san diego piano academy
2025 - Lesson Information and Agreement
**By beginning or continuing lessons with The San Diego Piano Academy, you agree to abide by this agreement.**
Lesson Information and Agreement (FAQ)
Tuition and Scheduling
Please click HERE to see the full lesson schedule for this year.
What dates are available for lessons in 2025?
Tuition payments are divided equally between the 12 months of the year. Your monthly tuition reserves your spot in our academy and will be the same each month regardless of the number of lessons you take.
What is included in tuition for the year?
How will my lessons be scheduled?
What happens when a scheduled lesson needs to be cancelled?
Teacher Cancellation
**The student or teacher reserves the right to discontinue lessons at any time and for any reason. If the teacher quits, any missed lessons planned for that month will be reimbursed. If the student quits, unused, paid tuition will not be refunded. You will also not owe the remainder of the year's tuition.**
If a scheduled, individual lesson needs to be cancelled, you will plan to make-it up on one of the monthly Make-Up Session Days. (Please reference the calendar HERE to see these specific dates.)
Please notify Kyle before your lesson starts. No shows are not eligible for a make-up session.
Monthly make-up sessions are held starting at 3PM and will either be a group session or an individual session depending on how many people sign up.
Kyle will provide instructions to sign up for these.
You will still pay your monthly tuition as it reserves your spot in our academy with your current teacher. Plans should be made ahead of time to cover these lessons on the make-up session days. You may schedule multiple make-up sessions across different months to cover your time away.
What happens if I need to miss an entire month of lessons?
Yes. We have found that virtual lessons are an effective way to keep lessons going forward.
Occasionally, your teacher may need to conduct a virtual lesson due to illness or travel, and this will be at the discretion of your teacher.
Your teacher's scheduled make-up day each semester may also be conducted virtually.
Will there be online, virtual lessons?
Payment is due on or before the 5th of every month. A $35 late fee will be added to all invoices that are not paid on time. Invoices will be emailed to you on the 1st of every month.
You have 2 payment options:
How do I pay, and when is payment due?
Pricing
30 minutes
$255/month
45 minutes
$380/month
60 minutes
$505/month
1 Student
Tuition
2 Students
Tuition
60 minutes
$510/month
90 minutes
$760/month
120 minutes
$1,010/month
3 Students
Tuition
90 minutes
$765/month
120 minutes
180 minutes
$1,015/month
$1,515/month
Monthly Events at Kyle's Studio
Monthly Group Lessons take place at either 9, 10, or 11AM on the Sunday directly after the monthly recital. Group lessons develop two key musicianship skills that can best be learned in a group setting:
Solfège: Solfège is the language of music and melody. Being skilled at solfège allows one to simply glance at sheet music and hear the notes internally. In addition, solfège unlocks the ability to listen to any music and magically sit down and play it accurately and with confidence. Solfège is taught through singing and notation. There is no better way to learn solfège than by singing it together as a group!
Rhythm: Counting, tapping, feeling rhythm with our bodies and collaborating as a group to create powerful rhythms. If solfège is the brain of music, rhythm work is the soul. Group rhythm work provides a social imperative to follow along with the group, keeping a steady beat to create a shared musical experience.
While Rhythm and Solfège provide the backbone to group lessons, other activities such as musical games, challenges, and mini competitions will be incorporated to keep the classes engaging. Rhythm and solfège training benefit all levels and ages equally as they work in tandem with piano and are not reliant on the student's piano level or experience.
Monthly Group Lessons
Monthly Recitals
Recitals are held at 9, 10, or 11AM on the last Saturday of every month.
Recitals, more than any other activity, improve the quality and effectiveness of piano lessons. For all ages and levels, performing builds confidence, internal motivation, and makes your practicing more effective.
What are the SDPA student recitals and events I can participate in?
SDPA Student Events and Recitals
We will have monthly Friday-Saturday events for 8 months out of each year.
These events will include: student recitals, faculty recitals, masterclasses, studio classes, special events and lectures, and other community related events.
Please click here to see our events calendar. Participation in recitals and masterclasses is up to the teacher's discretion and readiness of the student.
Parents will not be allowed to stand up and move around to film their child performing or take photos. You can remain seated and take video if you’d like. This is to ensure there are no distractions for the performers or disruptions for the audience.
We will however, be filming most events and will make these videos available to you within a week after the event.
*Important: let us know if you are NOT comfortable with us using the event video/photos of you or your child for promotional purposes such as our website and social media.*
Will I be allowed to film these events?
Dress for the recital is professional attire. No tennis shoes, shorts, athletic wear, or mini skirts. In most cases, music must be memorized to participate.
What is the dress code for these events?
There may be other local performance opportunities, competitions, and testing that are available at the teacher's discretion. Registration fees may apply.
Other Local Events and Competitions
Recording Services
Students preparing for college auditions, competitions, or other events may need to prepare and record a professional video as part of their application.
We provide professional audio/video recording and editing. These services are offered on occasional Fridays during the daytime in the Greene Music concert hall.
The rate for these services is $100 per recording hr.
Online Courses
Over the years, we have built an expansive library of video tutorials for many of the pieces we teach as well as courses on technique, theory, and practicing.
We have found that students who use these videos as a supplement to their weekly practice tend to advance about 3x faster than the average student.
These courses are available to all students of the academy and may be required per the teacher's discretion.
What other resources are available to me through the academy?
Referrals
Yes! We offer a $50 referral fee for every family that passes their audition and signs up for lessons past their first month.
Please refer someone to our website: www.sandiegopianoacademy.com.
Next, send Lillian an email at lillian@sandiegopianoacademy.com with the name of who you've referred so we can make sure to credit you the referral discount when applicable.
Are there any special advantages if I refer a student to SDPA?
I have read the lesson agreement in its entirety and agree to abide by the Academy's operating agreement.
*Changes to our lesson agreement may be made any time at the discretion of the Academy. We will inform you of any changes in advance.*
© San Diego Piano Academy 2025