How do you handle attendance? Do you offer make up lessons?
What is your pricing?
What are your payment options?
Will you ever take photos or pictures during lessons?
What is your cancellation policy?
Do we need an instrument at home? Where would we get one and how much do they cost?
Can we sit in on our child’s lesson?
Should I/my student be involved in any other music-related activities?
Are there going to be performance opportunities/recitals?
Are performances required?
How do you handle attendance? Do you offer make up lessons?
Generally speaking, I understand that unexpected things come up and emergencies happen, so I will always do my best to make up any missed lessons regardless of the reason. Even setting the financial commitment aside, consistency is important in the development of a musician at any level and becomes increasingly important as a student progresses. With that in mind, I have created the following policy as an attempt to respect your time as well as that of other families and myself.
- Teacher Cancellation: If I have to cancel, I will always guarantee a make up or credit. In most cases, a make up will be offered, but if it proves to be particularly difficult to find a time, I will offer a credit for a free future lesson.
- Student Cancellation (at least one day prior): I am willing to handle these situations on a case-by-case basis as long as the cancellation is made no later than 3pm the day prior to the lesson. I cannot guarantee a make up or credit for a student cancellation regardless of the reason or how far in advance notice is given, but the further in advance you are able to give notice the more likely I will be able to accomodate.
- No-Show/Same-Day Student Cancellation: Due to the cost of renting space in addition to other logistical limitations, I am unable to guarantee a make up lesson and unfortunately cannot offer any credit for a cancellation made on the day of the lesson or if a student does not show up for a lesson regardless of the reason.
What is your pricing?
Please contact Michael for information on pricing. Lesson cost can vary depending on the length and location of the lesson.
What are your payment options?
Lessons are pre-paid, but typically can be paid monthly at the 1st lesson of the month or semi-monthly at the 1st and 3rd lesson of the month. Cash, Zelle/Quick Pay, Google Pay, or Venmo are preferred, but I can also accept checks if none of these are an option. Need to make other arrangements? Just let me know, I am happy to work with you to find something that will work!
Will you ever take photos or pictures during lessons?
On occasion and with permission, I will use photo and/or video to allow students to see and hear what they are doing from a third person perspective. After doing this, I will always show the student that the files have been deleted, even if I have general permission to take video/pictures of them.
I also have active professional Facebook and Instagram pages as well as a website and love to share students’ successes when I can! That said, I will never do this without permission. If the student is under the age of 18, I also require permission from a parent/guardian, so please make sure to select the desired permission(s) on the last page. Even with full permission from a parent/guardian, I will not take any pictures/video without direct consent from the student on each individual occasion.
Check out/follow my social media pages using the following links:
What is your cancellation policy?
It is always hard to see a student go, but if you must, please make sure to let me know at least one month prior to the student’s final lesson. Due to the way the space at Sound Summit is reserved and the way lessons are organized, if notice is given less than a month prior to the last lesson, I still have to charge for a full month to make sure my costs for renting the space are covered.
Do we need an instrument at home? Where would we get one and how much do they cost?
The simple answer to this is ask me! The market is constantly fluctuating, but regardless if they don’t have an instrument at home yet it is sometimes difficult to reason purchasing a new one if you don’t know how long they are going to stick with it. For that reason, I generally recommend starting with Facebook Marketplace for a used instrument. I can help sift through good and bad deals on a case-by-case basis, and can often find drum sets for less than $100. Used equipment from stores like Guitar Center and Sam Ash are also great to look at! That said, there are also ways to practice at home without a full instrument if purchasing an instrument of any kind is not possible at the moment.
Can we sit in on our child’s lesson?
Generally speaking, I have found that one-on-one lessons are the most efficient, regardless of the relationship between the parent and student. This allows the student to focus solely on instruction and their instrument without any distractions whether visual, mental, or otherwise, much like they would at school. However, at the last lesson of each month I invite whoever brings the student to their lesson in for the last 5-10 minutes of the lesson to observe, so there will be regular opportunities to see your child’s/student’s progress!
Should I/my student be involved in any other music-related activities?
YES! I do not pretend to be all-knowing, and even if I was, there are so many other things that can be learned in other environments that cannot be learned in private lessons, just like the opposite is also true. Whether it be a school group, a band with friends, a community ensemble/jam session, a visiting artist that you’d like to take a lesson with, or anything else, I say take advantage of any opportunity that comes your way if it is going to help you grow. Consistency is important, so no matter what else you/your student gets involved in, it is great to be able to come back to regular lessons with a consistent teacher to help digest and apply additional knowledge from other sources, but as one of my favorite teachers told me, “variety is the spice of life!”
Are there going to be performance opportunities/recitals?
Because these lessons are done independent of a school/studio with greater resources, I am unfortunately limited in my ability to offer regular recitals or other organized performance opportunities. However, there is a lot of value in what can be learned from performing, so I do my best to find and/or create opportunities for my students as often as I can.
Are performances required?
No – not at any age or experience level. I will always highly encourage them as they are a great way to not only show your progress but also learn more about yourself as a musician in ways that simply are not possible in any lesson or practice setting, but it will never be a requirement.
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