When do I pay?

Normally payments for all lessons are due the 25th of the month before the new month, that is, you pay March 25th for April lessons. When students begin lessons (which can be any day of the month) payment is due at that 1st lesson. Students who set up lessons more than a week before their 1st lesson are required to send in a deposit to reserve the lesson time.

How do I pay?

We would prefer that students set up payments through automated bank bill pay, by mail. We also accept checks and money orders. We prefer students mail in their payments to Promethean Studios, P.O. Box 863177, Plano, TX, 75086.

Can I use more than one coupon if I have several students starting at once?

Yes. No more than one coupon per student, and only if you're a new student, though.

Do you have a family discount (multiple students from the same family)?

No, but as mentioned above, you can use one coupon per student to reduce the price of lessons by $35 per student for the 1st month of lessons.

Can I pay for a year of lessons at a time?

Lesson payments are not refundable. Therefore, we do not allow students to pay for more than 3 months of lessons at a time.

Can I do a lesson every other week and pay 1/2 the normal rate?

No, because the studio and the teacher have to set aside that lesson time every week (your lesson slot), that same time four weeks a month. Nobody else can be in that time, and nobody else pays for it. If you have someone who wants to alternate  lessons with you, we would consider that, depending upon your performance goals. You can always pay the regular lesson rate and only come every other week (such a deal!).

Can I have a floating lesson, just coming in whenever I can?

Yes, but you'll pay an increased rate because the studio and instructors reserve times in their schedule based on students coming at the same time each week. If you want the normal studio lesson rate, you'll have to commit to the same time every week.

Can I take multiple lessons in a week?

Yes, but unless a student is going to practice an hour a day or more, he/she probably won't benefit from more than one lesson in a week. We will certainly provide more lessons, but most people should start with a single lesson an hour or 30 minutes a week and see what they're really going to put into the lessons - and if the single, weekly lesson is providing all the instruction they can handle. Exceptions would be: someone who's only in town for a week to a month, someone who just wants to jam a lot with a professional, someone with a gig, contest or audition to prepare for. And of course, someone who practices their head off and wants to be the best they can be.

Do I change my payment based on the number of lessons in the month?

No. We provide 48 lessons in the year, and we'll average 4 lessons per month and that's what you pay for - 4 lessons each month. Some months have 3 or 5 lessons, based on the yearly calendar and master classes and recitals (which count as a lesson). Students pay for at least a full month when they start and in the second month, if needed, we prorate their payment to synchronize with the studio calendar. After this, students pay for 4 lessons every month. Some months they are ahead a lesson (they've gotten a free lesson), rarely they're behind a lesson (they paid for a lesson they haven't received yet), and most months they're even - but it all balances out in a year. The studio calendar tells each month whether the student is even, behind, or ahead in terms of the number of lessons, so you can easily tell where you are.

Can I meet with the teacher before I start paid lessons?

We offer consultations, which are a one-time paid lesson, and coaching lessons, which are a month of paid lessons, both without further commitment. You can only meet with a teacher by paid appointment. Unlike a university, if our teachers are at the studios they are usually teaching lessons and thus, someone is paying them for their time and they can't interrupt the paid lesson to talk to a prospective student. We really believe a person has to take lessons for at least two months to correctly evaluate a teacher's ability and personality. Our schedulers will always give as much detailed and authoritative information about all our techniques and each teacher as you may need, so you'll know what's coming up. And if you're still unsure, you can arrange for a consultation or coaching session to check us out.

Will the teacher come to my home?

It is a fact that no great teacher will come to your home without charging you a large amount of money to do so. Why would an outstanding instructor, with all the students he/she wants and students on a waiting list to get in, spend 2 or 3 hours a day driving around to student's homes for no additional income? We would suggest for any student to take lessons at the studios (and we have a goodly number of doctors, lawyers, CEOs, and millionaires as students). The quality of lessons is substantially better if taken in the studios, because we've spent thousands of dollars in each one for equipment and materials, establishing an atmosphere of learning and enjoyment. We will send a teacher to a student's home, but the cost for lessons in-home is prohibitive for most students because teachers have to block out travel time as well as lesson time. We don't recommend that, rather, that you take lessons in the studios, for a better (and less expensive) learning experience.

What if I send you a student?

You'll get $20. $200 if you send us 10, and $20,000 if you send us 1000. $20 per student you send us as a referral fee. Please remember: it's the student who determines who referred them, not the person who says they sent us a student. We are very diligent to track who sent our students and we really want to give that referral fee out to people who send us students. Still, if new student Johnny says his other friend Billy recommended Promethean Studios to him, we'll have to give the referral fee to Billy. It's up to that new student, and we ask every student at the first lesson.  Referral fees are separate from lessons fees and may not be combined with or deducted from lesson payments.

We really appreciate people sending us more students; we want all of our students to be excited about sending us new students so they can get moola and have wonderful lessons at the same time. We'll make sure that every student gets money for all the students they've referred.

Will you teach more than one person in a lesson?

Yes, but we must have at least 4 people to start a group class. Frequently people ask this question when there are only 2 people involved: 2 friends, husband and wife, parent and child, etc., and they want to be together as they learn - which at first glance seems a good thing. However, in our frequent experience people's abilities, musical interests, and practice times vary so greatly that students diverge within just a few lessons past the point of being able to take lessons together. Normally the way to go for people in this situation is to take 2 back-to-back thirty minute lessons. Our schedulers will be glad to talk to you more about this; you can also go the the Home page and select What We Do, then Group lessons for more information.

Why do Master classes count as lessons?

Amazingly, we here at Promethean Studios do not know everything. Hard to believe, I know. No teacher or studio can provide the scope and breadth a learner needs to be the best they can be in a single weekly session. Students need multiple and varied learning experiences and it's hard to perfectly predict what will spark excitement and progress. Master classes are seminars and workshops on your instrument or voice, taught by our teachers or other outstanding musicians.  We provide master classes so that twice a year we can have visionary and pertinent musical topics that present the BIG PICTURE of music. In a master class you may hear things you've never even thought about, ways to play, or practice, or sing, or think. Something said in master class may help you tomorrow, or it may hit you 2 years from now. And master classes are fun! The master class for your instrument will last an hour, and there will be 6 to 8 other master classes on other instruments and topics that you are welcome to attend also - up to 8 hours of powerful instruction, all in one place. Master classes count as lessons because they are as long or longer than your regular lesson, they're awesome, and they're two of the best lessons in the year. As a studio we have committed to providing master classes to give students a limitless horizon.

Why do Recitals count as lessons?

Music is a performing art and every musician and student wants to play with the conviction, focus, and power of their favorite performing artist, even if only playing at home alone in their room. Students aren't required to be in recital. At the same time, we've decided recitals are so important that they count as one of our students' lessons and we do them twice a year and spend at least 2 months out of a year preparing students for it. This has nothing to do with being a "professional" or being a "performer". It has to do with making all of your music sound complete, powerful, and excellent. It's making real music as opposed to "book learning".  We're convinced that one of the main differences between people who actually "play" and people who just take lessons is that the people who "play" perform, that is, they've played and sung for others a lot. The progress every student makes in preparing for and singing/playing in public is irreplaceable and we try to get all students to be in recitals for this reason. Together with master classes, these are the 4 most powerful lessons of the year.