Attendance:

What to expect regarding arrivals and departures

Students must be present for their lessons. Time lost from late arrivals as well as no-shows will not be made up, rescheduled, or reimbursed.
If I am running late to a lesson, then I will either stay after the designated lesson time to make up for that time lost, or it will be made up on a later day.
Because these are in-home lessons, sometimes there is unexpected traffic and sometimes I accidentally go over the designated lesson time. Please allow an arrival window of 5 minutes before and 10 minutes after the lesson is supposed to begin. I will call if I am running any later than that.
If possible, please refrain from planning anything directly after the lesson. Sometimes we will need more time to go over a concept in the lesson, or I may need to talk to a parent about the students progress. Students also tend to have less focus in the lesson if they are concentrating on something fun that will happen right afterwards. Allowing around an hour of time before going to the next destination usually allows students to stay in the moment during the lesson.

In the Lesson:

What to avoid for successful and productive lessons

Students should not eat or chew gum during the lesson.
Please avoid inviting friends over during the lesson time. Hosting can be loud and distracting!
Please do not turn on TVs in rooms that can be heard from the piano (such as adjacent living areas).
Students should adhere to proper hygiene: teeth brushed, showered, hands washed, etc.
Parents: don’t be shy about listening in on the lesson! The more you know, the more you can help remind your child about what he/she should practice. Just refrain from interrupting unless necessary.

During Practice:

Tips for students to achieve productive practice sessions

Try to have as few distractions as possible; turn off TVs, put the cell phone away (unless you are using it for the metronome, to check the time, or are using another music app), etc. A short, focused practice session is more effective than a long, distracted one!
Try practicing at the time of day when you are at your best. Some students prefer early morning practices before school or work, some prefer right when they get home, some need to eat right before practice and some like to practice before bed. Find a regular time that works best for you, then make that a daily routine.
Try to practice every day for as long as it takes to get through all the scales/assignments with little to no mistakes. If there is not enough time to get through everything, then choose only a few items to go over with high quality, then get to the other items at a later time or the next day. Quality over quantity!
When you have gone through all assignments or don’t feel like playing them but need to practice, try any of the following: play your songs with different rhythms, make up your own song based off of the structure of one of your assignment pieces, play one of your songs with dynamics or articulation opposite of what is written, play one of your songs in a different key, try to write down your favorite songs you like to listen to on iTunes or Spotify and then play that, etc. Be creative, do something different, explore the way things sound so you can discover what you like and don’t like for yourself. These are creative tools that will only help you learn faster, and actually do count as practicing even though it might not look, feel, or sound like it.

Cancellations/Reschedules:

What to know if something comes up on the day of the lesson

A 24 hour notice is required for reschedules or cancellations. If a sudden illness/emergency comes up within 24 hours, inform me ASAP and the lesson will be rescheduled to another day if it is possible with my schedule. In most other circumstances, arbitrary last minute cancellations will not be reimbursed.
Please limit cancellations and reschedules (with proper notice) to once per month. Students who regularly miss lessons may risk losing their lesson time or place in my studio for another who is more consistent.
If you need to permanently change your lesson time, please note that priority is given to students who have had their lesson time slot longer (for example, if you request to move your lesson time to 4pm on a Tuesday and I already have a student at that time, the other student has priority to keep their lesson time); that being said, because I travel to students homes, I may inquire if you could move your time slot in certain circumstances (for example, if I accept a new student who lives down the street from you and my next student is a 20 minute drive away, I may ask if you could move your time later or earlier or if the next student could move their time later to fit the new student close to your time).

Payments:

When and how I accept payments

Ideally, monthly payments must be made on the last week of the month preceding the month being paid for (so payments for May lessons should be made in the last week of April). If something comes up that week or you forget, then the payment must be given during the following lesson. If the payment is forgotten for three lessons in a row, then I will not return to teach until the payment is made electronically.
If monthly payments are difficult for you to manage, let me know and I will work something out with you at my discretion. Take note that weekly payments are easier to forget and the forgotten payment policy above still applies.
Payments may be made via cash, check, Venmo, PayPal, or electronically through a bank.