Please email our Performance Manager and Director of Performance outlining your wish to receive tuition from an external instrumental or vocal tutor. Please outline your proposed tutor name (if known) and what the proposed hourly rate would be in your email. 

Your Lesson Agreement

COURSE INFORMATION 

• Individual instrumental or singing lessons are associated with the Solo Performance Course(s) MU1118, MU2205, MU2210, MU3393 and MU3407; and possibly the Ensemble Performance Course MU2211. 
• Tuition is provided on only one instrument or in the singing, per year only, and up to maximum of 22 hours of tuition (regardless of number of performance course taken). No two of MU2205, MU2210, MU3393 and MU3407 can be taken in any one year. Students taking MU2211 Ensemble Performance and studying the same instrument in MU2210 or MU3393 receive only the lessons associated with the single-study course. A change of study in a subsequent year requires the approval of the Director of Performance. 
• The normal programme of tuition are as follows:   
  • MU1118 – 18 lessons of 45 minutes’ duration, taken at regular weekly intervals during Terms 1 and 2
  • MU2205 – 16 lessons of 45 minutes’ duration, taken at regular weekly intervals during Terms 1 and 2.
  • MU2210 - 20 lessons of 1 hours’ duration, taken at regular weekly intervals during Terms 1 and 2.
  • MU3407 - 16 lessons of 45 minutes’ duration, taken at regular weekly intervals during Terms 1 and 2.
  • MU3393 – 21 lessons of 1 hours’ duration, taken at regular weekly intervals during Terms 1 and 2.

EXTERNAL LESSON AGREEMENT

• With the joint approval of the Admissions Tutor, Director of Performance and Performance Manager, lessons may be taken with an approved external tutor. 
• The arrangement of lessons falls in this case to the student, although the department, through the Performance Manager and/or Director of Performance, may be able to assist by suggesting possible teachers and establishing contact.
• The arrangement should take place at the beginning of Term 1; at the outset the student must meet with BOTH the Director of Performance and Performance Manager.
• Undergraduates are expected to take the same amount of tuition as that normally taken from our internal Instrumental and Vocal Tutors.
• External Instrumental and Vocal Tutors are expected to submit a report every academic year on the progress and attendance of the student. The Performance Manager will contact the tutor to provide this form, usually to be submitted by the end of Term 2. 
• Students will need to establish with the tutor the terms governing their relationship (e.g. the period of notice to be given); any charge levied by the tutor for breaking these terms (e.g. payment in lieu of notice) will be a matter solely between the tutor and student. Any such charge will not be payable out of the Departmental allowance. 

PAYMENT OF LESSONS

• Payments will be made by the Department of Music directly to the external tutors. An approved external tutor must contact the Performance Manager to complete the process of becoming a new supplier at the College and for financial checks to be done. The external tutor will then invoice throughout the term to claim payment for the hours worked. 
• To find out your Departmental allowance for external lessons (calculated by the performance based module(s) that the student is enrolled on), please contact the Performance Manager.  

ADDITIONAL EXPENSES

• The Department does not pay travel expenses incurred through attendance at lessons outside of Department premises, except in those cases when the Department is unable to provide tuition on a given instrument on campus. In these cases, reasonable travel expenses, agreed in advance with the Performance Manager, will be reimbursed.  

 ATTENDANCE

• Attendance for instrumental and singing lessons in connection with relevant performance courses is viewed in the same light as in attendance in all other courses.
• The Performance Manager should be informed of ALL changes of arrangements with your tutor, who are required to return reports on attendance and progress to the Department. 
• It is the responsibility of student to organise and arrange their lessons with their external tutor.
• In all cases, it is intended that students may consider changing tutors in the course of any academic year only in the most exceptional circumstances; and such changes must first be discussed with, and approved by, the Director of Performance and Head of Department.

SECOND STUDY LESSONS

• Lessons in a second study may be possible, subject to availability. Timetabling should be arranged through the Performance Manager but all arrangements relating to payment and notice periods are to be negotiated on a private basis between student and tutor.  

What next?

Having carefully read the above agreement, please complete this online form. 

Your Lesson Agreement

COURSE INFORMATION

• Individual instrumental or singing lessons are associated with the Postgraduate Taught course(s) MU5535, MU5551 and MU5539. Admission to MU5535 and MU5539 is by audition on application or as soon as possible thereafter.
• Postgraduate Taught students taking performance courses are expected to follow a regular programme of tuition, although not necessarily at weekly intervals. In all cases, lessons may be taken with one of the Department’s instrumental or vocal tutors or with an external tutor, in which case special conditions apply (please meet with both the Director of Performance and Performance Manager to arrange this).
• The normal programme of tuition are as follows:
  • MU5535 – 10 hours of lessons 
  • MU5539 – 22 hours of lessons (an additional 4 hours of tuition, if taken in conjunction with MU5535).

EXTERNAL LESSON AGREEMENT

• With the joint approval of the Admissions Tutor, Director of Performance and Performance Manager, lessons may be taken with an approved external tutor.
• The arrangement of lessons falls in this case to the student, although the department, through the Performance Manager and/or Director of Performance, may be able to assist by suggesting possible teachers and establishing contact.
• The arrangement should take place at the beginning of Term 1; at the outset the student must meet with BOTH the Director of Performance and Performance Manager.
• Undergraduates are expected to take the same amount of tuition as that normally taken from our internal Instrumental and Vocal Tutors.
• External Instrumental and Vocal Tutors are expected to submit a report every academic year on the progress and attendance of the student. The Performance Manager will contact the tutor to provide this form, usually to be submitted by the end of Term 2.
• Students will need to establish with the tutor the terms governing their relationship (e.g. the period of notice to be given); any charge levied by the tutor for breaking these terms (e.g. payment in lieu of notice) will be a matter solely between the tutor and student. Any such charge will not be payable out of the Departmental allowance. 

PAYMENT OF LESSONS

• From September 2021, payments will be made by the Department of Music directly to the external tutors. An approved external tutor must contact the Performance Manager to complete the process of becoming a new supplier at the College and for financial checks to be done. The external tutor will then invoice throughout the term to claim payment for the hours worked. 
• To find out your Departmental allowance for external lessons (calculated by the performance based module(s) that the student is enrolled on), please contact the Performance Manager.  

ADDITIONAL EXPENSES

• The Department does not pay travel expenses incurred through attendance at lessons outside of Department premises, except in those cases when the Department is unable to provide tuition on a given instrument on campus. In these cases, reasonable travel expenses, agreed in advance with the Performance Manager, will be reimbursed.

ATTENDANCE

• Attendance for instrumental and singing lessons in connection with relevant performance courses is viewed in the same light as in attendance in all other courses.
• The Performance Manager should be informed of ALL changes of arrangements with your tutor, who are required to return reports on attendance and progress to the Department.
• It is the responsibility of student to organise and arrange their lessons with their external tutor.
• In all cases, it is intended that students may consider changing tutors in the course of any academic year only in the most exceptional circumstances; and such changes must first be discussed with, and approved by, the Director of Performance and Head of Department.

SECOND STUDY LESSONS

• Lessons in a second study may be possible, subject to availability. Timetabling should be arranged through the Instrumental & Vocal Tutor Coordinator but all arrangements relating to payment and notice periods are to be negotiated on a private basis between student and tutor.

What next?

Having carefully read the above agreement, please complete this online form. 

If you are a student enrolled onto the postgraduate module, Documenting Performance, your are allocated a number of instrumental or vocal lessons.

Each student is allocated a total of £260.00 towards lessons with their specialist teacher. For most tutors and mentors, this is likely to mean around 7 one-hour lessons at £37.00. Some tutors may require a higher rate (e.g. £43.00 per hour, the maximum that should be paid, which would result in 6 hours of lessons).

For further information about this module and tutor provision, please contact H.Stobart@rhul.ac.uk.