Cost of Private Lessons-The Payer's Perspective

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Cost of Private Lessons-The Payer's Perspective

Posted 2 years ago by PatFurlo

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PatFurlo said 2 years ago

I am currently a student, so I can offer the payer's perspective. I take piano lessons from a woman with a degree in piano pedegogy(teaching private piano lessons) and she charges me $38 an hour. My french horn instructor is Corbin Wagner, and he is in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He charges $60 an hour. In March of 2009, I asked about a lesson from the french horn professor at the University of Michigan, and he charged $100 an hour. I'm not sure if his price is still that or if it has changed. A friend of mine at Indiana University is earning her bachelor's degree in flute performance. She takes lessons from a guy (not her professor)who charges $275 an hour! I charge $10 for a half hour lesson for begining piano.

I guess I would suggest to pick a price you would be happy with. Then, if 1 out of 5 people will take lessons from you due to cost, lower the price. If 5 out of 5 take it, try raising it for the sixth student. I know it's awkward to talk money with people, but they want and need your service. If they decline your service due to cost, offer a lower price, or try somebody else.

Note: All prices listed above were current prices of August 2009.
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Andree-Ann said 2 years ago

I have been teaching at home for years, and since you have no organization (music school) to dictate you the rate of your lessons and the salary you will earn from them, I find that it can be quite hard to sometimes find the perfect price. Personally, I found that if I charge a smaller price, I will get more students, which will bring in more money in the long haul. If the student is serious about his/her education and is thinking of taking lessons in the hope of actually starting a career, the price shouldn't be a problem; some people are ready to pay anything to get an hour with a professional working musician (which is why colleges are so great, lessons are cheaper, in the end, than taking individual lessons with the same teacher you would score in a university or college).

If you are advertising on classified websites, like Craigslist, I suggest you take the time to write a quality ad. When I was teaching in Quebec, many of my students (who were mostly adults and teenagers) told me that they decided to contact me because my ads were compelling, sounded professional and caught their attention. The price is not everything, but overcharging definately won't help you either!

As for your friend's teacher, charging 275$ an hour...I do find that excessive. I contacted Fred Hersh and Mark Levine (two extremely talented jazz players) many times for lessons possibilities and their rates were not over 150$ if I remember well!

Try to determine rates for lessons of 45minutes and a whole hour, too. I find that half-hour lessons are pretty useless, unless the kids are very young and can't pay attention to whatever you say. Having a range of services will also help you get more! Trust me, Craigslist brought me a fair amount of students last year, more than I could even handle, so I'm talking from experience

Andree-Ann
http://www.myspace.com/andreeanndeschenes