Studio Policy & Procedures

Lessons take place at my home in Corvallis, Oregon, on a beautiful Estonia grand piano or Yamaha p-255 keyboard.

Private Lessons are given weekly. (Please see calendar for schedule).

Studio Classes are scheduled throughout the school year and are part of the tuition.

Tuition: Tuition is to be paid monthly and is due before or by the 1st. Please include a dollar per day late fee beginning the 2nd of the month. If you will be out of town the first week, please make sure tuition is paid early. Please read more on tuition here.

Preferred payment is through Zelle and OSU Federal PayItNow.

Lesson Arrival: It is very important that students be on time for lessons. If a student arrives late, they will miss out on part of their lesson, as student lessons are scheduled back to back. I typically run on time.

**Please plan not to arrive any earlier than a minute before your lesson unless requested otherwise. Please allow the previous student to finish their lesson with minimal distraction.

Important:

For safety reasons, please do not drop off students early or pick them up late, unless you have checked with me, as I may not be home, or I may need to leave right at the end of their scheduled lesson. Always make sure you see a student enter my studio before you leave them. 

Lesson Pick-Up:
Students must be promptly picked up from their lessons. Because students are scheduled back to back, a prompt and quick pick-up allows us to transition without distraction and allows the next student the ability to settle into their lesson with more ease. Please be conscientious of this. Do not plan to run errands if you can’t be back in time. Please plan accordingly. Thank you.

Practice and Assignments:
Progress at the piano depends on daily practice, which should assume the same priority as homework. Practice is most effective when the student is alert and undisturbed. Most students find that setting a regular practice time helps them to be consistent. Regular practice keeps muscle development and coordination strong and creates ease in progressing and learning. Learning is more dynamic and intrinsically rewarding, which helps with practice. Skills built depend on practice for maintenance and continued future skill building, so consistent practice is a must.

Students are required to practice as part of their commitment to lessons. Within reason, if practice requirements are not being met, a student may be excused from the studio.

The student and I will decide on a manageable daily practice period that can be accomplished at least 5-7 times per week.

Parents of young students may need to be available to practice with their children.

Adequate Instrument Requirements: Students must have an adequate piano that must be kept tuned yearly to develop musicality. The piano is best placed away from family distractions. A digital piano may be used in the beginning if it has a full-size keyboard and weighted keys, but it is very much recommended that students have a quality acoustic piano for their most enjoyment and ease of development of artistry. There really is no comparison between a digital piano and an acoustic one as far as the nuance of sound and the possibility of interpretation and responsiveness to the player. Please talk to me for approved pianos.

Fingernails must be kept short (please no artificial nails) in order to use the hands comfortably and correctly at the keyboard.

Studio Classes: Studio lessons are scheduled via sign-ups and are in addition to private lessons. They are part of tuition and are scheduled around winter holiday time and recital times. One hour+ studio classes are wherestudents come together to play for one another and to be coached by the teacher in a group setting. Students may play duets and have collaborative experiences. They may sightread, play piano skills, like scales, chords, and arpeggios, or do rhythm or listening activities, or participate in curated listening.  In my experience as a teacher, this is perhaps the most important aspect of students broadening their performance and collaborative skills at the piano, and making performance and collaborative playing easier and more meaningful. Attendance is required. Please do your best to clear your schedule, as the learning gained in this setting is something quite special.

Recitals: It is important for students to have many opportunities to showcase their musical progress. This exposure eases performance anxiety and honors students’ diligent work.  Students must be well-prepared, dressed in performance attire, and plan to arrive early. Other performance or judiciary opportunities will be presented as possibilities for participation as the student shows readiness, desire and commitment.

Attendance, Illness, and Make-up lessons Swap List:
Attendance of lessons is very important to musical progress. Students are expected to attend and participate in all scheduled lessons, classes, and recitals. Regular attendance supports consistent musical growth and commitment to our studio, as well as my ability to keep the studio running. Please see the make-up policy for specific information on missed lessons. In short, I do not offer make-up lessons. I require a firm commitment to the exact time reserved for you each week during the months September through June. Summer work differently. Please see the summer lessons page for more info.

Lesson Swap: If you must miss a lesson due to conflict, you may use the swap list. Please text me for the password. Be sure to follow swap list procedures listed on my website. In general, the swap list works really well to plan ahead for lessons you must miss! We have a supportive community that really helps one another by trading if possible to help with conflicts that arise with lessons. Thank you for being flexible to swap your lesson time for another student if you can. It really serves the community.

If you can’t find a swap, you can contact me for any availability I might have.

Illness: If a student is too sick to come to lessons, but well enough for a live video lesson, (or if you are on the fence if they are too sick to come to lessons), they may have a video lesson over Zoom at their normally scheduled lesson time.

If there is ample notice, (morning of, before 10am) and a student is too sick for a live video lesson, I will record an audio lesson and send it that week. Limit audio lesson per term.

Although I work hard to support families and their needs, it is ultimately up to you to schedule a swap or check in with me about availability, or let me know by 10am about illness.

Cancellations or No Shows:Day-of-cancellations will not be eligible for an audio lesson unless for emergency or sickness with notice by 10am.

No-shows: tuition is forfeited.

As always, if I must cancel, I will extend credits or make-ups as my availability allows.

There are no refunds or credits of tuition for scheduled lessons. Full tuition payments are always due even if you know you will be out of town. It is up to you to schedule a swap or check in with me about availability or to receive an audio lesson.

I may prefer to offer a live make-up, but reserve the right to make that decision as availability allows and circumstances arise. I may also use extra rehearsals as make up lessons.

Attendance is a high priority for my studio as I see how important it is for student growth and engagement. Please consider if regular attendance will work for you schedule before signing up for lessons with me. Thank you!

If You Need A New Lesson Time: If you need a new lesson time during the school year because your coach changed the practice again! you may use the swap list to trade permanently. If no swap can be found, please contact me and I will look for any availability I may have. If I cannot accommodate my schedule to find a time, last resort, you will be moved to my waiting list until something opens up.

Too Many Missed Lessons: If there are more than 4 missed lessons, including studio classes in a term, I reserve the right to terminate lessons. I do my best teaching and students benefit the most when attendance is adhered to strictly. I would like to make space for families who prioritize attendance and who are there to learn and grow by showing up regularly.

Lending Library: The studio is continually building its lending library from which students are able to borrow music. A record of books on loan will be kept. Students are to return all books on loan at the end of the school year, if not before. Students will be charged for any books lost, damaged, or not returned.

Materials:  Students are asked to have the following supplies: a large enough tote bag to easily insert and remove books (not shared with a sibling or as a school bag) dedicated to piano music and materials only. Preferably no zipper. Bags should be kept organized and old books that aren’t in use removed. Every student needs a metronome. Please talk to me about approved ones.

Purchasing Books: Parents are responsible for purchasing requested books in a timely manner. I usually try to give plenty of notice in case books must be ordered. Any books purchased by the teacher for the student will be added to the regular monthly fee. Parents should expect to spend an average of $25.00-$50+ per term, per student on books depending on the student.

Place of Business: Students and their families are not allowed in the house outside of the studio unless invited. Please do not plan to use parts of the house to watch siblings or to wait for students. Please respect the flow and privacy of members of the family who live in the house. Thank you for your understanding.

Discontinuing Lessons: I require one month’s notice prior to discontinuing lessons. If a student quits abruptly, tuition will still be due to finish out 30 days. This allows time for closure with a student, helps me have time to fill a spot, and allows students to be more mindful about quitting,  discouraging the temptation to quit on weeks when they haven’t practiced.

The teacher reserves the right to dismiss students if studio requirements/policies are not being met.

Thank you for your support in helping the studio to run smoothly. I look forward to our time together!