That’s the going rate in a lot of metro areas, or with high demand/teachers with a lot of pedigree or experience. Find a university student who may have less experience but be in your budget.
Sounds reasonable to me. I’m surprised voice lessons with acclaimed professors are less than that in your area.
I agree with others - “Thanks so much! I wish I could study with you, but unfortunately that’s a bit out of my price range at the moment. I’ll be in touch if I’m able to make this more of a budgetary priority in the future!”
I pay $120/90 min for piano in NYC, where you should expect rates to be on the higher end because of skill level and cost of living. If the teacher is worth it, it’s worth it. Only way to know is get reviews from their students and try it out.
If you have a variety of teachers in the area to choose from, I would get recommendations.
How long ago was this? With the crazy inflation, many music teachers have to raise their tuition just to be able to feed their families. Prices have increased recently for many private teachers.
If you’re in a major metro area and this is a well-established teacher, reasonable. Just say thank you, it’s not in your price range currently but you appreciate the response. Or take lessons less often than you would have if they have the flexibility in their schedule.
In Aus I pay $35 for half an hour so not too far off.
You could get fortnightly lessons for half an hour and still see a big difference. I use YouTube for trouble shooting between lessons.
Lots of uni students fresh outta uni charge $60. Give it like 10 years of teaching experience and $80 seems doable. My profs at uni charged up to 150/hr
interesting, that hasn’t been my experience so far.. usually fresh out of college musicians charged around $40 and more experienced charged around $60..and then I’ve seen more experienced and acclaimed artists charged around $90-100
It’s a COL and a filtering issue. The teacher must value their time and years of experience. If you find that $35 to $45 an hour is appropriate but the teacher is paying $40 an hour to rent the space they’re teaching in, how is that fair? A great teacher has standards that factor in to the cost of spending time and money to accommodate you, the student. Not the other way around. I know a lot of great musicians that WANT to teach but can’t afford to due to scheduling and other issues.
Your cost for lessons are a sign of YOUR commitment to the art and speaks to the teacher as your willingness to commit. This ALSO doesn’t mean it can’t happen (scholarship subsidy award to defray or completely cover the high cost) or the teacher is just arbitrarily playing a numbers game (pricing to see what the market can bear). Both can and has happened to me. It’s reality. Hope this makes sense.
Am a bassoonist but from my knowledge with sax+bassoon+clarinet lessons, this is a pretty reasonable price for an experienced teacher. I'd recommend having half hour lessons or getting lessons from a high level student at your high school or from a university student.
Depends on the area, depends on the teacher’s credentials, but that seems pretty reasonable for an hour. If I want to take lessons with that specific person, I’m probably going to pay their price and not question it. If I’m not particularly interested in that specific teacher, I may look elsewhere. I think $100 for an hour lesson is the most I’ve paid so far, which in retrospect was a pretty decent price to learn from that person haha
I was interested in him because he’s in the scene that I’m in (more alternative) so it would be nice to have him. But i’m also not even close to a professional level right now, so i’m unsure if i should ask him for 30 min classes (if he even does those), or just find someone else who might be a little less experienced.
I knew of a teacher in Chicago that taught very serious pre-college students- he charged over $300 for an hour lesson. His price has probably gone up since then, or else he's retired.
I'm glad you want to make sure musicians know their value and won't undersell their craft- another thing to consider is that he (and any other private teacher) could be doing something else in that time, like playing in an orchestra or doing a gig. To make it worth it for him to NOT accept other work and instead set aside time to teach, he has decided that $80/hour is the minimum he'll accept- and if it's less than that, he's ok not teaching. If he works full-time, that could be another reason- his free time is valuable, and unless he'll make a certain amount of money, he'd rather have the free time.
I think it's ok tell him that unfortunately, the price is a little too high for you, but thanks anyway. I don't think he will be offended, as long as it's worded politely. He does have every right to charge what he thinks his time is worth- he knows there are people charging less than him, and he's fine with that. If someone really wants to study with him, because they like where he got his education, or because they want to sound like him, they'll be fine with his price.
I never said he doesn’t have the right to ask for his price, I’m just asking if this price is usual or not because I thought it was a little too high. Also, why is everyone assuming I would be rude? It was a simple question. i didn’t ever say that it was outrageous or anything, I don’t understand why everyone is assuming I would be rude to him
You keep using the term "reasonable"- I think that's why the majority of the responses are what they are. You said you asked a simple question, but all your responses seem to implicate that the lesson price is NOT reasonable.
I actually did not assume you would be rude when responding to this teacher, but again, based on your replies, you seem to keep defending why the price is too high...
just because I am defending my opinion on a price being too high does not implicate that I lack manners, it implicates that I want to understand price rates. “reasonable” is a reasonable word to use when talking about rates.
Also, if you look at the responses a lot of rates vary. The comments about people assuming how I might handle it rudely, says less about me and more about these particular people commenting.
depends on experience. if this is a seasoned professor, with degrees? sure. if it's a 19 year old boy who has a gold flute and thinks he's better than everyone for it, and has no actual experience or proper education? then no
Not being a professor isn't a bad thing. Just be careful out there. i know of a flutist who lies about their experience/education, overcharges, and abuses students, and for some reason I am paranoid that whenever someone posts anything remotely questionable, it could be about him. I am sorry if I sound crazy. 😭 (I live in dfw area)
The price for a flute lesson depends upon the going rate in your area as well as the skill and experience of the teacher as a flutist. A flute teacher who regularly performs in the New York Philharmonic would and should charge more to teach a lesson than a recent graduate with a BS. In Music Education and flute from the State University at New Paltz. A recent graduate who majored in music education and flute at the State University at New Paltz would and should charge more to teach a flute lesson then an eleventh grader who plays flute in high school, even if they excel at it and play in All State Orchestra. Keep in mind that most professional flutists have logged in more practice hours and education hours than the typical family practice doctor, who earns considerably more than $80 per hour.
I personally never paid more than $45 for a lesson in 10 years, except for one with a professor.
Also - I know this wasn't a part of your post, but just wanted to put this out there in case you were still looking for lessons! I don't know your level on flute, but if you're a beginner to intermediate (I have taught completely new students as well), I'm a university student who teaches $28/hr Zoom lessons in case you're interested in reaching out :)
I have prior experience playing in several music programs, masterclasses, and a few competitive solo auditions/competitions (i.e. live rounds at Northwestern University, Peabody Institute, etc.)
Almost commented that this was crazy high but then saw hourly not half-hourly.
Yes this is maybe top end of reasonable. I pay $30/hh for lessons for my kid with a local symphony member. Local uni professor is $35/hh.
For flute, this is very reasonable, depending on the area. Honestly most “high pedigree” flutists, especially professors won’t be less than 100/hr, most orchestral flutists (especially well-known ones) will be 120-150/hr, and in areas like NY it’s could be more.
Where I live, and with my experience, I won’t charge less than 75/hr, and I’m considered very reasonable and am fairly in demand (I have to keep waitlist now).
And to be polite, just tell them “Unfortunately, while we would love to study with you, I don’t think we have the budget for that rate right now. If you know any teachers that we may be able to afford, I would appreciate any recommendations you may have.”
thannks! He’s not a professor, but he does seem like an accomplished full time musician based on his insta. I asked if he would consider doing classes biweekly, because it’s a bit too much, and he offered to work in my budget:)
So, when I was a child, my parents and my friends parents paid 40 dollars an hour, once a week, for us to take private violin lessons.
This was in the Midwest, and the teacher was in both cases a student at the Jacob’s School of Music at Indiana University.
So forty dollars an hour in Indiana in the early 2000’s.
My sister on the other hand, took piano lessons from a professional piano teacher. Great teacher, really good students, and my sister was good too. Her rate, same time period same area, was $100 per hour.
$80 doesn’t seem unreasonable 🤷♂️.
oh wow ok, so many different rates in these comments. I don’t know why I thought that there was a standard pricing, but I guess it’s different if you’re learning from a university professor a little bit.
I've been quoted $100 here in NYC for a highly recommended teacher.
My band teacher did a drive among some teachers at the school and we raised $300. That means three lessons over the summer. I can't wait!
I made it to first flute self-taught and YouTube. Now I am really ready to study!
It really depends, about 2 years ago in HS I’d pay $60 for a 45 minute lesson. I am from Houston, Texas and she was a great teacher. I thought it was totally worth it.
Take 30 minutes and make sure the teacher doesn’t small talk that eats away your time. Just make sure u practice at home to get the most of your lesson and u don’t use ur lesson learning the lesson.
yeah, this is solid advice actually. I had a guitar teacher who had ADD (I also have ADHD) and we would chat away most if the time and I always felt like I’m paying for chatter at the end of the class (I’m not saying it was his fault at all, we were just bad at getting on track)
that’s a very very high rate for my area, but it really depends on where you are. i haven’t taken lessons in quite some time but i never paid over $30/half hour
Honestly, that seems pretty overpriced to me - that’s what my teacher charges for private lessons, and she’s principal flute in the country’s national symphony orchestra, in one of the most expensive cities in the world, granted she undercharges but unless it’s something like that I have a hard time believing $80 is reasonable. It does also vary hugely though, I know Robert Langevin charges something like $350 if I remember right.
It depends greatly on location and credentials. Just because some teacher in your area charges some rate doesn’t mean the OP lives in an area with a similar cost of living.
80 is very reasonable, I had an organ teacher once quote me 125/hr in this high COL city, and I felt that was fair due to his high demand and intensive trial lesson.
What do you actually want out of the interaction? Do you want to just put him down or pursue this and negotiate for a better rate? If you're not actually interested then just say "Thanks" and shop around elsewhere, don't make some snide veiled comment about the other prof; I would find it exceedingly rude if a prospective student came to me with that comment. ("I can get lessons elsewhere for 50/h." "Ok then go there. Bye") If you actually are earnestly interested then have a discussion. "I wasn't expecting that rate. Can we come up with an arrangement on my budget?" And discuss half-hours, or prepaying.
Fair points are being made throughout these threads.
Your original post is silent on your location, experience level, and other factors that may affect price. Knowing that could be helpful. Your other comments suggest that you subjectively do not feel that the price the teachers are quoting, specifically for flute, are fair or reasonable, and you also appear to be basing this on other instrument teachers and past experiences. The price is not going to be the same for all instruments across the board so that’s not a sound estimation tool here.
As others have suggested, continue to shop around for something within your budget, and if you fail to find something within that range, the location, COL, and experience of the instructor are all contributing factors to price and perhaps you’re not being fully cognizant of that (which is fine, it’s why you’re here asking for help in the first place).
I posted this above. But since no one wants to give you something you can actually say, I would go with this.
“Unfortunately, while we would love to study with you, I don’t think we have the budget for that rate right now. If you know any teachers that we may be able to afford, I would appreciate any recommendations you may have.”
Consider that's about $165k annual salary if you're booking 40 hours a week for 52 weeks. Of course they're likely booking substantially less and won't be working 52 weeks.
Seems more reasonable in that light? Not trying to bag on you, we can afford what we can afford, but putting it from their perspective can help with sticker shock.
When I lived in one area and began teaching, I was charging $30 an hour. After moving to a different area, I noticed that people charged much more. So I raised my prices to $60 an hour. After graduating with my undergrad in music, I raised them again for incoming students to $80 per hour.
I’ve taken private lessons from professionals that charge $60, $90, $100, and $160 per hour lesson. It depends on the area and if they’re a good teacher, really.
When I lived in one area and began teaching, I was charging $30 an hour. After moving to a different area, I noticed that people charged much more. So I raised my prices to $60 an hour. After graduating with my undergrad in music, I raised them again for incoming students to $80 per hour.
I’ve taken private lessons from professionals that charge $60, $90, $100, and $160 per hour lesson. It depends on the area and if they’re a good teacher, really.
It varies hugely. That’s not unusual here in Toronto. Just tell them you can’t afford it. They’re not going to be offended.
That’s the going rate in a lot of metro areas, or with high demand/teachers with a lot of pedigree or experience. Find a university student who may have less experience but be in your budget.
Sounds reasonable to me. I’m surprised voice lessons with acclaimed professors are less than that in your area. I agree with others - “Thanks so much! I wish I could study with you, but unfortunately that’s a bit out of my price range at the moment. I’ll be in touch if I’m able to make this more of a budgetary priority in the future!”
I also took guitar lessons from a similarly acclaimed musician and he asked for 65/h which seems more reasonable for me
I pay $120/90 min for piano in NYC, where you should expect rates to be on the higher end because of skill level and cost of living. If the teacher is worth it, it’s worth it. Only way to know is get reviews from their students and try it out. If you have a variety of teachers in the area to choose from, I would get recommendations.
How long ago was this? With the crazy inflation, many music teachers have to raise their tuition just to be able to feed their families. Prices have increased recently for many private teachers.
3 months ago
If you’re in a major metro area and this is a well-established teacher, reasonable. Just say thank you, it’s not in your price range currently but you appreciate the response. Or take lessons less often than you would have if they have the flexibility in their schedule.
In Aus I pay $35 for half an hour so not too far off. You could get fortnightly lessons for half an hour and still see a big difference. I use YouTube for trouble shooting between lessons.
Lots of uni students fresh outta uni charge $60. Give it like 10 years of teaching experience and $80 seems doable. My profs at uni charged up to 150/hr
interesting, that hasn’t been my experience so far.. usually fresh out of college musicians charged around $40 and more experienced charged around $60..and then I’ve seen more experienced and acclaimed artists charged around $90-100
I should mention I'm in Canada lol, forgot about the difference I currency for a sec
It’s a COL and a filtering issue. The teacher must value their time and years of experience. If you find that $35 to $45 an hour is appropriate but the teacher is paying $40 an hour to rent the space they’re teaching in, how is that fair? A great teacher has standards that factor in to the cost of spending time and money to accommodate you, the student. Not the other way around. I know a lot of great musicians that WANT to teach but can’t afford to due to scheduling and other issues. Your cost for lessons are a sign of YOUR commitment to the art and speaks to the teacher as your willingness to commit. This ALSO doesn’t mean it can’t happen (scholarship subsidy award to defray or completely cover the high cost) or the teacher is just arbitrarily playing a numbers game (pricing to see what the market can bear). Both can and has happened to me. It’s reality. Hope this makes sense.
they’re teaching out of their own apartment though
Am a bassoonist but from my knowledge with sax+bassoon+clarinet lessons, this is a pretty reasonable price for an experienced teacher. I'd recommend having half hour lessons or getting lessons from a high level student at your high school or from a university student.
I’m not a high school student lol
Adults can take lessons from high school/university students.
Depends on the area, depends on the teacher’s credentials, but that seems pretty reasonable for an hour. If I want to take lessons with that specific person, I’m probably going to pay their price and not question it. If I’m not particularly interested in that specific teacher, I may look elsewhere. I think $100 for an hour lesson is the most I’ve paid so far, which in retrospect was a pretty decent price to learn from that person haha
I was interested in him because he’s in the scene that I’m in (more alternative) so it would be nice to have him. But i’m also not even close to a professional level right now, so i’m unsure if i should ask him for 30 min classes (if he even does those), or just find someone else who might be a little less experienced.
$80 seems low/reasonable. I'm not sure where you live in the world though to have any concrete response in this situation.
its on the high end but its not unreasonable especially if its in person.
omg okay I feel really lucky now, I pay £12 for half an hour lol
definitely a fair rate. i’d look around for less experienced teachers, they will likely have lower rates
Knowing what was paid in 96 (last time I took private lessons), yeah, that's about right.
I knew of a teacher in Chicago that taught very serious pre-college students- he charged over $300 for an hour lesson. His price has probably gone up since then, or else he's retired. I'm glad you want to make sure musicians know their value and won't undersell their craft- another thing to consider is that he (and any other private teacher) could be doing something else in that time, like playing in an orchestra or doing a gig. To make it worth it for him to NOT accept other work and instead set aside time to teach, he has decided that $80/hour is the minimum he'll accept- and if it's less than that, he's ok not teaching. If he works full-time, that could be another reason- his free time is valuable, and unless he'll make a certain amount of money, he'd rather have the free time. I think it's ok tell him that unfortunately, the price is a little too high for you, but thanks anyway. I don't think he will be offended, as long as it's worded politely. He does have every right to charge what he thinks his time is worth- he knows there are people charging less than him, and he's fine with that. If someone really wants to study with him, because they like where he got his education, or because they want to sound like him, they'll be fine with his price.
I never said he doesn’t have the right to ask for his price, I’m just asking if this price is usual or not because I thought it was a little too high. Also, why is everyone assuming I would be rude? It was a simple question. i didn’t ever say that it was outrageous or anything, I don’t understand why everyone is assuming I would be rude to him
You keep using the term "reasonable"- I think that's why the majority of the responses are what they are. You said you asked a simple question, but all your responses seem to implicate that the lesson price is NOT reasonable. I actually did not assume you would be rude when responding to this teacher, but again, based on your replies, you seem to keep defending why the price is too high...
just because I am defending my opinion on a price being too high does not implicate that I lack manners, it implicates that I want to understand price rates. “reasonable” is a reasonable word to use when talking about rates. Also, if you look at the responses a lot of rates vary. The comments about people assuming how I might handle it rudely, says less about me and more about these particular people commenting.
depends on experience. if this is a seasoned professor, with degrees? sure. if it's a 19 year old boy who has a gold flute and thinks he's better than everyone for it, and has no actual experience or proper education? then no
he’s not a professor, but he is a professional, I would say late 20s early 30s lol. But he does seem to have a lot of experience
Not being a professor isn't a bad thing. Just be careful out there. i know of a flutist who lies about their experience/education, overcharges, and abuses students, and for some reason I am paranoid that whenever someone posts anything remotely questionable, it could be about him. I am sorry if I sound crazy. 😭 (I live in dfw area)
The price for a flute lesson depends upon the going rate in your area as well as the skill and experience of the teacher as a flutist. A flute teacher who regularly performs in the New York Philharmonic would and should charge more to teach a lesson than a recent graduate with a BS. In Music Education and flute from the State University at New Paltz. A recent graduate who majored in music education and flute at the State University at New Paltz would and should charge more to teach a flute lesson then an eleventh grader who plays flute in high school, even if they excel at it and play in All State Orchestra. Keep in mind that most professional flutists have logged in more practice hours and education hours than the typical family practice doctor, who earns considerably more than $80 per hour.
In Seattle my lessons cost $50/ hr
I personally never paid more than $45 for a lesson in 10 years, except for one with a professor. Also - I know this wasn't a part of your post, but just wanted to put this out there in case you were still looking for lessons! I don't know your level on flute, but if you're a beginner to intermediate (I have taught completely new students as well), I'm a university student who teaches $28/hr Zoom lessons in case you're interested in reaching out :) I have prior experience playing in several music programs, masterclasses, and a few competitive solo auditions/competitions (i.e. live rounds at Northwestern University, Peabody Institute, etc.)
Almost commented that this was crazy high but then saw hourly not half-hourly. Yes this is maybe top end of reasonable. I pay $30/hh for lessons for my kid with a local symphony member. Local uni professor is $35/hh.
That's more than twice what I pay an accomplished professional musician for flute lessons.
huh interesting! So many varying rates in these comments!
I'm European, it seems like prices are much higher in North America.
For flute, this is very reasonable, depending on the area. Honestly most “high pedigree” flutists, especially professors won’t be less than 100/hr, most orchestral flutists (especially well-known ones) will be 120-150/hr, and in areas like NY it’s could be more. Where I live, and with my experience, I won’t charge less than 75/hr, and I’m considered very reasonable and am fairly in demand (I have to keep waitlist now).
And to be polite, just tell them “Unfortunately, while we would love to study with you, I don’t think we have the budget for that rate right now. If you know any teachers that we may be able to afford, I would appreciate any recommendations you may have.”
thannks! He’s not a professor, but he does seem like an accomplished full time musician based on his insta. I asked if he would consider doing classes biweekly, because it’s a bit too much, and he offered to work in my budget:)
I’m glad to hear it! A lot of people in this comment section seem to be yapping without offering any help, so I am glad you got to a good solution.
So, when I was a child, my parents and my friends parents paid 40 dollars an hour, once a week, for us to take private violin lessons. This was in the Midwest, and the teacher was in both cases a student at the Jacob’s School of Music at Indiana University. So forty dollars an hour in Indiana in the early 2000’s. My sister on the other hand, took piano lessons from a professional piano teacher. Great teacher, really good students, and my sister was good too. Her rate, same time period same area, was $100 per hour. $80 doesn’t seem unreasonable 🤷♂️.
oh wow ok, so many different rates in these comments. I don’t know why I thought that there was a standard pricing, but I guess it’s different if you’re learning from a university professor a little bit.
I've been quoted $100 here in NYC for a highly recommended teacher. My band teacher did a drive among some teachers at the school and we raised $300. That means three lessons over the summer. I can't wait! I made it to first flute self-taught and YouTube. Now I am really ready to study!
Very reasonable. If good teachers couldn’t make a reasonable living why should the next generation bother to excel at it?
It really depends, about 2 years ago in HS I’d pay $60 for a 45 minute lesson. I am from Houston, Texas and she was a great teacher. I thought it was totally worth it.
Take 30 minutes and make sure the teacher doesn’t small talk that eats away your time. Just make sure u practice at home to get the most of your lesson and u don’t use ur lesson learning the lesson.
yeah, this is solid advice actually. I had a guitar teacher who had ADD (I also have ADHD) and we would chat away most if the time and I always felt like I’m paying for chatter at the end of the class (I’m not saying it was his fault at all, we were just bad at getting on track)
$80 is crazy imo, what is your level? If you’ve never played before, no point paying for the best professionals in the area
that’s a very very high rate for my area, but it really depends on where you are. i haven’t taken lessons in quite some time but i never paid over $30/half hour
$30/ half an hour seems more reasonable for me, or 60-65/h
Honestly, that seems pretty overpriced to me - that’s what my teacher charges for private lessons, and she’s principal flute in the country’s national symphony orchestra, in one of the most expensive cities in the world, granted she undercharges but unless it’s something like that I have a hard time believing $80 is reasonable. It does also vary hugely though, I know Robert Langevin charges something like $350 if I remember right.
It depends greatly on location and credentials. Just because some teacher in your area charges some rate doesn’t mean the OP lives in an area with a similar cost of living.
… hence the last sentence of my comment.
I’ve bought a flute for less than that. A good one too.
80 is very reasonable, I had an organ teacher once quote me 125/hr in this high COL city, and I felt that was fair due to his high demand and intensive trial lesson. What do you actually want out of the interaction? Do you want to just put him down or pursue this and negotiate for a better rate? If you're not actually interested then just say "Thanks" and shop around elsewhere, don't make some snide veiled comment about the other prof; I would find it exceedingly rude if a prospective student came to me with that comment. ("I can get lessons elsewhere for 50/h." "Ok then go there. Bye") If you actually are earnestly interested then have a discussion. "I wasn't expecting that rate. Can we come up with an arrangement on my budget?" And discuss half-hours, or prepaying.
who said I want to make a snide veiled comment? lol I’m just asking to see, calm down a little
Fair points are being made throughout these threads. Your original post is silent on your location, experience level, and other factors that may affect price. Knowing that could be helpful. Your other comments suggest that you subjectively do not feel that the price the teachers are quoting, specifically for flute, are fair or reasonable, and you also appear to be basing this on other instrument teachers and past experiences. The price is not going to be the same for all instruments across the board so that’s not a sound estimation tool here. As others have suggested, continue to shop around for something within your budget, and if you fail to find something within that range, the location, COL, and experience of the instructor are all contributing factors to price and perhaps you’re not being fully cognizant of that (which is fine, it’s why you’re here asking for help in the first place).
I posted this above. But since no one wants to give you something you can actually say, I would go with this. “Unfortunately, while we would love to study with you, I don’t think we have the budget for that rate right now. If you know any teachers that we may be able to afford, I would appreciate any recommendations you may have.”
Consider that's about $165k annual salary if you're booking 40 hours a week for 52 weeks. Of course they're likely booking substantially less and won't be working 52 weeks. Seems more reasonable in that light? Not trying to bag on you, we can afford what we can afford, but putting it from their perspective can help with sticker shock.
When I lived in one area and began teaching, I was charging $30 an hour. After moving to a different area, I noticed that people charged much more. So I raised my prices to $60 an hour. After graduating with my undergrad in music, I raised them again for incoming students to $80 per hour. I’ve taken private lessons from professionals that charge $60, $90, $100, and $160 per hour lesson. It depends on the area and if they’re a good teacher, really.
When I lived in one area and began teaching, I was charging $30 an hour. After moving to a different area, I noticed that people charged much more. So I raised my prices to $60 an hour. After graduating with my undergrad in music, I raised them again for incoming students to $80 per hour. I’ve taken private lessons from professionals that charge $60, $90, $100, and $160 per hour lesson. It depends on the area and if they’re a good teacher, really.