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If you are unable to find a convenient, consistent time for your lessons because of your particular scheduling needs, we maintain a waiting list, and can notify you as a time becomes available that will fit into your week. Some instrument programs may have all times filled; we will book students from our waiting lists first as times become available.

Contact us directly at the store to find out your chances of booking a time. Some instruments will have plenty of times available, but we just have to figure out which times those will be. Other instruments may be booked solid. During some seasons, we'd have to update this site every fifteen minutes for accuracy--but a phone call can often answer your questions.

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Just click the "Add a student..." link on the sidebar and a form will open. Your info is emailed to us at the store. For your security, all online submissions must have a valid email address. All placements are by phone; we will not use your email for anything other than confirmation or clarification. Please call the store if you have questions about the program, teachers, or waiting list that aren't answered on our website. If you're from out of town, you'll need to contact the store directly--our system will invalidate out-of-Ohio entrants, phone numbers outside of the 440/330/216 area codes, and instruments we do not teach (sorry, sarrusophone wannabes--see faculty listing).

Important Note for Placement in Summer/Fall::

Before we begin to book students in for the nextseason, we try to give our teachers time to accomodate any changes their existing students need to make as summer activities begin--or as school resumes. While some teachers see minimal change (particularly those with a large number of adult students), many faculty members experience a major shift. Graduating seniors, summer jobs, and leisure activities change as the school year ends. In the fall, sports schedules, bus logistics, homework loads, PSR, and other activities factor into our students' schedule needs. Until the dust has settled, some teachers may not begin placing new students. For this reason, we may know that there will be times available for an instrument soon, but it may be a week or two into the new season before we know exactly which times. The start of a new season is a hectic time with literally hundreds of changes and bookings in a three week window.

Finally, you may be able to jump far ahead of other people on the waiting list if you're willing to start at any time rather than waiting for summer or fall. We try to book open times immediately rather than hold the teacher's schedule in limbo for weeks, so someone specifying "summer/fall start" will be passed over (since they couldn't start for several weeks) in favor of a person willing to begin immediately. If you'd be willing to start NOW, it may help to let us know.

If you opted to take a "summer only" time, we cannot guarantee fall placement,. Summer Only times will disappear in September, and while we give priority to summer students before going back to the waiting list or booking new students, we can't be certain a time that works for your schedule will become available. If you anticipate that you'll stay in lessons in the fall, it's best to select a time that works for both summer AND fall.

Waiting List FAQ:

1. How long is the wait?
   
2. Can I specify a particular teacher?
   
3. How many people are ahead of me?
   
4. I really can't start until (summer, end of football season, after Christmas, etc.) will I lose out if you have a time before I'm ready?
   
5. What happens if I decline a time? Do I go to the bottom of the list again?
   
6. I've been on the waiting list for (weeks, months, years, etc.). Why haven't I gotten a call?
   
7. You just sent me a postcard. Do you have a time for me?
   
8. I'm a former student...can I get in faster?

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How long is the wait?
The short answer, unfortunately, is "it depends". If we have a waiting list for a particular instrument, it means that all the times are taken and someone must leave the program before we can go to the waiting list and place a new student. Since our program runs month by month, someone could leave at any time, but it also means that there is no specific time when many or all students must re-enroll, as you might see in semester-based programs.
Of course, we do see large changes in summer, fall, and at the Christmas season, and as sports, theater, and other school activities begin recruitment, but the times and instruments affected vary unpredictably.
Making it more complicated is the schedule need of a prospective student. The more rigid your scheduling needs, the less likely it is that we'll have a time that fits your requirements, and you could still be waiting while others with greater flexibility are placed.

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Can I specify a particular teacher?
Certainly. If you know the teacher by reputation, former study, or because others in your family have taken lessons with him or her, we can certainly accommodate your request. Bear in mind that some of our faculty members are only in one or two days a week, though. The teacher you've requested may have little or no turnover of students, or may not even be teaching when you're available. Whether you're specifying a particular teacher or a particular day of the week, it limits the times we can offer you and usually increases your wait.

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How many people are ahead of me?
A head count of names that were added to the waiting list before you is deceiving, because it doesn't factor everyone's schedule needs into the equation. Many people on the list have very specific needs--for a particular day or time, etc. If your schedule is more flexible than those ahead of you, you may be placed first, because we have a time available that no one ahead of you can take. But if you're only interested in weekdays from 6-9 pm, for example, everyone ahead of you can probably use that time as well. We have gone as many as twenty names down a list before we can fill a "fringe" opening in the early afternoon.

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I really can't start until (summer, end of football season, after Christmas, etc.) will I lose out if you have a time before I'm ready?
While we can't hold a time for several weeks or months until you're ready to take lessons (about two weeks is the maximum) you can specify the time you'd be willing to start and work your way up the list in the meantime. You can tell us, "after Christmas," "after June 10," or whatever reflects the need. But if we reach your name before you wish to start, we'll pass you over for people who can take the time immediately. Once we reach the time frame you've specified, though, we'll offer the next time that matches your preferences. You should be aware that we can't guarantee an opening that fits your schedule at a specific time in the future...that's why we call this a waiting list instead of a reservation list.

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What happens if I decline a time? Do I go to the bottom of the list again?
Once you're at the top of the list, you stay there until you either tell us to take you off the list or if you fail to respond to one of our postcards (see next question). We'll continue to offer times that match your schedule preferences.

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I've been on the waiting list for (weeks, months, years, etc.). Why haven't I gotten a call?
Assuming your schedule needs aren't too restrictive (one candidate was only willing to take a 7 pm Wednesday piano lesson, so we could offer a time only when that one student dropped), other possible reasons are:
an inaccurate or unreachable phone number (we've been unable to read some, others ring without voicemail picking up);
lack of response to repeated calls and messages (some households rely on mom to schedule--and she's never given the message). You should also know that to avoid tying up our main phone line, we make waiting list calls on a private line with restricted caller ID, so relying on our caller ID to prompt you to check with us isn't practical.
If you think you might have missed a call, check with the store so we can correct information and give you a status update. You may wish to consider leaving a cell or other alternate number with us as well. However, you should also know that some programs have very little turnover (violin and piano in particular, since most students waited for their times in the first place), so a wait of many weeks, or even a few months, is not unheard of. Read the next question for another possibility.

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You just sent me a postcard. Do you have a time for me?
No, the postcards are sent every three months or so to people who have been on the waiting list longer than three months. We're checking to see if you're still interested. It also allows us to contact people who we've been unable to reach for some reason so we can update their information. If you're still interested, simply respond to the postcard via phone, mail, or email. If we haven't heard from you by the deadline on the card, we'll remove you from the list so we can offer times to those still interested more quickly.

Sometimes people will tell us they ignored the postcard because they have other family members in our program and we know they want to be on the waiting list. Actually, we don't: people change their minds and schedules often...that's why we're checking. If you want to be on the list, please respond to the postcard when it comes!

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I'm a former student...can I get in faster?
Unfortunately, no. Everyone has a priority status in their own view. Just as you might feel prior enrollment might entitle you, others might cite how many students they have in the program already, how long they've been customers, how incredibly talented, dedicated, or anxious their student is, or how much money they've spent at the store. All reasonable and appreciated--but the only fair way we can think of for everyone is the chronology of the list , modified with expressed schedule preferences. In other words, everyone waits in the same line. Your neighbor may have gotten a call before you because they have a more flexible schedule, not because they pulled (so to speak) strings.

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What's the best time if you want to get a lesson time quickly?
Early afternoons (prior to 4 pm) or often, Saturday.

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What's the best time of year to get in?
As school lets out for the summer, but put yourself on the waiting list early and specifiy "summer start". You'll be ahead of all the people who think about lessons after Memorial Day.

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How young can/should a child start music lessons?
Our youngest students have been around age three, but some of our teachers specify a minimum age (often around age ten). Some younger students may not be ready for a structured lesson program, despite their talent and expressed interest. Suzuki programs will start students as young as three, even two--but they are organized differently from private lessons, with individual and group sessions and constant parental coaching.
Any age is good, as long as the student is ready for the structure of lessons and has the minimum time available to devote to the study of an instrument.

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Having Fun with music is tremendously important, but we believe that the most fulfilling fun is the pride and enjoyment of a job well done. If you want someone to teach you woodworking--for fun--you wouldn't want crooked shelves, marred finishes, or protruding nails on a bookcase you produce. What would you think of those efforts? In the same way, we teach our students the principles and discipline of music, not just their favorite song. This will empower them to search out and enjoy their favorite music even as their tastes change and expand.