FAQ's - Music Lessons, Band Aid School of Music

Pricing / Tuition

Half hour lessons (in-person or online) are $49 per week and 60 minute lessons are $98.
Lessons happen on a weekly basis and our tuition for each family is set to auto-withdraw on the 1st of each month for the number of lessons in that month (sort of like a prepaid phone plan or other subscription).
Home visit lessons are $98 per week and have to be at least 60 minutes long to account for the extra commute for the teacher.
Group lessons are $45 per student per week for 60 minutes.
We have a scholarship program for students enrolled in our rock band program. Applications can be submitted any time.

“What types of payments do you accept?”

We accept all major Credit Cards (MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover) as well as ACH withdrawals.

“Will I be charged automatically when I submit my credit/debit card information?”

No! We will specify exactly when your first tuition payment will withdraw in your First Lesson Confirmation Email. You’ll receive this email from one of our admin team members after they’ve confirmed your start date/time with you and your instructor.

“Free” Trial Lessons

We do not offer free trials, but we do allow each student to try different instructors after the first lesson if they didn’t like who they were set up with initially.

Month-to-Month Commitment

While the commitment to our programs is on a monthly basis, it usually takes around 3 months to really see if a student (of any age) will want to stick with it. Because of this, we highly recommend committing to at least 3 months.
All of our programs are on a monthly commitment where all we need is a 30-day notice when you’re ready to stop. You’ll finish out the lessons within those 30 days and after that you won’t be charged any further or expected to attend lessons. This policy kicks in once you’ve had your second lesson.

Missing Lessons

“Can I use some of my make-up credits towards a summer camp?”

Please note: make-up credits MAY NOT be applied to summer camps. This is to better guarantee a steady and predictable income for our teachers, who have to take pay cuts whenever these kinds of exceptions are made. Thanks for helping us create these rare and sustainable opportunities for our Austin musicians!

“Who should I notify about needing to miss a lesson?”

There’s no need to reach out via email for your absences. You can text, call or email your instructor directly since they maintain their own calendars.

“What happens when I miss a lesson?”

When you need to miss a lesson, we just ask for 7 days’ notice. If someone is very sick and can’t make it, we ask for 24 hours if possible. As long as you’ve given proper notice of this, you will receive a make-up credit in place of that lesson. These can be used to attend group classes (Band Aid Extras) and are a $89 value! We have many different topics at different times during the month. Click here to learn more and sign up!
Since we offer make-up credits, there won’t be any refunds or rescheduling options available for missed lessons.
The make-up credit model helps us make sure students maintain consistent progress and are exposed to new and unique musical opportunities. It also helps us provide a consistent income to our teachers (a rarity in the music industry).

“What happens when my teacher cancels a lesson?”

When your teacher misses/cancels a lesson, they are expected to give you at least 7 days’ heads up. Then, they’ll work with you to reschedule that lesson. If they were unable to find time to make the lesson up before the end of the semester, we will refund those lessons to your account.
If the teacher cancels more last-minute (sickness or other emergency), they will do their best to make that lesson up with the student as soon as possible (+ a few extra minutes for the inconvenience), or issue a refund to your next tuition payment.

“What happens if I/my student or my teacher cancels due to COVID exposure or positive test result?”

For these types of absences, we are making exceptions to our normal cancellation policy and issuing make-up credits whether proper notice was given or not!
When a teacher has to cancel due to COVID, the policy is the same as above: they will do their best to make that lesson up with the student as soon as possible or issue a refund to your next tuition payment.

Curriculum

“Can I play any style of music I want?”

Yes!!

“Will I have to follow a pre-set curriculum at Band Aid?”

Not necessarily!
We allow teachers to create most of the curriculum for each student case-by-case. This way, what’s being taught is tailored specifically to each individual student based on their interests, skills, goals and temperament.
Band Aid employs Education Directors to help guide and support our teachers. This includes helping them develop a curriculum that works for each student and generally follows the National Core Arts Standards.
The only required parts of our curriculum as a school are the performance events. We have 3 of these per semester:
- (1) The Performance Class is where kids get to learn how to perform in a safe and comfortable environment surrounded by supportive teachers and peers.
- (2) The Dress Rehearsal is where kids will perform the same song as they did in the Performance Class but more polished than before. They’ll get feedback from peers and teachers which is meant to help boost their confidence as well as guide them in what to work on for the big Showcase.
- (3) The Showcase itself is usually held at a popular Austin venue and that’s where each student gets to show off what they’ve learned that semester.
- We never force kids to perform, so if we get students who are a bit more shy, they’re welcome to just observe. We’ve found that even just observing helps to boost inspiration and motivation to continue with their music.

Band Program

Bands rehearse for 90 minutes at a time and are guaranteed an average of 4 sessions per month per semester (sometimes this means one month has more rehearsals where another has less).
For new students interested in joining a band for the first time, we will hold an in-person audition for them, to get a sense for their skill level, interests, strengths and any techniques that may need extra attention. After this audition, we’ll get to work finding a group that the student will be best suited for (this can take a few weeks depending on available spots and scheduling).
For current students already in private lessons or students who attended at least 1 prior summer camp, we’ll collaborate with their instructor to see which band they would benefit from the most.
When students come in for a band, we’ll have them come in for a trial run to see if they mesh well. We always follow up with the teacher, current members of the band and the new student to see how everyone felt about it. If it’s a match then that student is cleared to continue in weekly rehearsals. If it’s not a match we just move onto the next option :).
Bands receive 6 built-in performances and multiple recording opportunities throughout the year that our team coordinates (and possibly more depending on how eager they are to play backyard concerts, etc.).
Band tuition is a flat rate of $288/month with the benefit of all other fees and performance costs included, so it’ll never be more than that! If any financial assistance is needed, please let us know and we can discuss options.

Summer Camps

You may substitute another child of the same age.
We encourage all parents to drop off their children to the camp session on time, but if an early drop-off is necessary, an extra $25 per day per child will be charged to compensate the teachers. We will not accept drop-offs more than 30 minutes before the camp’s start time. For special circumstances please email [email protected].
If you must reschedule your Band Aid School of Music Camp session, please be aware there is a $25 rescheduling fee per camper per change. If you must cancel your camp session, please call 512-730-0592. The price of each camp included a non-refundable $40 processing fee. However, the remainder of your camp fees will be refunded based on the following timeline:

Cancel 6 week prior to 1st day of selected session: full refund.
Cancel 4 weeks prior to 1st day of selected session: 80% refund.
Cancel 2 weeks prior to 1st day of selected session: 20% refund.
Cancel less than 2 weeks prior to 1st day of selected session: no refund.

Summer Break – Private Lessons

Private lessons continue year-round unless a 30-day notice is given.
The options we provide for students who want to pause lessons during the summer are:
(1) pay a $14 holding fee per month which grants priority booking with your preferred instructor in the fall (great for students who know they want to return with that same teacher and who usually have limited availability during the school year).
(2) issue make-up credits for any missed summer lessons (great for students who are able to attend some summer lessons; this option also allows the student to keep their time-slot throughout the summer and into the fall; monthly tuition will still be withdrawn).
(3) cancel lessons for the summer entirely (no summer lessons, no monthly cost, no guarantee that the student will be able to meet with the same teacher or in the same time-slot in the fall – though we try our best to make that happen!).
We know many parents and students pack a lot into their summer, so if you need to “pause” your lessons, you can email [email protected] 30 days ahead of time, letting us know which option you’d prefer! Payment for the lessons/fees during those 30 days is expected whether the student attends their lessons or not (note: this is to better guarantee a steady and predictable income for our teachers; a rare opportunity that most music schools don’t provide!).

Instrument Choice

“My child isn’t sure what instrument they want to play. What would you recommend?”

Piano is great for any age since it lays a good foundation of rhythm, reading music and training their ears.
Guitar is better for kids who are at least 6 since the instrument is pretty large. But, if they’re really wanting to play guitar we could start them out on ukulele and then move to a full guitar once they’re more comfortable.
Drums are also great for any age, especially kids with a lot of energy that they need to get out!
Vocals technically work for any age but we usually only recommend that to our younger students if they’re super passionate about singing.
At the end of the day going with the instrument that the student is more passionate about will always lead to a better appreciation and love for music. Then, they can explore different instruments down the road.

Trying Multiple Instruments

For kids who are on the fence about what instrument to learn, we can set them up with one of our teachers who is a multi-instrumentalist. That way, the teacher can have them try a few things and once they decide, they won’t have to switch to a different instructor!

Group Lessons

We don’t have any pre-scheduled group classes yet, but that is something we will be working on in the future.
If your student has a friend or other family member who would like to join them, we can make that work and in the meantime we can try to find some other students around their same age who might want to join the group!
We also have many student bands of different genres and we could look at adding them to one of those groups once they’ve built up some skills in private lessons.
Group classes are $45 dollars per student.

Performance Classes, Dress Rehearsals & Showcases

“My student is anxious about performing…what should I do?”

No problem at all! They can just sit back, observe and give any feedback when it’s comfortable. We never force anyone up on stage plus we’ve found that observing still offers a ton of benefits to musical development, inspiration and motivation.

“I want my kids to be in the same time-slots.”

We’ll do our best to accommodate this! Please email [email protected] to let us know who the student is and which time-slot they’d like so we can make a note.

“My student is in a band…are we having to pay extra for this?”

Nope! All performance events, recording sessions and any other fees are included in the flat rate each family pays for the rock band program.

“I/my student won’t be available for the upcoming performance event. Can I have a refund?”

As a performance-based school we strongly believe in learning how to perform in a comfortable and supportive environment. Because of this, all of our performance events are a required part of our curriculum. These events take a huge amount of prep work and coordination between our administrators and teaching staff. In order to be able to offer this unique and valuable experience, a small admission fee will be added to each private/group lesson student’s tuition during whichever month the event falls in. For example: for a performance class on 10/16, a $50 admission fee will be added to the student’s 10/1 tuition payment. This will be added to your tuition whether your student attends or not.
We add our performance events to our school calendar many months in advance so families can save the dates and budget accordingly.

“Are parents allowed to attend these events?”

For students around age 6 and under, parents are allowed to attend all performance events.
Performance classes: for students above age 11 we recommend that parents not attend unless their student has specifically requested that they be there.
Dress rehearsal: for students above age 11 we recommend that parents not attend unless their student has specifically requested that they be there.
Showcase: friends and family of performers are encouraged to attend the showcase (recital) to support their students!

Band Aid Extras

Band Aid Extras are FREE for current students using a make-up credit. Parent/Student Portal
Extras for new/prospective students are $89.
Extras for current students NOT using a make-up credit are $40. If using as a make-up, no additional cost will be added to the next month’s tuition payment.
Class schedule and registration instructions can be found here.

Practice Requirements

“Does my student need to practice for a certain amount of minutes/hours per day?”

Students are encouraged to practice and to be prepared for each lesson. This avoids repeating the same lesson twice and increases the progress of each student.
The amount of practice each student needs will differ depending on their goals. Daily or weekly practice recommendations will be made by the student’s teacher and will be communicated clearly with the student and/or parent.

Parental Support

“What can I do to support my child in their music programs?”

Although it is our intention to inspire and engage each student immediately, younger students often take longer to get into a rhythm of practicing at home and quickly improving. The biggest commitment we expect from parents is to allow your young student(s) to find the joy of music in their own rhythm and time, and to do your best to provide support without applying unnecessary pressure.

Family Discounts

We don’t offer a discount for families with multiple students in lessons, but we do have group lessons where they could be in the same class together for a reduced rate (see pricing).

Holidays

You will not be charged for or expected to attend/make up the following days: New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday, 4th of July, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day.

Location

We offer lessons at 2 different Austin locations:

South Austin / 2309 Thornton Rd, Unit G, Austin TX, 78704
Westlake / 4214 N Capital of Texas Hwy, Austin TX, 78746

Signing Up

“Will I be charged automatically when I submit my credit/debit card information?”

No! We will specify exactly when your first tuition payment will withdraw in your First Lesson Confirmation Email. You’ll receive this email from one of our admin team members after they’ve confirmed your start date/time with you and your instructor.

“How do I set up my lessons?”

You can call us any time at 512-730-0592 and one of our admin team members will help answer any questions you may have and gather more information about you or your student so they can find the perfect instructor!
Get the ball rolling even faster by filling out our enrollment form. Please take extra care to read through our policy agreement (note: we’ve kept things brief and less jargon-y so you have a clear picture of what you’re signing up for!)
A third option is to fill out our general contact form if you’re looking for more information without committing to a phone call.
Lastly, you can email [email protected] directly and one of our representatives will reply in 24-48 hours!