Where to find reasonably priced piano lessons?

[Alicia64]

My boys are 6 and I'd like to start them in piano, but the woman who was recommened to me is $100/mo and for me that times two kids. That's for 30 mins. once a week.

 

Is this standard? Is there another place I can check out? Don't get me wrong -- professionals deserve to be paid, but I wonder about paying this much for 6 year olds.

 

Thanks for advice!

 

Alley

[gingersmom]

I pay $176/month for my daughters clarinet lesson (45 minutes). Its the same rate for piano.

 

I would look for a college student or someone who teaches piano to make some extra money.

 

All the teachers at my daughters music school have degrees/advanced degrees in music and many kids participate in competitons, etc.

 

I would make sure your son is really serious about playing and even enjoys it before I spent that much money.

[sparrow]

My children take piano once a week for a half hour each. It is $13 for 30 minutes, so I pay $26/week, for both of them, or $104/month! $200 sounds like quite a bit to me.

[patchfire]

We're paying $60/month... Standard seems to be closer to $80/month (or $20 per lesson, one lesson per week). We are getting a discount because dd's piano teacher gives a discount to all families who also participate in Master's Academy. $100/month is a lot but I have easily found listings for $25/lesson. I think the key is that sometimes that could be warranted, but for beginners, it may not be the best choice.

 

We ended up finding ours by word of mouth, more or less, but I did do a fair amount of searching on craigslist to get an idea of what/who was out there and the general price range.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

I pay $20/30minutes for my ds to take from a professional teacher. However, our wonderful piano teacher is very unselfish and realizes that families may not be able to pay this for each child. Our teacher recommends some of his advanced teenage students as teachers. He mentors these teenagers as teachers and actually hopes his advanced students will take on at least 2 students. My dd takes from one of these students for $10/30minutes. The adult teacher also allows these "grand-students" (as he calls them ;)) to participate in his recitals.

 

I know of other families who pay the same rate for teens to teach their children. Also, my 17yo dd teaches beginning violin for $10/30minutes. Her teacher also allows my dd's 4 students to participate in his recitals.

 

HTH,

Leanna

[MeaganS]

That sounds like a lot to me. I would find an older teenager or something to teach them at first. Pay them $10/lesson and it's worth their while ($20/hour, way more than they'd get cashiering or something). Then, when the kid gets better and is past the basics, I'd look into someone more "qualified". I'm sure there's some stay at home mom or teenager who would love to earn a little using their piano skills!

[Ottakee]

I had it GOOD when my dd was taking lessons. The teacher came to US and charged $10 for 30 minute lessons. I would keep asking around. A good teacher is valuable but you might find someone good with kids that can do beginner lessons for less. Then if the kids do well, you can move to a more advanced teacher later.

[Perry]

My boys are 6 and I'd like to start them in piano, but the woman who was recommened to me is $100/mo and for me that times two kids. That's for 30 mins. once a week.

 

Is this standard? Is there another place I can check out? Don't get me wrong -- professionals deserve to be paid, but I wonder about paying this much for 6 year olds.

 

Thanks for advice!

 

Alley

You might want to contact the music department at your local school. Our HS compiled a long list of piano teachers that they've had good experiences with. The average rate around here seems to be $15-20 per 30 minutes.

[fivetails]

Dd12 just started taking lessons and her instructor charges $22 for 30 minutes ~ that's actually a really good deal for here, I've been told.

[Tam101]

I pay $15 for 30 min lesson from my neighbor. A college or High School student would be great choice. I would check with your local music store and see if they have bulletin board that they allow teachers to post on. You could call or email the band teachers at the high school near you.

[lisak]

My youngest began lessons this year with a homeschooled teenager. The teen charges $7 for 30 minutes. She is new at teaching, so her rates are very low.

 

However, my friend takes her daughters to a professional teacher and pays close to $30 for 30 minutes of lessons.

 

Now another person was going to charge $55 a month for a group lesson.

 

So, the lesson rates are all at various levels. But we are very happy with our homeschooled teenager.

[mchel210]

Try Simply music at home. We use it with a teacher and it is 100 a month. But you can do it on your own. It has a wonderful dvd. At least you can see if you kids like to play first.

[ncmomo3]

My youngest began lessons this year with a homeschooled teenager. The teen charges $7 for 30 minutes. She is new at teaching, so her rates are very low.

 

However, my friend takes her daughters to a professional teacher and pays close to $30 for 30 minutes of lessons.

 

Now another person was going to charge $55 a month for a group lesson.

 

So, the lesson rates are all at various levels. But we are very happy with our homeschooled teenager.

 

:iagree:

If I had a really young one like yours, I would certainly, as a start, pay a teen with 7-8 yrs. of lesson experience. That is an excellent alternative, particularly when you don't know what instrument the child may gravitate towards.

 

We are paying $130-140/month for each child for their individual insturments, but they are taking from academics/symphony members and we have been at this for many years.

Edited October 5, 2009 by ncmomo3

[Joyful]

In our area, the charge for 30 minute piano lessons is usually around $21-27 per lesson. My son's teacher gives us a discount, since I've known her family for a long time ($17/lesson). DS first took lessons at a local music school (Settlement Music School in PA) - and they gave us financial aid. Do you have a music school near you? Maybe you can call them to see if they provide financial aid? - It could end up being a substantial discount.

[Wildiris]

I live in CA and DD 12 (1 hour weekly) and DD 6 (30 min. weekly) take piano lessons at $266.00 a month (family rate with a discount) from a teacher who offers the opportunity to play in several recitals a year at the local junior college on beautiful Steinway concert grand piano and participation in Certificate of Merit evaluations. The piano teacher makes upwards of $50.00 an hour. Is it worth it? Absolutely!

[ChrisN in NY]

I agree with the others about finding a teen who's been playing awhile to teach your sons. Except for piano, my oldest's first violin teacher was a college freshman who'd been playing for 10 years or so. He charged $5 or 7 per half hour. My other dd's first flute did not have that much FLUTE experience (5 years now, I think...but had been playing piano for many years already), but she's an awesome flutist and only charged $5 for a half hour lesson. We miss her -- she's gone to conservatory to major in flute performance

 

I wonder if you can find a piano teacher who teaches only beginning to early intermediate students. Our first piano teacher was like that (she told my girls she was getting them ready for "Mrs. D."), and she charged $7 for 20 minutes and $10 for 30.

 

Also, will the teach give 20 minute lessons instead? 30 minutes can be awfully long for a 6yo. My girls started piano at age 8 or 9, and had 20 minute lessons for at least the first year; 30 would've been much too long.

 

HTH

[MusicMama]

Is $100 a lot? It depends on what you are getting. Is the instructor highly trained with multiple degrees, membership in professional societies, and a long track record of student success?

Not to be too biased, I teach piano. I have a bachelors degree in piano performance, member of professional organizations, but have only been teaching for 2 years. I charge $68 a month for weekly 30 minute lessons. I give a discount for homeschoolers who take during morning hours, because those are hard to fill. Also, ask about a group discount if you have several children, or a group of friends going in together.

It's the same with any service you receive. You can hire Joe Schmo to fix your roof and not pay much money, but with headache later on as you then repair what he "fixed". Or you can pay a trained technician to do the job with excellence the first time.

Not everybody wants or needs their children to be taught by $200 a month teacher. But if you want your children to learn a skill like piano, it will be costly. I have heard and seen really sad results of some "teachers". Compare prices among what you consider qualified teachers. Get references, perhaps attend a recital of one of your friend's children. Most teachers will allow a free lesson so you can interact with them before you commit. Music is a wonderful, fulfilling part of any education. Set your budget, then see what you find. Good luck!

[Mabelen]

That is the lowest rate you will find in my area for private piano lessons. Most will quote $30.00 on up for 30 minutes. Of course I am talking about professionals, not sure what others will charge. May be you want to try group lessons first?

[Michelle in MO]

That is the lowest rate you will find in my area for private piano lessons. Most will quote $30.00 on up for 30 minutes. Of course I am talking about professionals, not sure what others will charge. May be you want to try group lessons first?

I would not recommend group lessons for piano. It's a pretty "individualized" instrument, and individual lessons would be the best.

 

Do what MusicMama suggests: check into their credentials, get references, talk to the teacher and find out more about his/her style, personality, etc. A better teacher is worth the money, in my opinion, because your child is likely to actually stay with piano longer.