Policies and Guidelines for Simply Music Piano Lessons

Version 3.4 — Revised 9/19/2011

The below policies and guidelines apply to ongoing Simply Music piano lessons offered directly by Potluck Creative Arts. Adjustments and exceptions are made as appropriate for short-term Simply Music beginner piano workshops offered directly by Potluck Creative Arts and any Simply Music learning opportunities presented by Potluck Creative Arts staff through other institutions.

Goals

The overriding goal of the Simply Music curriculum is to maximize the likelihood of the student retaining the playing of music as a lifelong companion. Inside of this goal, our foundation for achieving results, and the thrust of our efforts, are directed towards the following goals for you as a student:

• Having the ability to play a huge repertoire covering classical, popular, blues, jazz and accompaniments;
• Experiencing playing as a natural self-expression;
• Having a highly positive, self-affirming experience with music learning;
• Developing the ability to self-generate, i.e., the ability to progress independently. This includes developing a strong foundation in music reading and theory.

The below policies and guidelines are designed so that Potluck Creative Arts can best support you in pursuing these goals and your long-term relationship with music.

Roles

Success with the Simply Music program comes from a partnership among teacher, student and, when the student is a minor, parent/guardian.

Teacher — Method Coach

Your teacher strives to help you express your own deep and profound musicality through the pursuit of the goals mentioned above. As the “method coach,” your teacher is specifically committed to:

• Being on time and prepared with the material of the method.
• Clarifying the content of the program so you can learn the content as effectively as possible through your practice between lessons.
• Helping you learn a way of learning that is applicable not only to playing piano but many things in all areas of your life.
• Asking you to do only what is determined to be in your best interest.
• Holding you accountable to your promises.

Student — Musician

As musicians in training, students are responsible for regular lesson attendance and an effective practice routine, as described in the Practice section below.

Parent/Guardian — Practice/Life Coach

If a student is a minor, a parent or guardian is required to serve as the student’s “practice coach” or “life coach.” The practice/life coach is responsible for attending lessons with the student, paying close attention to all material covered, and supporting the student’s practice between lessons, as described in the Practice section below. Adults are responsible for serving as their own practice/life coach or finding someone to serve this role for them.

Practice/life coaches are encouraged to take advantage of their participation as fully as possible, even going so far as to undertake their own complete practice routine, learning all material for themselves along with the student(s) they support. They are welcome to do this at no additional cost. Practice/life coaches who wish to be fully involved during lesson time as students themselves would make appropriate additional tuition payments. Either way, the more actively a practice/life coach participates, the better a student will do, and the stronger the relationship between student and practice/life coach is likely to be in general as well.

Some minors may at some point become self-motivated enough that they no longer require the ongoing support of a practice/life coach. Unless Potluck Creative Arts grants approval for this, practice/life coaches are always considered accountable for the progress of the students in their charge, including students’ follow-through on all aspects of the practice routine.

Location

Generally, lessons take place at the Potluck Creative Arts studio in the Village of Red Hook, NY. Potluck Creative Arts asks that attendees at this location park off-street whenever possible. To promote cleanliness in the studio, hands are to be washed and/or sanitized before each lesson, and upon entering shoes are to be removed. Attendees may leave socks on or bring slippers. An acoustic piano is provided for use.

Students taking live online videoconference lessons must maintain at their own location appropriate equipment and software, as described in the Videoconference Piano Lessons FAQ.

Whether lessons occur at the Potluck Creative Arts studio or otherwise, food, drinks and any belongings other than materials required for the lesson should not be brought to lessons. Cell phones and other such devices should remain off during lesson time. Extenuating circumstances will be considered at the discretion of Potluck Creative Arts.

Nobody else may accompany the student/coach to lessons, except at the discretion of Potluck Creative Arts. Appropriate requests and arrangements should be made in advance.

Schedule

Generally, lessons vary in length from approximately 25-60 minutes, depending on how many students attend the lesson. Lessons typically take place weekly at a regular day and time agreed upon between Potluck Creative Arts and the student/coach.

Generally, lessons are considered to take place throughout the year, including many days on which public schools are closed, whether a school closing is on the regular school calendar or a more spontaneous situation due to weather or other immediate conditions. At times, lessons will be off either due to particular standard holidays/occasions; travel conditions; or Potluck Creative Arts staff vacations, illnesses and other commitments, as described in the Cancellations section below.

Punctuality is extraordinarily important. Students/coaches must arrive for lessons on time and no earlier than five minutes before the starting time.

If a student/coach will be more than five minutes late for a lesson, notice must be provided by telephone at least five minutes before the starting time, and preferably as early as possible to ensure that Potluck Creative Arts can manage lesson time effectively. In the case of a late arrival or missed lesson without notice, eligibility for makeups will be at the discretion of Potluck Creative Arts.

In order to ensure that the best interests of the entire Potluck Creative Arts student body are sought at all times, the schedule, configuration, size and/or duration of shared lessons must be kept flexible and may be adjusted occasionally at the discretion of Potluck Creative Arts.

Practice

The pursuit of musicianship is a long-term endeavor, and the Simply Music method emphasizes the fact that the learning that makes this endeavor successful occurs at home, between lessons, throughout the course of an effective practice routine. Students/coaches who commit to seeing such a routine through the ups and downs of a student’s long-term relationship with playing music stand the greatest chance of success.

Students are expected to follow the Simply Music curriculum carefully, as delivered by the teacher and the home materials. Failure to do so can severely reduce the likelihood of achieving the program’s stated goals.

Students must have access to an appropriate instrument. A properly tuned acoustic piano is best, though various electronic keyboards may be acceptable. An electronic keyboard should have a minimum of 61 regular-sized keys, with 88 regular-sized keys being ideal. A sustain pedal is highly recommended and, eventually, required. Touch-sensitive keys (allowing for playing at different volumes) are the next priority, with weighted keys (approximating the feel of an acoustic piano) being recommended but less important than the other criteria just mentioned.

Students must have access to a DVD player in order to properly use the home materials.

Students are expected to agree to and maintain a schedule of regular and consistent practice throughout each week. Ideally, the practice amount begins at 15-20 minutes per day, and practice would take place daily, at the same time each day. A minimum of 5-6 days a week is expected, and the time required daily will increase somewhat as the student progresses through the program. Any newly assigned material should be reviewed in full on the lesson day itself as soon as possible after the lesson, best reinforcing what was covered.

Students must maintain their playlists, both the performance of the repertoire itself as well as the tracking of the written list of pieces.

There is no maximum suggested daily practice time. It is recommended that students who are motivated to practice beyond the above recommendations be allowed to do so as much as they desire, as long as it does not conflict with instructions given to guide an effective practice routine.

Students benefit from mastering skills and knowledge before trying to build on them. The Simply Music method in particular is based on this approach, often in ways that are less than obvious. Students are encouraged to listen to recordings of lesson pieces at any time. Prior to when pieces are taught, students should familiarize themselves with the recordings but not try in any way to play the pieces. Except for listening to recorded pieces, students are prohibited from skipping ahead to any program content beyond what has been formally reviewed during lesson time.

Except for refraining from skipping ahead as just described, it is recommended that students who are motivated to spend any additional time involved with music outside of their lessons/practice, especially at the piano but otherwise as well, be allowed to do so as much as they desire.

Payments

Payment via check is preferred: make checks out to Mark S. Meritt. Cash payments are accepted when necessary. PayPal payments are accepted for live online videoconference lessons only, upon request.

A $30 fee will be assessed for each refused payment, e.g., insufficient funds, credit card chargebacks, etc.

Enrolling

Details on how to enroll in Potluck Creative Arts Simply Music offerings can be found on the enrollment page.

A complete enrollment submission includes completed enrollment paperwork along with an appropriate initial payment.

Due to the administration involved in taking on new students and coordinating the start of lessons, a one-time, non-refundable enrollment fee of $30 per student is included in the initial payment.

The initial payment also includes fees for starting materials as well as tuition for both first and last Lesson Cycles, subject to the below policies on payments for materials and tuition.

It can take time before an enrollee’s first lesson is scheduled for a specific, mutually agreeable time based on the availability information provided with an enrollment submission.

Before the first lesson is scheduled in this way, the enrollee is considered waitlisted. See the Waitlist section for more information.

Once the first lesson is scheduled in this way, the enrollee is considered a student from that point forward, whether the student attends the first lesson or not, and however many future lessons may be attended. Potluck Creative Arts strives to limit regular ongoing student fees to tuition and materials, avoiding periodic registration/administration fees as some studios have.

Materials

All students must have their own lesson materials, as appropriate to the student’s progress through the program. Relevant current materials must be brought to each lesson.

When new Simply Music materials are needed, Potluck Creative Arts will acquire these materials for the student, with payment due prior to the ordering of materials. When other materials are needed, Potluck Creative Arts and students/coaches will determine how to acquire them. Except as noted below for certain situations involving waitlisted enrollees, all materials payments are non-refundable.

Upon completion of each level or special program within the Simply Music curriculum, any included Evaluation Forms must be completed by the student/coach and turned in by the subsequent lesson.

Tuition

Tuition payments cover not only instruction during lesson time but much more, including but not limited to:

• Lesson preparation, including training expenses, learning pieces to be taught and creating lesson plans.
• Attending workshops, conferences, teleconferences, etc., for additional professional development.
• Communicating with students/coaches outside of lessons, through both mass and individual communications.
• Studio maintenance and upkeep, including piano tuning.
• Researching music, equipment and other resources for students.
• Researching and preparing studio policies and guidelines.
• Coordinating lessons, makeup sessions, groups and other schedule items.
• Many activities common to running a business, including: accounting; banking; purchasing and maintaining computer hardware, software, office supplies and other office expenses; marketing development and expenses; communicating with potential new clients; etc.

Payment for any Lesson Cycle or part thereof is made prior to commencement. In order to continue securing your regularly scheduled time, fees for each successive Cycle must be paid prior to commencement of the next Cycle. Fees that are paid after the due date will attract a service charge. This can also result in your time being forfeited.

Unless otherwise arranged, Lesson Cycles will be calendar months, and tuition for each month is due in advance by the last day of the prior month. Potluck Creative Arts recommends that students deliver payment during the last attended lesson of the prior month. You are also welcome to send payments by mail. If you use an online banking service to set up recurring payments, please schedule the payment to be issued by the 18th of each month to foster on-time delivery.

Family discounts are available, as described in the Potluck Creative Arts General Policy.

Referral incentives are available. For each new prospect a current student refers who then enrolls in ongoing lessons, after the referred student completes their second payment of at least one full month’s tuition, Potluck Creative Arts will provide a tuition credit of $50.00 to be applied to the referring student’s next tuition payment.

Students may only attend lessons whose tuition has been prepaid. A $10 per student late fee will be assessed for tuition payments made during the first week of the month, with an additional $10 per student late fee for each week of the month thereafter. Extenuating circumstances will be considered at the discretion of Potluck Creative Arts.

If you take an extended leave for any reason, Potluck Creative Arts will strive to accommodate your return as seamlessly as possible. Paying in full through the duration of your leave will keep your spot secure. Unpaid leaves through discontinuation of lessons will need a new enrollment to resume lessons. As with all enrollments, the standard non-refundable enrollment fee would be included, and placement and scheduling would be subject to availability, possibly involving extended waitlisting. In all cases of returning to a shared lesson after an extended leave, students will be responsible for catching up as needed and will receive guidance about how to do so, including the possible temporary need for supplementary private lesson time.

Attendance

When you enroll into lessons, you are paying to secure a specific time, on a specific day. This is your time that you are paying for, and this time is set aside, for the entire Lesson Cycle, as your exclusive time. As such, classes missed for any reason cannot be credited.

Students may avoid missing a regularly scheduled lesson by either exchanging lessons with another student in a different lesson or sitting in as a guest in a different lesson. Such plans must be requested in advance and approved by Potluck Creative Arts to ensure that all students cover appropriate material.

Students might also avoid a miss by requesting that a lesson be rescheduled. Reschedules are at the discretion of Potluck Creative Arts.

If you are unable to attend a lesson, please inform Potluck Creative Arts as soon as possible, ideally at least 48 hours prior to your lesson time.

In order to promote health within the studio, students/coaches who are sick or have recently been sick and could be considered contagious are asked to please stay at home.

Whenever a student for whatever reason misses a shared lesson or does an exchange or guest sit-in, the student is responsible for getting all new assignments from a fellow shared lesson student as soon as possible. This fosters support between students sharing lessons, ensures consistent group progress, and gives attending students an opportunity to deepen their own learning through teaching.

Each month, Potluck Creative Arts offers a complimentary makeup opportunity to all students who have missed one or more lessons during the prior month for whatever reason, with the exception of certain late arrivals or missed lessons without notice.

Students with different levels of experience may be placed in a shared makeup session, leading to a focus on repertoire review, technique, duets, trouble spots, etc., as opposed to new material. Makeup sessions will generally take place during the first week of the subsequent month. Students must request a spot in a makeup session by the end of the month in which the missed lesson occurred. Potluck Creative Arts will strive to accommodate as many as possible of each month’s requesting students. Students who do not request a spot in or are unable to attend a monthly makeup session forfeit that month’s makeup opportunity.

Students who have not missed a lesson during the prior month but would like extra support may pay the standard per-shared-lesson rate if they would like to join others attending a monthly makeup session.

When additional lesson time may be desired or otherwise warranted outside of weekly lessons and monthly makeups, supplementary lessons paid at the appropriate per-lesson rate may be scheduled, at the discretion of Potluck Creative Arts.

Cancellations

Potluck Creative Arts may cancel certain lessons due to its own staff’s vacations, illnesses or other circumstances. As much advance notice as possible will be given.

Ongoing year-round tuition payments will cover certain cancellations:

• The following standard days off of lessons will be canceled each year (see the Time Off student resource page for specific dates for each calendar year):
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day (observed, whether July 4 or not)
• Labor Day
• Start of School Recess — from the Tuesday the day before students return to Red Hook Central Schools through Friday ending that week
• Halloween
• Election Day
• Thanksgiving Recess — from the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day through the Friday after
• Winter Recess — from Christmas Eve (December 24) through New Year’s Day (observed, whether January 1 or not)
• Two additional lessons per student/group will be canceled each year as paid personal time off for teaching staff. This paid personal time off will be prorated for new students in their first calendar year based on the month they begin lessons: two days for January through June, one day for July through December.

For any other lessons Potluck Creative Arts may cancel throughout the year, credit will be provided, applicable to the tuition payment immediately following notification of the cancellation.

When conditions at any time of year seem particularly discouraging of travel, Potluck Creative Arts may cancel a lesson and will strive to inform you as early as possible. You are advised in such situations to contact Potluck Creative Arts proactively whenever possible to find out if your lesson will be on or off. These cancellations may be either counted toward staff paid personal time off or handled through credits, at the discretion of Potluck Creative Arts.

Discontinuing

Either Potluck Creative Arts or a student/enrollee may decide to discontinue the lessons relationship for any reason and at any time.

Students

When a student wishes to discontinue lessons, written notice is required at least 30 days in advance. Any prepaid tuition not yet used is forfeited.

When Potluck Creative Arts discontinues a student, Potluck Creative Arts will refund the value of tuition for any remaining lessons not yet taken for the current month only.

Waitlisted Enrollees

It can take time and effort to coordinate lesson schedules for new enrollees, especially for shared lessons. To give a reasonable probability of success in coordinating lessons, Potluck Creative Arts implements an initial lesson coordination period of four months beginning upon enrollment for waitlisted enrollees. Discontinuation requests made during and after this period are handled as follows.

If before the initial lesson coordination period is up a waitlisted enrollee wishes to discontinue, the enrollee must inform Potluck Creative Arts in writing. At this point, the enrollee forfeits the complete initial payment and is no longer considered an enrollee, i.e., Potluck Creative Arts stops all efforts to coordinate a lesson. If at any point thereafter the discontinued ex-enrollee wishes to be reconsidered for lesson coordination, s/he can inform Potluck Creative Arts in writing. At this point, enrollee status and the complete initial payment can be reinstated. Once any necessary paperwork, payments, etc., are completed to account for possible interim changes in policies, pricing, etc., a new four-month initial lesson coordination period begins.

If the initial lesson coordination period finishes without a first lesson having been successfully scheduled, the waitlisted enrollee has two choices. The enrollee may remain on the waitlist as long as desired, in which case Potluck Creative Arts will indefinitely continue its efforts to coordinate a lesson for the enrollee. Alternatively, a waitlisted enrollee may discontinue, in which case Potluck Creative Arts will refund the initial tuition and materials fees. If at any point thereafter the discontinued ex-enrollee wishes to be reconsidered for lesson coordination, the enrollment process must begin anew.

When Potluck Creative Arts discontinues a waitlisted enrollee, Potluck Creative Arts will refund the initial tuition and materials fees.

Newsletter

The Potluck Creative Arts Lesson Line is a combination blog and email newsletter that allows lesson time to focus as much as possible on new musical learning, while enabling Potluck Creative Arts to keep students/coaches reliably informed not only about administrative issues but also practice/curriculum advice that is often crucial to supporting a student’s progress.

Potluck Creative Arts requires that at least one person from each student’s household subscribe to the Lesson Line email list no later than the student’s third lesson, maintaining the subscription as long as the student remains in lessons.

If the student is a minor, the practice/life coach is required to subscribe. If there is more than one parent or guardian actively engaged in supporting the student’s practice routine, it is strongly recommended that each practice/life coach subscribe. In addition, minor students themselves are encouraged to subscribe, at the discretion of their parents/guardians.

If the student is an adult, the student is required to subscribe. If an adult student has anyone else actively engaged in supporting his/her practice routine, it is strongly recommended that each such person subscribe as well.

To subscribe, complete the form at the bottom of the enrollment page. You will then receive a verification email, in which you must click the appropriate link to activate your subscription.

General Policy

All subject to these policies and guidelines are also subject to the Potluck Creative Arts General Policy, which is applicable independent of particular services of which one might take advantage.

Simply Music Policies

Below are two key policies put in place by Simply Music and to which all Simply Music students are subject, per the Student Enrollment Form which students/coaches complete.

Personal Information

This information helps us to administer the Simply Music organization, manage the Simply Music teacher body, understand trends, support our Simply Music students and keep everybody informed and up-to-date with what’s happening within Simply Music as well as music education as a whole. We communicate regularly, via email and through our website, with our teachers and our student body. We do not sell, nor disclose private and confidential information to unrelated third parties. All information collected is securely stored on servers using state-of-the-art privacy protection methods.

Confidentiality Policy

“Simply Music and/or its delegates” (“SM”) offers a unique “method of music instruction for students and teachers including specific approaches, ideas, techniques, musical compositions, written, electronic and audiovisual materials, Trade and Service Marks, and business or technical information (“The Program”). The Program is presented to you solely for your personal use. You will receive proprietary materials that, along with your lessons, ensure that you are being provided with the highest level of support that is possible. The Program has been developed as a result of the investment of significant time, effort and expense, and is a highly valuable, special and unique asset that provides SM with a distinct and significant competitive advantage. By signing this form you agree not to copy, alter, modify, reverse engineer, reproduce, replicate or create any imitation or abstraction of the Program, or attempt to derive the composition or underlying information of The Program. You declare that you will not use The Program for commercial application, nor use it to influence the development of any music educational program that is intended for commercial application. You acknowledge and agree that due to the unique nature of SM’s Program, there can be no adequate remedy at law for any breach of its obligations hereunder, that any such breach may allow you or third parties to unfairly compete with SM resulting in irreparable harm to SM and, therefore that upon any such breach or threat thereof, SM shall be entitled to injunctions and other appropriate equitable relief in addition to whatever remedies it may have at law. SM shall also be entitled to recover all of SM’s costs, disbursements and legal fees incurred in seeking or obtaining enforcement hereof.

Statement of Understanding

The complete current policies and guidelines for Simply Music piano lessons are kept online at this web page. Policies and guidelines may be changed at any time at the discretion of Potluck Creative Arts. Potluck Creative Arts strives to keep students informed of current policies and guidelines, often via the subscription as described in the Newsletter section above.

As described in the Payments section above, Potluck Creative Arts does not charge periodic registration/administration fees as some studios do. However, beyond the continuing payment of monthly tuition, a periodic formal declaration of commitment to the program is deemed valuable, as is a periodic review of current policies and guidelines since they include important principles to follow for success in the program and can change over time.

For these reasons, students/coaches at times must review current policies and guidelines and then print, complete and submit a Statement of Understanding as follows:

• Upon enrollment in ongoing lessons: the Statement of Understanding for New Enrollees
• Annually at the end of each December: the Statement of Understanding for Continuing Students

A separate statement is required for each individual student. If a given student has multiple practice/life coaches, they should sign together on the student’s single form.

New students who both enroll in and begin lessons during the last four months of a given year are exempted from completing a year-end continuing student statement until the following year.