General Policies
1) Lessons will start and end on time.  If the student arrives late, the lesson will still end at the appointed time.

2) Families will receive an invoice every month, with payment due on the first lesson of the month.  Melanie Adams will not teach a lesson until it has been paid for. There are no refunds once fees have been paid. Canceled lessons must be made up, the credit rolled over to the next invoice, or forfeited. If, after an invoice has been sent, a change is required that necessitates creation of a new invoice, a $10 administrative fee will be added to the new invoice. 

3) Students must give minimum 48 hours' notice to cancel a lesson for any reason.  If the student is under 18, any cancelations must come from a parent. The only exception to this rule is in the case of physical illness (ie: cold or flu) of the student. In this case, the lesson must be canceled no later than 10 a.m. on the lesson day.  Lessons missed or canceled with insufficient notice are not made up, and will be paid for by the student. If a student comes to a lesson sick and has to be sent home, it will be treated as a missed lesson. If a cancellation is absolutely unavoidable, moving the lesson to Zoom may be possible (see Special Policies for Online Lessons below).

4) If a student withdraws from lessons (either permanently, or before the end of term), two weeks' notice must be given, or the equivalent fees paid.

5)  Students are to purchase all necessary materials required (music and theory books, downloads, etc) and are responsible for any and all festival, competition and accompaniment fees. 

6)  If I lend materials (books, etc) to a student, they must be returned in good condition. If not, the student will reimburse Melanie Adams for the cost of the book.

7)  Students will inform Melanie Adams about any and all solo performances, auditions, or competitions they would like to do, and all repertoire for same will be chosen from the student’s current performance-ready repertoire. Students WILL NOT sign up for competitions, auditions, or engage in solo performances without first informing Melanie and receiving approval.

8)  Melanie Adams is not liable for any accidents or injuries occurring on her premises.

Special Policies for Online Lessons
Now that we are in a post-Covid era, lessons are taught in-person. However, Zoom is still available for the following instances:

  • for anyone who is showing any symptoms of cold, flu, Covid, or other illnesses, but still can and want to have their lesson;
  • if I have am showing signs of illness as above;
  • an option in case of inclement weather serious enough to hamper the ability to travel;
  • for anyone whose commute to the studio is an hour or more each way (not combined)
  • for anyone living outside the Lower Mainland.

For an online lesson, students must have an internet device with download speed of minimum 50 Mbps (can be checked easily at https://www.speedtest.net/).  Students are responsible for making sure that their Internet connection is sufficient for their lesson.  Lessons or lesson time lost due to connectivity issues will not be made up or reimbursed.