Ground ?rules for bass lessons

Hi

I'm thinking about making a sheet to give out to my students before they start lessons, that lays out the ground rules - I was wondering does anyone else do this and what does theirs say?

[carl h.]

Payment in advance.
24 hours notice for cancellations or you've bought a lesson (exceptions for real life)
Do not come of you are sick.
If you smell bad you will be sent home.

in advance? even from the first lesson? interested to know

[Ed Fuqua]

With my teacher the first "lesson" is free, but that's mostly so he can talk to the student in person about how the set up is. His take is that you basically are paying for the time slot the same way you pay for a phone line. It doesn't matter if you use the phone or not, you still pay for the line.
He offers a discounted rate if you pay for the month's lessons up front, but you can pay at each lesson if you want.

But you pay if you miss the lesson.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by afromoose

Hi

I'm thinking about making a sheet to give out to my students before they start lessons, that lays out the ground rules - I was wondering does anyone else do this and what does theirs say?

i always thought that mom or dad should sit in on the first five or six sessions.........explain to both how and why you want this or that practiced,and why the bass should be worn above the knees,etc...they then can monitor the practice habits at home more effectively....that way they know if the kid is into it or not.....

[Snarf]

No reimbursements for missed lessons, unless there's a major holiday in close proximity, or if there's an act of god. Sometimes I can cut a student a break, like if he's been with me for a while but has to keep missing lessons he thought he was going to make because of life stuff. In that situation (which I've got going with one of my students now), I knock a lesson off the monthly payment.

The only other reason to reimburse for a lesson is if you yourself cancel.

Gotta make that rent!

Thanks for the tips!

[HeavyRockBasser]

I would add:
All students are required to practice. The student should have mastered the techniques, or at least made some progress, since the prior class.

My teacher pretty much let me call the shots: work on rudiments of my or the teacher's choosing, learn a song off a recording, learn a song out of a book, work on my original ideas - he would critique them, and offer suggestions on how to improve them. Pretty much anything I wanted to work on.

However, whatever we worked on, I had to be able to demonstrate improvement from the last class.

Hope this helps. hrb