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I have spent far too much of my time as a private music teacher dealing with scheduling last-minute makeups or no-shows or tardiness… generally, families who don’t respect my time.
Other private music teachers, you feel me.
Two sections in my Private Music Lesson contract in have made my life as a private music teacher so much easier.
That is, my makeup and cancellation policy, and my tardiness policy.
Let me be clear: enacting these policies was a fight in my head that lasted for much longer than I should have. I wanted to be flexible and allow my students and their families the space they need (or want) to fit me into their schedules.
As a result of that thinking, I was at the whims of my students and their parents. Some respected my time, but others took advantage of my lax scheduling – to the point where I was losing money every week not only for the effort I put in to be “flexible,” but the time I had to reserve for them.
I had been toying around with the idea of coming up with a Private lesson contract that my students (or their parents) would have to sign before starting lessons with me, but I just couldn’t sit down and do it.
But then I learned that Square (the software I use to manage my music teaching business, which is FREE for businesses with only one person – check out all of their awesome features here) rolled out a brand new Contracts feature. You write your contract (or pick one of their templates and adapt it for your business), and they send it to each new customer, and the customer signs it digitally. It made it way too easy to set up, and I am SO glad I did!
Makeup lessons and Cancellations
My makeup lesson and lesson cancellation policy reads like this:
To receive a makeup, the Client will let the Instructor know at least 24 hours in advance of a missed lesson. Exceptions can be made in the case of unforeseen circumstances (e.g. illness, family emergency, etc.)
The makeup can then be scheduled that week or rolled over to the next month as a price deduction.
This specific policy is actually the reason that I finally wrote out my lesson contract in the first place. I had been telling myself that I needed one, but then I agreed to teach for a family who (I later discovered) didn’t feel the need to cancel a lesson until 5 minutes before it started.
Music teachers, you know what I’m talking about when I say that a cancelled lesson 5 minutes prior is not only hard on your schedule, but it’s hard on your bottom line. I would count on that money as income, and then all of a sudden, I wouldn’t have it anymore, because they forgot to tell me about a doctors appointment or vacation or they just didn’t want to do the lesson that day (yes, I’ve gotten that one before!).
Plus, my schedule is set and relatively full. I couldn’t be shuffling things around every week to accommodate a makeup lesson.
Needless to say, I lost a lot of money from that family at the last minute. So… I decided to write up my contract.
I can’t even begin to tell you the difference that my contract has made in my business. My income is more steady, my schedule is more consistent, and it even weeds out students and families that aren’t serious about the lessons.
Plus, it gives me a way to not be “the bad guy.” Instead of just saying no, I point them back to the contract that they signed and say, “I’m sorry, but that’s our policy.”
My No-Show policy
My No-Show policy does go hand-in-hand with my makeup policy, with an extra layer of protection. It reads like this:
No-shows will result in the loss of the lesson – No makeup or deduction will be issued in the case of:
-Tardiness of 10 minutes or more
-Failure to inform the Instructor of a missed lesson
-Not showing up for a lesson
Of course, if the student doesn’t show up to the lesson and I have not heard anything from them or their parents, it obviously counts as a no-show. The important part, however, is what I like to call the “tardiness clause.”
In a 30-minute lesson, 10 minutes is a full third. In voice lessons, that completely eliminates warm-up time. In piano, you just can’t do very much in 20 minutes.
I used to allow students to come late – better late than never. But then I realized that I was actually doing them a disservice by trying to rush them through a lesson. I am not able to effectively communicate the lesson to them, have them play their homework pieces, work on theory, AND start something new in less than 30 minutes. Not only was it not fair for me to try to cram a full lesson into 20 (or less) minutes, but it wasn’t fair for the student either.
What about illness or emergencies?
My biggest hangup when moving to these policies was just this – what about illness? Sometimes a strict attendance policy encourages students to come to lessons when ill, and then the quality of the lesson diminishes because they can’t focus when they aren’t feeling well – not to mention the chance of passing an illness on. Additionally, in light of our current social climate, it is a good idea for students to stay home when ill.
As you can see, I did put an exception into my policy regarding illness or other unforeseen circumstances like family emergencies. It helps me be able to exercise grace when needed, and allows the families to exercise grace when I am not feeling well and have to reschedule a lesson.
Key Takeaway: If you are a private music teacher, you need a good private music lesson contract to protect your time, energy, and business as a whole.
And if you already have a private lesson contract, make sure that you include a makeup lesson and attendance policy!
Check out Square – I can’t recommend them enough, and their contracts feature has made such a difference in writing and tracking my contracts (let alone all the other features they have).
I took forever to finally implement my private lesson contract, and all I can say is that I wish I had done it sooner. It would have saved me so much time and frustration if I only had a contract to fall back on. If you need help setting up your contract, email me and let me know! I am here to help.
This is where I am finding myself in reading your post. Would you mind sharing the contract you set up for me to glean from?
Absolutely! I will email you.
Hi! I’m am trying to start teaching lessons full time. Could I see how you set up your contract, if possible?
Absolutely – I’ll email you!
I couldn’t love this blog more. I am currently starting to write a contract to re-open my studio after covid shut me down. I finally have the place/opportunity to do so. But to be honest – I’m sitting on it because of a contract. I learned very much the hard way when I was open before – but it was hard to justify throwing a contract in an already existing situation. Re-opening now seems like the perfect time to do it but I’m struggling.
I get that it’s hard, especially with pre-existing students. However, reopening your studio is the PERFECT time to implement a contract! It took me a couple of years to finally get one started, but I am so glad I did.
Hi, I have been teaching for a while now and I am looking to add a contract to my lessons. Would you be able to send me the layout of your contract? This article has been super helpful, thank you!
Absolutely!
Hi Alyssa, I’m about to begin teaching again after about 20 years. I’d love to see a copy of your contract to compare and contrast with a few others I’ve found online as I try to create my own. Would you mind sending my way?
That’s wonderful! Yes, I will send it over.
Hi Alyssa! I would love to see a copy of your contract to help shape mine. I think we’re going for similar things in setting teaching expectations.
Absolutely!
Greetings Alyssa, I so appreciated seeing this article. Along with freelancing, I’ve been teaching for years. Since going to electronic payments, it’s turned into a unnecessary amount of added time in payment tracking, reconciling, etc. Could you send me any copies of contracts you are using? Thank you so much for your blog.
Of course!
Alyssa,
I would love to see a copy of your contract! My husband is looking at setting up lessons again and would like to have something for his students.
Congrats to your husband! Sending it your way now.
Thanks for posting this, there’s lots of great info here! Would you mind sharing your current contract with me so I can reference it in creating my own?
Absolutely!
May I please see a copy of your contract. I’m a private lessons art teacher and deal with last minute cancellations or no shows all of the time. It’s exhausting and a huge disrespect of my time and job. Thanks so much!
of course!
I found this page and this is exactly what I am dealing with! Would you be able to send me your contract agreement?
Absolutely!
Hi there, I couldnt get the yes please button to work. Could I please get the lesson contract sent to me? Thank you so much!
Absolutely! Sorry about that – I’ll send it over 🙂
I am interested in seeing your contract if you are willing to share!
Hello. Thanks for the post. Could I get a copy of your contract? It would be much appreciated. Thank you.
Absolutely!
I would love to see the private lessons contract as well 🙂 Thank you!
Of course, sending it right away!
Hi Alyssa, thank you for sharing your process to a contract. Will you please share it with me? I’m considering shifting from Venmo to Square for payments. Have you had any difficulties with Square holding your funds or getting support from their customer service? How long have you been using Square? Any insight on Square’s service and reliability in general would be so appreciated!
Thanks for asking!
I personally have had no problems with using square, both for my private lesson business and my husband’s piano tuning business – I started using them for my lessons back in 2019, and our piano tuning in 2023. In my experience, super reliable!
Hi
please send me a copy of the contract. I’m excited see it. It will help me so much
K
Please send my your music policy contract.
Will do, Amy!