REGISTRATION FEE:
A $40 Registration/Reservation Fee will reserve a lesson space in my studio schedule for the school year (August/September to mid-May). The registration fee is non-refundable except when no suitable class or private lesson time is available. The fee is then used to help defray the cost of theory games, teaching aids, piano lab software, office expenses, handouts, ensemble books, music library materials, incentives and awards, and the annual spring piano celebration (recital).
MUSIC & MATERIALS:
Music and materials needed generally cost about $60 per year per student. Re-registered, continuing students will pay this at the beginning of summer session and new students will pay this fee at the beginning of the school year with the Registration/Reservation Fee. Any fees left over at the end of the school year roll over into the new year. New students will receive a three-ring binder for weekly practice plans and handouts when they begin lessons.
PIANO TUITION FOR ONLINE OR IN STUDIO LESSONS:
Partner Lessons (all ages): $110 per month for 40-minute lessons.
Private Lessons (all ages): $140 per month for 45-minute lessons plus a 15-minute computer lab session.
Six 1-hour Group Musicianship Classes, three each semester, are scheduled throughout the year for all students (except for new beginners), based upon the students’ ages and skill level.
Lesson tuition includes 30 lessons for the school year (from August/September to early/mid-May), an extra help day, Spring Piano Rehearsals and Celebration and 1 or 2 bonus lessons.
In September, each student will receive a copy of the Studio Calendar and Studio Policies, which will be put in the back section of the student music binder for student and parent reference. These documents are also available on the website.
Annual school year tuition fees are divided into three (3) equal quarterly installments and due the first day of each month from September through May. Families are welcome to pay three (3) months tuition in full or pay monthly installments. A late fee of $20 is charged for any tuition installments received after the tenth of the month. A $35 service charge will be charged for checks returned for insufficient funds. Checks should be made payable to Marci Pittman.
PRIVATE LESSONS:
The Private Lesson Program includes a combination of weekly private lesson instruction of 45-minutes and Group Musicianship Classes. The weekly private lessons are preceded or followed by an individual 15-minute computer lab session. Six times during the school year, I will schedule a 1-hour Group Musicianship Class for my students for listening exercises, theory review games, ear training, music history and playing in ensemble. Students are grouped roughly by age and skill level. These classes will replace the private lesson for that week and no new materials are assigned. Group Musicianship Classes will be clearly indicated on the studio calendar so that you may plan your schedules accordingly.
SUMMER SESSION:
Summer Session will be the months of June & July. Re-registered, continuing students are requested to schedule a minimum of four lessons during those months, private or group, and will be billed for one month’s tuition along with the registration/reservation fee and materials’ fee. Summer scheduling is more flexible for lesson time and length. Students who DO NOT sign-up to take lessons during summer session are still required to pay the tuition and fees to hold a spot in the studio for the new school year.
ATTENDANCE:
A lesson time is reserved for students each week and month of the school year whether the student attends each lesson. A student who does not attend a lesson will simply miss the benefit of that lesson. Unlike a doctor or a hairdresser, I cannot re-sell that time, nor can I create extra hours in the day in which to give rescheduled lessons. Students who miss lessons due to busy schedules, lack of preparation, or vacation times are not eligible for a rate adjustment. Rescheduled lessons are at the teacher’s discretion.
Illness: For the health of all, DO NOT bring a sick student to their lesson. Students must not come to the music studio if they have, or have had in the past 7 days, a cough, a fever, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, flu-like symptoms, gastrointestinal upset, or experienced a loss of taste or smell. Students who are too ill to attend school are also too ill to attend their lesson. If a student feels well enough to have a lesson online, this may be arranged for the scheduled lesson time through Zoom but must be arranged the morning of the lesson day.
In the event of teacher illness or emergency, your teacher is entitled to cancel one lesson a year, for which there will be NO reduction in tuition. It is rare for me to cancel lessons due to illness, and whenever possible, I will attempt to offer a rescheduled lesson as the calendar permits.
DISCONTINUING LESSONS:
Every student will stop taking lessons at some point. Please make this decision thoughtfully with plenty of discussion between the teacher, parent, and student so that lessons can cease with a positive sense of closure. For this reason, the teacher requires ONE MONTH’S advance written notice (e-mail or text notice is acceptable) prior to discontinuing lessons.
DAILY PIANO PLAYING:
Daily playing time is essential for students to experience success in learning their materials. Families and students should have a plan for when this playing time will take place each day. The student should fill in a weekly playing chart (on the assignment sheet) and take responsibility for completing the materials on the assignment sheet. Each first-year student should commit to playing the piano and the materials assigned daily for 15 to 20 minutes, five days a week (5 to 15 minutes daily for 4 to 6-year-old students). Students beyond their first year of lessons should commit to playing their materials assigned daily for a minimum of 20-30 minutes, five days a week. Unprepared lessons cost the same as prepared ones, but their value is substantially compromised. It is consistent, efficient, daily practice that leads to the satisfaction and joy of steady progress towards solid musicianship that may be enjoyed for a lifetime.
Please note that these policies are in accord with recommended professional policies of the Music Teachers’ National Association and the Music Teachers’ Association of California. Tuition fees take into consideration that I must provide my own insurance, retirement, social security, and continuing education costs, as well as bear the expense of equipping and maintaining my studio, instruments, libraries and other equipment and supplies. They also take into consideration that I spend far more hours in planning, study, scheduling, phone calls, e-mails, texts, bookkeeping, and organizing other studio related responsibilities, than I do in actual lesson time. Teaching is my profession, my business, and my art; I wish to present and live up to policies that give me the time and financial security to devote much of my energy to the creative act of sharing music with students. I acknowledge my students' and their parents' place in a three-way relationship and strive to do my best to make music study a rich, enjoyable, motivating, and growing experience for my students.