Slow and Steady Wins the Race
We look forward to giving your students weekly private lessons. Practice. Week after week. Month after month. Is it really worth it the investment? Why do the arts require such consistent practice? It might sound boring, but remember our September Practice Slogan: SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE!
Remember the story of the Tortoise and the Hare? We want our students to be tortoises! Our best students are the ones who show up regularly for lessons, practice consistently at home, and take lessons through the summer as well. It sounds boring, but the pay-off is immense! There is no short-cut to creating WINNERS! Currently, our WINNERS are playing keyboards for their high school musicals, sitting in with the Army Jazz Band when they visit, and are often chosen for band solos and leads in school musicals.
The Hare almost never practices, doesn’t give music lessons the priority they need, cancels lessons frequently, races quickly through everything, takes many short cuts and finds other things to do rather than making practice a priority like the Tortoise! Many things come easily to the talented Hare (and that's great!) but he needs to learn to work on things that DO NOT come easily to him. The Hare can never understand why he doesn’t get the performance opportunities that the Tortoise does!
Regarding Tuition
- Below, see the pricing for 30-minute private weekly lessons starting the Thursday after Labor Day.
- Those starting later than that will receive a pro-rated price for the first month and then be on schedule with the monthly amount listed.
- There is no contract. You can stop at anytime without penalty as long as you are paid through the current month.
- All School Year lessons must be taken between September 1 and the Father’s Day June Recital.
- Lessons are given at a rate of $35 ea.
- There are no lessons scheduled during the December/January Winter Break.
Tuition Costs for Right At Home Lessons at YOUR house
RAH School Year Tuition for 38 weekly lessons PLUS 2 Recitals = $1,600 divided into 10 monthly payments of $160. At this price, each student is guaranteed that MPMA Instructors will be prepared and available to teach 40 weeks per the school year calendar whether the lesson is taken during the afternoon, daytime or weekend. The price reflects a Time and Travel Surcharge. Availability for these lessons depends entirely upon teacher availability and your locale.
Tuition Costs for After School/Evening/Weekend Lessons at Mill Pond Music Academy
Most Popular: School Year Tuition for 38 weekly lessons taken @ MPMA PLUS 2 Recitals = $1,400 divided into 10 monthly payments of $140 if taken after 2:30 pm. At this price, each student is guaranteed that MPMA Instructors will be prepared and available to teach 40 weeks per the school year calendar.
Tuition Costs for Daytime Lessons at Mill Pond Music Academy
Popular with preschoolers and homeschoolers and adults, School Year Tuition for 38 weekly lessons PLUS 2 Recitals = $1,200 divided into 10 monthly payments of $120 when taken BEFORE 2:00 pm. At this price, each student is guaranteed that MPMA Instructors will be prepared and available to teach 40 weeks per the school year calendar.
The MPMA tuition structure provides CONSISTENCY to each student and it will also be much easier to budget for lessons. No longer do you have to wonder how much you owe because the annual tuition will be evenly divided into 10 payments! This will help free up time and energy for both you and I since we will no longer wonder how much lessons are at the end of the month.
Please be assured that your tuition is always working for your child as we spend a great deal of time outside of lessons getting certified, choosing repertoire, planning, strategizing, attending competitions, etc. This year all of our teachers had the opportunity to be certified with the FULL VOICE curriculum, Prodigies course, Animal Adventures class, and Compose Create continuing ed.
Missed Lessons:
Because specific times are set aside for specific students, a student who does not attend a lesson has two choices:
- Take the lesson virtually at the regularly scheduled time
- Receive a personalized video that our instructors will create during the scheduled lesson time.
There are no refunds, discounts or makeups given unless a MPMA instructor is absent and cannot provide either a substitute or a video lesson.
The MPMA policy is that when the Allentown/Upper Freehold School district closes it’s doors, so do we. In those cases, there are no refunds. If for some reason, MPMA needs to cancel (like maybe during a power outage) then we will refund.
Hi Kate,
Here is some more information about how things run here at Mill Pond Music Academy.
WELCOME!
Hello. Thank you so much for checking out our Mill Pond Music Academy website. If you are looking for something you don’t see, please do not hesitate to contact us at office@millpondarts.com
We offer
private music lessons in just about every instrument you can think of, and even in drama
theater classes in the summer
a very small gift shop,
art lessons on Mondays via www.villageartsnj.com
occasionally host small performance events for up to 35 people.
Frequently asked questions
How much are private lessons? Private lessons are $35 per half hour at our studio in Allentown/
How do RIGHT AT HOME lessons work? If you are local enough in Bordentown or Robbinsville or Allentown, we can send an instructor to you for $40 (limited to piano, uke, guitar)
What if I miss a lesson? If you can’t be here for a lesson for any reason our first option is to provide you with a virtual lesson at the regularly scheduled time. If that is not a possibility, our instructors will use the time to create a personalized video lesson just for your child.
How do I sign-up? www.millpondmusicacademy.com and click on the INTERESTED STUDENT menu. It will ask you for payment information but will not charge you anything.
Are there other fees associated with lessons? Each student is charged and annual ADMN fee of $35 in September. Students starting after September will also be charged the $35 ADMN fee whenever they start and then again every September.
Do I need my own instrument? YES! You will need to practice at home. We only have piano keyboards for students here in Allentown.
Do you teach all ages? We start piano with WunderKeys, Prodigies (bells and boomwhackers) and Animal Adventures all at age 3. We teach beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
What is MMS? All scheduling and payments are made through My Music Staff, a site that includes a student portal for each student.
How do I make payments? Through MMS.
This year, I have reworked our MPMA tuition structure such that it will provide more CONSISTENCY to each student, It will also be much easier to budget for lessons. No longer do you have to wonder how much you owe because the annual tuition will be evenly divided into 10 payments! This will help free up time and energy for both you and I since we will no longer wonder how much lessons are at the end of the month.
Private Piano Lessons:
School Year Tuition Package
(38 lessons + 2 Recitals to be taken September – June 18)
30-minute private weekly lessons is $1,400 divided into 10 monthly payments of $140. At this price, each student is guaranteed that MPMA Instructors will be prepared and available to prepare 38 lessons and 2 recitals during the 40 weeks per the school year calendar. You can stop at anytime without penalty as long as you are paid through the current month.
Missed Lessons:
Because specific times are set aside for specific students, a student who does not attend a lesson has two choices:
1. Take the lesson virtually at the regularly scheduled time
2. Receive a personalized video that our instructors will create during the scheduled lesson time.
There are no refunds, discounts or makeups given unless a MPMA instructor exceeds the 2 allowed Instructor absence.
The MPMA policy is that when the Allentown/Upper Freehold School district closes it’s doors, so do we. In those cases, there are no refunds. If for some reason, MPMA needs to cancel (like maybe during a power outage) then we will refund.
Need to CANCEL a LESSON?
We really appreciate the advance notice so many of you give us when you have extenuating circumstances and can’t make a lesson. Rather than sending an email to the office to cancel your lesson, PLEASE cancel lessons through your STUDENT PORTAL. You can leave messages on their as well. The STUDENT PORTAL will cancel the lesson on the calendar and notify everyone that needs to be notified instantly. The STUDENT PORTAL can be ACCESSED
Missed Lessons: MPMA still offers consistency
Because specific times are set aside for specific students, a student who does not attend a lesson has two choices:
- Take the lesson virtually at the regularly scheduled time
- Receive a personalized video that our instructors will create during the scheduled lesson time.
There are no refunds, discounts or makeups given except in the case where a MPMA instructor has to cancel unexpectedly and is unable to find a substitute or make a personalized video lesson.
School Closings
The MPMA policy is that when the Allentown/Upper Freehold School district closes it’s doors, so do we. In those cases, there are no refunds. If for some reason, MPMA needs to cancel (like maybe during a power outage) then we will refund.
Practice.
Students are expected to have their own instrument to practice on at home. Period No ifs, ands, or buts. Students need to practice regularly (5-6 times per week). Please ask your instructor HOW they should practice, what are their PRACTICE GOALS for each week. Students should be able to take the challenges of the lesson (written down by their instructor in their free assignment book) and be able to return the following week prepared and ready to impress their instructor.