Alyssa Volker’s Music Studio
Studio Policies and Practices
Scheduling
•Lessons are held weekly
•Registration is by term - Fall Term (Approximately 15 lessons in August - December), Spring Term (Approximately 15 lessons in January - May). Summer lessons are scheduled on a week-to-week basis to accommodate travel plans. When you register for a Term, you are committing to weekly lessons through the end of the Term.
Lesson fees and Payment
•Lesson fee rate is $45/30 minutes, $90/60 minutes
•Lessons are to be paid for monthly and payment is expected in full by the first lesson of the month. Payment can be made by Venmo, PayPal (for a small fee), check, or cash.
•Lesson fees that are not received by the 10th of the month will be subject to a 10% late fee.
•Lesson fees do not include sheet music or repertoire books. Although I can obtain some music for you free of charge through my music library or personal on-line subscriptions, you will be required to buy sheet music or books from time to time. These can be purchased locally at Music and Arts or online through Amazon. If I purchase books for you, reimbursement is expected at delivery.
•A year-end recital will be held at the end of the Spring Term, in which I hope everyone will perform. There may be an additional recital fee for participating, to cover venue rental and accompanist fees. If a CD/DVD recording is made of the recital, these will be available for you to purchase.
Attendance Policies
•Your lesson time is held for you every week during the semester you are enrolled. If you know in advance that you will be unable to attend a lesson due to travel or a conflict, please alert me as soon as possible and I will make every effort to find an alternate lesson time for you. You may also use the online calendar to reschedule a lesson more than 24 hrs. in advance. If, despite both of our best efforts, finding an alternate lesson time proves impossible, a credit may be offered towards the next month's lesson fees.
•If the student must miss a lesson due to illness, please call or text me as soon as possible. I will make every effort to make up the lesson if reasonable notice is given.
•Last-minute cancellations or "no shows" are very disruptive to the studio and are not acceptable. Lessons canceled with less than 24 hours notice will not be made up nor will the fee be refunded or credited to the following month, except in cases of extreme illness or hardship.
•After 3 "no shows," a student may be removed from the schedule to accommodate students on the wait list.
•If I must cancel a lesson for any reason, the lesson will be made up or the fee credited to the following month.
End of Term Recitals and Occasional Gatherings
•At the end of the year, I hope all students will participate in a recital at a convenient location. Parents and friends are invited and encouraged to come see and hear the results of all your hard work!
•From time to time, I will host studio gatherings at my home or another convenient location for students to come together and work on their assigned repertoire in a collaborative environment. This is a great way to practice for that upcoming audition or school talent show and get constructive feedback from your peers!
Expectations
•You will be assigned musical repertoire that is appropriate for your age, skill level, and voice type (if a vocal student). You are expected to practice a minimum of 90 minutes a week outside of lessons, so that you come to each lesson prepared to work on the technical challenges and musical elements of the piece beyond just "learning the notes."
•You should keep an organized folder or music binder of all your repertoire, from prior semesters as well as the current term, and should bring that binder to every lesson along with a pencil and (for singers) a water bottle.
•Voice students only: Recording your lessons is highly encouraged, so that you may practice at home along with the warm ups we do in the studio, and listen back to the notes your were given in the lesson that are easy to forget as soon as you walk out the door.