Sorry to be posting 2 new topics already since joining this site, but ive been told i undercharge. The going rate is £15 an hour around my area, i dont charge no where near this price, but if i go up to this price, i fear of losing customers.

What should i do?

The general rate for individual tuition is between £24-£35 an hour.................I think you need to revise your charges!

That depends VERY much on level/qualifications/experience/where you live.

QUOTE (Quaver @ Feb 12 2005, 10:57 PM)

The general rate for individual tuition is between £24-£35 an hour.................I think you need to revise your charges!

thing is i live in norfolk and going rate is £15 an hour but at local shop. as i teach from home, i dont charge that much, but didnt charge enough when i 1st started 11 yrs ago.

QUOTE (sarah-flute @ Feb 12 2005, 10:58 PM)

That depends VERY much on level/qualifications/experience/where you live.

i have the LLCM diploma in electronic organ.

what I mean is, saying that £24 + an hour is usual is very misleading.

find out how much other teachers are playing and what their qualifications (not just teaching but playing too) are and their experience; that should give you a good idea of where you "fit" and what kind of price you can reasonably charge. though really, you can charge as much or as little as you want to ask for/your pupils are willing to pay. but it's sensible to find out what the local "usual" is.

It's sometimes useful to find out what the local peripatetic charge is in schools for individual tuition - I try to keep roughly in line with that in my area.

Maggie

I charge £9 per half hour which is cheap where I live although I always go overtime!

The normal rate is between £10 - £14 per half hour in the south if you have a qualification (I have a Dip (ARBSM) teaching).

Lots of good advice from others- I'd only add that I wonder if charging an unusually low rate, if it's hugely less than the norm in your area, could actually put some potential customers off-is it sending a message that you're not experienced/qualified, etc? You could see how your experience compares with other local teachers and then decide what rate you'd like to charge-maybe you could gradually raise your fees -do a rise at the start of each academic year, until your charges are in line -if you're worried that suddenly increasing the price will lose pupils.

Unless you really need the extra cash why not stay at your origonal rate? After all £15 a week is a lot of money to be paying every week especially for poorer students.

QUOTE (theory is interesting @ Feb 13 2005, 08:00 PM)

Unless you really need the extra cash why not stay at your origonal rate? After all £15 a week is a lot of money to be paying every week especially for poorer students.

Nearly all the students I teach have a half hour lesson which cuts down on the cost to them. As I charge £10 for half an hour it means I still get a decent hourly rate-although it's still below the ISM recommended minimum for experienced teachers, it's suitable for the area I live in.

I wonder..does anyone charge 'student rates'??
I must say that before I went to music college, I had one to one lessons once a week from a private teacher, which costed me £28 for 3/4 of a hour, this is in the South West of England while I studied for A levels (so was only working part time)..and at the time I thought this was very expensive..I would have liked to have been able to afford the whole hour..but this was not possible for me.
Does anyone think it's a good idea to have concessionary charges for students who have to fund themselves, or is that unfair and cheeky..?? Personally (from a students point of view!!) I think it would be an excellent idea, especially for those who are really serious about persuing music but dont receive the financial help from parents!!

Wow I get £8 for circa 45 mins. I'm in Lancs.

QUOTE (songflower @ Feb 15 2005, 09:02 PM)

I wonder..does anyone charge 'student rates'?? I must say that before I went to music college, I had one to one lessons once a week from a private teacher, which costed me £28 for 3/4 of a hour, this is in the South West of England while I studied for A levels (so was only working part time)..and at the time I thought this was very expensive..I would have liked to have been able to afford the whole hour..but this was not possible for me. Does anyone think it's a good idea to have concessionary charges for students who have to fund themselves, or is that unfair and cheeky..?? Personally (from a students point of view!!) I think it would be an excellent idea, especially for those who are really serious about persuing music but dont receive the financial help from parents!!

I must say I would find charging 'student rates' fraught with difficulties-it could be very tricky deciding who deserved to benefit, without delving into the family's financial affairs. And from a purely financial point of view, teachers still have to earn a living-even though it's lovely teaching committed students who are looking to a career. Freda's post shows how much rates vary according to area, though. I actually haven't put my fees up in 4 years-I know a few of the families I teach aren't that well off .

QUOTE (freda_bloogs @ Feb 15 2005, 09:50 PM)

Wow I get £8 for circa 45 mins. I'm in Lancs.

You defo want to put your rates up. I charge £12 for 45 mins,but haven`t put fees up in 2 years.They are going up 50p in April though. However there is no way you can increase a 45 min lesson by £4 in one swoop.

One of my old teachers use to justify his fee increases by saying the ISM has recommended he does so.Oh...he wasn`t a member btw and he was paid 10 lessons in advance....ouch.

QUOTE

You defo want to put your rates up

Ooops sorry, I'm not a teacher, but I meant as a student.

However, when I do teach a class (Ju-Jitsu) I charge £3 for 1 1/2 hours.

Ahhhh...Sorry.

But with Ju-Jitsu you have a class not one to one,so effectively you might be getting 45 quid...10 pupils...for 1.5 hours work...not bad!!! Hope you have sent my regards to V? Lovely guy...let him off the Notice period...heehee.

i charge £8.50 an hour and £4.50 for half hour. yet when i put it up 50p every year ppl try and moan!!

those are very very low rates. where are you based? (roughly, obviously) it sounds low regardless of where you are, though.

im based in west norfolk.

I charge £10 per hour and nearly always run over that.I'm working towards a teaching diploma , but don't have one yet.

I think that anyone with a teaching qualification can charge 20 pounds or more an hour, as that is the going rate for teachers in school. If you do not have a teaching qualification then you can base it on your experience in teaching and as a musician, demand in your area etc etc. I would have thought someone with no qualifications (except a grade 8 in their instrument, and no experience should start around 10 pounds an hour. But that is just my opinion, I am sure it would vary around the country.

People will always moan about fee increases. If you have done your research into what is the local going rate, then don't be afraid of putting them up a little every year and ignore the comments.

£20 an hour is what seems to be normal in my area.

Hey Gummidge that's MY line!!!

sorry debbie, I don't mean to be a copycat! I've always felt a bit embarrassed about charging, but was advised by my daughters cello teacher ( a qualified teacher ) , that people only value what they pay for, and if they don't pay , they won't value either the lessons or you. I don't know if this is true, and wonder what others think?

I definitely agree. They're more likely to take it seriously if money is involved. Also, from your point of view, it's very noble to say you don't want to be paid, but when your patience is being tried to it's limit, it's nice to have that fiver on the mantle piece to buy a botle of wine when they've gone!

i think my fee will go up to £9 an hour and £5 for 30 mins this year, do it bit by bit. as i know its £15 at shops for quite a while.

As many have said your rates are far too low! What are you living on? What are your expenses? How many students do you have a week or do you have another job!

I pay 26 per hour for my daughter's piano and this is cheaper than a previous tutor who charged 18 per half hour. All the tutors increase their fees in Janaury and this is usually a pound.

My older daughter when she was a saturday student at a Junior Conservatoire and doing her A levels and therefore only had a G8 was teaching and charging 15 for 45 mins and she was v. strick about stoping on time and took four students a week and had a waiting list.

The ISM guidlines are the best to quote to your students and increase your rates every year, use a regular month like April or January and tell the students that you do this so its no surprise. All parents and students moan about increases. If they are serious they will stay.

I have a friend who teaches guitar in Norfolk and she charged £26 an hour some little while ago...

You cannot possibly make a living charging what you do!

Some teachers who do not rely on teaching as their main source of income regard it as pin money and charge accordingly. Unfortunately this can have the effect of making people whose teaching income is their ONLY living seem 'greedy' for charging what appears to be a lot more than those who just do it for a little extra...

QUOTE

Some teachers who do not rely on teaching as their main source of income regard it as pin money and charge accordingly. Unfortunately this can have the effect of making people whose teaching income is their ONLY living seem 'greedy' for charging what appears to be a lot more than those who just do it for a little extra...

This can be a problem and make you unpopular if it gets known.
I charge a little under the local going rate.. but not much for this reason.

I only teach part time and it is not an essential part of the household income but I think it is generally best to go an long more or less with whatever is normally locally. I do charge (at my discretion) for missed lessons as I find that this prevents people from messing you about and also means that you know what money is coming in.