When your child begins study (or you as an adult begin study), not only do you enter into a teaching relationship with the instructor but also a business relationship. Knowing what the ground rules are will eliminate confusion and possible friction.
If the teacher does not offer you a copy of the studio policy at the interview, ask for one. If there is no written policy (not a good sign!), ask questions and take notes. The professional teacher will have thought about how to run her business and will be prepared to give you a written copy of her rules (or at least tell you about these in detail.)
Look over the studio policy. Are these rules reasonable, and do you agree to abide by them? If not, do not begin study with this teacher. There will be constant problems, and this will not make for a productive learning situation for the student.
Many teachers will ask you to sign a statement that you have read, understand, and agree to abide by the studio policies.
As you might imagine, rescheduling can be a gigantic hassle for the teacher, as his calendar is probably very full and he has little room to maneuver, so consider other solutions to your scheduling crunch before you call the teacher to ask to change the lesson time.
Sickness, of course, is not something that can be planned! Be sure you understand exactly what happens when your child is ill. Will the tuition be forfeited? Will the lesson be made up? Is there a specific time in the week or the month when these make-up lessons are given? Will the make-up be done as part of a group session or will it be a private session? Notify the teacher as soon as you know illness will keep the child from her appointment that day. If you call the teacher after you have missed your lesson appointment, it probably will be a forfeit.
What happens if -you- are ill? Or another child in your family is ill? Teachers will not reschedule for these situations. It is your responsibility to arrange a back-up system in case you cannot transport your child to the lesson.
How are lessons rescheduled for other reasons? There are many ways teachers handle make-ups not related to the child's illness. Some teachers allow no reschedules. Make-ups are allowed for illness, but there are no reschedules. Some teachers allow non-illness reschedules if the teacher receives 24 hours' notice. Some teachers will give you the names/home phone numbers of other parents, and you may call make your own arrangements by for a reschedule by swapping lesson times with another student. Make sure you understand -exactly- what will happen if a soccer game is unexpectedly rescheduled across your child's piano lesson or you forget the lesson or Great Aunt Tillie drops by or you have car trouble or sister Susie is sick.
The great likelihood is that teachers will require that you choose between two conflicting activities if the request for rescheduling does not fall within the teacher's guidelines. Therefore, you may have to make a selection between these two choices: (1) choose the lesson and you get what you paid for; (2) choose the other activity and pay anyway. This is standard procedure, so don't be surprised that this is so. The teacher has your child's time set aside just for her. As I mentioned above, teachers usually have very limited options for reschedules because the calendar is very regimented.
The teacher feels the same way. Your time spot is reserved for you, so you must pay for it. Therefore, your tuition payment not only pays for the actual teaching but also for the sanctity of your appointment and the teacher's continued thought about what your child needs next and how to solve problems the child may be having with note-reading, counting, and so on.
Do not ask to cancel. You won't like the answer!
Solution: reschedule the problematic lessons. Most teachers will allow you to choose dates before or after the lessons to be missed. Make sure you follow the teacher's rules for how close to the problematic lesson you may request a reschedule.
Most teachers require payment for the entire month to be made on or before the first lesson of the month. If there is a difficulty, contact the teacher before the due date and make arrangements for a late payment.
Teachers who do not collect tuition monthly set another term, such as a semester or a quarter. Find out how your child's teacher does this.
Some teachers allow weekly payment if you make arrangements in advance. Most parents who begin with weekly payment soon change to monthly because of convenience. Do not worry that the teacher will "cheat" you out of lessons if you pay in advance. The teacher is -very- careful. If this concerns you, be sure to call references when you are looking for a teacher. (Actually, calling references anyway is a good idea!)
Many teachers have a late-pay penalty fee. This fee will be applied systematically to everyone who is late. If your child's teacher has such a fee, do not ask for an exception. If your payment had not been late, the penalty would not have been applied to your account! The teacher is exceedingly careful to be accurate in this, as, if he were in the position of parent, he would not like to be charged a penality fee that was not merited.
Know where tuition payment is to be placed. Handed to the teacher? Mailed to a Post Office box? Placed in a drop box somewhere in the studio?
Most teachers prefer checks, because they're easier to track, so if you have a choice, please pay by check. The teacher will appreciate it.
Do not ask for a discount in the tuition total if you pay cash. This is highly insulting to the teacher's integrity. It implies that you think the teacher is dishonorable and does not pay taxes on cash.
Some teachers, however, will give a discount for advance payement; for ex.: you pay for the entire year instead of the semester.
Some teachers offer "family plans," but most do not. Here's why: it is -much- more difficult to teach people who are related to each other than it is to teach strangers because of the interpersonal dynamics, the need for the less-advanced student(s) to feel that progress is still of high quality, and the need to find non-duplicating literature.
Beyond money dealings, otherwise be very careful to abide by the other rules the teacher sets down. Being friendly with the teacher in another area of your lives means the teaching relationship is tricky, tricky. Don't ask for exceptions to the rules. This puts the teacher is a terrible bind. It is a very quick way to lose a friend. For this reason, many teachers wisely refuse to teach their friends or children of their friends. They value the friendship too much to mix it with business.
If your friend turns down your request to teach you, this is a compliment!
With no lessons, the student is very unlikely to practice because he will not be called to account for himself. This is human nature and really is no one's "fault." When lessons begin again in the fall, then, the student is exceedingly frustrated to find that his skills have taken a sharp turn southward. Music he was able to play easily in March and April is no longer accessible; and, of course, he can only slop through his spring recital piece. The child honestly does not make a direct connection between this loss of skills and no practice, even if the parent points this out.
There is no joy on the home front.
The teacher must re-teach what was previously mastered.
Everyone is frustrated and unhappy.
It is best for all if piano study continues during the school's summer vacation. Many teachers do take several weeks off (often in August), so normally lessons do not actually last year 'round.
As many as four weeks off (say, the month of August) will not do a great deal of damage - - though the student -will- notice that his skills aren't as sharp come September - - but ten weeks' vacation (mid-June to Labor Day) is brutal!
So, ask about the summer schedule and try to work around that with your own summer vacation plans.
If you must miss lessons during the summer term, make them up in advance of your departure rather than after your return, when children are likely to be back in school and the schedule much more solidly packed.
Cancellation is not an option for summer study. Either you attend lessons and pay; or you reschedule lessons and pay. (Another option is not attend but pay anyway in order to secure your lesson time assignment. This is a type of voluntary forfeiture.)
If you un-enroll (quit) rather than reschedule or voluntarily forfeit missed summer lessons, be aware that your spot may well be filled when you return in the fall. Teachers are not obliged to honor a mutual obligation when the other party reneges. If another student wants that spot, the teacher will give it her. There may be another time that will suit you as well, so if you have schedule flexibility and want to stop for the summer, go ahead. (Remember the problem with a marked drop in skills, however.)
If you want to lock in your fall lesson assignment, continue study in the summer according to the teacher's policies, schedule make-up lessons for the weeks you will be absent, or forfeit but pay anyway. Canceling lessons will have the effect opposite what you wish.
Some teachers give priority in lesson assignment (keeping the time from the last school year -or- changing to a more appealing time) to those who study in the summer. Ask what the teacher's policy is on this.
If you need or wish a time during sought-after periods, try to be flexible about what day your lesson is. Teachers will kiss your feet if you do not announce, "I must have a time on Tuesday, and it must be at either 4:30 or 5:00." Take stock of the other activities and see which ones might be moved around in order to allow the teacher to give you an after-school time. The more flexibility you offer, the more likely the teacher will be to find a time that matches your preferences.
Naturally, once you have a primo time, you will want to keep it. Most teachers allow students to keep "their" lesson time from year to year. This is helpful to parents because other activities can be scheduled with confidence because the piano lesson time is unchanging. Again, many teachers use summer study as a requirement for keeping a previous lesson time or moving to a more desirable time. Find out how your child's teacher does this.
Adults: Do not be surprised when the teacher does not schedule you in the 3:00 to 6:00 period. The teacher needs these times for youngsters. If you can come mid-day (say, your lunch hour) or if you are self-employed or otherwise have a flexible schedule, you will find much more latitude in lesson times available.
Piano study is an investment, and this includes the investment of funds for an instrument that works.
Whether you rent or buy an instrument - - and whether that instrument is new or used - - doesn't matter as much as the fact that the child doesn't have to "fight" her instrument in addition to the various demands of learning to play it!
Yes, an electronic piano - - either a digital piano or an electronic keyboard - - is ok to begin study, in my opinion, but in six months or less the child should have a real piano.
Do not listen to salespeople when they tell you "this is just like a piano!" If it's "just like a real piano," then it is a piano. If it's an electronic of any kind, including an expensive digital piano, then it's -not- just like a piano. Your child can't learn to ride a unicycle if she's given a tricycle to ride on at home all week. It doesn't feel the same and it doesn't perform the same way.
Better to rent something temporary than to sink $2000-$3000 in an electronic you will need to replace soon.
Yes, the bells and whistles on the electronics can be fun and can foster creativity, so you may want to keep the electronic for that purpose. On the other hand, you might rather trade it in toward the purchase of the Real Thing.
Note: Every student who has come to me for lessons, having already purchased a digital piano or an electronic keyboard, has said he wished he hadn't bought it. And then he has purchased a real piano.
Another "material" your teacher may require is a metronome. This is a machine that produces a "tick" at precise intervals, and the student will use it to learn to play at a steady tempo and for other purposes. The kind of metronome you buy is important; this is not a trivial purchase. Ask the teacher to discuss options with you and to indicate if she has a preference.
Purchase requested materials promptly. Not having these items slows down your child's progress. It also embarrasses your child to respond that, no, you haven't gotten to the music store yet.
Many music stores will take a telephone order with a credit card and mail the item to you if you find it difficult to get to the music store during normal store hours.
If your schedule is tight but you can make it to the store if you plan, ask the teacher to give you a list of all materials that will be needed in the next three to six months so your one trip can forestall other trips later.
Unless the teacher says otherwise, purchase exactly what the teacher requests. Do not listen to the music store clerk who says that this book or item is "just like" or "equivalent to" the item on your shopping list. If it were, the teacher would have told you that alternative was acceptable! If you are unsure, contact the teacher before you buy. Music stores will not accept returns.
I recommend that the parent attend lessons through the first four to six months if continuous attendance is not already an option. Here's why:
Teachers do not allow siblings to attend lessons. If you have an infant or a young one, make other arrangements for him so you can attend the lesson and also -attend to- the lesson! (Older children may be able to stay at home alone for the time of a lesson or visit a friend. I recommend that the sibling -not- sit in the car. No matter how safe the neighborhood, a child should not wait away from an adult presence.
If the teacher says you may -not- attend the lesson, find out why. It might be a problem that is easily solved, such as your having brought along siblings in times past. If there seems to be no reasonable explanation, you are right to question whether the teacher is hiding something. As lamentable as it may be, there have been cases where music teachers have molested their students. I would say that prohibition from lesson attendance without a -very- good reason is a big red flag. Even so, I'd drop in unannoucned and insist on staying every so often.
Most teachers have at least one recital per year. Many have several recitals. Some teachers have students-only "workshop recitals" in addition to formal recitals to which the family is invited to attend. Information that will help you:
copyright 1998-2002, Martha Beth Lewis, Ph.D.
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