 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Sara
Date: 2001-04-08 18:50
I am a first year college student majoring in music education with a focus on clarinet. I have recently been approached to give a 5th grader clarinet lessons, but I have no idea what to charge. I live in Northern California. Can anyone give me at least an idea of what to charge??
Thank you,
Sara
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Rusty
Date: 2001-04-08 19:27
Hello,
My private teacher charges $10 for every 30 mins.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jerry
Date: 2001-04-08 20:10
You may get less depending on the demand in your area. In Dallas, TX (large population *and* big demand) My teacher is booked and I've found it to be true mith most of those I have contected to contract with - especially at the beginning of the school year. Most JR. High & High School teachers I have spoken with charge $12/ half-hour. The first teacher I had, charged $17.50/half-hour - he was real good..........from Russia and had played with the Mosco Symphony. The teacher I now have (who has a Phd. in music), teaches at one of the Universities in the area, and moon-lights through a music store, charges $16.50/ half-hour - I do not know what cut (if any) the music store gets.
Bottom line, "Whatever the market will bear".
Good luck.
~ jerry
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Anji
Date: 2001-04-09 02:23
Teaching is a trial for both you and the student.
If they pay cheap, they tend to practice cheap.
You're semi-pro now.
Anything less than $40/hour (or fraction thereof) is going to short your earnings and reduce family pressure on the kid to practice.
Get Larry Guy's books for helping beginners (they help me, for certain) and some Tylenol, you will need both.
Get the kid to PLAY THE HORN before, during and after the lesson and soon you will have more students (then you can keep your rates high).
High fees weed out the players that aren't dedicated. Draconian, but effective.
anji
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Thomas
Date: 2001-04-09 03:55
Here in Southern California I pay about $15.00 for a half hour lesson from a college (music major) student. These lessons are at a local music store on Friday afternoons. The lessons are for my eleven year old daughter who has been playing three years. I hope this along with the other post, give you an idea of what. If your lessons are in a private home, I would think you could get at least $20.00 for the half hour if not more.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jim
Date: 2001-04-09 04:01
In South Jersey we pay $30 / hr for my son's teacher, but lessons (teacher's choice) are every 2 weeks. He just retired after 37 years teaching and directing at High School level and is considered one of the top clarinet people in the area. Another fine local reed teacher, recently retired from a military band, gets $25 / hr. Friends of ours pay $30 for 2 - 45 minute lessons for 2 kids (a group rate I think.) with another public school teacher.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Allen Cole
Date: 2001-04-09 05:43
I think that fees anywhere from $15-20 per half hour are reasonable, and agree that lower prices do tend to devalue the teacher in the eyes of the customer.
A good alternative to high fees, though, is the selling of lessons in semester blocks. You may have to teach for a while before the market will bear this, but it has made my life much better.
With all fees gathered up front, there is no need to cringe everytime a student is absent, or to try and collect delinquent bills. No payment, no lesson startup. I have rarely been stiffed. Once the initial collection is made, I devote the rest of the semester to the tasks of teaching and scheduling. It also improves customer relations, because there are no delinquent bills to generate unpleasantness.
Since you are just starting out, charge what the market will bear. As you get experienced, your reputation will grow and you'll get more business and have more leverage.
But most of all, enjoy your student. You will NOT need Tylenol.
Allen
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mike Irish
Date: 2001-04-09 12:26
something to keep in mind, is your location.... economic location.....
the difference between pricing with in the same state or even just a few miles away, can be totally different. Here, no one charges over $8.00 a half hour, and they are long half hours, no one gets slighted on time.
an example of what I am talking about ( will use plumbing as that is my trade )
we charge $35.00 an hour starting, ( Baxter Springs Ks ) we are concidered high priced. we charge more then others in the area. you go to Wichita Ks and they charge $97.50 an hour ( oh yea, per person on the job site ) our price includes two people.
check your local area for going prices, call the music stores and say you are interested in private lessons and wondered what their rate(s) were,
that will give you a place to start.
That does sound like a good idea, get a semester block or as I would call it a "service contract " could even set the prices a bit lower for a full year of lessons, then for the semester, and the semester lower then monthly, and monthly lower then the daily/weekly rate..... if you are charging 10 a half hour 2 times a week,
I would charge 80 for the month. 300 for the semester , or something along this line...... you will need to sit down am figure out what you wish to do, but the long term arrangement might be the easiest sell.... especially if it will work out cheaper.
have fun.
Mike
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ginny
Date: 2001-04-09 15:41
When I started out teaching private guitar I called several other music stores, this gave me an idea of the going rate locally. These rates tend to be similar.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jerry
Date: 2001-04-09 20:41
i pay about $60 per lesson here in Northeast(the "educated part of th US" according to Kaplan Newsweek)
Boston rules
literally...
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Meri
Date: 2001-04-10 20:12
Sara:
There are several factors you must consider when deciding how much to charge.
First, the general income level of the area where most of your students come from.
Second, the income level of the student or the student's parents. For example, a high school student paying for lessons themselves through a part-time job is very different from a student whose parents make $100 000 a year and are paying for the student's lessons.
Third, your level of experience teaching.
To Anji: "high fees weed out those who are not dedicated." Not every student, dedicated or not can afford high fees, and teachers can lose their most dedicated students if fees are too high. I think this is why a good number of private teachers are losing students, because of high fees, not to mention not making sufficient income from private teaching.
Meri
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette, Webmaster
Date: 2001-04-10 20:53
Meri wrote:
> First, the general income level of the area where most of your
> students come from.
>
> Second, the income level of the student or the student's
> parents.
While the second one would be nice, beware - once you're known as an easy "mark" then you're stuck with a low-paying high-effort job.
Never underprice yourself. You'd be surprised at how much people can come up with if they really want something. Perhaps an exchange of services even.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Meri
Date: 2001-04-10 23:20
But then you also discourage excellent students who cannot afford high lesson fees. It is better to keep an excellent student at a reduced rate than a mediocre one at full rate. The motivation is there to teach the excellent student. Some get around the problem by having multiple rates, depending on the student's situation.
Also, good private teachers know when to let go of poor students.
Good private teachers attract good students, too, and good teachers can keep and attract more good students (provided they also weed out the poor ones) if they set their price right. While teachers might be putting in a lot of effort for both good and mediocre students, in the cases of good students, they enjoy putting the effort.
There's the economic rule of price, demand, and profit: set your price too low, and while you might have a lot of demand, you won't maximize your earnings; set your price too high, and you will not maximize your profit from insufficient demand. Too bad it seems (at least in Canada) that most private teachers aren't aware of this economic fact.
Let's be realistic, too: how many people can really afford $50-100 per 1 hour lesson, particularly if it is weekly? Wouldn't such a rate discourage many students, whether good ones or not?
Meri
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2001-04-11 00:04
Meri wrote:
> Let's be realistic, too: how many people can really afford
> $50-100 per 1 hour lesson, particularly if it is weekly?
> Wouldn't such a rate discourage many students, whether good
> ones or not?
I don't think any of us are talking that rate (Charlie Neidich isn't a regular here). But - check the rate list here in "Study" section (under the Teachers selection) to see what rates were a couple of years back.
But, in any case, it's always good to try and do a sensitivity analysis if you're going into business ...
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Anji
Date: 2001-04-11 12:15
There must be some algorithm for determining where the Rate of Return and the Level of Effort curves cross.
When the Rate of Return drops off, each increment of Effort produces less for the participant (like working weekends when Salaried).
As a College student, Sara has demands on her time.
As a teacher, she must strike a balance between having lots of ponies in the paddock and being able to train each one.
The cookie-cutter programs should stay in the music stores.
If you price yourself cheap, raising the rates is nearly impossible.
I pay $50 an hour and go every other week. With a regular job, going more frequently is ineffective. This keeps the hourly rate high, but gives the student both more time to prepare and spreads out the cost on a monthly basis.
It just doesn't pay off to scramble.
Treat is like a business, and the business will keep coming.
anji
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: joseph o'kelly
Date: 2001-04-18 17:08
This is not true that if you charge cheap they will practice cheap. Right now I am giving lessons for nothing. My students are very hard working and come to their lessons prepared. I did not want to charge this year because I had no experience. Next year I will charge. I do not think it is reasonable at all to charge $60 as where I am I can get a pro. for that price. I think $30 an hour is a fair price considering you have no experience at teaching. Remember that your playing skills don't necesarilly judge how well you will teach.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
