Student/Parent Policies & Procedures

About

We are a community of professional musicians offering private lessons and group instruction for students of all ages and abilities. Our goal is to provide musical opportunities for the development of students and families of The Music Loft (TML) and our global community, through excellence in music, performance, and study.

TML does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, or disability in admission to its programs and activities. Additionally, TML is committed to providing a safe environment that is free from all forms of harassment. TML will not tolerate any form of harassment including sexual harassment by faculty/staff, students, or third parties.

TML reserves the right to change or revise these policies at any time without prior notice.

Our Mission

Our program of classical music study develops the whole musician―intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally. TML provides expert instruction highlighting performance, technique, repertoire, theory, counterpoint, composition, improvisation, sight-reading, and music history. Our perfectly balanced combination of private lessons, performance classes, and annual recitals prepares students to be confident in their achievements and successes. As a premier music school, TML is a team of passionate, professional musicians who are dedicated to creating a nurturing, yet challenging environment that promotes a lifelong enjoyment of great music.

Child Safety Policy

The Music Loft is committed to providing a safe learning environment for our students. All of the faculty and staff complete an annual criminal background check.

General Guidelines

COMMUNICATION

All personal account information, lesson schedule, tuition & billing details, online classes, recital information, etc. can be found online through our scheduling system Mindbody.

• What is Mindbody?
  MindBody is The Music Loft’s business management system. The platform has tools for scheduling lessons and classes, payment processing, sending appointment reminders, and online booking. You can access your customer portal to make changes to your information (including updating payment options, address changes) and view student lesson and payment schedule.
• How do I create a username and password on Mindbody?
  Use the Mindbody launch page here to find The Music Loft (Herndon, VA). After you have found The Music Loft, you may search yourself under your email or your phone number. That will take you to either your profile or your child’s profile. You may then complete the profile, include all contact and billing information.
• How does The Music Loft Online communicate with me?
  The Music Loft sends all necessary communication(s) with parents/families from Mindbody using the address noreply@hirefrederick.com. Please add this contact to your address list to be sure that all communication is received and is not inadvertently sent to a SPAM folder.
• Please be sure to read any email and/or communication from The Music Loft in its entirety and respond if appropriate in a timely fashion.
• How do I register for Recitals, Online Classes, and/or Group Sessions?
  All of these offerings can be found through your customer portal where you can register for all events.

ATTENDANCE

• Paid tuition reserves your scheduled day and time with your teacher.
• Students may enroll in lessons at any time in any given semester, and tuition will be pro-rated accordingly.
• Once enrolled in lessons, students may not change teachers except between semesters.

EARLY WITHDRAWAL

Should an early withdrawal be necessary, we require a 30-day written notice via email to info@themusicloftonline.com.

ABSENCES/MISSED LESSON POLICY

• Lessons cancelled within 24 hours are considered a late cancel and are not guaranteed a make-up.
• Rescheduling requests require a minimum of 24 hours notice and must be completed within the current semester.
• Please be courteous and notify your teacher if running late or let him/her know in advance when planning to miss a session.
• Instructors will wait no more than 10 minutes for a tardy student. After 10 minutes, the lesson will be forfeited.
• In the event of teacher illness or lessons needing to be postponed due to teacher performance travel and/or obligation, students will be offered an alternate makeup time with their teacher or a substitute teacher.
• All makeup lessons must be scheduled during the semester in which the missed lesson was originally scheduled. Any lesson not completed by the end of the semester will be forfeited.
• Extended Absences/Travel: If you are traveling for longer than two weeks and you wish to continue lessons we require a 30-day written notice for the absence. Full tuition will not be billed, however if the length of the absence is over 30 days, a fee of $90 will be billed for the month as a placeholder for the same day/time/teacher until you return.

INCLEMENT WEATHER

In the event of inclement weather, TML makes decisions regarding closures independently of local school districts. Information regarding closing will be placed on our voicemail, on the main page of our website, and in an e-mail. Please be sure that your e-mail is updated in the Mindbody customer portal and that your are subscribed to our e-mail reminders and notifications.

Onsite make-up lessons may be conducted virtually or made-up with your teacher at a rescheduled time in the semester.

ENROLLMENT

Please take advantage of our trial lesson offering. This enables the student (and parents) to meet the teacher, fine-tune your technology if studying virtually, and determine if our course of study is best for you. Trial lessons may be scheduled via our WEBSITE or by emailing info@themusicloftonline.com.

Enrollment is ongoing. Should you need to discontinue lessons, we require 30-day written notification via email to info@themusicloftonline.com. Notice given to the instructor only (verbally or otherwise) and non-attendance does not constitute withdrawal from lessons. To discontinue lessons and suspend automatic charges please notify the front desk in writing one full month before the first of the month.

Instrument Rentals & Purchase Information

Orchestra & Band Instruments
We recommend consulting with your teacher prior to purchasing or renting an instrument. He/she will be most helpful in recommending quality orchestral instrument rentals. Quality orchestral instruments may also be rented through TML. Please visit our Instrument Rental page here to rent an instrument to be delivered to your front door with our Rent-From-Home program.

Pianos
It is essential to have an acoustic piano accessible for practicing on a daily basis. While an acoustic piano is best, this may not be a possibility for some. Digital keyboards with 88 weighted keys that imitate the touch of an acoustic piano are a reasonable alternative for beginners. There are many places where you can rent or buy either an acoustic piano or a weighted digital keyboard.

Northern Virginia Piano Recommendations
Piano tuner: Mattias Wandler – 703-975-7249 or matzemusic@aol.com
Piano Mover: Congressional Piano Movers – 888-956-5678
Piano Dealer (new and used): Rick Jones Pianos – 301 345-5425

Calendar

See our TML Calendar here for our schedule of lessons, classes, and holidays.

Technology Requirements

Technology is paramount in creating an exceptional online learning experience for music studies. You will need a computer or mobile device with a microphone, camera, and stable Internet connection.

The following recommendations will allow for the most successful virtual lesson:

• Access to FaceTime or Zoom platform
• A stable Internet connection
  • Connection directly with an Ethernet cable will provide the best connection possible.
  • If connecting by Wi-Fi, your signal will be stronger if no one else is using Wi-Fi during your lesson.
• External Microphone such as Blue Snowball USB, Shure Motiv, or Blue Yeti USB (multi-pattern)

Additional options for online equipment include:

• Ring light
  • QIAYA Selfie Light Ring
  • 8″ Selfie Ring Light with Selfie Stick Tripod
• Video Camera or phone/iPad (for different angles on the piano keys)
  • Sony – Handycam CX405

Parental Guidance

Parental involvement is an important element in supporting your students’ musical studies. We encourage parents to monitor student practice throughout the week, as well as encourage and assist as needed in the student’s practice time.

Please take the time to communicate and develop a good relationship with your students’ teacher.

Encourage your student in his/her daily practice time. Be sure that correct posture, hand position, fingering is being followed per the teacher’s instruction. Accuracy in these areas is extremely important, as failure of these developmental stages can cause bad habits and become extremely detrimental down the road.

Student Responsibilities

• Students are required to arrive on time for their scheduled lesson. Should a student arrive late, the lesson will still be concluded on time and any time missed by the student will be forfeited.
• Students are to be prepared in having all instructional materials present for their lesson (this includes their music books, scores, assignment and/or notebook, pencil, metronome, etc…).
• Students should be respectful and address their teacher professionally.
• If studying online, please be sure that your scheduled lesson time is uninterrupted and free of background noise and/or distraction.
• Always ask questions! Your teacher is there to help guide you in your musical students and will be more than happy to help answer any questions you may have.
• Be sure to follow your teacher’s weekly assignments and/or practice recommendations to ensure that you come to your next lesson prepared.

Festivals, Competitions, and Performance Opportunities

Many of our Faculty are members of professional music organizations that provide opportunities for students to participate in festivals and competitions. Additionally, TML provides student performance opportunities through our various recitals, studio classes, group classes, performance classes, etc.

PERFORMANCE ATTIRE

Performance, for studio classes or group classes are welcoming events where school attire or business casual dress is appropriate.

Recitals, festivals, and/or competitions are considered formal events, and dress/performance attire is appropriate.

Classes & Group Sessions

Please see our Online and Onsite calendars for a current scheduling of all our class offerings.

Referral Rewards

We appreciate your referrals to The Music Loft. When your referral registers and completes a semester of private lessons, we will give you 4 weeks of instruction for FREE as a thank you for recommending us!

Master Classes

Master Classes are held every semester in both our Herndon and Ashburn locations. Teens and adults have the option to join a Master Class or to have his/her regularly scheduled lesson in lieu of Master Classes. See the calendar for the exact dates.

Tuition & Billing

• All tuition runs on auto-pay and is charged on the first of the month. We only accept online payments. All payments are non-refundable.
• The tuition amount each month is the same, as it is calculated according to the number of sessions each term.
• Summer billing is pro-rated based on the amount of sessions taken.
• Tuition will be pro-rated for students enrolling mid-month or mid-semester.
• Please keep your billing information current, as a late fee of $25.00 will be incurred for declined or insufficient funds transactions after 5 business days.
• You may log into your Mindbody customer portal at any time to update billing information, view your auto-pay schedule, and/or view past payments.
• Tuition rates are assessed over the summer and adjusted each Fall Term, as necessary.
• Any changes in your enrollment must be submitted in writing 30 days prior to the next billing cycle.
• Should you need to speak directly to our staff regarding your account, please email Sharon Bernson directly (sharon@themusicloftonline.com), and she will be happy to assist you.

ADDITIONAL EXPENSES

Music books, scores, sheet music, and other instructional materials are not included in the monthly tuition.

Competition, Festival, and Online Class fees are not included in tuition, and will be billed as scheduled or as they occur.

Additional lessons (outside of the 8 lessons allotted each semester) may be purchased and/or scheduled at the students’ request. Please discuss scheduling and availability with your teacher and then e-mail the office (info@themusicloftonline.com) the desired lessons you agreed upon between teacher and student. The additional lessons will be billed to your account accordingly.