Kevin Guess

Studio Policies

Effective 8/16/2026 thru 8/13/2027

Thank you for choosing me as your piano teacher! In order to make my studio run smoothly and ensure that students get the most from their lessons, I have established the following policies. Please read carefully. When you have read and understood them, complete the Permissions & Consent form at the bottom of the page. Thank you for your cooperation!

My Responsibilities

For each student, I will aim to do the following to the best of my abilities:

Teach to read & understand music, to play the piano and to develop general musical skills as are needed for music to grow in ones life and for a strong foundation should pursuing music professionally become a student’s aim.
Strive in lessons to develop a good working relationship with each student, to facilitate both attentiveness & striving to do well and, generally, to have a good time in the process.
As much as possible, to aid in the discovery of the joy of music that I have discovered, the means to attain and expand that joy and the opportunities that are important to success.

Student & Family Responsibilities

Students should aim to arrive at each lesson:

On time.
Well-prepared, which means having engaged in daily quality practice and having completed all assignments.
With all books or other materials they will need. Generally, if it is on a student’s assignment page, it should be brought even if it is not currently being used.

Performances and Other Activities

Performing is not the only reason to learn piano & music, but it is mostly through performance that people engage with music, whether the performance is live or pre-recorded and whether engaging as a performer or listener. The experience of performing is really quite important for understanding music. Consequently, I strongly urge students to perform. Performance opportunities include studio recitals, group classes, Piano Guild auditions and CCMTA & TMTA sponsored festivals, contests and convention performances.

Non-performance activities available include the TMTA Theory Test, World of Music Test, Composition Contest & Publication Contest. Which activities a student will participate in will be discussed at the beginning of the Fall semester. For more information about events go to the Events page.

Instrument Requirements

It is strongly encouraged that students have an acoustic piano at home. Some keyboards can work okay, and a good keyboard is better than a bad piano, but students get the most out of studying piano by practicing on an acoustic piano. If a keyboard is chosen instead, the keyboard must be full size and have weighted keys. Very early, students will need the full range of a piano keyboard.For the pros & cons of pianos & keyboards and some instrument recommendations, please go to the Pianos & Keyboards page.

My Music Staff

My Music Staff is a service created for music teachers that I am using to handle invoices and various other aspects of my studio. Students create a free account with My Music Staff, which can be accessed from my website, and thereafter may log in to access a calendar, repertoire, lending library, online resources (including video lessons and videos/recordings of music students are working on) and news & blog posts. When you click on “Parents” in my website’s header you will be taken to a page with more detailed information and the My Music Staff login button. Once you have set up your My Music Staff account, however, you can login on the My Music Staff website, as well.

Tuition

For more details about payment of tuition and fees and what they cover, go to Tuition & Fees.

Tuition payments may be made monthly, or by semester. Monthly payments are due on the 1st of the month. Semester payments are due on the 1st of the 1st month of the semester. Both are considered late after the 10th of the month for which payment is due. A $25 processing fee is charged for payments made after the 10th.

Payments may be made via cash, check or Zelle. Checks should be make payable to Kevin Guess. Zelle payments may be made to my phone number.

Scheduling

During the Fall & Spring semesters, lessons are scheduled Monday through Friday of each week except for scheduled holidays and breaks (see the Calendar page). Each student will be given a specific time on one of those days. Schedule change requests will be considered on a case by case basis. Summer lesson times are more flexible and students will be given a chance to choose Summer lesson times in May.

Cancellations

Regarding cancellations, lessons are subject to the following conditions:

Any lesson that I cancel will be made up or a payment credit will be given.
No payment credit will be given for any reason for lessons missed by students.
Lessons missed by students are not guaranteed a make-up, but may be made up at my discretion at a time of my choosing.
Lessons cancelled less than 24 hours in advance will not be considered for a make-up except for unforeseen, unavoidable circumstances (that is, student became sick that day, a death in the family and so on).

The tuition paid for each student reserves an exclusive weekly time in my schedule for that student. Unlike a doctor or a hairdresser, I cannot resell that time nor can I create extra teaching time in which to give lessons.

Making Up Lessons

To simplify make-up lessons, the weeks before the Christmas Break and before the Summer Break are set aside for Make-Up Days. Additionally, one lesson may be made up during the Summer. Conditions for making up lessons are as follows:

If I cancel a student’s lesson in the Fall, that lesson will be automatically rescheduled to the Make-Up Day unless I choose to make other arrangements, we agree on those arrangements and the lesson is made-up. >
If a Make-Up lesson for a lesson I cancelled is not scheduled during the Make-Up Days, the Make-Up Day may be used for a lesson the student cancelled. Otherwise,the student will not have a lesson during that week.
If the student cancels a lesson that has been scheduled during the Make-Up Days, no other make-up will be given.
Alternative ways to make-up lessons are to add extra time, if the schedule allows, to successive lessons (for example, 15 minutes extra for 3 lessons to make up one 45 minute lesson) and watch a video lesson. Video lessons will cover various topics and will be available through My Music Staff.

Fees

The Annual Operations Fee of $100 covers studio maintenance, recital rental fees, office supplies, and so on. This fee is due in September of each year and is non-refundable. Students beginning lessons with me in the Spring need only pay half of the full amount, while students beginning in the Summer will pay nothing until the beginning of the Fall semester.

Additionally, a fee of $15 will be assessed for each student participating in one of my studio recitals (Christmas, Spring or Duet).

Ending Lessons

If for any reason you must stop lessons, one month’s notice is requested. Since the monthly tuition is pro-rated, at the time lessons end, the cost of the lessons given and the amount of tuition paid will not likely be the same. If it is early in the Fall, you have over paid and be due a refund, but if it is late in the Spring or in early in the Summer you will likely have underpaid and owe an additional amount. I will determine the amount of the refund or additional payment and provide you with a spreadsheet showing how I arrived at that amount.

Regrettably, I sometimes have to dismiss a student. The following are conditions that can lead to dismissal of a student:

Repeated failure to pay tuition on time.
Excessive absences.
Repeated failure to practice or compete assignments (in this case, the student will be put on probation for a semester before dismissal is considered).

I am reluctant to dismiss a student. Before resorting to dismissal, I will make every attempt to resolve the issue.

Preferences & Consent Form

If you or your child are having lessons this Fall, please complete and submit the Preferences & consent form below. Thank you!