I handle admin on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm. I teach on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, between 3 and 8:30 pm. When I am off the clock, I am off - I do not have access to work accounts on my personal devices.

I will respond to messages as soon as I can within these time-bounds. This means that, if you message me at 5:25 pm on a Thursday, and I have full evenings of teaching that Friday and Monday, I may not get back to you until 2:40 pm Tuesday. Please set your expectations accordingly. 

If it has been a full week and you still haven’t heard back, you’re welcome to nudge. I don’t mind nudges! However, I do mind unwarranted urgency. While music teaching is important to me, nothing about my work constitutes a true emergency.

I prioritize the needs of a given student over a specific curriculum. During your free first lesson, we will have a conversation about your or your student’s goals and hopes for lessons, and decide together what curriculum to use. Broadly speaking, I offer two options.

One option is to follow a pre-written curriculum. If you or your student need that level of prescribed structure, or if a student is coming to me from another teacher and is already in a curriculum that’s working well for them, I’d go with this option.

The other option is to co-create a curriculum each week with the student, treating lessons as a conversation between teacher and student. I draft a roadmap of concepts tailored to the student’s needs, and for each week, I bring to that student’s lesson a specific concept. During the lesson, the student and I write the songs they’ll practice that week to cement that week’s concept. If you or your student are highly creative (or struggle with creativity and want to get better!), this is an excellent option.

My standard lesson rate is $100/hr ($50 per half hour lesson), based on my education and experience. This rate is for you if:

• You may stress about meeting your basic needs but still regularly achieve them

• You may have some debt but it does not prohibit attainment of basic needs

• You own or lease a car

• You are employed

• You have access to health care

• You might have access to financial savings

• You have some expendable income

• You are able to buy some new items & you thrift others

• You can take a vacation annually or every few years without financial burden

In the near future, I hope to offer a reserved number of lesson slots for a reduced rate of $50/hr ($25 per half hour lesson). The reduced rate is for you if:

• You frequently stress about meeting basic needs & don’t always achieve them

• You have debt and it sometimes prohibits you from meeting your basic needs

• You rent lower-end properties or have unstable housing

• You do not have a car and/or have limited access to a car but you are not always able to afford gas

• You are unemployed or underemployed

• You qualify for government assistance including food stamps & health care

• You have no access to savings

• You have no or very limited expendable income

• You rarely buy new items because you are unable to afford them

• You cannot afford a vacation or have the ability to take time off without financial burden

In order to reserve reduced-rate lesson slots, I offer those with greater resources the opportunity to pay a higher rate of $150/hr ($75 per half hour lesson). The higher rate is for you if:

• You are comfortably able to meet all of your basic needs

• You may have some debt but it does not prohibit attainment of basic needs

• You own your home or property OR you rent a higher-end property

• You own or lease a car

• You are employed or do not need to work to meet your needs

• You have regular access to health care

• You have access to financial savings

• You have an expendable income

• You can always buy new items

• You can afford an annual vacation or take time off

I understand that lessons are a significant financial commitment. Because of this, I offer your first lesson with me for free, so that we can both feel confident that we’d work well together. If either of us is uncertain about the fit, I will gladly offer recommendations for other teachers with similar values.

Sliding scale descriptions adapted from Alexis J. Cunningfolk.

I accept payment via Venmo and PayPal. Please submit payment in full before the lesson begins. By default, I request payment for a given month’s lessons at the end of the prior month - e.g., if you are taking half hour lessons at the standard rate and will have four lessons in April, you would pay $200 by the end of March. If this presents a hardship, let me know. I can negotiate paying smaller amounts intermittently on a case-by-case basis.

If you cancel more than 24 hours ahead of time, or cancel the day of your lesson due to illness (I request at least one hour’s notice as a courtesy), that lesson’s fee will become a makeup lesson credit. I am unable to accommodate requests for refunds.

If you cancel the same day as a lesson for any reason besides illness, or if you do not show up (defined as over 15 minutes late to a half-hour lesson, or over 30 minutes late to a full-hour lesson), you will not get makeup lesson credit.

You are welcome to use makeup lesson credit at any time for as long as you are my student. When you wish to use your credit, please email to let me know; I will offer the slots I have available, pick whichever slot suits you, and I will send a calendar invite for a one-off lesson at that time.

Taking music lessons can be a really vulnerable thing! It is extremely important to me that lessons be as safe as possible for everyone involved. Please note the following guidelines:

• I do not have direct contact with students under 18 outside of lessons. Any communications outside of lessons must be between me and that student’s guardian.

  • To this end, lesson notes will have editing and commenting turned off. If any questions arise during the week, guardians may contact me to clarify.

• During lessons with under-18 students, I ask that the student have a guardian in the room with them if at all possible. At the very least, students must have the door to their space open and a guardian at home.

• I do not have any social media contact with students of any age.

• Finally: I am more than happy to be a friendly, listening ear. Sometimes all a person needs is for someone who cares about them just to listen! And, I am not a counselor or clergyperson; I am not trained in anything besides music. If it becomes clear to me that the bulk of lesson time is being spent discussing other topics, or if issues come up that are beyond my capabilities and capacity, I will refer to expert resources and gently redirect the conversation.