Orlando J. Spikes, M.Mus.
baritone | conductor | producer | teacher

 

Single Lesson Rates

Lessons are either twenty-five (25) minutes or fifty (50) minutes and are billed at $30 and $55, respectively. All Lesson Fees are due upon scheduling unless other arrangements have been made in advance.

Monthly Lesson Rates & Details

Lessons are held once per week at the same time each week. Lessons are either twenty-five (25) minutes or fifty (50) minutes, and are billed at $108 and $180 per month, respectively. Your monthly fee reserves a specific time slot each week and does not guarantee nor entitle you to a specific number of lessons. Rescheduled or "make-up" lessons are offered strictly on an as-available basis. Credits will only be offered if I cannot teach during your scheduled lesson time. The first month's fees are debited on the date of sign-up and automatically on the 25th day of each subsequent calendar month. Termination requires notice in writing and will take effect thirty (30) days after it is received.

Rescheduling & Cancellation

As a courtesy to other members of the studio, you must provide a full 24 hours' notice if you will not be able to make a scheduled lesson so I can offer that time to another student. If a lesson is missed without the full 24 hours' notice, you will unfortunately forfeit that lesson. This section does not apply to students using Monthly Lesson Rates.

Goals & Commitment to Progress

Learning to sing (or anything for that matter) does not happen instantaneously; it requires patience, persistence, consistency, and attention to detail. With that in mind, you must maintain focus on your short and long-term goals. Why are you taking lessons? What do you want to accomplish? Whether it be singing a Whitney Houston song at karaoke, an international opera career, a major label recording contract, or playing Happy Birthday for your grandchild, the skills and level of discipline necessary are the same, which means you must commit to making progress: review lesson recordings in between sessions, come prepared with intelligent and thoughtful questions, and practice with the concepts and principles you learn during your lessons in mind.

Preparation

Bring a recording device of some sort whether it be a digital voice recorder you bought at Wal-Mart or an app on your iPad these devices will enable you to preserve the vocaleses, exercies, advice, tips, memories, and most importantly allow you to chart the progress of your lesson program. I personally used my iPhone to record my own voice lessons and many of my students do the same.

Wear comfortable clothing and shoes that will allow you to move and breathe freely. We all want to look good, but vanity often comes at the cost of comfort and odds are you will be more comfortable in your Pumas than your Prada. Existing students will tell you that lessons can be quite athletic, so it is important to have access to your full range of motion.

Bring two copies of sheet music for any pieces you would like to work on during your session for three reasons: (1) you may think you know all the words to Adele's Rolling in the Deep, Katy Perry's Firework, Alicia Keys' Fallin', or your favorite Beatles song, but I can almost guarantee you do not, so bring the music and we will not need to have the "I don't remember how this part goes" conversation (2) I am a competent pianist and I can play, figure out, or find music for just about anything on the radio, but it saves a lot of time if you just bring it (3) following along with the words, dots, lines, spaces, and Italian terms on a printed page of music will make you a more independent and well-rounded musician.

In music, practice is what you do in between your lessons not during your lessons. Let's consider personal fitness training. Unless you invest significant sums of money, you will likely only see a personal trainer once or twice per week for an hour or so. Those one or two sessions per week do not excuse you from a clean diet and regular exercise during the rest of the week. If you leave a session with your personal trainer, head straight for the closest fast food drive-thru, and do not visit the gym again until your next session, you will most certainly not see results. If you do they will be negligible at best. Music lessons are no different; the half-hour or hour you spend with me each week does not excuse you from learning your music and applying the concepts you learn during lessons consistently throughout the week.

Inclement Weather

I follow the Inclement Weather Policy of the Baltimore County Government. If liberal leave policies are in effect, lessons will not be held unless the lesson is to be completed remotely.

Holidays

Lessons will not be held the following holidays: Martin Luther King's Birthday, President's Day, Memorial Day, the week of Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thansgiving Weekend, or between December 18th and January 1st. These dates will be shown as unavailable on the schedule.

Logistics

My wife and I own two small and friendly designer breed dogs who love music and being around people. If you are uncomfortable with dogs for any reason, you must inform me in advance so I can make arrangements for them to be elsewhere in the house.

If you arrive more than ten (10) minutes early, please wait in your vehicle to avoid interrupting another lesson.

As a courtesy to our neighbords, park your vehicle as close to my red Honda as possible.

Private lessons require intense concentration from both teacher and student and mistakes will be made because they are part of developing the muscle memory necessary to be an effective musician. Because these situations are already stressful, well-meaning family and friends often aggravate that stress level by simply being present. For these reasons, I recommend parents, friends, and other family only sit in for the first one or two lessons. If guests demonstrate that they will not be a distraction (e.g. gum chewing, video game music, ringing phones and/or phone calls, or interjections) I welcome them to sit in on as many lessons as they would like.

Skype & Phone Procedures

Skype lessons can be purchased and scheduled in the same manner as in-studio lessons. Please ensure that you are in a relatively quiet and well-lit place for your lesson. Although it can be helpful, it is not necessary for you to have a webcam under most circumstances; my training and experience make it possible for me to fix most vocal challenges by hearing you sing and asking questions about what you are doing with your body.

Commitment to Efficiency

Receptionists and secretaries exist for a number of very good reasons but you, as a customer, ultimately pay the cost of employing them. I strive to make my services affordable to as many people as possible, which means many of the administrative duties normally performed by assistants and secretaries need to be completed by me. Fortunately, technology has put me in the position of not needing support personnel, but only if we can commit to using that technology effectively.

I have found most questions, concerns, and general communications can be handled quite efficiently via email, voice mail, text message, the information on this website, or the details provided in your automated appointment confirmation emails. Please do your best to exhaust these options before you call. A five minute skim through the electronic resources available to you or an email will most likely yield a more immediate and thorough response than a phone call.

Refund Policy

You may request a full refund for any reason in the 24 hours following your first lesson only. All other services are nonrefundable.

Privacy Policy

Your personal and billing information will not be used for any purpose other than the delivery of products and services you have purchased.