Frequently Asked Questions

Most students come once a week, for a 30-minute private lesson. 45-minute and 60-minute weekly lessons are also available for students who desire longer lessons. For most students, one 30-minute lesson per week is sufficient if the student comes to his or her lesson prepared.

The minimum age requirements are set by the individual teacher for each instrument. Most of our teachers accept students at 7 years of age and older.

Most music lessons occur between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Our teachers come from a wide variety of different musical backgrounds. If you are an intermediate-advanced student that desires to learn a specific style, please let us know. We can direct you to the teacher best suited to your stylistic preferences. All teachers are qualified to teach a well-rounded curriculum of basic music to beginners.

All of our lessons are in-person at Northwest School of Music! Our address is 8863 Anderson Mill Rd, Ste. 114, Austin, TX 78729. We are conveniently located 1 mile off of Highway 183, between Research Blvd and W Parmer Lane.

At Northwest, all of our attention and energy goes to ensuring that students get a high-quality music education. Unlike teachers at retail stores, our instructors do not waste lesson time trying to sell products to students. Our teachers are not music store sales people who teach lessons when they are not on the sales floor. Our teacher’s only job is to teach and play music.
We differ from at-home lessons in that we provide a safe and professional environment free from the many distractions commonplace in the home. Teaching is a professional occupation for our instructors, not a part-time hobby. At Northwest, you know you will be taught by a competent music teacher who has been thoroughly background-checked. Home based teachers also typically do their own scheduling, phone calls, tuition collection, advertising, facility maintenance and so on. We have desk staff so that our teacher’s can focus only on teaching our students how to play music.
Taking lessons in a music school environment also allows students to enjoy the benefits of learning in a musical community where students can meet others who share their passion for music. We dedicate a lot of time, energy, and resources into providing students with regular opportunities to perform for friends and family in student showcase events. Home-based and web referral-type traveling music teachers do not have the resources, staff and facilities to put on the kind of student showcases that we do.

Northwest is equipped with acoustic pianos, full drum sets and amplifiers for use during lessons. We do NOT provide instruments for students to take home. Call us for recommendations of local retailers if you’re shopping for an instrument.

Tuition is as follows:

$160 per month for 30-minute private lessons, once per week.
$230 per month for 45-minute private lessons, once per week.
$300 per month for 60-minute private lessons, once per week.

We do not offer sibling discounts for private lessons.

If your first lesson falls in the middle of the month, we will prorate your tuition for the first month ONLY to reflect the lessons you actually receive. After that, we charge a flat monthly rate – tuition is always due on the 1st of each month.

Our tuition is based on a 48-week calendar year. Occasionally, a student will receive only three lessons in a month due to the presence of a major holiday. Months with five lessons balance out the ones with three – we do not charge extra if there are extra weeks, so we do not charge less if there are less weeks.

We accept all major credit cards.

There is a small fee for anyone interested in performing in our recitals. Our standard recital fee is $30 per participant or $50 per family. This fee is non-refundable and is charged one week before each event.

There are no other enrollment, administrative, or office fees.

Yes! Books must be purchased by the student and photocopied music is not allowed. Your teacher will let you know which books to purchase.

You can fill out the contact form or call us at (512) 258-9785, Monday-Friday from 2PM-8PM.

Each of the teachers that work at the Northwest School of Music was selected based on education, performance credentials and teaching experience. Our teachers come from diverse musical backgrounds. Whenever possible, we try to match new students to the teacher who will be most appropriate for their needs. Check the Teachers page for individual teacher bios.

Since there is no widely accepted certification process for private music teachers, we wondered the same thing. As far as we can tell, it’s just an arbitrary, made-up term to make it sound like their teachers are more qualified than other teachers.
Northwest School of Music instructors are University graduates and working professionals with many years of performing, recording, and teaching experience.

Occasionally, a teacher will miss a lesson due to an illness, family emergency or other schedule conflict. Whenever this happens, the teacher and school office may choose to arrange for a substitute teacher or arrange a make up lesson. We have found that many students actually enjoy an occasional lesson with another teacher. It benefits the student by seeing another instructor’s perspective.

There are no credits or refunds for missed lessons.

For private students, one make-up lesson is allowed per quarter. These lessons do not roll over and must be made up by the end of the quarter in which they were canceled. There are 4 quarters per year: January-March, April-June, July-September, October-December.

Make-up lessons are not guaranteed. The make-up lesson is only scheduled during your teacher’s open times, and will not be scheduled if your teacher does not have an opening in their schedule.

We will not reschedule day-of cancellations – in order to schedule a make-up, you must let us know the day prior to your scheduled lesson, or earlier if possible.

All of our teachers are also equipped to do virtual lessons! If you are unable to attend your lesson in-person, let our front desk know – we’ll set you up for a virtual lesson with your teacher at your normal lesson time.

While we never want to see anyone go, we understand your schedule may change! Our lesson plans are on a month-to-month basis – if you would like to stop at the end of the current month, just let us know!

In order to end lessons, we must receive notice, either verbally or in writing, by 8:00pm on the 15th of the month you wish to stop (example: if you want January to be your last month of lessons, you must let us know by January 15th).

If we receive notification after the current month’s deadline, your lessons will be set to stop at the end of the next month (example: if we receive notice on January 16th, your lessons will be set to stop at the end of February).

There is no additional fee to cancel your lesson plan. Teachers cannot accept withdrawal notification – you must speak to the office manager or email the studio.