A short guide to how payments, cancellations and breaks work at First Chord. If anything here isn’t clear, just ask your tutor and we’ll talk it through.
How we receive payments
First Chord Music School uses Stripe, which allows us to take secure weekly payments by direct debit. A payment link will be sent to you before your first lesson.
Missed lessons & cancellations
If you can’t attend your in person lesson, there are two options:
- A virtual lesson on Zoom at your scheduled slot.
- Your tutor will send you a video (5 to 10 minutes) with notes on what to practise for next lesson.
Please note that no shows, or cancellations on the day of the lesson, are not eligible for a practice video.
If you need to cancel a lesson, we ask for one week’s notice. The lesson would not be charged in this instance. If a tutor has to cancel a lesson, payment will be paused for that lesson.
Extended lesson breaks
Lessons can be paused for a maximum of 3 weeks. On the 4th and 5th week, charges will occur at the normal lesson rate. If lessons need to be paused for 6 weeks or more, we would have a chat about stepping back from lessons for the time being, so that we can offer the time slot to another student.
Please note that this policy does not apply over the summer holidays (July and August).
Holidays
We operate throughout all bank holidays and the summer. Over Christmas and Easter we take a two week break. Some tutors may offer lessons during Easter for those who would like them.
Changing your time slot & ending lessons
We completely understand that life gets in the way and things change. If you need to change your slot, we’ll work with you to find a more convenient time. If you need to end your lessons with us, we ask for 2 lessons notice.
Thanks very much for reading through this. We aim to keep everything as clear as possible, to offer prices that are fair for you, and to provide consistency for our tutors.