How much are lessons?

​​How much do private lessons cost and why?

If you take music lessons at a music store, chances are, the rates for those lessons will be significantly lower than if you hired your own private teacher come to your house. When you take lessons at a music store, you are required to spend your valuable time to drive there. You also have to buy the gas for your vehicle, and also spend money to maintain it. You also have to drive in traffic and deal with inclement weather. A half-hour lesson at the music store might end up being more like an hour or more out of your day. It can be a significant inconvenience that could ultimately be deterring for many would-be instrumentalists.

Then, there are those students who hire their own private teacher to come to their home. It can be a little more expensive, but in the long run, the convenience of not having to leave your house, drive in traffic or deal with weather and parking, far outweighs the cost. Generally speaking, most private teachers are more inclined to schedule their students logistically on days and at times that are convenient for them and the student. Most music stores simply schedule students on a first come, first serve basis. You get what they have available. A private instructor however, is more likely to have more convenient days and times available.

A private instructor drives his/her own vehicle everyday. Sometimes, it might be eighty to a hundred miles driving to four or five houses in one afternoon. That is a lot of gas that somebody has to pay for. Then there is the wear and tear on the vehicle. Somebody has to pay for that too. The time it takes to drive to and from a lesson must also be taken into consideration. A student might have a 45-minute lesson, but his house is 45 minutes away, way over on the other side of town. What if the other students cancelled and that student is the only one scheduled that day? The teacher is still committed to 45 minutes driving to the students house, 45 minutes for the lesson and 45 minutes to drive back home. The teacher is not getting paid $40-45 for the 45 minute lesson time. The actual time spent is more like 2¼ hours. Then if you factor in the cost of gas, tolls and wear and tear on the vehicle, That initial $40-45 for that lesson ends up being a profit of about $20-30.

This is why most teachers will logistically schedule three or more students in one day; and try to do the same thing the rest of the week in different areas of town. In a perfect world, every student would be available for their lesson every day, and nobody would cancel their lesson. A long day of four or more houses in one afternoon, would then be well worth the time, gas, tolls and wear and tear on the vehicle because more money was made in far less time and travel.

Your private instructor chooses to be a music teacher mostly out of passion for teaching and a passion for music. Every musician/instructor struggles every day to keep and maintain a healthy student roster. In many ways, being a music teacher is the best job anyone could have, but not everyone is cut out to live a life of such instability. No teacher of any kind is in it to make a lot of money. Teachers teach because they love what they do. Call them tutors, teachers, coaches, instructors, mentors...they all have the same purpose, and that is to teach their students and hopefully make a difference in their lives. That in itself is the reward.

So, when you are researching music teachers online, looking for the cheapest deal, always remember, you get what you pay for. Never try to barter or haggle with the prices a private instructor has established. Most private teachers who come to your home, will charge anywhere from $.50 to a dollar per minute. They might actually see about half that after all of the other expenses have been taken care of. Pay your private teacher what they are worth, on time, and your loyalty will be greatly appreciated.

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