At Your Door Music Policies & Procedures

At Your Door Music® Lessons in Your Home


PHILOSOPHY

At Your Door Music is a traveling music school offering one-on-one lessons in the convenience of your own home. We teach piano, guitar, voice, drums, violin, and other instrument lessons to children ages six and up. We also welcome adults. We teach beginner, intermediate and advanced students.

The AYDM staff is composed of experienced music teachers, many of whom are recent graduates from local music colleges such as Berklee College of Music. Every At Your Door Music teacher is patient, enthusiastic and has a kind demeanor. We all share a philosophy that learning to play a musical instrument should be enjoyable as well as educational. We know that an inspired student is more inclined to play and practice their instrument. We tailor lessons specifically to each student, practice positive reinforcement and encourage our students to take an active role in the direction of their lessons by helping to choose the music they’d like to play.

While the backbone of an AYDM lesson is learning to read music and play songs, our modern teaching approach balances traditional fundamentals with complimentary studies that nurture our student’s artistic, creative relationship with their instrument. AYDM lessons encompass numerous elements of music education including note reading, music theory, scales, chords, ear training, improvisation and much more. Lesson content also spans musical genres including pop, rock, jazz, blues, classical, country, funk and more.

At Your Door Music serves the towns of Wellesley, Wellesley Hills, Weston, Needham, Needham Heights and sections of Newton including Chestnut Hill, Newton Center and West Newton.

SUPPLIES AND BEHAVIOR

We love it when our students attend their lessons prepared with the following:

  • Music Binder and Music
  • Digital Voice Recorder or a recording device (primarily for voice students)
  • Water
  • Instrument

We appreciate when our students:

  • Practice regularly
  • Reflect and share their musical experiences with their teachers
  • Are positive and open-minded about new ideas and experiences

STUDENT MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH REQUEST

We believe in giving our students the best possible experience and education, and we cannot do this unless we are made aware of any physical, medical, mental, or behavioral conditions that a student may possess. When the teacher is aware of such conditions, they can instruct in a sensitive and informed way that will be more beneficial to the student.

Additionally, our students’ safety is a top priority, and if we are not made aware of the symptoms and effects of students’ conditions, we cannot uphold the safety of the studio. We are not experts, but we do have expert references to assist and guide us.

Your information will only be shared between you, our AYDM program director, and the private lesson instructor. Please contact our Program Director, Ellen Rice, immediately if there is anything we should know about the student.

TUITION

*If you are a student of Yuval (UV) Golibroda, please click here for his studio’s cancellation and make-up policies

Our lessons are billed at the rate of $95 per 1-hour lesson, with the exception of students of UV Golibroda (billed at $105 per 1-hour lesson). In order to hold your day, time, and teacher for the upcoming school year, we require a non-refundable deposit of $250 which will be credited toward your annual tuition if you register before August 15th.

Clients are billed in packages of 4 lessons at a time, instead of receiving a monthly charge. This can be thought of like a digital punch card. Each time the student attends a lesson, they use 1 credit from their lesson package.

When a student has used all 4 lesson credits, their account will be automatically renewed for another package of 4 lessons.

*If there are fewer than 4 lessons remaining in the AYDM school year, we will only bill for that number of lessons

WITHDRAWAL AND REFUND

Any student, new or established, can withdraw from the program at any time. If you have any remaining lesson credits, you can either use them or transfer them to a family member or friend. We do not issue refunds for unused lesson credits

Teachers cannot accept withdrawal notifications. To discontinue lessons, please notify the AYDM office via email or by calling the office. AYDM reserves the right to terminate lessons for any student without notice. In such a case, a refund for unused lessons will be given, if applicable.

TARDINESS POLICY

AYDM observes standard music teacher waiting policies. If a student is 10 minutes late, the teacher is automatically dismissed and the lesson will be ineligible for a makeup.

Students who are running late should call their teacher to notify them.

CANCELLATION POLICY:

We look forward to a commitment from our students to attend each lesson at the time they have chosen, as this is the best way to positively progress in lessons.

We require at least 24 hours’ notice be given to the teacher for a cancellation to be considered an advanced cancellation.

  • Students are allowed a maximum of 4 advanced cancellations per school year (September-June), which will not be deducted from your lesson package.
  • Any cancellations that exceed 4 per school year, whether they are canceled in advance or late, will be deducted from your lesson package.
  • Any lessons canceled with less than 24 hours notice will be deducted from your lesson package.
  • Regular lessons will continue through the end of June. (Should a student need to end the school year early, the amount of lessons canceled will be deducted from the allotted 4)

HEALTH NOTE: If a student is believed to have a contagious illness OR does not have the ability to sing or play their instrument due to illness, please cancel your lesson. If a student attends a lesson contagiously ill, the teacher may choose not to stay for the lesson. In such a case no credit will be issued for the missed lesson.

TEACHER CANCELLATIONS:

We are committed to teaching weekly lessons to all registered students at their regularly scheduled times. In the case of a cancellation by the teacher because of illness or an unforeseen conflict, a make up credit will be issued.

DATES AND EVENTS

It is the responsibility of the parent or adult student to be aware of AYDM events such as recitals and dates the school is open and closed. Please refer to the Calendar of Lessons section on our website for our lesson calendar and scheduled closures. It is the responsibility of the parent or adult student to inform the school of any address or telephone number change.

SCHOOL/COMMUNITY EVENTS

Please make sure that you list your lessons as a conflict when auditioning for plays and productions. Due to our high volume of students, AYDM has very little freedom to move lessons after the times are set. Please be very sure of your conflicts and be clear about your commitment to lessons.

MEDIA RELEASE

AYDM is hereby granted permission to take photographs and videos of the students to use in brochures, posters, advertisements and other promotional materials the school creates. Permission is also hereby granted for AYDM to copyright such photographs in its name.

RECITALS

The end of term recitals will be held in early June each year. Information about the recitals are announced to families in advance via email and newsletter. Though participation is optional, we encourage all our students to attend. Each recital showcases students of different ages and skill levels playing songs that they like. It’s a chance for our students to share their progress with parents and peers, get some performance experience and gain inspiration and encouragement.

Over the course of the day, there will be numerous separate recitals grouped by teachers and instruments. Given the logistical complexities of scheduling so many recitals in one weekend, AYDM is unable to accommodate special requests.

PUNCTUALITY

The At Your Door Music Staff have a reputation for reliability and punctuality. Still, being in transit can vary the starting lesson time by a couple minutes on either side. Because we make house calls exclusively, please understand that lessons total 60 minutes from entering to leaving your home. Naturally most of that time is spent with the student at their instrument. This guideline helps us keep to our busy schedules. If you would like to chat with you/your child’s teacher about their progress, homework materials, goals, etc. please plan to reserve the last 5-10 min of the lesson to do so.

CLEARING PASSAGE

Throughout the Winter months, please provide safe, clear passage for the teacher to get from their car to your door by salting or otherwise de-icing your walkways and front steps. If you’d prefer, please make arrangements with your teacher to come in through another entrance until the ice and snow melt.

At Your Door Music LLC 781-534-3259 www.aydm.com contact@aydm.com