Rates - how much do you charge?

[green]

I teach in SE asia to expats, and well-off locals. Some teachers from International schools, expat kids...anyways I charge about 32. USD/hour, with some students paying less and more. I go to their house usually, some at my studio (but I only have a digital piano here), I advertise as a piano 'tutor', no concerts, but I sometimes must travel up to an hour both ways to students homes, and do alot by way of prep - finding music, preparing the music, emailing music to them, etc - my background is a bachelor of music, and I studied for my MA in Berlin Germany.

What do you charge, and am I charging too little or what do you think? I managed one student for about 48 USD, which is what I would prefer to be charging, but it has been difficult to find other students at that price. I currently also teach two students for about 20 USD/hour, which is really as low as I am prepared to go...

Thanks for you advice here. 

[quantum]

This site has a lot of articles on the business side of piano teaching. 
https://www.marthabeth.com/business.html

Personally, I think it best to charge what you think you are worth and to create a balance with what the local economy supports. 

IMO, it is far simpler to charge a single fee for all students.  I do however charge extra for travel time and expenses.  Those students are made aware of the standard fee, plus the additions for travel. 

Search advertisements for local teachers that have similar qualifications as you, and cater to similar types of students you would like in your studio.  This will give you a baseline of what the local market is supporting and where to place yourself within it. 

[ajspiano]

My fees range from AU$50-70/hour..  where a student sits in the range is dependent on whether they book 30, 45 or 60 min lessons and whether they pay month in advance or cash on the day.

agree with quantum..

I think it best to charge what you think you are worth and to create a balance with what the local economy supports

I'm almost at the upper end of the price range for teachers where I live.. because I want less students overall (and so I need to charge more to make money, and to justify the time that gets put in outside lessons), and ones that are really dedicated to learning. I also generally don't teach to exams (with exceptions) because I don't want students who are being put into lessons/exams by overbearing parents.. 

$50 an hour is also commonly accepted minimum rate for decent musicians here, teaching or otherwise in the private sector, though there are definitely those that charge less. If I taught in a school I'd get ~35/hour..  and uni students that are teaching privately will often charge $30 and hour or something similar.

[green]

ok thanks

[the89thkey]

I charge $75 an hour, though probably I could charge more because of my reputation. For beginners that have half hour lessons it's usually $40 or $50.

[green]

Yes that would seem about right, and here I am struggling to find students willing to pay 40$/hour. Where do you live? I teach mostly expats living here in SE Asia. Do you have a link to a web site?

[slane]

My teacher charges $30 / half hour. Not sure about 1 hour, but I think its usual to charge a bit less than twice. My teacher has a B. Mus (hons)
My daughter's teacher charges $20 / half hour, but my daughter has 15 min. lessons for $11.50. I don't know what my daughter's teacher's qualifications are (other than being recommended by another mother) but I think she has performance diplomas.

[brogers70]

I just moved back to the US from Cambodia. I had a very good European teacher there who charged $32/hour. (As I said in your other thread, I don't think certificates are very important, but he did have a diploma in performance from London). Rates at the local music school were slightly higher, but then the teachers probably didn't get all that was charged to the student.

[hsalix]

I charge $16 for 30 min, $19 for 45 min, $22 for an hour, but I don't have a degree.  Teachers around here usually charge around $20 for 30 min to $50 for an hour...

I finding that some of my students are not as "serious" as I'd like them to be, and I think it might be attributable to my low rates.  I wonder if I should start charging more...

[the89thkey]

Yes that would seem about right, and here I am struggling to find students willing to pay 40$/hour. Where do you live? I teach mostly expats living here in SE Asia. Do you have a link to a web site?

No link. Reputation is more valuable than location.

[green]

Where I am teaching in SE asia, there is also a very large Japanese community, I have had my posters translated with Japanese and english, posted them in the Japanese area condominiums, but in 10 months have not had a single inquiry from Japanese. My rate is $40. I have M.Mus in performance, DipABRSM, and have 15 year experience teaching. I can't figure out what the problem may be, but I am guessing because I am independent, and would have to teach at their places. I am in the process of re-doing my site, but it is not that bad as is, just a few minor changes. Any advice here?

[teran]

My teacher charges £80/hour

Worth the money though.

[green]

Woah! How is it worth it for you if I may ask?

We had a teacher from the Royal college come to offer master classes at the Int'l school where I was teaching, he charged as i recall about $200/hour.

[teran]

He is a professional concert pianist but I mean he's also just flat out a fantastic teacher.

Just one lesson with him is worth about a month's work on my own. It's about the way he offers insight into efficient practice, very nuanced voicing, phrasing, colouring etc.

Plus he's just great fun to be taught by. Also he actually cares about his students, we actually did a recording last week and he's going to spend his free time editing/processing the sound files, and considering his profession that doesn't really give him the luxury of free time that's a really big deal.

So yeah, definitely worth the money.

You'd be surprised how much people who actually care for music to a great degree will spend on it and consider it worthwhile.

That sum is as much as they can afford without starving.

[the89thkey]

He is a professional concert pianist but I mean he's also just flat out a fantastic teacher.

Just one lesson with him is worth about a month's work on my own. It's about the way he offers insight into efficient practice, very nuanced voicing, phrasing, colouring etc.

Plus he's just great fun to be taught by. Also he actually cares about his students, we actually did a recording last week and he's going to spend his free time editing/processing the sound files, and considering his profession that doesn't really give him the luxury of free time that's a really big deal.

So yeah, definitely worth the money.

You'd be surprised how much people who actually care for music to a great degree will spend on it and consider it worthwhile.

That sum is as much as they can afford without starving.

Sounds like a good teacher...but still not worth that much money. How much is  80 pounds in US dollars?

[teran]

I dunno ask Google.

Also consider the fact that everything is massively expensive in London, that does factor in.

[green]

About $160., I certainly believe it, if he is in a position with a reputable school. Not too much if you have money to burn, thats nothing for rich folk And yeah of course, London...But interesting that you don't even for a moment consider it a tad expensive, however when our life is being transformed, what is?

I always wish that I was a better sight reader, I think my whole life would be something other if I was.

Can you tell us a bit more about the sorts of things you are learning, links to material, utube? Sounds like a great gig!

[the89thkey]

$160 is absurd for all but the most elite piano instructors...

[teran]

I still don't think you understand the concept of London being very very expensive.

To give you perspective, our fuel costs about 4 times as much, and a McDonald's costs around the equivalent of $8 or more so yeah.

Of course the lessons cost a lot of money, but nothing in London doesn't. A completely hapless teacher will still charge around £30/hour at LEAST. You're only going to get lower than that if you scrape the barrel for desperate young student teachers. Not that some of them won't be good but it's sort of not that reliable.

I don't see what the big deal is. To me, education doesn't have a monetary value attached. It's not just some cheap commodity like chocolate bars and booze. The pricelessness of the whole thing ironically means I'm more willing to pay for it whereas I'll be absurdly tight fisted for just about everything else. I am a student and all

I will buy the cheapest vodka because all vodka tastes like paint stripper and gets you drunk regardless of price. I will as much as is asked of me (if I can afford it that is) from a teacher I feel is excellent because you can't really put a price on enriching your life with knowledge and insight.

[richard black]

£80 is $130 today, according to UCC. I don't teach piano myself but I have plenty of experience of working with singing teachers in London at moderate to high level (I accompany their students in lessons) and I can tell you that quite a few of them charge £80 and upwards for an hour these days. On the other hand, some very good ones charge half that or less. Attitude certainly factors in, some trying to be nice and helpful by not charging much, some reckon they get more respect by charging more, some simply want to maximise their income. One of the biggest names I play for only charges £40, and is very selective about who she takes - she doesn't need the money (she is retired from performing, owns her house outright and has a fairly modest lifestyle) and doesn't feel the need to work her backside off. Another big name charges about that and works incredibly hard, squeezing students into every spare hour between performances (this one is still very active and gets BIG fees), though again I see no evidence that she has much of a spending habit. One teacher who charges upwards of £100 an hour has a several-week-long waiting list just for a consultation lesson. And so on. I'm sure the situation is broadly similar among piano teachers here.

The big thing about London, of course, is that it's, er, big and full of both teachers and students. I'm sure the situation is very different in towns with just 20,000 people.

[dinulip]

My rates are $20 fpr 30 minutes, $26 for 45 minutes and $32 for one hour - and the courses are given at my place.  They are sort of average here, in Montreal.  Nobody complains.  Now, the scoop: I will charge $1 more for each time period, starting next September -- inflation affects everyone!!

[vsrinivasa]

I only have 1 student, but her parents pay $130 for her lessons which are supposed to be about two hours, but usually end up going to almost two and a half because we always have so much to talk about. Musically, of course. Here, I am relatively expensive, but I have a good reputation here as a great pianist, so these parents are willing to pay. I don't really need the money, as it doesn't affect my income too much and our household already makes upwards of $250,000 a year (mostly from my wife, who is an actuary).

[p2u_]

Rates - how much do you charge?

I'm not so sure such topics should be discussed on public forums. This may bite you all one day.
P.S.: My wife used to be like this too: sharing, sharing, sharing. Now that "they" know where we are in society, we are being haunted by robots/machines calling and making all kinds of offers, the worst being medical ones that fit the picture in our "anonymous" family perfectly + an offer for gravestone accessories when her mother died recently. Again: just saying...

Paul

[the89thkey]

I only have 1 student, but her parents pay $130 for her lessons which are supposed to be about two hours, but usually end up going to almost two and a half because we always have so much to talk about. Musically, of course. Here, I am relatively expensive, but I have a good reputation here as a great pianist, so these parents are willing to pay. I don't really need the money, as it doesn't affect my income too much and our household already makes upwards of $250,000 a year (mostly from my wife, who is an actuary).

Any reason why you needed to tell us your income? By the way, I doubt that figure is real... I would love to make that much. I make plenty to get along though.

[perprocrastinate]

Any reason why you needed to tell us your income? By the way, I doubt that figure is real... I would love to make that much. I make plenty to get along though.

I was going to going to make a snide comment regarding the irony of your post and the cynicism of the emoticon you included (in context), but I changed my mind.

Keep in mind that he said his household (key word being household) makes upward of $250,000. I'm assuming that you don't know Vishnu's background; if I recall correctly, he has an MS in electrical engineering, applied in a field where someone can potentially earn a yearly income in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I can't say for his wife, but a household income of $250,000 per year seems quite plausible to me.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, you probably assumed that he works solely as a piano teacher. But he did say that his wife contributes to their earnings the most, haha.

[benzwm02]

A lot depends on your reputation and number of students you already have. Due to competition you may be forced to charge lower just to get initial students.

[virtuoso80]

I charge $30/30min, $50/hour(usually 2 students). I have a B.A., and no major reputation...I'm good, though. ;-)