FAQ

Every artist is personally interviewed by our founder, professionally background-checked, reference-verified, CPR and First Aid certified, and carries their own liability insurance. We accept only a small fraction of the artists who apply.

You will also meet your proposed caregiver, with your children, before any care begins. If the chemistry isn’t right, we match again.

We currently serve Manhattan and Brooklyn, with availability expanding as our artist community grows. If you are just outside that, tell us anyway. We would rather know where families need us.

There are two separate things, and Little Prelude only charges you for one of them.

Membership is $1,750 a year. That is what gives your family access to the network: recurring care, one-time care, last-minute availability, and discounted music classes.

Care itself is paid to your artist, at the rate they set. Every artist sets their own rate, and you will see it when we introduce you. Little Prelude does not set anyone’s rate and takes nothing from you on top of what you pay your artist.

Tell us as early as you can and we will always work with you to reschedule. Children get sick. It is the most normal thing in the world, and you will never feel awkward telling us.

We will also be direct about why we ask. The artists we list are working musicians, and a cold that costs most people a groggy afternoon can cost a singer a run of performances or a wind player a recording session. Their livelihood lives in their body. Little Prelude is more careful about illness than a typical agency, and we make no apology for it. Protecting the artists we list is part of how we keep the network this good.

That does not make us rigid. Many artists are glad to work through a mild cold, and some will choose to wear a mask while they do. If yours arrives in one, please read it as care rather than distance: it means they wanted to be there. No artist is ever judged for protecting their health, and no family is ever judged for having a sick child at home.

If your child becomes unwell mid-visit, your caregiver will tell you as it happens rather than at the end, and the two of you will decide together what to do. And if an artist is the one who is unwell, they will tell you, and we can introduce you to someone else for that visit.

Each artist sets their own rate, and you agree it with them before care begins. Payment then runs through our booking platform, so you are not handling cash or chasing invoices, and your artist is paid promptly.

Little Prelude does not set anyone's rate. We take a referral fee from the artist's side, never from yours.

Day to day, you work it out with your artist directly, the same as you would with anyone you have engaged yourself.

If the problem touches something we are responsible for, our vetting, a certification, or a concern about conduct, tell us. We take that seriously and it affects whether someone stays listed with us.

Absolutely. Most of our families simply want wonderful childcare. The music is a gift that comes with it: exposure, play, and curiosity, never pressure.

A child who never picks up an instrument still grows up in a home where music is normal, and that matters more than most people expect.

Yes. Many families book standalone lessons while others discover that the best teacher turns out to be the caregiver their child already trusts. That is the genesis of Little Prelude: flexibility for one or both, built on a foundation of musical love and trust.

A short note an artist can send after a visit, sharing one musical or meaningful moment from your child’s day. Not a checklist finished or a safety report, just a real glimpse of a real moment.

Over months and years, these become a record of your child’s creative life. It is included with every booking, always.