Student Frequently Asked Questions

TakeLessons is America’s full-service music and voice lessons provider offering customized private lessons in over 2800 cities nationwide. Learn more about TakeLessons »

The S.T.A.R. Program™ is our customized lesson program created to help you set and reach your personal goals. "S.T.A.R." stands for: Setting musical goals, Tracking your progress, Achieving a little more each week, and Rewarding yourself for your accomplishments. The purpose of the S.T.A.R. Program™ is to show you that lessons are fun, rewarding and designed to give you the ability to learn exactly what you want from a safe, certified instructor in a fun and encouraging environment.

At TakeLessons, you are not bound by any long-term commitments and with proper notification, you can cancel your lessons at any time.

For new students, as part of our 100% Money Back Guarantee, if you want to stop after your first lesson, contact us within 72 hours and we'll either find another instructor to suit your needs or refund your entire lesson purchase (including the first lesson).

For existing students, you must give us notice of cancellation before the billing date in order to stop lessons for your next term. For example, normally we would bill on May 25 for June's lessons. If you do not want to take lessons in June then you need to let us know on or before May 24 that you want to cancel. This will ensure that you will not be billed on May 25.

Please note: we do not offer refunds on lessons that have been paid for but not taken. If you are not able to physically take the remaining lessons as scheduled, you have the option of saving them for later (you have up to 12 weeks to resume lessons), give them to a friend, or even donate them to underprivileged students.

All of our lessons are taught by TakeLessons Certified™ instructors, meaning they have gone through a proprietary 7-step application and maintenance process to work with us. Of the thousands of instructors that apply to work with us each month, less than 5% are actually hired ensuring we have the top instructors working for us providing you with an exception lesson experience.

Learn more about our TakeLessons Certified™ Instructors »

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We do not offer a free trial lesson, however, we are so sure that you will love your lessons that we offer new customers a 100% Money Back Guarantee. If you take your first lesson and decide that you don't want to continue, we will happily refund the amount you paid INCLUDING the lesson you've already taken.

Unfortunately not. In order to reserve your time slot, we require payment at the time of booking which must be at least 7 days before your first lesson takes place. By the time you get to your first lesson, you will have already paid for it!

TakeLessons accepts students ages 5 and up for most lessons. Voice students will typically start at a slightly later age (e.g. 8 or 9) since their vocal chords are more mature. Occasionally we will get a student younger than this and will do our best to place them with an instructor that will meet their needs.

In order to give the instructor enough time to prepare for the lesson, we schedule all lessons at least 7 days from time of booking.

With our quarterly booking program, you book 12 lessons up front, and get your 13th lesson for free. Over the course of the year that amounts to one full month of free lessons!

Our company headquarters is based in San Diego, CA, however, we have TakeLessons Certified™ instructors teaching lessons in over 2,800 cities across the United States.

Unlike a referral service where anyone can join, TakeLessons physically contracts with each and every teacher after a thorough application and interview process. Each of our teachers are TakeLessons Certified™ so you receive an exceptional lesson experience each and every time with a safe and qualified teacher.

If you have multiple family members interested in taking lessons, we recommend booking longer lesson lengths and splitting them among the students. By booking a longer lesson length, you are actually saving more money than if you were to book each time slot individually.

Our booking policy is flexible in that you are only charged for the lessons you are planning on taking each month. If you plan on going on vacation, you can simply add the dates you are unavailable to your vacation calendar, and we will automatically not schedule or bill you for those lessons. That way you are in full control over how many lessons you take each month. However, if you do not update your calendar or give us 48 hours to re-schedule a lesson, you will be billed for the lesson you missed.

With the S.T.A.R. Program, every lesson is customized to your needs. You will work with your instructor to develop a lesson plan suited to meet your specific goals. As long as you continue to take lessons, you will learn exactly what you set out to learn.

The amount of lessons you take depends on your specific goals, how often you are able to practice, and how often you take lessons. Some students take lessons for months; some for years. Some of the more serious students take lessons on and off throughout their entire lives. You ultimately make that decision based on what you want to accomplish.

The great thing is…you control your own results! If you put effort into your lessons, you will definitely see improvement. After each lesson, your instructor will send you a Lesson Success Journal™. This journal will show you exactly what you covered in the prior lesson, what you did well with, and what you should practice for the next session. You can use this journal as a guide to track your progress throughout the course of your lessons.