Handbook
The Handbook is where you can find all the information, terms, and conditions about our lessons at Top Notes Piano. If you've read through the Handbook and still have a question, you can always email us at support@topnotespiano.co.uk
Getting To The Studio
Top Notes Piano Dunfermline is located at Flexspace Dunfermline, just a couple of minutes drive off the M90.
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Note that parking at the front of the building is accessed via Pitreavie Ct.
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Flexspace Dunfermline
Queensferry Road
Dunfermline
KY11 8UU
Contact Details
Below are the various ways you can get in contact with us.
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Dale – dale@topnotespiano.co.uk
Denise – denise@topnotespiano.co.uk
Stefan - stefan@topnotespiano.co.uk
General Questions & Support – support@topnotespiano.co.uk
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Office – 01383 252032
Mobile – 07871 055606
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It’s best to use the office number if you need to speak to the teacher that is running classes that day or you have an issue getting into the building for lessons. The mobile number can be used for urgent matters. (note: only Dale has access to the mobile number, other teachers are not contactable on the mobile number)
Arriving For Lessons
On arrival, press the left/right arrow keys on the keypad to the left of the main door until ‘Top Notes Piano’ appears on the intercom screen, then press the ‘bell’ button – this will call our office and we can let you in.
If you need to call the office to let your teacher know anything or if you are having trouble getting into the building, then you can also phone the office number: 01383 252032
The tutor will meet you at the main entrance (above) of the building 1-2 minutes before the start of the lesson. Please note this door is electronically locked so you won’t get access to the building unless you are let in.
For child lessons there are a limited number (max 3) of seats in a small seating area within the room for parents. Parents are welcome to sit here through the duration of the lesson. There is no obligation to do so, some parents prefer to leave or wait in the car park and come back at the end of the lesson. If the teacher deems there are too many people in the room or the amount of people in the room is a distraction for students having a lesson, you may be asked to wait in the reception area downstairs for the duration of the lesson.
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We can let you in the building early prior to the lesson but kindly ask you to wait in the downstairs foyer/reception area until your teacher meets you there – unless your lesson has already started, then feel free to head upstairs.
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The main entrance to the building is shown below:
Tutition Fees
Tuition at Top Notes Piano is paid on a rolling monthly basis. There is no minimum term contract with tuition and tuition can be stopped at the end of any given month. Below are the current monthly fees for lessons.
£84 per month (£24 per 55-minute lesson based on 42 weeks of the year). This is for a 55 minute lesson each week (outside of holidays). There are no additional fees for method books or sheet music we give to students or access to some of our apps. Any music you've been given you get to keep!
The way the monthly rate is calculated is by using the following formula:
(£24 x 42 weeks)/12 months = £84 per month
The monthly tuition fee is based on the cost of 42 lessons a year being spread into 12 even monthly payments. The nature of this means that:
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some months have more or fewer classes than others,
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the payment remains the same even if there is a holiday period in the month,
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ceasing tuition within 12 months may mean that the average cost per lesson is slightly higher or lower than the price per lesson stated above.
For new students, your first payment will be a pro-rata lessons fee. For example, If a child is starting lessons in the middle of the month and there are two lessons remaining in that month, the first payment will be £48. Thereafter, it will be £84 from the 1st of each month. If the pro-rata payment for the first month would exceed the regular monthly payment, it will be capped at the monthly payment.
We don’t refund for missed lessons as every student is reserved space each week, but we do have an incredibly flexible rescheduling policy which allows you to catch up on any lessons missed so long as you are actively registered with us and have no outstanding payments and there is no time limit to reschedule lessons.
If cessation of lessons occurs, a refund is not issued for any remaining lessons in that month, however students are entitled to have 1 lesson per week up until the end of the month. If a tutor cannot run a lesson outside of a holiday period, generally a refund will be offered for that lesson if it is not suitable for the lesson to be rescheduled.
Missed Lessons and Rescheduling Policy
We don’t issue refunds for any lessons that are missed, but we have a very flexible rescheduling system which allows you to catch up any missed lessons whilst you are actively registered with us and there is no time limit to do this!
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Refunds are not issued for lessons that are missed, cancelled, or partially attended due to students having a reserved space every week.
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A refund/reschedule will be offered if a tutor cancels a class when it should be running.
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Any lesson that is missed, cancelled, or can’t be attended by the student can be rescheduled.
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Rescheduled lesson times are subject to availability.
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You must have an active payment method registered with us and no missed payments for rescheduled lessons to be valid.
Holiday Dates
We have 10 weeks holiday per year which mostly coincides with the Fife school holidays:
• October Holidays (2 weeks)
• Christmas (2 weeks)
• February (1 week)
• Easter (2 weeks)
• Summer Holidays (3 weeks)
Tuition will not run and lessons cannot be rescheduled during these times.
Below are the holiday dates for the 2025-2026 academic year. All dates are inclusive.
October
Monday 13th October 2025 – Sunday 26th October 2025
Christmas
Monday 22nd December 2025 – Sunday 4th January 2026
February
Monday 9th February 2026 – Sunday 15th February 2026
Easter
6th April 2026 – Sunday 19th April 2026
Summer
Monday 13th July 2026 – Sunday 2nd August 2026
FAQs
I have just attended the free trial. How do I proceed with lessons?
We hope you had a great first lesson!
What happens now?
If you are going ahead with our accelerated programme we will now finalise the registration process. To be able to finalise registration, there are 2 forms to fill in:
1. Student Registration Form
2. Payment Details Form
You will receive a Free Trial Complete email typically within an hour of completing the trial lesson. Links to both forms will be in this email.
When both forms are complete, we look forward to seeing you soon! You can look forward to learning and mastering lots of new music each week! You will receive your book at the next lesson. Your next lesson is usually the same day and time the following week. If this differs then we will have usually discussed this with you before now. If you are in any doubt please email at support@topnotespiano.co.uk
Not going ahead?
If for whatever reason you are not proceeding with the programme, please reply and let us know within the next few days.
What should I play at home?
Please look at the pages in the book with the latest date on them. It makes sense to play these pieces at home. If you are working through book 1, we have found it very effective to play the pieces of music that have the latest date marked and are ticked. This means you are simply rehearsing and reinforcing what you know and have covered at the lesson. This avoids much of the confusion often associated with home practice.
I don’t have an instrument at home. What should I get?
We would recommend the following specifications for a digital piano at home:
• Digital piano 88 weighted keys.
• The best brands are Yamaha, Roland, Casio, Korg and Kurzweil
• Casio CDP-S110 is the keyboard we use in the studio.
If you would rather not commit just now to paying outright for an instrument, we can supply high quality digital pianos for hire at £15.00 per month. A keyboard stand is also included with this.
After the first month of hire, you can cancel at any time.
Some people do this for a period before buying an instrument. If initially you would like to do this instead of buying a piano outright please feel free to let us know by emailing:
I have had to cancel a class, but I do not wish to reschedule at any point? Can the cost be deducted off the next month instead?
Each student here gets a weekly space reserved for them in our schedule and therefore, new students may not be able to start tuition at the same time. As a result of this, it is not possible for us to refund or deduct the cost of a missed lesson from the next month.
What if I need to change the regular weekly time of my lesson?
Please email support@topnotespiano.co.uk stating the above. We will do our best to find you a new time.
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Do you do graded exams?
Yes! Once you have completed book 2 of the method we offer this as an option. By this stage your skill level will have developed immensely in each of the following areas:
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Sight Reading - the #1 skill needed to learn new music fast
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Musical Interpretation - Contrasting genres require different techniques. Through the first two books though you will master classical, popular and baroque pieces.
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Technical Work - Scales and arpeggios. Perhaps not the most ‘exciting’ part of learning an instrument. Nonetheless, it is important to be able to play fast notes with accuracy.
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Musical Ear - There is an emphasis here on getting students to FEEL not THINK the music. This is because it’s critical to them forming a connection with it.
You will have already learnt so much music you will be very well placed to learn exam pieces faster than average. It normally takes around 3 months to fully learn the exam repertoire. This will avoid it becoming tedious. We will let you know about the exam entry come the time.
I would like to stop lessons.
We are really sorry to see you go. Please email support@topnotespiano.co.uk to indicate this. Please note that a refund is not possible for any remaining lessons for the month but you are entitled to have 1 lesson per week up until the end of the month. Any rescheduled lessons must be taken before the next payment date. Rescheduled lessons cannot be taken without an active direct debit.
Terms and Conditions of Service
Last updated: 9th July 2025
Top Notes Piano Limited (the Studio) incorporated and registered in Scotland with company number SC769268 whose registered office is at
Flexspace Dunfermline,
Queensferry Road,
Dunfermline,
KY11 8UU
support@topnotespiano.co.uk
07871 055 606
1. Definitions
The following definitions and rules of interpretation apply in these Terms and Conditions (unless the context requires otherwise).
Free Trial Lesson: an initial lesson that is offered without fee which determines the suitability of the student for the tuition program.
Lesson: a period of time where piano tutoring is carried out. Tuition: the service of providing piano lessons by a tutor.
Materials Fee: the materials fee covers the cost of all books and licensed sheet music given to students. It also covers access to paid subscription apps in the studio.
The Student: either the adult student or the parent of a child student.
1.1 Unless the context otherwise requires, words in the singular shall include the plural and in the plural shall include the singular.
2. Enrolment
2.1 Completing the Payment Details and Student Registration Forms and continuing with Lessons after the initial Free Trial Lesson constitutes an acceptance of these terms and conditions.
2.2 In the event of a child being enrolled, these terms and conditions apply to the parent and/or guardian who is responsible for making the payment.
2.3 These terms and conditions are contained in the Handbook which can be found in the Shared Space of the Online Resources in the student portal.
3. Payment
3.1 On successful enrolment to the program, the first payment will be a pro-rata payment taken on or around the day of the first lesson after the trial. The amount will be based on the price per lesson and will vary depending on the number of remaining Lessons for that month.
3.2 After the initial payment, subsequent payments will be taken on or around the 1st of each month at the rate specified in the Handbook.
3.3 Payment is taken via Stripe by debit/credit card or Direct Debit. Any other form of payment would be at the discretion of Top Notes Piano.
3.4 If a payment fails, the payment processor (Stripe) will automatically attempt to process the payment.
3.5 If a payment from The Student is missed in a given month, tuition and services provided to The Student will cease at the end of the unpaid month until the unpaid payment has been settled.
3.6 The payment includes any books and materials given to the Student, as well as access to apps where appropriate during the duration of enrolment.
4. Cancellations, Missed Lessons, and Refunds
4.1 Refunds are not issued for a Lesson that is partially attended, not attended, or cancelled by the Student. This is due to the Student having a regular space reserved each week.
4.2 Lessons that are cancelled, missed, or cannot be attended, can be rescheduled to another date and time subject to availability.
4.3 Rescheduled Lessons are valid so long as The Student is actively registered with The Studio for lessons, has an active payment method registered with The Studio, and has no current missed/outstanding payments.
4.4 Subject to 4.3, there is no time limit to reschedule lessons that are cancelled, missed, or cannot be attended.
4.5 Students that;
(a) attend or,
(b) partially attend a Lesson,
will be marked ‘present’ for the lesson.
4.6 Students that;
(a) do not attend or,
(b) cancel a Lesson,
will be marked ‘absent’ for the Lesson.
4.7 If a Tutor cancels a class and cannot find suitable cover so that the Lesson can continue, either one of the options (4.7.1 or 4.7.2) to the Student will be available:
4.7.1 rescheduling the Lesson to another date
OR
4.7.2 a refund
4.8 Option 4.7.2 will be assumed and enacted if 4.7.1 has not been opted for within 72 hours of the cancelled Lesson.
4.9 If the option to reschedule a Lesson is taken (4.7.1) due to the scenario in 4.7, a refund will not be issued.
4.10 Refunds take 5-10 working days to be processed by our payment processor.
5. Cessation of Tuition
5.1 Tuition can be cancelled by the Student or the Studio at any time.
5.2 Cessation of Tuition should be expressed in writing via email to support@topnotespiano.co.uk
5.3 The monthly payment can be cancelled by the Studio or the Student but in either case, this would be considered cessation of Tuition whether written notice is given or not.
5.4 If the Student ceases Tuition or the payment is cancelled, no refund is issued for the remaining Lessons in the month of cancellation. The Student is entitled to one Lesson per week until the end of the month of cancellation.
5.5 The Studio reserves the right to remove a Student from the Studio and stop the provision of services if there is deemed to be a prolonged and/or unexplained absence from a Student.