Music lesson agreement template
A music lesson agreement, often called a studio policy, explains how lessons, tuition and make-ups work before the first lesson. It saves the teacher from renegotiating every missed Tuesday. This template is written for private teachers and small studios teaching any instrument or voice, in person or online. Read it below, then open it in SignMaster and send it to each family at enrollment.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 4 min read
The contract
Gray blanks are yours to fill in before you send. Each signer fills in the blanks in their color.
- You, before sending
- Parent or adult student
- Music teacher
Music Lesson Agreement
This Music Lesson Agreement (the "Agreement") is made on Agreement date between Teacher or studio name (the "Studio") and Client name (the "Client"), for Instrument or voice lessons for Student name, age Student age (the "Student").
1. Lessons and term
The Student will have one private lesson of Lesson length in minutes minutes each week, on Lesson day and time, at Studio address or online. This Agreement covers the term from Term start date to Term end date, which includes Lessons in the term lessons. Studio holidays and closures are listed on the Studio's calendar, which the Client receives with this Agreement.
2. Tuition
Tuition for the term is Tuition for the term, paid Payment schedule. Tuition reserves a weekly time slot for the whole term, so it is spread evenly over the payments and doesn't change in months with an extra or a missing lesson week. A late fee of Late fee applies to payments more than Days before late fee days late. A yearly registration and materials fee of Registration fee covers books and handouts the Studio provides.
3. Missed lessons and make-ups
- If the Student will miss a lesson, the Client will tell the Studio at least Notice for a make-up in hours hours ahead. With that notice, the Student may have up to Make-ups per term make-up lessons per term, in the Studio's open slots before the term ends.
- Lessons missed without notice, or beyond the make-up limit, are not refunded or carried into the next term.
- If the teacher cancels a lesson, it is always made up or credited to the next payment.
- If bad weather or an emergency closes the Studio, the lesson moves online where possible, or is made up.
4. Instrument, books and practice
The Student brings an instrument in good playing order to each lesson (the Studio supplies the piano for piano lessons), along with the assigned books. Steady progress needs regular practice; the Studio recommends about Practice minutes per day minutes a day and may send home a practice log. Parents of younger students help by setting a regular practice time.
5. Recitals and exams
The Studio holds Recitals each year. Taking part is encouraged but not required. Recital fees, festival entries and graded music exam fees are not part of tuition, and the Studio will tell the Client about each one before signing the Student up.
6. Supervision and conduct
The Studio is responsible for the Student only during the lesson. A parent or another adult will drop off and collect a Student under 12 on time, or wait in the waiting area. Teachers sometimes guide a student's hand position or posture; the teacher will ask first and can demonstrate instead whenever the Student or the Client prefers.
7. Photos and recordings
The teacher may record short clips during lessons to give the Student feedback and share them only with the family. The Studio may post recital photos or videos online only if the Client ticks this box: Recital photos or videos of the Student may be shared on the Studio's website and social media.
8. Withdrawing
The Client may withdraw the Student by giving Withdrawal notice weeks weeks' written notice. Tuition for the notice period is due, and anything prepaid beyond it is refunded. The Studio may end lessons after repeated missed payments or conduct that makes teaching unsafe, refunding any prepaid lessons not given.
9. General terms
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the state of State. It is the whole agreement for this term, and a new term needs a new agreement or a written extension. Electronic signatures on it count as originals.
Contact details
Client phone: Client phone Email: Client email
Studio phone: Studio phone Email: Studio email
I have read this Agreement, including the make-up and withdrawal policies, and I am the Student's parent or guardian or the Student, aged 18 or older.
Parent, guardian or adult student
Music teacher
Opens it in SignMaster as a template you can edit and send.
A starting point, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it for your state and situation.
On this page
Why studios ask families to sign
A teacher's income depends on filled time slots. When a family skips lessons and expects each one refunded, or quits mid-term without warning, the slot sits empty and nobody pays for it. A signed agreement that charges tuition per term rather than per lesson, with a set number of make-ups, keeps the schedule steady and the conversation friendly.
It also covers the things parents rarely ask about until they matter: who's supervising a seven-year-old after the lesson ends, whether recital videos go online, and how much practice the teacher expects at home.
What the template covers
- Lessons and term: lesson length, the weekly slot, the place or video platform, and the term's start, end and lesson count.
- Tuition: one figure for the term, spread over even payments, with optional late and registration fees.
- Make-ups: the notice needed, how many make-ups per term, and what happens when the teacher cancels or the studio closes.
- Instrument, books and practice: what the student brings and a daily practice target.
- Recitals and exams: encouraged, never required, and charged separately.
- Supervision and conduct: responsibility only during the lesson, and asking before guiding a student's hands or posture.
- Photos and recordings: feedback clips stay with the family; recital media goes online only if the parent opts in.
- Withdrawing: written notice, and refunds of anything prepaid past it.
Policies that save a teacher's week
- Bill the term, not the lesson. Per-lesson billing invites a cancellation every time soccer runs long.
- Cap make-ups. Unlimited make-ups fill your free afternoons with lessons you've already been paid for once.
- Put the studio calendar in writing. Families should know which holidays are already built into the tuition.
- Ask before posting. A recital video of a child needs the parent's yes, and a tick box on the agreement is the simplest record of it.
Teaching online too?
Put the video platform in the location blank, and ask families in your welcome email to angle the camera so you can see the student's hands. The rest of the agreement works the same for online lessons.
How to send it with SignMaster
- 1
Open the template
Choose Use this template. It's saved in your workspace with the parent first and you second.
- 2
Write in your studio's terms
Fill the gray blanks: studio name, lesson length, term dates, tuition, payment schedule, make-up limit and state. To change a clause, cover it with White-out from the editor's Markup tools and type your own wording in a Text box.
- 3
Send it to the parent
Enter their name and email. They fill in the blue blanks, the student's name and age, contact details and the recital photo choice, and sign on their phone.
- 4
Translate the signing page if needed
Families who'd rather read the signing page in Spanish or another of the 6 signing languages can switch with one tap. The agreement text itself stays as you wrote it.
- 5
Countersign
Sign last as the teacher. Both of you get the signed PDF by email, with a certificate showing when the parent signed.
Re-enrolling the whole studio each term
At the start of each term, export your roster with one row per student: parent name, email, instrument, lesson day and time, and tuition. Bulk send sends each family their own agreement with their slot and tuition printed in, when the column headers match the blank labels, like Lesson day and time. Families sign from their inbox, and the reminders follow up for you. See send one contract to hundreds of people.
Questions? Answers.
Should I charge per lesson or per term?
Most studios charge per term or per month and offer a limited number of make-ups, because a teacher's time slot is reserved whether the student comes or not. The template uses term tuition. For per-lesson billing, strike through section 2 with the editor's Markup tools and type your terms in a Text box, or copy the text into your own document and upload that as a template.
How many make-up lessons should I allow?
Many teachers allow one or two per term with advance notice. Whatever you choose, write the number down, and say that missed lessons don't roll into the next term.
Does the agreement need to be renewed every term?
Section 9 says a new term needs a new agreement, because dates and tuition change. Sending it again each term takes a few minutes with bulk send.
Can a teenage student sign it?
Not on their own. A parent or guardian signs for anyone under 18, and the checkbox at the end asks them to confirm that.