Professional Music Instruction

for Acoustic and Electric Guitar • and Electric Bass

Here at Goodtime Music, we understand the importance of music education. Our lesson program is one way we try to put something back into the world of music. We feel that we are keeping something alive that is important to us as well as everyone else in our community. To accomplish this, we have established a lesson program policy that will allow us to provide a pleasant, organized, and professional learning environment for all students. These "rules of the road" must be observed in order to maximize each student's learning potential and to keep our business running smoothly.

LESSON TIMES
Lessons are available in half-hour increments on:
Monday- Thursday from 1PM to 8:30PM
Friday from 1PM to 6:30PM
Saturday from 11:30AM to 4:30PM
All time slots are subject to teacher availability and are filled on a first come/first served basis.

PAYMENT AND ATTENDANCE
Lessons cost $17 per half hour weekly session for all instruments we teach, which includes electric and acoustic guitar, and electric bass. Lessons are purchased on a monthly basis. ALL LESSON ACCOUNTS AND PAYMENTS ARE DUE ON THE FIRST LESSON OF THE MONTH IN FULL. NO EXCEPTIONS. IF A LESSON ACCOUNT IS NOT PAID ON THE FIRST LESSON OF THE MONTH, A $20 LATE FEE WILL BE CHARGED. Payment is to be made by cash or check directly to the teacher. Credit and debit cards are not accepted for lesson payments.

Your lesson payment reserves an ongoing spot on your teachers' schedule. Whether you attend that lesson or not, the spot is still reserved for you. For this reason, lessons are not credited or refunded. This is also why lesson fees are based on the number of calendar weeks in each given month and not on how many the student plans on attending. The instructors at Goodtime Music only offer full-time lesson spots. That is, a student is expected to attend all of his/her lessons. We do understand, however, that some events are out of the student's control and some lessons will be missed. If a lesson must be missed, it is the student's responsibility to contact the instructor directly (not the shop) by the close of business (9PM) on the preceding day to see if a makeup lesson is available. Makeup lessons are booked at the instructor's convenience and must occur within 30 days of the missed lesson. A no-call/no-show absence will result in the loss of that week's lesson payment. Our instructors run at 90% capacity or greater most of the year and makeup slots are few, so it is important that students make every effort to attend the lesson time they signed up for. Excessive cancellations (more than one in a 30-day period) will put the student's spot on our schedule at risk of forfeiture and impede the student's progress. If your instructor must cancel a lesson for any reason, the student will, of course, be given a credit or a makeup lesson, whichever is more convenient for the student and the teacher.

Goodtime Music not available for lessons on all major national holidays. Students can expect no lessons given on: New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, 4th Of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day.
All other minor holidays (Halloween, Veteran's Day, etc) are teaching days and all lessons will be given as normal.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Students are expected to arrive at their lessons on time. If a student is late, they will receive the balance of time remaining in their time slot. Students are expected to bring all materials deemed necessary for their lesson by their instructor. This includes books, tapes, CDs, etc. Students are also expected to actively participate in their own musical training. In short, they are expected to practice on a daily basis. Regular practice of 30-60 minutes a day is the core of learning any instrument and no progress can be expected without it.

Music lessons are a discipline and a time commitment, no matter the age of the student or their amount of prior experience. A lesson is not a play date, a babysitter, or a social period. Music can be a wonderful experience for both student and teacher if approached correctly and with the proper attitude. Music can provide a lifetime of enjoyment, artistic expression, increased self-esteem, and character building but must be undertaken with the same sense of commitment and purpose as school or athletics for these positive benefits to occur. We welcome your questions and comments regarding our policies or about the process of training musicians. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

-- The Staff at Goodtime Music