Since I have two studios, one in Fresno and the other in the Bay area, I've had to realistically set fees according to the economy, standard of living in respective locations. That translates as charging more up north, because everything is more expensive, including the rental for my space, and the fact that I travel weekly. Some teachers in that area bill more than others. In some cases, I've heard $75 an hour tossed around and I have no doubt many of those teachers well deserve their stated fees. My position is a bit different. I charge far less because for me, I want to make lessons available to those who may not afford the higher end range of charges. By the same token, I don't want to feel that I am under charging given background, experience, education, etc. There has to be a compromise. I always hear that piano teachers as compared to auto mechanics etc. for instance are not earning a fair wage, but the economy right now has to affect the whole spectrum of services rendered, and we as self employed people have to make decisions influenced by inflation, foreclosures etc. Even given my lower Bay area fees, I have seen families gutted by unemployment, houses lost, sudden need for relocation. It's a shifting landscape more so than decades ago, perhaps.
In Fresno, fees are less because of the standard of living. Over this way,teachers in MTAC more or less charge from $25 to $35 per hour. (a survey was taken) If they deviate too much from this range, the students are not necessarily going to come their way. You can be sure of that. So the economy, prevailing wages, and other considerations (cultural value attached to lessons) factor into lesson fee assignment. When I consider, however, that I paid my piano teacher in NYC $50 per hour back in the 70's I realize that what might apply to one professional field of endeavor does not always apply to others.

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I disagree. I think you should charge a lot more in San Fran. Have you noticed how expensive gas has become?? I just paid $3.40/gallon yesterday, and I'm sure it's more expensive than that up north! Some lady on the radio commented that she makes money just so she can buy gas to drive to work!!

If you figure rental and gas into your costs, you need to divide that up among your students. $75/hour is not unreasonable at all in the Bay Area.

Are you sure that figure isn't 'per half hour'? That seems low. My rate is closer to $25 for 30 minutes and I'm not too far from Fresno.

Yes, I'm sure. Have been a member of local MTAC Fresno Branch since 1981. Some teachers charge even less. I consider my fees to be on the higher end, though a Fresno State Prof charges quite a bit more. Knowing this area for 30 plus years, if you want a full studio, regardless of your educational and performance background, there is a threshold price at which point you go over and students will go elsewhere. This is not the Bay area.
While it would be great to charge $75 per hour up there, and I am not in San Francisco, but in El Cerrito, it's a different landscape, I wouldn't attract students with that price. (Has nothing to do with skill, performance level, education) Thanks for your comments.

I don't teach in SF.. but rather, El Cerrito a neighbor to Berkeley and Albany. SF fees are obviously higher.

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Interesting. I live in the same general area as Music32 and most of the teachers I know are charging $40-$50/hr. I'm at $48/hr and don't seem to have trouble getting students.

I think, in general, clientele and what they are willing to pay, is a little broader than we think.

So if there were three school age kids, coming for lessons here in the Valley, I can't imagine how a parent (not a physician, for example) would be able to afford lessons at approx. $50 a child. Now some teachers might give discounts for more than one or two students in the same family, but I just can't conceive of charging anywhere in the range of $50 per lesson. The market would not bear it in Fresno.

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But it does. I have a friend who charges $46/hr in Fresno and teaches a family of 5 with no discounts. The father is not in the upper earning echelon and the mother homeschools the children. People pay for what they think is valuable. This is not a unique circumstance.

My studio has doubled this year and I raised my rate from $42 to $48. The only drop I had was a student that moved out of state.

Just off topic from me here but you should try living in the UK (anywhere in the UK not just London where things are more expensive). Try £5.40 per gallon (or about $8.50)!

As far as I know of and about, from my own experience and those I know, you don't NEED to drive in most parts of Europe.

As for Southern California, or 99% of the US... you can't NOT drive.

It balances out, trust me.

I'm sure our coalition government would try to say you're right but public transport in this country is terrible. I used to live in a city only 8 miles away from the next. It would take two buses and a train journey to get there and take two hours. 20 minutes in a car and cheaper even factoring in petrol, tax, insurance and servicing. Believe me, from living in the UK, you do need to drive.

$50 per hour lesson may not be doable for families that have many kids, but the typical beginner student usually takes a 1/2 hour lesson (from the teachers that I know anyhow), so having three siblings taking lessons and paying $300 per month is, I think, not out of reach.

The music store in my town charges $23 per 1/2 hour lesson; most of the teachers there are NOT members of MTAC and don't offer programs and opportunities for students. Yet, the store has a few hundred students take lessons on various instruments there each week.

There are programs you can volunteer with that will look at a family's situation to determine if they qualify for a discount and/or free lesson. This way, you are less likely to be taken advantage of and be cheated out of your worth. Although I do not participate with this type of program anymore, this was how I started out.

If you teach for a living, you should think about your bottom line; heavy discounts are not going to pay the bills regardless of what your student's situation is. If this is not your primary source of income, then only you can determine what is right amount.

Personally, I charge much less and drive up to 30 miles, one-way. I've had clients volunteer to give me a raise. The difference is that I do not teach as my main profession and I keep a clear picture of why I'm actually teaching.

Am I the only one who finds this a little insulting?

Just because piano teaching is my main profession does not mean I don't have a clear picture of why I'm actually teaching. I love my students and I provide them with the best that I can give.

Please don't undercut the market for those of us who rely on it for our income.

If you read where that quote comes from, it's talking about why I chose the path I did, not why other teachers teach.

Teaching underprivileged families, volunteering, or donating one's time is not undercutting anyone when no market existed in the first place.

This is how I inferred what I did. You said you no longer volunteer and that you now charge much less.

Mmmm... sounded like an insult to me...

I wish I can print that on large posters and send it to a bunch of teachers in my area.

But I didn't find the previous quote to be insulting. Must be how I inferred "clear picture."

Interesting.

I see this as "The difference is that I do not need the money and I keep in mind that I teach only to feel I've done a good deed".

Still, being a volunteer is not more noble than running a professional business.

I'd venture to guess that the part time volunteer is not offering the quality of service that a full time professional does.

Ann, please reconsider what you said. There are people who volunteer their services who are professionals, and/or take great care in what they are doing. There are also people who teach piano full time who don't know enough about it themselves or don't care enough to prepare. They might get students because they are cheap or through some gimmick. This kind of statement is unfair to anyone who volunteers in a good way.

By the way, I did volunteer teaching of theory rudiments to one student over a year ago. It is material that I studied with my private teacher's involvement and I passed the exam with high grades, and I am also a trained teacher. In some ways the conditions were more ideal than what a paid teacher might face. My student was burning to learn and went beyond anything that I asked her to do. There was no schedule imposed by any institution so we could go as deep or broad as we wanted and take any amount of time. I put my full teaching skills into it because I wanted to explore teaching this subject for my own growth. and I had the freedom to do so. Volunteer work does not have to be shoddy.

My student was extremely poor so my volunteerism did not impact the "market" for teachers. Such people flounder about getting a patchwork of knowledge however they can, some of it wrong. Nobody would deny them a break, I would think.

If I did this for a living I would have to take a lots of students and I could not invest that kind of individual time to one student. If the students were preparing for the RCM exam or similar, they might be on a schedule, and they might want to cover only what will let them pass the exam. My teaching might not be the same quality despite the fact that I'm being paid. I HAVE taught privately for a professional fee, and have often chafed at restrictions that prevented me from giving a student what I could have given. Often that student didn't want to be there, or just wanted to pass some test.

So please don't knock volunteers. It all depends on why they are volunteering and what background they have. A hobbyist volunteer might be as bad as a hobbyist calling himself professional because he takes money. It IS unfair to teach people capable of paying for free, because that does prevent teachers from making a living. That is probably the important point you guys want to make.

Good points Keystring. I take it back.

Thanks.

Hi there, I know I haven't posted in a long time, but this topic really touches me, because last year I taught a student for free (actually for barter, she helped me out with running mine and my husband's music studio in exchange for lessons)

About a year and a half ago, this student was asking for advice on some issue on the clarinet board I am part of I don't remember anymore. Noticing her ISP, and her interest in studying music after high school, I contacted her through the email address she had given. Here is the story, copied from a section I wrote on one of the articles on my blog:

<<I taught a student who was serious about making music her career, yet her and her mom were on social assistance due to her mom having a physical disability. For several months before that, I was looking for someone to assist me with tasks related to the functioning of my music business. After carefully interviewing her, I decided that she was the right person for the job. Some of the tasks she did included delivering/posting flyers around my neighbourhood and music stores, doing mailings for my performances, turning pages for my pianist, writing out some hand-written pieces and exercises I wrote early in my teaching career to my notation program, creating goodie bags for certain holidays and student events, and label/organize mine and my husband’s collection of sheet music and CDs, among other tasks. In exchange, she got her lessons and materials paid for at my expense, and even an early advanced clarinet exam. The results? She successfully auditioned for university music programs with large scholarships at all the schools she applied for, and got a great mark on her exam I had paid for. >>

In some musical skills she is definitely better than I am, especially ear training and advanced theory, to the point that the only theory courses she has to take in university are advanced harmony and counterpoint/analysis. I still talk to her occasionally on the phone and on Facebook, and she is getting top marks in all her courses!!!! I even referred her to my own theory teacher to help make sure she passed her harmony component of one of the schools she applied to, I paid for two lessons for her with him.

Meri