Policies | Yamhill Piano and Violin Studio

2024 Studio Policies

Student and Parent Responsibilities:

Learning an instrument is an exciting adventure! Music lessons should be fun but they also should involve some work.

This is a big commitment and should be treated as such. Consequently, I expect the following of students and parents:

Consistent practicing on a well-maintained, suitable instrument:

Piano:

Digital piano: should have fully weighted, 88 keys.

Acoustic piano: should be tuned and maintained regularly.

Violin: must be of decent quality, with fully functional fine tuners. There are a lot of low quality instruments on the market and they often look nice to the untrained eye. I strongly recommend renting-to-own from David Kerr violin shop or asking my advice before purchasing an instrument.

A Practice environment that promotes concentration

A Positive Attitude during lessons and regular attendance

Communications of any concerns with the teacher

Student's finger nails must be kept short in order to practice and develop good technique.

Adult Students and parents of young students must check studio calendar and email updates regularly for information regarding closure dates, workshops, recitals, conferences, etc. The studio calendar is always available for viewing on this website and in my studio.

Adult Students and parents of young students must check "report card" documents regularly to stay up to date on home practice assignments.

Lesson Time:

Please arrive on time. If you are late, your lesson will not be extended beyond the scheduled time. If you are dropping off a student, please arrive a little early to pick them up. I am most likely not able to monitor your children before or after lessons.

Trampoline and Climbing dome:

Young students are invited to use the climbing dome or trampoline on premises as weather permits, before or after their lessons, under supervision of their parents if they follow the trampoline rules:

no shoes
no wrestling, hitting or kicking
no running into the safety net
Be careful with smaller kids
Stop jumping when other kids are climbing on or off the trampoline.
Parents must help their children on and off the trampoline.

I am most likely not able to monitor students so parents who choose to allow students to play assume all risk and responsibility. Students who don’t follow the rules won’t be invited to jump in the future.

Entering and Exiting the Studio

Students and family members may enter the studio without knocking up to three minutes early for their scheduled lessons. Please wait outside the studio in the front or back yard or in your vehicle if you arrive more than 3 minutes early so you don’t intrude on another student’s lesson. There is a covered patio in the backyard that students and family members are welcome to use.

Please don’t leave the studio door open longer than necessary for climate control reasons as it may contribute to out-of-tune pianos.

Parents and family members are welcome to sit in on lessons provided that they remain quiet. Parents may enter and exit quietly as needed during scheduled lessons.

Report Card Document:

Parents and students are expected to check the “report card” document regularly (google doc). This document has important attendance, credit and payment information as well as weekly homework assignments and lesson notes. Students and parents may not understand what to practice if they aren’t doing this.

Parking:

Please use street parking and do not pull up the driveway although it is fine to park on the street and block the driveway since it is not used for parking.

I recommend parking on SE 90th Ave. on my side of the street to avoid any unnecessary street crossing, this is for safety reasons because there are sometimes reckless drivers speeding through the neighborhood.

Rules for piano use:

Students must wait until they’ve been invited to sit at the pianos and demonstrate that their hands are clean and dry before handling keys.

Students should not lift or lower the keyboard covers.

Please no shoes on the piano rugs. Socks or slippers are preferred.

Keep hands out of mouth and away from nose, face, scratching head, touching feet, ect.

No food or drinks near the pianos.

Sit tall on the bench without kicking their feet. Parents or the teacher should help young students onto and off of the bench.

Piano keys should be handled with care using proper technique only.

Attendance and Makeup Policy:

One of the keys to success at learning an instrument, particularly in the beginning and intermediate levels, is consistent lessons and practice.

If the student needs to cancel a lesson and would like a makeup, the teacher must be notified at least 24 hours in advance, though a week’s notice is strongly preferred. Please cancel lessons in writing via email or text.

For students whose lessons fall on Labor Day, Veterans Day, MLK Day, Presidents Day and Memorial Day, rescheduling is permitted provided that I receive notice at least one week in advance. These holidays are otherwise considered normal lesson days.

While I strive to avoid canceling lessons, occasionally I do get sick or have a conflict come up. If I cancel a lesson, the student’s lesson will be rescheduled, or if we are unable to reschedule, given a credit. In those circumstances, I will give you as much advance notice as possible.

Online lessons are available for students who are unable to attend their in-person lesson. Lessons are through the platform rockoutloud.live, which has much better sound quality than zoom. Students should use over-ear wireless headphones and laptop or tablet with google chrome browser.

Students who are experiencing illness including coughing, sore throat, runny nose, headaches, fever, chills etc should be considered contagious and must not enter the studio until symptoms have significantly improved. As a general rule: if a student has stayed home from school or work due to experiencing illness, they should also stay home from their lesson if on the same day. Students may instead request an online lesson, a recorded lesson or a song transcription. If a student provides at least a 6 hour notice, a make-up credit may be requested. Family members experiencing illness should also not enter the studio.

Make-up credits earned are tracked in the “report card” google docs and are shown in yellow boxes with the letter “Y” in the right-hand column. They’re good until the end of the quarter in which they are earned. It is up to students or parents to reach out to get make-up lessons scheduled by the end of the quarter.

Monthly tuition will be the same amount every month regardless of the month and how many lessons are scheduled. Over the calendar year, the number of lessons average out to 4 lessons per month.

The non-refundable new student registration fee is: $65. Students who drop enrollment at any point in the year will pay $65 upon re-enrolling.

Monthly tuition is due by the 1st lesson of the month.

A $10 late fee may be added for every week tuition is late past the 15th day of the month.

Termination: In rare instances, a student’s lessons may be terminated. I reserve the right to terminate lessons at any time. Reasons for termination may include but are not limited to:

Failure to adhere to studio policies
Delinquent accounts
Consistent lack of preparation / practicing
Poor attendance
Refusing to pursue / participate in lesson goals, including recitals or workshops
Creating an unsafe environment
Disrespectful behavior or poor attitude

Social Media Photo / Video Policy: I occasionally use photos and videos of students on my website or social media pages. If you do not want your or your child’s image to be used, please let me know.

Thanks for reading,

Din Huerta

Yamhill Piano and Violin Studio owner