Hart Music Studios
Studio of Veronica O'Brien
Studio Policies (In-Home lessons)
Last Updated: September 25, 2023
Tuition: Tuition guarantees a timeslot in your instructor's schedule for your lesson. Additionally, tuition also covers the cost of the instructor's time spent on lesson planning and repertoire selection, instructor's' fuel and auto insurance, and the instructor's teaching materials in addition to standard operating expenses such as taxes and insurance, credit card processing fees, etc. Tuition is calculated on a monthly basis for September through June depending on how many lessons are scheduled for the month (see the Calendar below) and is based on a per-lesson rate of $60/30-minute lesson or $90/45-minute lesson.
Materials/Registration Fees: A materials fee of $40 applies to all new students. This fee includes the initial books and instructional materials that are determined by the instructor. A registration fee of $50/student and $80/family will be applied to the first invoice of the year (usually September, unless a student joins mid-year). This fee goes towards covering the costs for the recital and other studio incidentals.
Deposit: A deposit in the amount of 1 lesson will also be due upon enrollment. This deposit will be returned/credited to you on your final invoice as long as you let the studio know by the 15th of the month that you are discontinuing studies. For example, if you inform the studio before February 15th that you will not be continuing lessons in March, you will receive your deposit back. If you inform the studio February 16th or later that you will not be continuing lessons in March you will forfeit your deposit. Students who study the entire year will receive the deposit credited back to them on their final invoice of the year.
Billing: Tuition is billed monthly; all clients are required to have a valid credit card on file. On the 1st of the month, your invoice for the month will be emailed to you and your card on file will be charged the applicable tuition for the month. If you prefer to pay by check or cash, you can do so; however, all payments must be received by the 31st of the previous month, or your card on file will be charged. The final invoice of the year will be on May 1st; this will cover May and June and will include the deposit refund.
Student Cancellation: If you cannot make your scheduled lesson time for any reason (prior commitment, illness, etc.), you will need to sign into MyMusicStaff and cancel the lesson; an email/text message will not be considered sufficient notice. You will be issued a make-up credit for a missed lesson as long as you provide notice by 12pm on the day of the scheduled lesson. No make-up credits will be issued for lessons canceled after 12pm. There will be no refund or credit for the next month for missed lessons; only make-up credits will be issued (exceptions may be made in extenuating circumstances).
Make-up Lessons: As a courtesy, the instructor offers one session per semester where students can receive a make-up lesson, provided they have a make-up credit. The Fall make-up session will be held on Friday, December 15th, 2023 from 3:30pm - 5:30pm and the Spring make-up session will be held on Friday, June 7th, 2024 from 3:30pm - 5:30pm. Make-up lessons will be held virtually. Make-up lessons are generally limited to 1 per student per semester, unless there is a surplus of make-up sessions available. You can register for a make-up lesson through MyMusicStaff. Any other make-up lessons outside of these scheduled times are solely at the instructor's discretion; the studio nor the instructors are obligated to provide a make-up for a lesson that a student cancels for any reason.
Make-up Credits: Make-up credits do not expire and can be rolled over from year-to-year. Make-up credits have no cash value and are forfeited upon the discontinuation of monthly lessons. If a scheduled make-up session is missed, the make-up credit is lost (i.e. there is no make-up make-up session ).
Teacher Cancellation: If the instructor cannot make your scheduled lesson time for any reason, you will be notified as soon as possible. The studio will aim to provide you 24-hours notice, but please note that extenuating circumstances may arise in the instructor's life as well. If the instructor misses your scheduled lesson time for any reason, the studio will issue you a credit or refund for that lesson, no questions asked.
Calendar: The 2023-2024 teaching year follows the Tenafly Public Schools Calendar and begins on September 5th, 2023 and ends on June 14th, 2024. If schools are open, lessons are scheduled for that day (with the sole exception of Halloween/October 31st). Any closures that do not coincide with the Tenafly Public Schools Calendar will be announced with as much advance notice as possible.
Summer Lessons: Summer lessons are available certain weeks for students who wish to continue studies while school is out. Summer lessons are on a pay-by-the-lesson basis and are charged at the normal tuition rate in blocks of 4 lessons at a time. Unused lessons roll into the following September. If you need to cancel a scheduled summer lesson, notice by the prior evening is required or else payment is still due for that lesson. Exceptions will be made for extenuating circumstances at the studio's discretion.
Virtual Lessons: In the event that in-person lessons are not able to be held safely (i.e. global pandemic), instruction will be conducted virtually until the time that it is safe to resume in-person instruction.
Inclement Weather: On days that the Tenafly Public Schools are closed for inclement weather, lessons will be held virtually at the normally-scheduled time.
Lesson Start Time: Please note that your assigned lesson start time is approximate; due to the unforeseen circumstances that can arise when travel is involved (detours, traffic, etc.), clients are asked to allow a 5-10 minute window for the instructor to arrive past the scheduled start time. If the instructor is more than 10 minutes late and is unable to teach the full duration of the lesson, the fee for this lesson will be prorated.
Leave of Absence: If you decide to take a month (or more) off from lessons, the studio cannot guarantee your time slot will be available when you return.
Cleanliness: In the interest of keeping both the student and instructor healthy, all students are asked to have their hands washed before beginning their lesson.
Illness: Students who are ill SHOULD NOT attend lessons. If you are too sick to attend school/work, you are too sick to attend your lesson. Please notify the studio by 12pm if you are ill and cannot attend your lesson in order to receive a make-up credit. If the instructor is contagious, but well enough to teach, they may request lessons be held virtually with ample notice.
Instrument: Students must have an acoustic piano or a digital piano to use for lessons and for practice. Acoustic pianos should be regularly tuned (I can recommend an excellent tuner if needed) and both acoustic pianos and digital pianos should be of sufficient quality (digital pianos must have 88 weighted keys).
Materials/Books: As students progress in their lessons they will require additional lesson books, supplemental music, etc. Your instructor will communicate with you when new books or materials are needed. The studio can order the materials needed and invoice you for them, or you can order the materials yourself.
Recital: All students are required to participate in the end-of-year recital that will occur on May 19th, 2024.
Social Media: From time to time, the studio features students and their achievements on the studio Facebook and Instagram pages. The information posted is restricted to photo/video, first name, and age. If you do not consent to this information being shared on social media, please inform the studio in writing.
Communication: Hart Music Studios maintains an open-door policy and encourages parents/students to reach out when there is a question or concern. For non-urgent queries, please send an email to hms@hartmusicstudios.com. For urgent communications, you can text or call Jason at (646) 388-1346 between the hours of 9am and 8pm, and Iwill get back to you as soon as we can. Please note that questions regarding all studio policies and procedures, scheduling issues, instructor issues, etc. need to be directed to Jason. Queries regarding instruction and/or students' progress can be addressed to the instructors; however, please be aware that instructors are on a tight time schedule and will need to answer these queries outside of the scheduled lesson time.
Policy Updates: Hart Music Studios reserves the right to make changes to these policies at any time. Clients will be notified of any policy changes with as much advance notice as possible.