesson rates are shown on the table below. (Prorated lesson rates are the cost per lesson.)

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All payments are made through the invoice.

Invoices allow payment from a checking account 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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