
This FAQs for You
Click on a question and the answer will be revealed, or use our searchable knowledge base to find your answer more quickly.
If you have a question that isn't answered here, please feel free to text us at 206-407-9610 or email us.
Covid-19 Updates
Yes, we are open for online lessons or in-person lessons. Click here to view safety and equipment tips.
General Questions
- Piano: 5 years old (children as young as 4 may be scheduled with select teachers; to do so, please email us.)
- Violin, Viola, Cello: 7 years old
- Guitar, Bass, Ukulele: 7 years old
- Drums: 7 years old
- Voice: 7 years old
Our teachers are educated in various styles of music and can help you learn in a way that is fun and exciting. You'll work together to choose music that you enjoy and that is suitable for your current skill level, and then they'll coach you toward successfully learning to play it.
In addition to class time at the school, you'll have a weekly assignment so you can practice at home.
We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
If you're ever unhappy with any part of your lesson, please contact our office and we'll make it right.
- Last week of March
- First week of June
- Last week of September
- Second week of December
During the week progress reports are due, your teacher will save the last 5 minutes of your lesson to fill out the report and go over it with you.
We also offer practice time here at the school, for $10/hour. If you'd like to book a session, you can do so here.
If you think of your fingers as little hammers that strike the keys that then activate other little hammers that hit the strings to make the sound ... well, you can get yourself pretty confused. But, in that way, think of the piano as a doubly percussive instrument -- finger drums and hammer drums!
If you would like to check out the school, sign up for a free lesson online and come on in!
We've created this parking guide, which highlights the streets around the school that often have the most street parking options available:
If you'd like to take advantage of this opportunity, let us know and we can help you schedule time on the calendar; even though you'll be working on your own, we will need to schedule it to make sure the room is available and that someone will be here to help you get setup on the equipment.
Classes run from Monday through Friday, 9am - 2pm, and have a final performance on Friday for friends and family.
Scheduling Questions
You can easily schedule your lesson with us in one of the following ways:
- Schedule a single appointment using our online calendar
- Contact us via email or by phone (206-407-9610) and we'll coordinate it for you. Please provide us with the following details:
- Preferred days / dates / time
- Instrument you're learning
- Preferred teacher, if applicable
- Request a recurring lesson to setup a regular session with your teacher each week
You can reschedule your appointment in one of the following ways in one of the following ways:
- Online via our scheduling software
- Login using the email address you used to schedule the original appointment
- Click 'Appointments' to view your upcoming lessons
- Find the lesson you'd like to cancel and click 'reschedule'
- Send us an email with the date of the session you'd like to reschedule and a few preferred days / times that will work for you
- Call us at 206-407-9610
If you have a regular recurring lesson and you need to cancel more than one occurrence, please send us an email with the date range you need to cancel. Please note that we cannot hold recurring lesson spots open for longer than 3 weeks.
If you'd like to reserve the same lesson time and instructor each week, please fill out this form and let us know your availability. Our office will work with you to schedule a regular lesson that meets your needs.
If your preferred lesson time is taken, we will put you on a waitlist and let you know if that slot becomes available. Until that time, we encourage you to schedule single lessons online.
Please send us an email to let us know your needs and we'll work with you to find the most convenient recurring lessons for your family.
When available, we can setup every-other-week lessons, although weekly recurring students are given scheduling priority during our 'primetime' hours of Monday through Friday, 4pm - 6pm.
If your schedule changes quite frequently, you may also elect to schedule one-off lessons on a regular basis, but please note that this may result in working with more than one teacher.
For billing purposes, we invoice in advance for a set number of lessons each month, and provide you with a credit for any unused lessons on the following month's invoice.
Practice sessions are a great resource for new students who want to work on their skills but aren't yet ready to invest in their own equipment.
Please note: If you book a practice session, you must be able to work without supervision. You'll be greeted and shown to your specific practice room when you arrive, but we won't be able to provide any further guidance, assistance or instructional feedback. This service is provided for free to new students for their first month, and at a discounted rate to other students, with the assumption that a member of our staff will not be required to supervise you. If you need additional supervision, please book a regular lesson instead.
Free Lesson Questions
You can schedule your first lesson online; simply select your instrument of choice and then pick a time that will work for you. Our calendar shows available free lessons for the next 3 weeks. More questions? Just email us!
You can learn more about them by reviewing their individual bio pages, too. If you're still not sure, please send us an email or call us at 206-407-9610 and we can help you select the right instructor that will meet your needs.
If you're taking violin, bass, guitar or ukulele and have your own instrument, please bring it with you. If you do not own one of these kinds of instrument, we do have one available for you to use.
We don't have cellos available for rent or use, so you'll need to rent one prior to your first lesson.
If you're taking a brass or woodwind instrument such as the trumpet or the saxophone, we do have clean mouthpieces at the school that you can use in order to share the instrument with your teacher.
If you decide that you'd like to continue with lessons, we suggest that you rent before buying.
If your lesson is at the satellite school at 1201 N 46th Street, you enter via the basement door at the bottom of the driveway. Once you enter, you can hang out in the waiting room; your teacher will come get you when your lesson is about to begin.
Basically, we'll need you to send us an email letting us know that you'd like to continue lessons and how many lessons you anticipate you'll take each month. We'll provide instructions on how to schedule a regularly recurring lesson, setup your billing and then send you your first invoice.
- You can cancel 48 hours in advance via the link included in your lesson reminder email.
- If you need to cancel with less than 48-hours' notice, please let us know via email or by calling us at 206-407-9610. In the event of an emergency, we will consider making an exception and help you reschedule your free lesson.
Billing Questions
Any excused, cancelled lessons become credits on the following month's invoice; similarly, any lessons you take in addition to your regularly billed amount will be added to the following month's invoice.
Your invoice will be emailed to you by the 18th of each month, and are due within 20 days of receipt, or from invoice date. We do charge a late fee of $10 on all past-due invoices.
To ensure that you receive your monthly invoice, please add the email address maildelivery@freshbooks.com to your email software's whitelist.


- Find your most recent email with a link to the recurring Invoice. Open this link
- Click on the Edit Card link in the notification box above the auto-paid Invoice
- Alternatively, click on Profile in the top right corner, then click on the Automatic Payments sub-tab
- Click on the Change Card button
- Add in your updated credit card details and click Save Card to finish.
When you sign up with us for regular lessons, please let us know how many lessons you anticipate taking per month; we'll bill you for that amount and then credit you the following month for any lessons that you didn't use.
- Online: Your e-mailed invoice contains a direct link for you to pay using your debit or credit card. There are no places to pay on the website.
- In Person: Drop a check in the dropbox in the school's waiting room
- By Mail: Send a check to us at 4509 Midvale Ave North, Seattle, WA, 98103
If paying by check, please make it out to Off the Wall School of Music.
Please remember that you must pay within 20 days of receipt of your invoice to avoid the $10 late fee.
If you regularly take 4 lessons each month, you will still receive an invoice for 4 lessons, despite holidays, vacations and advanced cancellations. These will appear as credits on the following month's invoice.
Cancellation Questions
- Cancel via the direct link included in your lesson reminder email
- Contact us via email
- Call or text us at 206-407-9610 and leave a message with our office
- Login to our online scheduling software and manage your appointments online
To discontinue lessons, do one the following:
- Fill out this form
- Let us know by email
- Give us a call at 206-407-9610
Any credit balances can be refunded, or we can keep them on file for future use.
If you need to discontinue your lessons indefinitely please notify us later than the 20th of the month for discontinuation effective the following month.
To discontinue lessons indefinitely, you can do one the following:
- Fill out this form
- Let us know by email
- Give us a call at 206-407-9610
Any credit balances can be refunded, or we can keep them on file for future use.
We understand that kids get sick, and that you can’t predict this, but out of respect for our teachers, their time and livelihood, we have to charge for any cancellation made with less than 48 hours' notice. We appreciate your understanding.
While it's nice to let the teacher know that you won't be coming the next time, they're focused solely on teaching and don't handle scheduling.
Please contact the office directly regarding cancellations or rescheduling requests.
We know that it's important for you to keep a consistent lesson schedule, and that you can also benefit from learning from different instructors. If your teacher is unable to come in for your scheduled lesson, we will make every effort to find a skilled substitute -- either one of our other regular teachers or someone with whom we've worked in the past.
When we schedule a substitute for your teacher, we will let you know via email so that you'll know what to expect. To ensure that the lesson is positive and successful for you, we will also follow-up afterward to get your feedback on the experience.
If we're unable to schedule a substitute, we'll cancel your lesson at no cost to you.