How much do you charge?

[tubaribonephone]

I'm a college student wanting to start giving lessons around the beginning of January. I'm sure a lot of you did this while you were going to school so go ahead and give me you comments! I was thinking between $10 and $15 dollars for 45 min. to 1 hour long lessons about once a week unless the student feels they need more (like for solo and ensemble prep. or something like that).

Also, feel free to give me any advice you feel necessary for somebody giving their first serious lessons.

Thanks everybody!

[MartyNeilan]

I would add $25 / hr. to your poll and see how many hits that one gets.
That seems to be the magic number in many areas.

[quinterbourne]

Consider offering the first lesson free.

I would also like to add that when you teach high school kids the parents are really the boss. The parents will tend to have some money to throw around (relative to the kid) so you can probably get away with charging a bit more.

Keep in mind that the price you set communicates a message - what your time is worth. If it's too low, parents may view you as being an incompetent or inexperienced teacher.

I'd say minimum $15 for a 30 minute lesson and minimum $20 for a fifty minute lesson. That is assuming that the student is coming to your home or that you are teaching a number of students in succession at the same place (school, church, etc) that does not charge you.

[SplatterTone]

I don't give lessons. But the local tuba professional (Julliard graduate, professional orchestra player for at least 30 years, etc.) charges me $30 for a 50-minute (approx.) lesson at his house when he is in town and not swamped with performing. It's on a Saturday morning, and he will probably have other students queued up that morning.

It's a good price for the students, and he gets to hang around the house in his grubby clothes for three hours on a Saturday morning and pick up an extra $90. If he's busy that week, or if I know I will be busy, then no lesson. Loose and informal. I like it.

[Rick Denney]

I would charge about $100. That would serve two purposes:

1. It would prevent anyone from taking a lesson from me, which is good for both of us.

2. Since they are unlikely to want a second lesson having suffered through the first, I need to make as much money as possible.

Come to think of it, both objectives are better served at $200.

(Beginners need teachers who can charge a low price so that they can take very frequent lessons. As an adult, I've expected to pay much more to get high-end teachers whose sound I crave, knowing that I won't be able to assimilate what they tell me between weekly lessons. Thus, I've taken lessons once a month or even less frequently when I've taken lessons at all, and most of the time I just take a couple of randomly schedule lessons every few years to point me back in the correct direction. I will pay a lot of money for a person who can do that pointing effectively.)

Rick "thinking lessons are far more important for a beginner than shiny brass" Denney

[TubaRay]

I almost passed on posted on this topic, but I somehow wasn't able to let it go.

First of all, I agree that charging too little for lessons is obviously not a good idea and tends to place too little value of your services. On the other hand, if the teacher is indeed a novice his services are not actually worth as much as a more experienced teacher with a lot of knowledge and ability. By setting a rate slightly(and I emphasize slightly) lower rate the new teacher can offer his services at a price more in line with what he has to offer. This will likely result in obtaining more students whose abilities somewhat align with the teaching abilities of the teacher. Put another way, here in San Antonio, although I am not a new teacher, my lessons are probably not worth as much as those of Lee Hipp(principal tuba of the S.A. Symphony). He brings more to the table than I can.

On the subject of Rick Denney's rate for tuba lessons, although his lessons are a bit overpriced, I believe many people might be very surprised at how much he would have to offer. I believe I could learn some things from him. In fact, I have learned from him, although I have never taken a formal lesson.

[Toobist]

This is a copy of my own studio policies. I hope it'll help.

*And thanks to The Elephant for ammendments.



Studio Policies

Financial responsibilities:

Private brass lessons are offered on a continuous basis over the course of the year. Tuition is due at each lesson. Tuition does not include supplies, sheet music, study materials, piano accompaniment, or festival and audition fees.



Tuition:

In-home lesson tuition is as follows:
* 30-minute lesson: $40.00
* 45-minute lesson: $50.00
* 60-minute lesson: $60.00
* 90-minute lesson: $85.00

In-studio lesson tuition is as follows:
* 30-minute lesson: $30.00
* 45-minute lesson: $40.00
* 60-minute lesson: $50.00
* 90-minute lesson: $75.00


Cancellations, missed lessons, make-ups:

*Last minute cancellations on the part of the student will not be made-up. If a student should miss a lesson or cancel less than 24 hours before the scheduled lesson time, the fee for the lesson will be due at the following scheduled lesson time. If I should decide to make-up a lesson missed by a student, it will be at my discretion and only for the following reasons: illness, family emergency and severe weather.

*Last minute cancellations on my part will result in make-up lessons at the first mutually convenient time slot possible. Any last minute cancellations on my part will be for the following reasons: illness, family emergency and severe weather.

*Late arrivals on the part of the student will result in the student not receiving their full lesson time. A specific time period has been reserved exclusively for students, please make sure to arrive on time.

*For students receiving in-home lessons, it is essential that students be ready at least ten minutes before my scheduled arrival. The lesson begins the minute I walk through the door. As I cannot control traffic and weather patterns, it is essential that I have enough time to get to and from my next lesson. Starting earlier then the scheduled lesson time ensures that all scheduled students will receive their full lessons on that day.


Student responsibilities:

Students are expected to bring all materials related to their lesson; instrument, shoulder rests sheet music, etc.

Each student is responsible for his or her own practice time. Parents of younger students should be strong encouragers of practice and be willing to act as the “at-home teacherâ€

[Brassworks 4]

Another suggestion you may consider: Set up a "trial" period of committing to 5 lessons - which they pay for, of course. This "trial" is not only for the student/parent to see if this will work but also for you to see if the student/parent is right for you. 5 lessons will give the student enough time to get a feel for the demands you will have and it will also give you a sense of commitment by the student (do they practice? do they pay on time? do they show up on time? etc). After the 5th lesson, sit down with the student/parent and see if both sides want to continue.

I've had a large piano studio for several years (and euph students when there are serious players) and its a great way to start up with a new student. In the beginning I took whoever would call and would start them immediately without the trial period. It was always awkward to approach the subject of "this is not working out" Once I had the trial in place, it was an expected conversation - each party knew that after the 5th week we would sit down and discuss it.

[MartyNeilan]

I'm a college student wanting to start giving lessons around the beginning of January.

Keep in mind the original nature of this post. Something hovering around the $25.00 mark for someone still in college, or recently graduated without a big-name job, seems to be commonplace.
If you are the ghost of Billnold Bacobs, by all means charge $300 per hour and people will wait in line. However, a college student without any major credentials is going to have a very hard time finding $100/hr students. Not to mention how difficult it might be for the average parent or student (even with a McJob) to shell out 5 grand a year alone on lessons while in middle school or high school.
Don't forget that they can go down to the local House of Guitar and get hourly lessons in the $20-$30 range. Do we really want our future tuba players switching to 6 strings of mayhem just because their parents can't afford it?
P.S. The free trial lesson is not a bad idea.

[tubaribonephone]

Thanks for the responses thus far, I really appreciate it! Keep them coming!

The more I think about it and read what you guys have said, I'm really thinking around $20 for a 45 minute lesson is about right for me (again though, let me know if I should charge more ). I have a lot of experience teaching high school kids in marching band but I've never had a FORMAL one-on-one lesson. The current situation for private tuba and euphonium teachers in the area is not good, well, actually it's pretty much non-existent and that is why I am wanting to give lessons. One of the biggest reasons that I'm wanting to start giving lessons is because I want younger kids to have an opportunity to be able to learn from somebody that isn't there teacher who may not be as aware as myself as to what is out there in the tuba/euph world. I guess you could say that I'm just wanting to do a little bit of good in my community...

[kingrob76]

I would say it all depends on three major factors:

- The region in which you live. $20 in Utah and $20 in DC are NOT the same thing.
- The level of student being taught. Teaching middle schools kids and high school kids are not the same thing, either.
- The "resume" of the person offering the lessons, how well qualified they are on paper to teach.

For example, if a high school student wanted to take lessons with me, I would charge $50 for an hour. If I lived in Utah, I would probably charge $40 or so. My wife teaches oboe and charges $60 for an hour, period, regardless of level. Neither of us play for a living but both of us have a significant list of accomplishments over the course of our careers.

[bill]

I charge more than $20 for an hour lesson because I am worth it. I always have students in All-State, usually more than one and I have success getting students to play at the top of their ability. I always play with them, when we are doing lessons and I try to spread the joy of music and the tuba to them as we play. It is quite a modest sum, from that stand point.

[Stefan]

I agree that lesson prices shouldn't be too low, but I also think you should consider your experience as a private lesson instructor. In addition, I think that having a BS vs. MM vs. no degree should also be a consideration. Not knowing the community in which you will be teaching, I would say no more than $25.

Also, I think you will find out that 1/2 hour will be plenty of time for a middle school student and maybe even some high school students. I guess it depends on how much you are asking them to prepare and how prepared they are. Anyway, you should consider several price points for different lengths of time.

Also, if you are driving to the student's house, you need to add time and gas to your fee. A lot to consider. Find out what local professionals are charging and use that as a gauge.

Stefan

[MileMarkerZero]

When I was teaching full time, I charged a monthly fee of $60 for 4 1/2 hour lessons and $80 for 4 one hour lessons, one lesson a week. Lessons were done at the student's school. If they pay up front for the month, it's on them (and their parents) if they don't show. But I am assured that the time I sit and practice while waiting on them is compensated.

[tubaribonephone]

Also, think about having a monthly studio class and/or party. We try and get together every month that doesn't end in 'ber. And, because we play tuba, we always have a lot of food on hand.

Actually, I was thinking about doing something like this minus the party part.... but who am I kidding, if you get a bunch of high school tuba and euph players together, goofing off is bound to happen.

I do have a couple questions though, do you charge for the monthly studio class/party? And if so, how much? I've been thinking about this for a while now and I came to the conclusion that if I do something like that, I would probably charge like $5 per student and go for 2 or 3 hours (doing things like listening to CD's, watching some drum corps or even watching movies with good soundtracks in between the times that we'd be getting work done). Let me know what ya'll think.

[Bill Troiano]

I charge a dollar a minute up to $50.00 max. Most of my students take 45 min. lessons. Students who are NYSSMA level 4 and lower get 30 min. lessons. You should consult with other teachers in your area to see what they are charging. Also, a new teacher with no experience should probably not charge as much as a veteran teacher. Just my 2 cents (from someone who's been doing this for some time!)

[sloan]

So, you better watch out, Rick, now that you've set your price.

I think Rick has made a terrible mistake. He's a wealthy guy, but he really can't afford to pay students $200/hour to take lessons from him.