Each teacher has preferences in how/when they should be contacted outside of lessons, here are a few general things to consider before contacting your private lesson teacher and what my preferences for communication outside of lessons are.
First, ask yourself if this is something that can wait for the lesson. If you are not sure what you are supposed to practice or if you missed a few days of practice because of illness and you don't know what to work on or prioritize, go ahead and ask your teacher. It is more likely that your teacher would prefer taking a couple minutes of personal time to answer that and have you well prepared and have a better idea of where to start in the next lesson.
Second, if it's a question about a specific piece, it can probably wait for the lesson. Do the best you can with it and tell your teacher before you play what you were struggling with. If there are just little spots that are issues, you should be able to get some tips on how to practice them better for next time. If it was the whole piece, your teacher could not have helped much outside of the lesson anyway.
Third, if it is about scheduling or billing, yes, contact outside of the lesson. When a teacher is teaching, s/he probably will not be able to give you options for rescheduling in three weeks or know immediately how much you owe. Use lesson time for music and just mention that you need to discuss it before or after your lesson. Let your teacher decide to handle it then or ask you to send an email or text later.
How should you get in touch with your teacher outside of lessons? Different teachers have different preferences. In general, I prefer texts for things I need to know right away (eg. got stuck in bad traffic and will be a couple minutes late, or the studio door is locked and we can't get in!) and email for things that can wait a while (eg. Our school concert conflicts with lessons next month, can we reschedule?). As a general rule, you mostly have your teacher's personal phone number, so please be judicious in its use. I realize that you may have just thought of something at 9:30PM or 6:15AM, but that doesn't mean that I'm available or want to deal with it then. If it is outside of normal business hours (or studio hours), please, send an email. I'll see it tomorrow and help you then.
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