In-Home Music Lessons

REGULAR MONTHLY RATES:

45 min = $50 per lesson ($200 per 4-week month) This is the school standard, and the minimum required length for all students aged seven years old and older (second grade and up). The majority of our students take 45-minute lessons.

“Music is a piece of art that goes in the ears straight to the heart.”

Other lesson lengths:

90 min = $90 per lesson ($360 per per 4-week month) Ages 12 and up, adults, highly motivated kids, and/or students taking multiple instruments (ex.: piano/guitar, voice/guitar, or piano/voice.

75 min = $77 per lesson ($308 per 4-week month) An extended lesson for ages 12 and up, adults, highly motivated kids, and/or students taking multiple instruments (ex.: piano/guitar, voice/guitar, or piano/voice).

60 min = $60 per lesson ($248 per 4-week month) This is a good choice for students Ages 12 and up, adults, highly motivated kids, and/or students taking multiple instruments (ex.: piano/guitar, voice/guitar, or piano/voice).

30 min = $45 per lesson ($248 per 4-week month) This lesson length is for four, five and six year-olds (preschool, kindergarten and first grade only).

15 min = $30 per lesson ($120 per 4-week month) Little sibling add-on lessons: these are for four year-old students with an older sibling taking lessons.

• Tuition paid by credit card will incur a 3% processing fee.
• If you live outside of the Eastern Main Line Area, Reading and surrounding areas, Mount Laurel New Jersey and surrounding areas, or  there may be an additional per lesson travel fee.  (Eastern Main Line: Ardmore, Bala Cynwyd, Bryn Mawr, Gladwyne, Haverford, Havertown, Lower Merion, Main Line area, Merion Station, Narberth, Newtown Square, Penn Wynne, Penn Valley, Radnor, Rosemont, Villanova, Wayne, Wynnewood. Reading and surrounding areas: Reading, Wyomissing, Shillington, Mohnton, Mount Penn, West Reading, Kenhorst, Mohnton, Mount Penn, St. Lawrence, Temple, Blandon, Leesport. Mount Laurel and surrounding areas: Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Pennsauken, Maple Shade, Cherry Hill. Collingswood, Haddonfield, Marlton, Voorhees, Bellmawr, Medford).

MASTER AND LEAD TEACHER LESSONS:

We firmly believe in the talent and quality of all Culciar Music instructors. (Less than ten percent of applicants get an interview, with even fewer being invited to join our faculty.) We hire based on musical skill, creativity, enthusiasm, and so much more. You can be confident in any teacher on our roster.

For the serious student, however, we do offer lessons with teachers who have proven themselves on several levels – through experience, performance results, additional education and more. Many of these teachers specialize in certain areas, from songwriting to learning challenges. Lessons with these teachers are offered at our Lead Teacher and Master Teacher rates, as listed below.

Lead Teachers (45 minute minimum):

45 min = $56.00 per lesson ($224.00 per 4-week month)

60 min = $73.00 per lesson ($292.00 per 4-week month)

75 min = $87.00 per lesson ($348.00 per 4-week month)

90 min = $102.00 per lesson ($408.00 per 4-week month)

Master Teachers (60 minute minimum):

60 min = $81.00 per lesson ($324.00 per 4-week month)

75 min = $96.00 per lesson ($384.00 per 4-week month)

90 min = $112.00 per lesson ($448.00 per 4-week month)

“Music is the social act of communication among people, a gesture of friendship, the strongest there is.”

School Policy – Regular School Year

Our policy is in place to be able to consistently bring the best quality lessons, instructors, and results to your home. We look forward to providing you with the best experience possible!

Tuition:

• Tuition rates can be viewed above and will not change without notification.
• If you live outside of our teaching zone, there will be an additional $40 per month travel fee to cover your teacher’s additional travel costs. Any families who fall into this category will be notified upon registration.

Fees for Materials:

• Fees for materials that are purchased through Culciar School of Music are payable to Culciar School of Music, and will be charged to your account via your usual authorized payment method.
• Fees for materials that are purchased by your teacher should be reimbursed directly to your teacher.

Billing:

• BY MONTH(automated billing by ACH or credit card* only): Payment is due on the first of each month and will be automatically withdrawn from the account that you provided/authorized upon registration. If your lessons begin after the first week of the month, we will charge a one-time prorated tuition fee for that month and regular monthly payments will resume on the first of the following month.
• BY SEMESTER(payment by check, cash, ACH or credit card*): Semesters run from September through January and February through June.** Payment is due within 10 days of registration and by the first day of subsequent semesters, or a late fee of $15 will apply. We do not advise mailing cash, so arrangements for payment by cash must be made with the office.
• There is a $25 fee for non-sufficient funds (NSF), returned checks and declined credit cards.

NOTE: For families who choose to pay by semester, charges for materials or any other one-time charges/adjustments will be accumulated over the course of the semester and reconciled at the end of the semester. If you are owed any credits from teacher cancellations, we will apply them to your next tuition payment or send you a refund check (upon request).

*All credit card payments will be subject to a 3% processing fee.

**Summer semester runs July through August and lessons during this time are handled differently. Please review the “Summer Policy” page on our website.

Teacher Cancellations:

• As we strive to provide consistent lessons for our students, teachers are asked to limit their cancellations and, when possible, to reschedule lessons that they cancel at a mutually convenient time.
• If your teacher cancels a lesson and you are not able to reschedule the lesson, your teacher will notify the office and a tuition credit will be applied. Credits for teacher cancellations will be applied to future tuition payments. If you do not have a tuition payment scheduled for the near future, a refund check may be disbursed upon request.
• If you cancel a rescheduled lesson, the lesson is forfeited.
• If you are expecting a credit for a lesson canceled by your teacher and you have not received confirmation from the office, please contact the office to ensure that appropriate credit is applied.

Student Cancellations:

• If you need to cancel a lesson, please contact your teacher directly and provide as much notice as possible. More notice allows teachers to schedule make-up lessons for other students and avoids the possibility of your teacher unnecessarily traveling to your home. Our teachers are professionals driving through traffic for your lessons and we must respect their time.
• When registering for lessons, you are reserving a weekly space in your teacher’s schedule. As such, the school intends that both teachers and students will be present for weekly lessons. However, we guarantee one make-up lesson per semester for a lesson that you cancel. Your make-up lesson must be scheduled at a mutually convenient time with your teacher and must be completed by the end of the semester. If a student cancels a make-up lesson, the lesson is forfeited. (Please note that if your teacher has made several fair attempts to schedule the make-up lesson and the make-up lesson is not successfully scheduled by the end of the semester, the lesson is forfeited.) In order to continue to hire and keep the highest caliber teachers, we must offer consistent income. For this reason, credits or refunds are not offered for student-initiated cancellations.
• If you need to cancel more than one lesson per semester, your teacher may be willing to offer you an additional make-up at their convenience. Due to busy schedules, we do not require our teachers to make-up more than one lesson canceled by a student and thus additional cancellations will result in forfeited lessons.
• If your child is sent home from school or is kept home sick on your lesson day, we ask that you cancel the lesson out of respect for the health of your teacher and his/her other students.
• If your teacher shows up to a scheduled lesson and you are not home or send them away for any reason, this is not considered a cancellation as your teacher did travel to your house. This is not eligible for make-up and is charged as a normally scheduled lesson.
• If you experience a change in your schedule that results in the need to cancel several lessons, consider discussing a change in your weekly lessons with your teacher or contacting our office to explore other possibilities for lessons at a different day and time.

A NOTE ON CANCELLATIONS: We highly value the importance of consistent weekly lessons for you or your child’s progress. We, therefore, encourage you and your teachers to avoid canceling lessons as best as you can. We are aware that things do come up and therefore require our teachers to put forth their best effort to reschedule. If you are eligible for a make-up lesson and your teacher has not made an effort to reschedule, please contact the office.

School Holidays:

• School holidays are built-in days off for you and your teacher and are listed below. Tuition will be adjusted for that month when a school holiday falls on your lesson day. If your teacher is available and you have an outstanding make-up lesson owed to you, these days can be a good opportunity for scheduling. If you do not have any outstanding make-ups, you may opt to take a lesson at an additional charge.

Official School Holidays:

• Labor Day weekend
  • Thanksgiving: Thursday and Friday
  • Winter Break: December 24th through January 1st
  • Memorial Day weekend
  • 4th of July

Extreme/Inclement Weather:

• In the event of extreme/inclement weather, teachers may need to cancel lessons in order to stay safe. If your teacher cancels a lesson due to extreme weather, your teacher will be required to make up the lesson (much like school). If you are not able to find a mutually convenient time to schedule the make-up lesson by the end of the semester, we will issue a credit to you.

June Lessons (end of Spring Semester):

• Our regular school year concludes at the end of June and our summer semester takes place from July through August. Since we know that many families travel when school lets out, we allow flexibility for June and can prorate your June tuition if you wish to end the Spring semester early. If so, you must contact the office at least 10 days prior to the June 1st billing date to request a tuition adjustment for the last one to two weeks of June.
• If you opt to take the entire month of June off, upon return for the Summer or Fall, you will need to contact the office for scheduling and may need to be scheduled with a new teacher.

Summer Lessons (July and August):

• For our summer semester (July and August), we have more flexible scheduling options. Please see the Summer Policy for more details. 

Discontinuing Lessons/Taking a Break:

• You may discontinue lessons at any time, providing notice of cancellation to the school at least 10 days prior to the next billing date. You may opt to take or forfeit any remaining lessons. Tuition will not be refunded. This same policy applies to students who wish to “take a break.” Students who opt to do that cannot save their spot with their teacher, and may need to resume lessons with a different member of our talented teaching team.

Safety/Liability:

• Your teacher is only at your house to teach music lessons.
• Teachers are not to be left home alone with your child without a designated guardian.
• Teachers are not babysitters and are not responsible for the welfare or transportation of your child under any circumstances.
• Pets: In consideration of possible allergies and distractions, please keep pets restrained from teachers upon entering your home and away from the teaching area during lesson times.

Referrals:

• We are happy to share our love of music with your friends or neighbors. Please have any referrals call the school directly to request a teacher that you have recommended.

Teacher Contracts:

• All teachers have signed a contract with the school. It is unethical for them to independently teach students of the school or referrals from students of the school, even after leaving the school. Please notify the school immediately if this occurs.

Switching Teachers:

• If you would like to try another teacher for any reason, please contact the office. We are always happy to speak with you.

Providing my signature below confirms that I have read and understand and agree to the terms of the Culciar School of Music Tuition Rates for In-Home Lessons.