Jenny Case Music Studio Lesson Policies

Payment Policies:
Payment options: Cash or Check made out to Jenny Case Smith.

As of April, 2022 the fees for lessons will be as follows:
Individual Lessons:
30 minute lesson: $40
60 minute lesson: $80
Buddy Lessons:
30 minute lesson: $60 ($30/ea)
60 minute lesson: $120 ($60/ea)

Payment Options:
PAYMENT PLAN I (full payment): Payment in full due at or before first lesson of each semester.
PAYMENT PLAN II (2 payments): One-half due at or before first lesson of each semester. Second payment due at or before the first lesson in the second half of the semester.

Returned check fee: $25

Weekly Lesson Policy (September thru May):
This studio runs on a semester-based system.

2023/2024 Semesters
Fall: September 11 - December 14 (no lessons Nov 21-23)
Winter: January 2 - March 28
Spring: April 8 - June 6

Students will make a commitment to their weekly lessons for the entire semester.  It is recommended that most beginners practice a minimum of 15 minutes per day (five days a week). This may vary depending on the student’s age. Younger students may practice only 10 minutes per day while teen or adult beginners may need to practice 30 minutes per day.  Advanced students should expect practice up to an hour or more per day.  No matter how long a student practices, the key to advancing is consistent, daily practice at least five days per week.

Tuition is to be paid per the Payment Options as indicated above.  This payment secures students the same assigned weekly slot in my schedule for the entire semester. 

Due to my studio's full schedule, make-up lessons are not available due to a missed lesson.  A missed lesson (no show) is considered a lost lesson. Last minute or unexpected illness, sports practices, games or any other activities that result in a missed lesson should be considered a lost lesson.  Please do not attend in-person lessons if you are sick, have a fever or virus. If you were not able to attend school or work due to an illness, it’s probably best that you don’t attend a lesson.

Lessons are not canceled due to inclement weather, we will do an online lesson instead (see “Zoom Studio Policies” below).  

As a courtesy, please provide as much notice as possible for any lesson you are unable to attend.

Prior to each new semester, I will send an e-mail containing the dates and tuition for the upcoming semester.

Once a student is assigned a weekly lesson slot, as long as payments are made each semester, you are permanently in my schedule until you give me notice otherwise; i.e. there's no need to "sign up again" each semester.

The studio policies have been developed to foster the serious study of music with my students and to allow me to function both as a performing artist, non-profit director and as an effective teacher.  When a student enrolls in my studio, they are registering for an entire semester (or the portion of the semester remaining from the date of enrollment).  This means that the student has been assigned a specific time on my schedule for the entire semester. Therefore, if a student decides to drop in the middle of the semester the full balance for the remaining lessons is due in full.  I am not able to offer refunds if the student’s schedule changes, as my schedule is most often full and typically cannot accommodate moving the student to a new time slot.  In the event you need to discontinue lessons, please notify me *at least* two weeks ahead of the last lesson of the semester.  Cancellation must be given via e-mail (jbasscase@gmail.com).  This includes changing lesson times, as once you are booked into my schedule, that is your reserved time slot.  Typically, changing time slots is normally not an option due to my full schedule, nor are make-up lessons if a lesson is missed.

A la Carte Lessons (June through August):
During the summer I am typically out for 4-6 weeks due to summer camps & travel, and for the rest of the summer I can be fairly flexible with scheduling.

Summer lessons are the same rate ($40/half hour for individuals, $60/half hour for buddies) and a 24 hour cancellation notice applies, but we can schedule lessons on an “a la carte” basis.  We can schedule out the whole summer all at once, or we can just schedule one lesson at a time, whatever is most convenient for you.

JCMS In-Person Studio Policy:

Please let EVERYONE who may be bringing your student to lesson know about the following policies:

The best means by which to contact me is my e-mail address: jbasscase@gmail.com.  I do not regularly keep my phone with me during lessons, as it can be an interruption, so please do not call or text.

COVID PROTOCOL as of 9/7/22: 

  • I am not currently requiring students to wear masks, but this could change if there is an uptick in Covid cases or other viruses in the area.  I will send you an email prior to your lesson to let you know if I'm requiring masking.
  • Please request a Zoom lesson if anyone in the family has ANY sort of symptoms, even if it may just be a cold or allergies.
  • If the student or anyone in their inner circle currently or recently has had Covid, please continue Zoom lessons until everyone is testing negative.
  • Be prepared to temporarily switch to Zoom lessons in case I'm not feeling well, or need to quarantine due to exposure.

Drop off and pick up your student on time. I cannot run overtime due to late arrivals nor can I be responsible for supervising a student once the lesson has concluded.

Please note that I unlock the door 5 minutes prior to my lessons starting for the day, so please do not arrive earlier than that as the door may be locked.

Parking:  You can pull into the driveway to drop off or pick up your student, but please park behind my Subaru Forester on the gravel side of the driveway or on the street, rather than in the center of the driveway.  Do not block the driveway. 

For students under the age of 10, I do ask that parents accompany the student in and out, and attend at least the last 5 minutes of each lesson.

The studio entrance is the door located next to the garage.  Please come in (no need to knock), remove your shoes, and head down the stairs to the waiting room.

No food or drink allowed in the studio (water is ok).

JCMS Zoom Studio Policy:

I will send a Zoom meeting link at the beginning of each semester, you will be able to use that link for every lesson during the semester- so keep the link handy!

Make sure the student is set up in a quiet location (no tv, siblings or pets making noise in the background) in the house.  The closer to your wi-fi router, the better the connection.

Zoom has two settings you should look into prior to the first lesson: "Original Sound" and "High Fidelity Audio Mode".  Please look into both of these, every device has a different configuration, so I won't personally be able to advise what works best on your device, but at least one of these needs to be working, otherwise Zooms tends to block out any other sound other than your voice (which means I won't be able to hear your guitar or piano very well).

If possible, use Zoom on one device and have a second device handy to use for play-along songs.  Because there is a delay between myself and the student when we're online, we won't be able to play in sync together, so I will need the student to play along with backing tracks much of the time, and this works best if you're playing the backing track on a separate device.


It is my wish that the policies I operate under were made clear to you through this communication. If there are any questions, please feel free ask! It is my hope that these policies will help promote the best learning situation possible.  Thanks!
JENNY CASE MUSIC STUDIO