School policies

Registration and billing

Registration is complete once your account is created and the first payment has been processed. There is no registration fee.

When you start partway through a month, you pay only for the lessons left in that month, at the drop-in rate, before or on the day of your first lesson. Regular monthly tuition starts the following month.

A start date falls within two weeks of registering when the time you want is open now. If that time opens up later, your start is the day it opens.

Promotional offers cannot be combined at registration.

Monthly payment

Students must provide either a valid credit card or a void cheque for pre-authorized monthly billing. Payments are processed automatically on the first day of each month.

If a payment is declined, the student has until 48 hours before their next scheduled lesson to resolve the outstanding balance in full. Failure to do so may result in unenrollment.

Statutory holidays and school closures

Lessons do not run on statutory holidays, and statutory holiday cancellations are not eligible for make-up lessons. Holiday disruptions are factored into monthly tuition, which is based on an annual lesson average rather than a per-lesson count.

Monday lesson pricing reflects the higher frequency of statutory holidays that fall on Mondays throughout the year.

Resonate closes for approximately two weeks over the December–January holiday period and one week over the August long weekend each year. These closures are part of the annual schedule and are reflected in the annual tuition average. Billing is not adjusted for months that include or border a school closure period.

Lesson holds and membership pauses

Resonate does not offer lesson holds or membership pauses. There are two ways through an extended absence, and each has a cost.

Give 30 days’ notice and return later, subject to what is open then. This ends the membership, and with it the make-ups on file, the studio hours, and the studio-hour clock.

Or stay enrolled, give a week’s notice for the lessons you will miss, and use the make-ups when you are back. This keeps your time, your teacher, and your rate.

Ending your membership

Ending a membership requires direct notification to the Resonate front desk team, in person, by phone, or in writing. Notification of your instructor alone is not sufficient. To give notice, use the cancellation form.

For non-medical withdrawals, students are responsible for tuition for 30 days from the date of proper notification, whether or not lessons during this period are attended. If this results in a partial month, tuition is prorated accordingly.

Everything continues through the final lesson day: the same instructor, time, and billing, and the make-ups and studio hours on file. The cancellation can be reversed any time before the final lesson.

Medical circumstances are handled on a case-by-case basis. Contact the front desk team to discuss your situation.

Resonate reserves the right to suspend or unenroll a student at any time for inappropriate conduct, and to reassign instructors or discontinue a course without notice.

Make-ups and studio hours when a membership ends

Make-ups and studio hours are part of an active membership and end with it. Through the final lesson day of the notice period, make-ups can be used or donated to the Resonate Community Fund, and studio hours can be used within the monthly limit. Whatever is left on the final day expires. Nothing carries over to a later membership: a returning member earns make-ups from the first week and starts the studio-hour clock from the first month.

A lesson missed with a week’s notice before your final day can be moved to another open time before then, if one is open.

Missed lessons and make-up lessons

When notice of an absence reaches the front desk at least one week before the lesson, we set that lesson aside as a make-up: the same lesson, taught later in an open time, used within 90 days. A missed lesson doesn’t have to be a lost one, and make-ups give you room around vacations, schedule changes, or anything else that comes up.

Absences with less than one week’s notice are forfeited, and illness on the day isn’t eligible. Telling your instructor is not notice; it counts when it reaches the front desk. Advance notice is what lets us offer your time to another member and set your lesson aside. Stay home when you are unwell; a student who is well enough to play but should stay out of the building can ask the front desk about taking the lesson online. Genuine emergencies are handled case by case. Reach out to the front desk as early as you can.

How make-up lessons work

A make-up is a lesson, and only a lesson. It has no cash value, is never applied to tuition, and isn’t exchanged for anything else. It is the length of the lesson it came from, and make-ups are not split, combined, or converted between lengths.

A make-up belongs to the student whose lesson it was. It doesn’t transfer to a sibling, a friend, or another account. Donating it to the Community Fund is the one way it reaches another student.

Make-ups are booked through the front desk, into an open time with your own instructor first, or with another instructor for the instrument if that week is full. Booking requires an active membership in good standing. Once booked, a make-up holds its time: it can’t be moved, and if it is missed it isn’t made up again. A booked make-up, a drop-in, and a group class never earn a make-up.

The reasoning behind these rules, and the questions that come up most, are on how make-up lessons work.

Scheduling

We’ll work with you to find a time with your instructor. We can’t guarantee a specific day or time in every case. A make-up from your notice must be used, the lesson taught, within 90 days of the missed lesson. If no time is found in that window, the lesson expires. This isn’t grounds for a billing adjustment, and the window isn’t extended.

Make-ups on file before May 19, 2026 can be used through December 19, 2026, the last lesson day before the winter closure.

Instructor-cancelled lessons

If your instructor needs to cancel for any reason, you’ll hear from us as early as possible. Where we can, we’ll arrange a substitute so the lesson still runs; a lesson a substitute teaches has happened. When no one teaches it, you always get a make-up, and a make-up from a lesson the school cancelled doesn’t expire while your membership is active. The same goes for an unscheduled closure, such as weather or a power outage.

Donating make-up lessons

Any make-up can be donated to the Resonate Community Fund at any time before it expires, including when a membership ends. Donated lessons go to students in the community, at our discretion.

Drop-in lessons

Drop-in lessons are single sessions available to book up to two weeks ahead. They are paid at the time of booking and are non-refundable.

Drop-ins cannot be rescheduled or transferred. A booked drop-in that is missed or cancelled is forfeited with no credit or refund issued.

Drop-in lessons do not include studio hours and are not eligible for the member discount. They are available in 30-minute and 60-minute formats.

To weigh a drop-in against weekly membership, see how the two compare.

Late arrivals

A student who arrives 10 or more minutes late will be considered absent for that lesson. The instructor is not required to remain once a student has been declared absent. Late-arrival absences are not eligible for make-up lessons, as advance notice cannot be given after the fact.

Recording studio hours

Active members receive one complimentary hour of recording studio time for every three consecutive months of membership. Hours are earned per member: a student with multiple lessons per week receives the same hour as a student taking one lesson per week.

• Accumulate without a maximum, and do not expire while the membership is active
• Cannot be transferred to another person or account
• Cannot be exchanged for cash
• Are limited to a maximum of 3 hours redeemed in any calendar month
• Are redeemable toward any Resonate Recording Studio service while the holder is an active member, subject to studio availability

Studio hours end with the membership. Through the final lesson day of the notice period they can be used, within the monthly limit. A gap in membership resets the three-month clock.

Member discount

Active Resonate members receive a 10% discount on all merchandise, apparel, and studio services. This discount does not apply to instrument rentals or purchases.

Online lessons

When a student or instructor is unable to attend in person at a scheduled time, an online lesson may be requested. The request requires agreement from both the instructor and the Resonate front desk team. Online lessons are subject to all the same policies as in-person lessons.

Photos and recordings

Photos and recordings taken at Resonate or at Resonate events may be used for promotional purposes, including on the Resonate website, social media, print materials, and event coverage.

Parents and guardians acknowledge this on behalf of students under 18 at the time of registration. Students or families who prefer not to appear in published content can let the front desk team know.

Health and wellness

If you are experiencing symptoms of illness, including fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, or shortness of breath, please stay home and contact us as soon as possible. Absences due to illness are not eligible for make-up lessons. A student who is well enough to play but should stay out of the building can ask the front desk about taking the lesson online.

Resonate reserves the right to ask a student to reschedule if they arrive showing signs of illness.

We ask the same of our instructors. If your instructor needs to cancel a scheduled lesson for any reason, you will be notified as early as possible. A lesson your instructor cancels that no substitute teaches always earns a make-up.