An Overview for Prospective Students

Are you considering enrolling a student at Village Music School but have some questions first? Here's an overview of the important things to know before deciding if Village Music School is the right fit for you. We'll provide a brief explanation of the following topics:

• How We Operate
• Overview of Lessons
• Tuition & Pricing
• Student Schedule Changes
• Instructor Schedule Changes
• How to Register a Student
• How to Withdraw a Student

How We Operate

Learning an instrument is a hard task (but rewarding). Our goal is to make all of the extra stuff you have to do to keep up with music lessons as simple as possible so the focus can be on learning.

Month-by-Month 

It should be easy to start and stop lessons. That's why we offer them on a month-by-month basis. Things can change quickly, so we aren't going to "lock you in" with long-term commitments like semester-based agreements.

Student Commitment

Learning an instrument takes time and dedication. When registering for lessons, you are agreeing that the student will make it to their regularly scheduled lessons to the best of their ability. If you have an occasional schedule conflict, the student is sick, or you need to miss a lesson, we have a few options for handling that. Your current day & time doesn't work anymore? You can make a permanent schedule change.

Overview of Lessons

There are three types of lessons:

• Private Lessons
• Semi-private Lessons
• Group Classes

For private and semi-private lessons, there are two formats. Instructors' available times will indicate what format is offered:

• In-person - Lessons are taught at Village Music School by default. If there is a need for an online lesson (e.g., traveling, sick), then the lesson format can be switched for individual lessons.
• Online - Lessons are taught remotely, so students can attend from anywhere with internet access.

Private Lessons

The most common option. Lessons personalized towards the student's goals.

• 1:1 - One student and one instructor
• 30-minute or 60-minute lessons
• Weekly lessons at a specific day and time (e.g., Mondays 5:30-6PM)

Semi-Private Lessons

A great way to learn with a friend or sibling while getting many of the benefits of private lessons. Co-students should be a similar age and have a similar level of experience.

• 2:1 - Two students and one instructor
• 30-minute or 60-minute lessons
• Weekly lessons at a specific day and time (e.g., Wednesday 7-8PM)

Group Classes

Gain additional skills and knowledge with your fellow VMS musicians.

• Small groups of students (requirements may apply for enrollment)
• Focused on specific topics or skills
• Offered ad-hoc or on a recurring basis (determined by the instructor)

Tuition & Pricing

Registration Fee

For new students and returning students that have been gone for 6+ months, there is a $25 registration fee.

Private & Semi-Private Tuition

Tuition is automatically charged on a recurring, monthly basis. It is a fixed amount and not based on the number of lessons per month. There can be three lessons in some months, five in others, but most months there are four lessons. The amount of tuition will be the same for all of these months. Payments are processed at the beginning of each month.

Group Classes

Pricing and payment schedule varies per class.

Student Schedule Changes

Sometimes there is a schedule conflict, the student is sick, or something else makes it so the student can't attend at their regularly scheduled time. Here are the options available for temporary and permanent schedule changes.

Temporary Schedule Changes

All schedule changes must be completed, at latest, by the deadline (see below) on the day of the lesson or the rescheduled lesson, whichever is earlier. It is extremely helpful to the office team, the instructors, and other students if more advance notice is provided.

Deadlines: 1PM for weekday lessons | 8AM for Saturday lessons

• Absence Credit - At the beginning of each quarter an absence credit is issued to your account. It will expire one year after it is issued. If a student needs to miss a lesson and you have an absence credit available, you can use it to get a refund for the missed lesson.
• Reschedule - A lesson can be rescheduled to a different day/time that your instructor has available. Rescheduling options are offered in a two-week window from the current date. Please note that rescheduling isn't guaranteed since it is dependent on an instructor having an opening. Once a lesson is rescheduled, it is final and can't be rescheduled again.
  • Example two-week window: If today is Jan 1, the window of available times is Jan 1-14.
• Format Change - If your instructor is a hybrid instructor (teaches in person and online), you have the option of changing the format for a specific lesson. Example: A student wakes up sick, you can contact us to change from an in-person lesson to an online lesson.

Permanent Schedule Changes

Maybe there's a schedule conflict and you need a new day/time or you want to switch to a different instrument or instructor. Here's how to do it.

1. Find an available spot that meets your requirements at Permanent Instructor Availability.
2. Submit a Permanent Schedule Change Form. (coming soon)
3. We'll be in touch via email to confirm your schedule change request.

Instructor Schedule Changes

Though we work hard with our instructors to make sure we're providing a consistent schedule for our students, sometimes they'll have to miss a lesson. Here are the options you'll have if an instructor is absent.

• Reschedule the lesson - The instructor's available spots will be provided to you and you can choose to reschedule to one of these times. Many times, an instructor will offer a make-up day to provide more options for you to choose from.
• Refund - If you can't find a spot that you want to reschedule to or you would just prefer, you can request a refund for the instructor absence.

How to Register a Student

• Finding a Time - The Permanent Instructor Availability page is updated as new times become available, so if you don't find a good match at first, you can check back at your convenience to see if a new option that works for you has been added.
• Intro Lessons - When completing the registration form you can decide if you want to start with a one-time intro lesson prior to registering for monthly lessons. If you choose an intro lesson, you will need to contact us after the intro lesson to register. We will hold the same day/time/instructor for the following week so you don't lose your spot. Intro lessons are $35.

Steps - New Student

1. Find a day, time, and instrument with one of our instructors at Permanent Instructor Availability.
2. Submit a Registration Form.
3. We'll contact you via email to confirm your registration and schedule a call to collect payment information.

Steps - Returning Student

1. Find a day, time, and instrument with one of our instructors at Permanent Instructor Availability.
2. Send an email to support@villagemusicschool.com with your selection.
3. We'll respond to confirm your registration and provide next steps.

How to Withdraw a Student

We don't want to lock you into long-term commitments, so lessons are offered month-to-month. To withdraw, you just need to complete one simple step.

1. Notify us by email or voicemail by the 15th of the last month of lessons. (e.g., February 15th to stop lessons at the end of February - no tuition charge for March)
2. We'll contact you via email to confirm the withdrawal.