Just had the letter through about flute lessons for this year and for just 1 term (14 lessons), it will cost £272. I feel bad because it is really expensive, and although the other terms aren't as high (I have school lessons), it is still expensive. Also the school hasn't said yet whether because I am doing A Level music I will get a subsidy. My parents have had to pay so much, for instance if I want to go on tour next year they have to pay a £50 deposit by August 15th. I try and save as much money as I can to help pay for tours/courses, but I feel like they are spending all their money on me. It also looks unfair, as my brother doesn't do any hobbies, and it looks like I am getting all the money spent on me. I can't really get a job this summer because I don't actually have more than a week free, and also after the summer I'll have my A Levels, netball and music to concentrate on.

How long are the lessons, Nicki? If that's for an hour's lesson then it's relatively good value, if it's 30 minutes that's very pricey.

Nicki, I'm sure your parents don't mind paying. I wouldn't mind if it was my child - as long as the child was doing enough practice

Liz

It is for 40 minutes. They don't mind paying, it is just money is hard at the moment, it is being spent on legal fees.

Hmm £30/hour pro rata seems steep for school lessons. What's the going rate for driving lessons these days? £20?

I pay £40/hr for a top notch professional prize-winning organist. He comes to me AND occasionally buys the beers after the lesson.

I'd be interested to know how much the teacher is being paid.

I don't think she gets very much of it, she certainly isn't rich. We are supposed to get a subsidy if the school agrees to it, but no evdience of it yet. The last Grade 8 person got an hour *thinks of the cost*

Is there any alternative source of lessons?

I'm sure as others have said your parents don't mind, and if they don't mind, they wouldn't want you to worry about it surely??


any introductions going ???

I know - it's ridiculous! Was discussing this with my singing teacher the other night - he charges £7 for 30mins, and is very good in my opinion. He knows he's comparitvely cheap, but he's not in it for the money. He's heard of people paying £65 for an hour in London, and some expupils of his actually find it cheaper to travel to him near Leeds every fortnight or so for lessons instead of staying in London.
Crazy!
My other lessons are quite reasonable - all £20 per hour for piano, violin and clarinet.

I am not going anywhere else for flute lessons, my teacher is very good!

Any chance of having lessons outside school? Then she gets all the money and the school do not skim anything off the top of it.

No, she lives at least an hour away, school is more convenient for both of us.

Actually I think we may have had this conversation before, Nicki...

I do this outside of term with my sax teacher, he charges me less! My flute lessons are £10 for 40 minutes which is good as I can afford that! It's wind band fees that I find expensive!

I can't believe that people pay £65 an hour for a lesosn in London! You are right charlottethemuppet that is crazy!

Hopefully with the subsidy it should be less, when we get it. I am not losing the best teacher I have ever had.

i know what you mean - my piano lessons are about £12 a week, in sept i'll have to start paying for flute lessons, which is another £10 ish, my brother also has piano lessons at about £12 a week...its ridiculous! and i can't get a job either, my mum needs me for babysitting at the moment

The more children you have the scarier it gets, though I think that music is 1 of the most worthwhile things to spend money on (fortunately my not-musical hubby agrees)
3 lots of children's piano lessons a week -£24.00/week
School lessons - 2x violin, 1x flute. Fees have doubled I know but haven't been given prices yet.
County orchestra/band -£185 per child for Sept through to May - just realised they'll be looking for the money soon -yikes £560 I think
And my piano/flute lessons as well...

But worth every penny

To join my county band is erm...£70 per term

Don't forget, Nikki, that one of the reasons for a teenager's existence is to separate her parents from their money

Seriously, Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Gainsborough (Lincs) charges a similar fee. The problem is only in part because they buy the services of the Lincolnshire Music Support Service - an expensive business but not that expensive.

Buried deep in the agreement and difficult to spot is a clause that makes clear that the actual fee is £20 an hour, not the £30 that is being charged. The extra is 'voluntary' and is used to provide free lessons for those children whose parents are unable to afford them, and to subsidise lessons for GCSE and 'A' level music students.

Try checking the agreement carefully. You never know

Steve

Thanks Steve, although I don't think we have an agreement. I should be getting a subsidy, quite a high one because I am going to do A Level music. But I don't want to lose my teacher, I don't think they mind paying, it makes them proud to see me play in concerts, it just seems a lot.

Ask your parents to have a look. It would be highly unusual for the school to provide lessons without some sort of signed contract with your parents.


You bet they don't, Nikki Trust me, I am a dad and know about these things

They are so proud of you they could burst.

Aww bless, someitmes my dad gets really emotional when he tells me how proud he is of me!

I can sympathise. I feel myself getting all emotional about him getting all emotional

Awwww!
Do your children play musical instruments?

awww.

Nicki, I bet they are immensely proud of you and happy that you get so much out of your lessons!

Awww, well I think they do considering that my brother has interests in a lot of things but he doesn't join anything. They also know it makes me happy.

I get really annoyed at how much music lessons can cost> I am the eldest of 9 and although I left home years ago, there are still 4 at home who want to learn. My father worked for a charity so expensive lessons were out of the question. I had to stop piano when I started clarinet and teach myself for a while so my brothers could have a turn. Mercifully my parents both played so could help me. I know us teachers have to earn a living from teaching, but occasionally wouldnt it be nice to offer lessons to a child free of charge - and do it for the enjoyment instead? I have done this once - and was well appreciated.
Whilst living in England, my children used to cost me an arm and a leg in music lessons. Now though, the area we live in are so keen to have them, that funding is ample!

my ex clarinet teacher charged about £15 for 40 minutes and half the time he never showed up....pffft

Well last night my brother started complaining that I get all this money spent on me for tours etc and he gets nothing, but if he ever had opportunities like trips and tours (he isn't a member of a club or anything but has hobbies) my parents said he could go on them.

Mine is about £300 a year (once I've paid for all the food and stuff for residential courses). We're going to Poland next year, but they haven't told us the price yet...hope it's not too much!!

20 minute clarinet lesson every week (in school): free!
Up to 40 minutes of the next person doesn't turn up aswell, which is quite a regular occurance!

Saying that, I used to be not so keen about going to music lessons, but now I'd jump at any chance to go!

I remember when the music lesson subsidies were cut at my school (when it lost its Grant Maintained status and the LEA slashed its budget by £1m per year), and lessons then exceeded the cost of private lessons out of school. The results to the music life of the school were disastrous: a good many people stopped having lessons - either in school, or all together.

As a result, the orchestra and other instrument ensembles lost many members: membership of relevant ensembles was a condition of school music lessons, and the head of music was so outwardly misanthropic that no-one wanted anything to do with him unless they absolutely had to, so they chose not to remain in the ensembles when they no longer had to.

Hey!!!!!!!! Yeah, some music lessons can be pretty expensive...luckily my piano lessons are free for now!!!! I still have to pay for music exams though which is like really expensive still. Its about £50 or something for grade 7 I think!!!!

lol.. FRSM is £500 and you think you've got trouble

Yes, music lessons are expensive - particularly in london! My friend pays £50 per hour for singing lessons , so I think I'm getting a good deal at £30 per hour - and my teacher TRAVELS TO ME for that price, and she's an amazing teacher! Does anyone else her have flute lessons with Katie Morgan in London? She even bought me a little prezy for my birthday!

Just out of interest I thought I'd let you know what you'd be paying 'down under' My 1 hr piano lesson is $70 ( about 27 UK pounds) and that would be the top end of the scale - I am taught by a university professor of music ex concert pianist. A more common fee would be around $50 / hr ( 19 pounds 50p) for a music lesson ( singing / theory/ piano) Of course I know that salaries etc over here are different so you can't make a true comparison.
When I changed teachers my family did a bit of a 'gulp' at the higher lesson fee but I can honestly say the difference is worth every cent of the extra she charges. The lessons are like 'chalk n cheese' and my playing has rocketed ahead with my current teacher. I believe experienced music teachers as in any other profession should charge more than those just beginning a teaching career.

NZ violin lesson $40.00 (GBP15.6) per hour, Japan violin lesson 3,250yen per 45 minute lesson...which would work out to about GBP20.0 per hour)

Hi Nicki!

I can understand how you feel as I often joke with my hubby that he earns more than I do, but I spend more than he does. Actually, I don't think he minds that much. Maybe your bro doesn't either if there's nothing he's interested in.

Have you talked to your family and asked for their honest opinion? They may be able to settle your fears and you may also find that, as long as you work hard and make the money spent worthwhile, they won't mind a bit and will consider it a good investment. It's when we spend a fortune on something that goes to waste that it's hard to swallow.

Well done for being so considerate.

Elisabeth

Hi!
Well, I think my brother sees it as me just being given money. But my parents say time and time again if he had an opportunity, like a tour, then he could go. But although he is good at sport, he isn't in a club and won't join a team even though people have asked him to.
They have seen how much I have enjoyed my tour and course, so I think they feel it is money well spent.

I'm sure your parents feel its money well spent - look how much you enjoy it and how well you are doing. I'm sure if your brother wanted to play an instrument your parents would let him go on courses, tours etc. I used to feel that all my parents money was being spent on me and music lessons, music exams etc, but he had the opportunity to play the trumpet and gave it up within a week! So I know he would have had the same opprotunities.

? What IS frsm, and why is it so expensive?

I do understand, my parents still mention "What a relief it is not to have to find the £15 each week" for my flute lessons. It's heart breaking though, I don't dare mention the fact that I would really like to start learning the piano, or even that I'm reconsidering getting lessons when I go away to University.

I'm dreading another lecture like the one that followed after I inadvertantly mentioned the words "Gap Year" in their vicinity...

The lessons at our school just went up coz the school took away the funding and so the dept couldn't subisidise it as much. I'm glad I've left! As it stood, I paid about £80 at school for 13 lessons(approx) which I thought was alright. You could get them subsidised more, like if you needed them for GCSE or A level music, but not many people did coz it was "shan" according to one of the girls who got told she could have a subsidy!

I paid more for lessons out of school! It's not going to be the case for the people at school this year though.

My parents have hinted that piano lessons cost so much that theyd like me to stop after grade8 seeing as i'm not going to do anything with my music anyway. Unfortunatly g8 is in 6 months at the most...i'm going to miss my lessons if that's the case...

Aww...
I have free lessons but if I move school/leave school then I won't be able to have them I don't think either!!!

nicki,
I think you could try asking Awards for Young Musicians to help pay this! The application is available from September. All you need is evidence of financial need, a recent distinction plus a reference from your teacher. Nothing complicated.

Thanks Tess, but we aren't in financial "hardship" in comparison to other people. Also our county band does financial support to people who find it hard to pay. Thanks for the information though.

I was told by my American friend that American flautist Jeanne Baxtresser charges $190 per hour! The top violin teachers charge £150 per hour for a private lesson, at Royal Academy of Music!!! - That's what the world famous musicians charge, because they have to earn a living from all the knowledge they have! £65 seems like a bargain compared to that... My teacher studied with the top, and had to pay all that money, and now she only charges £30 - and she travels to me for that cost! Sucks doesn't it?

Gosh... 20 minutes isn't enough to learn properly! Is your teacher a specialist clarinetist or is he/she a general woodwind teacher? They're never very good, and if you paid for a private teacher, I'm CERTAIN you'll see the difference instantly! Just go to a clarinet summer school where a top teacher is teaching, and you will most certainly see (and hear!!!) the difference!!

Doesn't the teacher do private lessons as well as school ones. Migh work out bit cheaper for you and could make them richer. I pay £20 per hour for a clarinet lesson and my teacher recons that compared to most he is cheap.