huh? huh? can anybody tell me why they *need* to charge 22$ for half an hour? that`s $44 per HOUR! It`s madness I tell you madness!
And I have no choice but to find a teacher for viola lessons, it`s not like the piano with a billion gazillion books and instructional aids that you can learn mostly yourself if you wanted to.
:`(

Because teachers have to make their living from teaching. If they have say six students a week and then have to live on that money... well, do the math. That`s not much.
Have you thought of applying for a bursary?

My sax lessons are $55 an hour, so don`t complain.

my viola lessons are $15 an hour. my teacher says he doent do it for the money, he does it because he loves the strings

my piano lessons are 60$an hour. But my friend gets taught by a docter in music and that costs about $140 an hour.

"If they have say six students a week and then have to live on that money... "

If they only have six students a week and expect to live on that income, then they`re either very stupid, or they`re not very good teachers, or they`re so good that they can charge what they want.

Good teachers normally have so many students that it`s difficult to get a lesson with them. At 22 dollars/30 minutes, I would expect an extremely good teacher. If it`s too expensive, simply cut down on the lessons and devise your own programme of study at home.

Steve

HEY!
You`re paying for the Teacher`s EXPERTISE( which in turn, will become YOURS), not their living expense! It`s wrong to think like that!
If my student complains that 22 per half hour is expensive, which really isn`t, mine starts at 40 per half hour.... Then I`ll just tell it in her face: Either u take it or u leave it!
What do u take this as? Some sort of market place? Please no complaining of fees and no haggling!
And it`s very wrong to think that piano teachers are not necessary caz there`re like dozens of good `learn-it-yrself` books out there. If u wish to pick up any sort of instruments DECENTLY, U have got to get a DECENT teacher! No matter if it`s Piano, Violin, Sax, flute or whatsoever! Music is not only about hitting the correct notes! Reading and trying whatever methods recommended by those books even 24/7 will not get u anywhere worth getting( unless you`re not into serious learning). Caz there`re so much intricate details ,like tone production, balance, clarity and pianistic touch esp. ( in the case of piano learning) that u definately will not get just by following the book or videos.
If u are into serious learning, and wish to play decently and have something decent to pass onto your kids or whosoever next in line... then stop grumbling about the $22 fees and learn to respect the teacher`s expertise.
Thank you.

To the last poster - so true! You`re lessons are an investment, and if you do what you`re supposed to successfully, it`ll pay off someday ... then you can charge $55 an hour :-) Plus, that`s the way the world works, you pay, you recieve. Life`s not fair :-)

That`s just like saying: "Oh well, university tuition is expensive, so what? suck it up and live with it!!"
The truth is, you don`t stand a chance if you don`t have the money because nobody cares if you don`t get a musical education, and that`s just wrong!

yea, i`d get music lessons but i don`t have the money... =/ (at $44/h omg that`d eat up my birthday money.. =/)

oh well.. why complain endlessly about something that you know you can`t get/afford. let`s leave it to the spoiled kids with no passion to get lessons when they don`t even want them. =/ haha. although i guess those kids that go to private school have way more exposure to classical music then we do so they`d love lessons. =D

i guess i don`t need lessons. i`m not planning a career in music or anything LMAO. i just love music. i`d rather invest on something that`s a one time buy (like my new mp3 player haha, exccept my mom got it for my bday... i`m so damn lucky =O) rather than something that i have to keep paying for over and over.

I don`t understand why lessons are so expensive either. Most teachers in public schools are paid 15.00 to 30.00 dollars an hour, they also have to pay dues, taxes.. state and federal. A music teacher gets 44.00 - 100.00 an hour and really how much can they show you in that amount of time.
Before you all get in face about this i have a violin teacher for my son and to tell you the truth to spend an hour to have her tell him do one page of work and then see you in a week really is not worth the money. My son has been told by over 7 music teachers that he plays at a fisrt year college student ability and this was before he even had a teacher i taught him and i can`t play an instrument. And he`s only 12!

If you think that your son learns nothing out of the one hour, and u think that u can do a better job than the teacher, then my suggestion to u is pull him out. Really, if you feel the pinch and yet thinks that he`s moving nowhere, then whatfore force yourself to pay?
But often parents don`t have a clear `vision` and are too eager to judge.
There must be a reason why teachers start at 40 per half hour, yet still get flocks of student eager for their `personal` attention.
What can u possibly get from a public school?
Trust me, I teach string ensembles in schools, and usually the kids can play, but never play decently.
Only those who are willing to commit, find a decent teacher, practice decently, and have supportive parents are able to go far.
Unless you`re referring to lessons in a college or conservortory of caz. And that will be very different. But even then, u get one to one attention from the resident lecturers. There will be no group lesson unlike in a public school.
And I`m often perturbed by parents`s `defination` of progress- LEARN New Songs... the more the better...
No, if you think that your child is not progressing simply because the teacher spends an hour on just 1 page or is not teaching your child new songs, then I think you`re very wrong.
Progressing doesn`t mean playing loads of new songs every week.
It means the ability and initiative to differentiate right from wrong.
And this is a result of the teacher`s comsistent reminder and explanation.
There`re lot of intricacies involved with string instrument. And most of the time, we spent much time working on getting the right sound, or to get rid of a particular undesirable execution.
Do u know what they actually make u do through the 4 years in a decent music college or conservotory?
The main focus is not to make u learn loads of songs, but to `correct` whatever wrong technic that u make up in your past 10 years of playing.
U practically spent 4 years and loads and loads of cash just to pay for `proper` advice as to what to do and what not to do. And do u think these students are progressing? Yes, they certainly are. But these small progressions along the way may not be noticeable to the non-professionals at `first` sight.
So my advice to you is don`t be too eager to judge. Sometimes it takes much longer to understand whether your child if progressing, as technical progresisons are intricate and takes time.
Thank you.

^obviuosly feels underappreciated.
You`re Welcome.

my flute lessons are about the same. 40 for an hour. teacher has to live off something you know? and there`s no insurance or retirement plan if you`re not teaching in a school...

Dear....MustPractice

Playing alot of songs is not how I got my son into my states conservatory of music and on the County youth orchestra. But when he can already play Concerto in A minor, Opus III, No.6 for violin then I don`t think he should be practicing anything less than he`s ability. I know and he knows when he`s not playing correctly and to pay for a teacher to tell us what we already know, is wrong. It seems a little redundant. I have asked that he be taught more scales and the sixth and seventh postion just to be more aware of them and have been ignored by his teacher.And yes i have every intention of dropping her at the end of this month.My son is not the average student and i`m tired of him being treated as such. Teacher have to help each student at the level they are are at not at the level everyone else is at. I`m not bragging, these are the things he`s teachers, conductor and college students have said to him.I have no problem financially but i still don`t like wasting my money. And if so many parents think that the rates are to high maybe just maybe they really are.What would you rather have 4 students that pay 22.00 per half hour or ten students that pay 30.00 an hour? And as we all know most music teachers work in public schools so if they can work for 20.00 an hour and teach 20 kids than 20 to 30 dollars an hour in my opinion is more than fair.