It is our desire to make sure that every student has the opportunity to have 4 lessons every month. We believe that consistency is key for student success with music.

We understand sometimes 'life happens' and we strive to work with you concerning absences. We also ask for your consideration as most of our teachers schedule’s are near capacity.

• Missed Lessons With 24 Hours Notice: If you need to miss a lesson, we ask for at least 24 hours notice. You should attempt to contact your teacher directly, but can also leave word with OCA administrators. Advance notice allows our teachers to plan their days and make appropriate use of their limited time. It also increases our ability to schedule make-up lessons. 
• Same-Day Cancelations: We understand that the unforeseen happens. If something happens the day of your lesson please try to contact your teacher before your lesson time. Your teacher may be able to accommodate you within reason, but it is likely your teacher will not be able to reschedule a day-of cancelation. If day-of cancelations happen more than once a month, we cannot guarantee 4 lessons in that period, and you should consider requesting a different time or stopping lessons until your schedule allows regular attendance.
• Missed Lessons With No Notice: If you miss a lesson and no attempt is made to give your teacher or On Chord Academy notice prior to the lesson, we consider that lesson forfeit, as the teacher was present and available for the student to have their lesson.
• Make-Up Lessons Do Not Accumulate: Because we believe that lesson consistency is important for students to progress, and because of the burden scheduling make-up lessons places on our teachers, we do not allow make-up lessons to accumulate. If you have missed a lesson, and need to miss a second lesson before the first is made up, the studio considers the subsequent lesson forfeit. In this scenario it is advisable for you to stop lessons until such time as you'd be able to consistently make your lesson times.
• Missed Make-Up Lessons: If you agree to a make-up lesson time with your teacher and end up missing it, we consider the make-up forfeit, as the teacher made themselves available for the lesson.
• Extended Absences: If you know you are going to miss 2 or more lessons in a 4-6 week timeframe (whether for vacation, medical, or personal reasons, etc.) we recommend stopping your lessons until such time as you are able to attend your lessons consistently.
• If You Stop Lessons, We Cannot Hold The Lesson Time: Please note, if you find it is necessary to stop lessons we would like you to know that we are unable to hold your lesson time. During most of the year our teachers have a waiting list of students looking to start lessons and any lessons time that become available will be offered to them.  If you need to stop lessons, we will be happy to work with you when you returnto find an available lesson time.
• Teacher Absences: Our teachers are all professionals in their fields and are dedicated to providing their students regular consistent lessons. However, from time to time a teacher may need to reschedule their lessons. When a teacher plans to miss scheduled lessons, they will provide a make-up schedule to either provide make-up lessons in advance or after the missed lessons. If the teacher is sick or there is some other emergency that requires the teacher to miss their lesson they will work with their students & parents to find a time that works for make-up lessons. Regardless of the reason why a teacher misses a lesson, the teacher will work with their students to find a date & time that works for everyone to conduct a make-up lesson.
• National Holidays: The studio will not be open on the following holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve, Independence Day and Halloween. If your lesson falls on one of these holidays we will work with you in advance of the holiday to reschedule. The studio will be open for lessons on all other holidays, but individual teachers may choose to observe others. In these cases, the teacher will work with you in advance to reschedule. If you are going to be out of town for a holiday not listed above, please let your teacher know at least 24 hours in advance of the missed day. 

As discussed in our Attendance and Make-Up Policy above, we will strive to provide 4 lessons every month. Lessons are prepaid. The monthly fee is the same every month and assures your half-hour time slot is reserved for you every week. You are paying to reserve the teacher’s time, and a studio room once a week, whether you choose to attend or miss.

• 5th Weeks: The lesson fee will remain the same for months with 5 weeks. If a month has 5 lesson days, there will be no 5th lesson. Some teachers choose to use 5th weeks for making up a lessons. This is their prerogative, and not a guarantee.
• Billing Options:Tuition payments are due in full by the first lesson, and on the anniversary of the first lesson day. There are two billing options for lessons at On Chord Academy: We highly prefer you use automated payment. In extreme cases we can accept payment in the form of a personal check or cash.
  • Recurring Payments - When we confirm lesson enrollment over the phone, we collect a card so that your monthly payment will automatically be deducted. We accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover credit and debit cards. The payment will occur on the anniversary of your first scheduled lesson. For example, if your first lesson takes place on the 5th, then your payment will be processed every month on the 5th. You are only ever agreeing to a 4-week billing period and can stop lessons at any time (see lesson termination below).
  • Personal Check: – If you are cannot use a credit or debit card we can accept a personal check on a limited basis, made out to On Chord Academy. Full payment will be due by your first lesson of the month. If you miss payment for the first week a $15 penalty will be added to your monthly amount. Failure to pay by your second lesson of the month will be grounds for lesson termination.
• Lesson Termination: If you wish to terminate music lessons at On Chord Academy, we require written notice 30 days in advance, delivered to contact@onchordacademy.com. On Chord Academy reserves the right to dismiss students due to: failure to pay, repeated failure to comply with studio and cancellation policies, theft or destruction of On Chord Academy property or that of its teachers and students.

• Practice: The majority of progress a music student makes occurs during their daily practice. Daily practice is the surest way to guarantee consistent progress. We recommend students practice 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week in order to maximize the investment in their musical education.
• Studio Property: We ask that you treat our physical location with respect and courtesy. Our school is still a work in progress, but we do everything we can to make it an accessible, clean, safe and pleasant environment. As you park, enter and leave school premises, please also be respectful of our neighbors.
• Studio Etiquette: We ask that you treat everyone you encounter through On Chord Academy with respect. This includes fellow students, teachers, and the staff as well as family members. Please keep noise to a minimum in the common areas.