Lesson Policies

 Any updates or changes to Embark Music Lessons' policies will be posted on this page.

PAYMENTS

Neither Embark Music Lessons, nor its teachers, accept personal checks or cash. Payments are made using Automatic Recurring Billing once it is set up. Until then, payments are to be made via Zelle or Venmo. Payment instructions will be sent when you enroll.

Tuition will be deducted from the bank account or credit/debit card of your choice on the 1st of each month. We accept Visa or MasterCard, as well as debits from your bank account. Payments are made directly to the company for the month in advance. 

Students are charged a flat-rate tuition fee each month. Most months, the student will receive 4 lessons. Some months, because of the way the weeks fall, the student will receive 5 lessons: we do not charge extra for 5-lesson months. Due to Studio Scheduled Vacations such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, the student will occasionally receive 3 lessons in a month. The 3-lesson months and the 5-lesson months balance out to an average of 4 lesson per month over the course of the year. A flat rate tuition fee is charged each month. Throughout the year, students will be notified in advance of Studio Scheduled Vacations. See “Studio Scheduled Vacations” on this page. No refunds or credits are given if a student discontinues lessons before their 3- and 5- week months balance out. 

The only time Embark Music Lessons prorates tuition is during the first month of lessons and in extreme circumstances, which are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

STUDIO SCHEDULED VACATIONS

Specific dates for Studio Scheduled Vacations will be announced at the beginning of each semester. In general, we do not teach on normal school vacation days (but we do teach throughout the summer), including the following:   

Spring Break  

Easter Weekend

Memorial Day  

July 4th Week 

Labor Day  

Thanksgiving Week  

Christmas / New Years vacation  

* Tuition is not adjusted for Studio Scheduled Vacations  (see Lesson Payment Procedures above for an explanation of how the flat-rate monthly tuition works).

MAKE-UPS, RESCHEDULES & ABSENCES

Lessons missed due to teacher absence will be made up.  

Lessons missed due to student absences will be made up if the teacher receives 48-hours notice from the student/parent. The exception to the 48-hour cancellation policy is in the case of student illness or true emergency. The definition of a true emergency is at the teacher’s and office's discretion.  

Regardless of the circumstances, no make-ups/reschedules/credits/refunds will be given if a student is not home or unavailable for a lesson at their scheduled lesson time and the student/parent fails to inform teacher ahead of time of their absence.   

In the event of inclement weather (severe storms, hail, tornado watches/warnings, freezing rain, un-plowed snow on the road, etc), the individual teacher makes the decision whether he/she feels it is safe to travel to your lesson. If the teacher believes weather and/or road conditions make it unsafe to travel, the teacher will inform the student/parent as soon as possible and online lessons will be arranged via Google Meet, FaceTime, or video chat in lieu of in-person lessons.

Special note about student illness: 

If your teacher comes to a scheduled lesson and the student is ill, the teacher has the right to leave the lesson with no makeup/reschedule or credit given, regardless of how long the teacher was at the house. “Ill” might include (but is not limited to): excessive coughing or sneezing, sore throat, or a fever or vomiting within 24 hours of the lesson. If the student is experiencing any symptoms but you know it is simply from allergies or due to something non-contagious (such as a sore throat from screaming at a football game), please communicate to your teacher that you know the student is not contagious before the lesson begins.  

Do understand that our teachers want to be there to teach you. Our goal in enforcing this policy is to keep from spreading sickness among our teachers and students. Your teacher sees multiple students each day. The population we work with can often be more susceptible to catching illnesses, so it is important that they take precautions to protect our teachers and their other students. Communication is key—if you aren’t sure, just communicate what is going on to your teacher.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES IS THE TEACHER ALLOWED TO BE IN THE STUDENT'S HOME WITHOUT A PARENT OR GUARDIAN PRESENT AND ON THE PREMISIS. 

LONG TERM ABSENCES

Long-term absences are detrimental to the student’s development and enjoyment of lessons. After returning from a long-term absence, the student will experience frustration as they will be reviewing things they knew only a couple of months ago!   

Neither Embark Music Lessons nor its teachers are able to hold spots for students who choose to take a long-term absence from lessons, such as summer breaks. Our company and its teachers operate with a waiting list most of the time, so open spots are filled up very quickly. We strongly encourage all students to continue lessons throughout the summer. Students who continue through the summer will be given first priority when scheduling lessons for the fall. If the student must take a long-term absence, the only way to hold a spot with the current teacher is to continue paying for lessons throughout their absence or to purchase a summer lesson package (details about summer lesson packages are sent out in March/April each year). 

CANCELLATION POLICY/DISCONTINUING LESSONS

Your commitment is one calendar month at a time. To permanently cancel lessons or to temporarily pause lessons, you need to inform the office (not just the teacher) no later than the 20th of the month before the month you wish to cancel. Example: To cancel for October, you must notify the office no later than September 20th. Cancellation notification must be given to the office via email to hello@Embarkmusiclessons.com.   

You are financially responsible for lessons until you notify the office directly of your cancellation. Notifying the teacher of your cancellation/pause is polite, however, it does not constitute notifying the office.  

There are no refunds for un-used lessons due to student cancellations except in extreme situations at the discretion of the company, not the teacher.   

Your automatic payments will continue until you notify the office staff of your discontinuation in writing (via email or text is sufficient) and no refunds will be given for any unused lessons due to failure to notify office of cancellation.

YOUR TEACHER

If you wish to work with a teacher other than your originally assigned teacher, you must contact Embark Music Lessons to arrange this.   

Embark Music Lessons' teachers are bound by contract to work with you and/or your family only through Embark Music Lessons. Out of respect for the work of the company and its staff, teachers may not teach former or potential Embark Music Lessons students on their own.   

Embark Music Lessons offers a positive, honest, and professional experience for our students and teachers. We expect our students and teachers to treat us with the same respect and professionalism. Embark Music Lessons and its teachers reserve the right to un-enroll any student or decline any student due to student behavior, parent behavior, lack of payment, student moving to new area, or any other reason the company or teachers deem necessary.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 

Embark Music Lessons staff and management work very hard to hire the best possible teachers for you, our students. Good teachers are NOT easy to come by! Each hired teacher represents substantial time and financial investment. Our teachers have signed a legally-binding contract agreeing that they will not teach your family outside of the relationship with Embark Music Lessons for at least 24 months after leaving Embark.  

Likewise, we ask our students to treat Embark with the same ethical considerations. Students and their families agree not to retain the services of any Embark teachers -- regardless of subject matter, regardless of the nature of services, and regardless of the location of the services --during their contract with Embark Music Lessons and for a period of 12 months following the end of their contract with Embark Music Lessons. If a student or their family fails to honor this agreement, student agrees to pay a Placement & Training Fee to Embark Music Lessons equal to $1000, due to Embark prior to the start of your work with said teacher outside of the Embark relationship/contract. This placement fee is charged on a per-student basis.

SCHEDULING LESSONS

You will schedule your lesson time with your teacher. Lessons are held on the same day at the same time each week unless prior arrangements have been made to reschedule (see Make Ups, Reschedules, & Absences section above).

Lesson time starts within one minute after your teacher arrives at your house. Students should be ready to play at their scheduled time. Please prepare the student to be ready and physically close to their instrument at the scheduled lesson start time. With that said, we understand the population we work with sometimes has rough moments and sometimes transitions can be difficult. Therefore, we provide a 5-minute leeway to start the lesson when a student is having trouble transitioning. This 5-minute leeway is to be applied only when the student is having difficulties starting the lesson, and not to be applied when the family is running late or forgot about the lesson, or other challenges that affect all families.

Please understand that as traveling teachers, we occasionally run into unexpected traffic holdups and periodically run a couple minutes late or early. Please allow a 5-10 minute time cushion when scheduling your other activities around music lessons. 

DISPUTES

Should a student/parent have a dispute regarding whether a lesson was received, or whether full lesson time was given, Embark Music Lessons management will investigate the lesson(s) in question with both student/parent and teacher and will remain the sole and final decision maker in in resolving such disputes, including what money and/or lessons are owed regarding such dispute. We review detailed attendance files weekly in order to avoid confusion and ensure that lessons are being received. However, if confusion over lessons does arise, we will do everything in our power to come to a resolution in the fairest way possible, making sure the student does receive any lessons owed. 

Should a customer/student dispute a charge through their financial institution, it will constitute a breach of contract possibly resulting in -- but not limited to-- penalties, additional fees, collection, legal action, and/or termination of any and/or all current and future services. 

REFERRALS: EARN FREE LESSONS!

We know you will be happy with our teachers! Tell friends and neighbors about us and receive a FREE MONTH OF LESSONS! See EARN FREE LESSONS for suggestions on how you can take advantage of the referral program and potentially never pay for lessons again! 

Note: Your free month of lessons comes in the form of a lesson credit equal to the regular monthly tuition you pay for one student/instrument. You will receive this free month of lessons after your referral completes their third month of lessons with us. The lesson credit is not redeemable for cash or refund. If you refer more than one student at a time, lesson credits will be used toward future months. Students who discontinue lessons for any period of time will lose any referral credits they have gained. 

WAIVER

While the chance for injury or damage occurring during a music lesson is extremely low, the student and their parent(s) understand that any activity involves some level of risk, and anytime you bring someone into your home, accidents can happen (i.e. a chair is broken, water is spilled on floor, etc).  Students and their parents agree that they will not hold Embark Music Lessons, or any of its owners or staff, liable should injury or damage be caused by a teacher while on the student's/parent's property. The student and their parent(s) agree to hold Embark Music Lessons blameless.

PHOTO/VIDEO RELEASE:

We enjoy sharing pictures and accomplishments of our Embark students! By agreeing to Embark Music Lessons policies you give permission for Embark Music Lessons to: (1) take photographs and video recordings of your children as they participate in Embark activities; and (2) use, reuse, modify, publish, and republish those photographs, videos, and any derivative works (“Photos”) in any format or media, including the Internet, for purposes related to Embark's mission. You waive any claims, demands, and liabilities against Embark Music Lessons for taking and using these Photos. You understand that this release is binding upon you, your children, and any legal representatives, heirs, and assigns.

When sharing pictures or videos of your child, we use the first name and city/state in which they take lessons. We do not share last names, home addresses or any contact information.

To opt out of Embark Music Lessons' Photo/Video Release Policy, please send a written notification to hello@Embarkmusiclessons.com

POLICIES SPECIFIC TO SUMMER LESSON PACKAGES

EML offers regular weekly lessons throughout the summer, and regular weekly lessons are the best for student growth and retaining skills learned. However, we know some families go out of town extensively over the summer, and for those circumstances, we offer a Summer Lesson Package, which allows you to select between 5 or 7 lessons to be taken at your discretion (at a mutually available time with your teacher) over the summer. Summer lesson packages are available for all regular students. 

Contact your teacher each time you want to schedule a summer lesson, or if you already know your summer schedule, you can schedule all of your lessons right away. It is the student’s/parent’s responsibility to contact the teacher when you want a lesson. Neither the office nor the teacher will harass you to schedule a lesson (we wouldn’t like that either!) or remind you about your lesson package, as we do not know your summer schedule and can't predict when you want lessons.

If you do not hear from the teacher within 24 hours after contacting him/her to schedule a lesson, contact the EML office at hello@Embarkmusiclessons.comwithin 48 hours of this lack of response. We will be able to tell you if the teacher is out of town or other scenarios, and help you to make the best use of your lesson package in a timely manner. EML will not be responsible for refunding/crediting your lesson package due to an inability to schedule with the teacher if you wait more than 48 hours to report the situation to us. Let us know of any issues or lack of communication from your teacher immediately. Embark is committed to excellent service, and we are only able to offer this level of excellence if you communicate any issues immediately.

Please be mindful of how many lessons you have, and how much time is left in the summer so you can make use of all of your lessons. A teacher cannot be expected to fit in all of every students’ lessons in a two-week mad rush before the new school year starts. Therefore:
You may use up to 3 lessons per month if you purchased an 7-Lesson Package.
You may use up to 2 lessons per month if you purchased a 5-Lesson Package.

Keep in mind that your “regular” or school-year time slot will likely not be available to you. The teachers can only hold time slots for those who are taking lessons on a weekly basis. Therefore, you’ll have to schedule your Summer Package lessons individually. If your regular teacher is not available-- or if you cannot find a mutually available time for your lesson with your regular teacher-- a different teacher will be assigned to you for the summer lessons (though we do everything in our power to keep you with your original teacher!).

Summer Lesson Packages are valid June 1 through August 31 only. No refunds/makeups/reschedules/credits will be given for unused lessons. Additionally, there are no refunds or credits for Summer Lesson Packages for any reason, including a change of mind, deciding to take another trip that you weren’t planning originally, etc. EML is offering you the chance to take lessons whenever you want this summer (6/1-8/31) with no monthly commitment. In exchange, you are financially committing to the 5 or 7 lessons you are purchasing, regardless of whether you ultimately use them or not. 

The only situation that would warrant a refund is if your current teacher is not available and EML has no replacement teachers to send to you. In that case, a prorated refund would be made to you. No refunds/credits given if we do have a replacement teacher to send to you.

These Summer Lesson Package policies do not cancel out any other EML policies – including, but not limited to, our lesson cancellation policies, late policies, etc.