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Studio Policies

The following are the policies by which Piano Ecademy offers online private piano lessons from 2024 onwards. Please read through this document carefully, as it contains relevant information about the lesson agreement. For any questions, contact the teacher to discuss. 

1. Policy agreement and amendments

Piano Ecademy reserves the right to amend their policies at any time. By registering for lessons or by invoice payment, the students declare they agree with the policies in place. 

2. Policy Version Control

The latest policy can be found online https://pianoecademy.mymusicstaff.com.

3. Teacher responsibilities

The teacher will provide a musically holistic education tailored to the student’s goals and aspiration to the best of her ability. 

The preferred lesson delivery method is via Zoom. Students will receive detailed instructions prior to their first lesson how to set up for this software. The software is free to use for students.  

If the lesson is conducted via Zoom, students are to use the meeting link to connect to the lesson at least 5 minutes before the allocated lesson time. If the student fails to activate the link in the first 10 minutes of the lesson time, the lesson will be provided as a guided offline lesson.

Office hours are from Monday to Friday, 8AM - 5PM AWST during teaching weeks and makeup weeks. Any communication received outside these times and/or during studio closures may not be responded to until the next teaching day. 

4. Student responsibilities

Students are responsible to adhere to the studio policy. They are to be ready for their lesson at least 5 (five) minutes prior to the booked lesson time.

Students should have an instrument to practice on, preferably a good quality acoustic piano or a digital piano with weighted keys. Keyboards with un-weighted keys are unfortunately not appropriate for learning and can instil bad habits. The teacher is happy to help any student choose an appropriate instrument!

Students also ensure that their Internet connection is constant and able to support online music lessons. Piano Ecademy recommends a minimum download speed of 10 MB/s and a minimum upload speed of 10 MB/s, but the higher the plan, the better. Students shall ensure they have full use of their Internet connection at the time of their lesson. Request house members to refrain from using any streaming service (YouTube, Netflix etc.) or similar bandwidth-consuming activities, as this may affect the internet capacity. 

Students must be equipped with a video and sound-enabled laptop, computer or tablet during the lesson. A mobile phone is not acceptable, as the screen is too small to see teacher demonstrations clearly. 

Students agree with the office hours as specified in section 3 and understand that communication may be delayed if they contact the teacher outside these times. 

5. Studio calendar and lesson time

Piano Ecademy provides a lesson calendar for students to access. The teacher reserves the right to close off any days and times unavailable for lessons due to leave or other engagements. 

Lesson times and time zones: students living in an area with a different time zone from the teacher (AWST) are cautioned that their lesson times may change throughout the year. Lesson slots are allocated using Perth Time (AWST). This time zone does NOT observe Daylight Savings so that the actual lesson time may move up or back an hour depending on the student’s place of residence. Students can view the studio calendar in their time zone to see what time their lesson is. Student reminder emails will also display students’ local time. 

6. Tuition costs and payment

Tuition includes:

  • One-on-one teaching - this consists of all time spent with the student in lessons, performances and any other activities 
  • Software licenses for the student portal and other apps.
  • Preparation time– lesson planning and preparation, including sourcing materials, practice and similar activities
  • Business Administration- to ensure the business aspects run smoothly, which include bookkeeping and accounting fees, student communications but also marketing and website maintenance
  • Teacher training & experience 
  • Professional organisations and memberships
  • Studio expenses - this includes sheet music, teaching software and hardware, instrument maintenance, repairs...
  • Government taxes, licenses and insurances
  • Ongoing professional education – to ensure the highest quality lessons and innovative teaching, ongoing professional development is required

Annual studio registration is spread equally throughout 12 months and charged each month in advance. This monthly payment guarantees each student's place in the studio.

The annual registration amount is divided evenly between 12 months. This means that whether there are 5 or 0 lessons in that month, the tuition fee is exactly the same. Weekly students are allocated 40 lessons per 12 months.

Monthly studio registration in 2024 is $350AUD for weekly lessons.

Students will set up an automatic debit each month with Credit Card through My Music Studio software, which uses secure payment processing software Stripe. Payment is due within 7 days of invoice date, late payments will incur a 15AUD late fee.

All prices in AUD. Prices are revised regularly; please contact the teacher for the latest prices. All purchases are final. 

7. Missed lessons

If the student cannot make their allocated lesson time for any reason, the student will receive a guided offline lesson to make up for the missed live lesson. 

The guided offline lesson will be prepared during the student’s normal timeslot according to their personalised lesson plan and provided via email. Offline lesson preparations will not exceed the normal lesson time. Offline lessons may include a variety of materials, including video, audio, notes, handouts, worksheets and/or other materials.

Lesson videos will be available for a maximum of 30 days post-lesson date and may not be shared. 

8. No shows

If a student does not show up for a lesson (i.e. contact cannot be established in a reasonable time frame at the time of lesson commencement, as set out in section 3 of this document), the lesson will be automatically converted to an offline lesson and the teacher will use the remaining lesson time to create the guided offline lesson. 

9. Teacher Cancellation

Should the teacher need to cancel for any reason, affected students will receive either an offline lesson or a live make up lesson pending availability. 

10. Discontinuation of lessons

If the student wishes to discontinue lessons they must provide notice by email. Students will continue to receive their lessons as per the studio calendar until the end of the monthly cycle when the termination will take effect. Refunds will not be issued. Any outstanding make-up lessons will not be refunded.

11. Technology policy

The studio will endeavour to provide consistent quality in video and sound, using software and equipment appropriate for the lesson. In the case of technology failure on either the teacher or the student side (power failure, internet failure etc.) the lesson will be continued as an offline lesson for the remaining time and provided to the student asap. 

11.1 Recording of lessons

Students may not, under any circumstance, record video or sound during a lesson. Use of private screen recording software and similar is strictly prohibited. Students found to illegally record lessons risk instant dismissal from the studio and potential legal action. 

12. Communication and getting in touch

Students will receive a login for the student portal upon receipt of first payment. Students will preferably use the student portal for all communications with the teacher. Alternatively, they may email directly via info@pianoecademy.com. In emergencies only, the teacher may be reached via phone at +61415462400. Please note that office hours are from Monday to Friday, 8 AM - 5 PM AWST during teaching weeks and makeup weeks. Any communication received outside these times and/or during studio closures may not be responded to until the next teaching day.