Whistle lessons, fair rate

Wandering_Whistler · Post by **Wandering_Whistler** » Thu Aug 22, 2002 6:09 pm

Someone at the Irish sessions last night asked me if I'd be interested in teaching whistle. I think it'd be great, and I've done a skills-teaching thing before (I taught kung fu for about 8 years before my son was born). The only problem being, I'm not sure what a fair rate is.

If anyone has taken face-to-face lessons, I'd be intersted in hearing how much you paid...if you're shy about posting that kinda info public, email would be ok with me.

Any help appreciated..thanks!
Greg

fluter_d · Post by **fluter_d** » Thu Aug 22, 2002 6:24 pm

I know I'm a bit farther from Texas than most people, but in Cork city the rate (for individual lessons) tends to be around 12-18 Euro per hour. Hope this gives you a ballpark figure...
Deirdre

ChrisA · Post by **ChrisA** » Thu Aug 22, 2002 7:01 pm

Locally, one person gives flute lessons at $20/hr, generally a one hour lesson every two to three weeks giving enough material to keep the student with plenty to practice (this being on the 'student supplies own motivation theory' ... the more handholding kind of teaching philosophy would involve weekly lessons); this is someone teaching in spare time, basically.

A full-time teacher of piano that I know charges $35/hr, I'm not sure how far between lessons.

Local music shops advertise guitar lessons at around $50/hr for a contrast, so maybe you could charge half of what guitar lessons cost locally.

Or something.

--Chris

BillG · Post by **BillG** » Thu Aug 22, 2002 7:05 pm

I pay $40.00 per hour in New York City for flute lessons - whistle the same.

Go for it!

BillG

Tradman · Post by **Tradman** » Thu Aug 22, 2002 8:07 pm

Well, I have paid $20 for the half hour before and I thought it to be a little steep BUT I also live where there is very few, if any, people that know what Irish whistle is-let alone give lessons for it. I guess the up side is that at least I know that in a population of 1 million people in NE Florida, I am one of about 3 known whistle players here!

...and by the way...I have played guitar for over 11 years, consider myself an accomplished guitarist, and would NEVER charge a soul $50 for a guitar lesson...
_________________
Eric T
Jacksonville FL USA

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Tradman on 2002-08-22 22:09 ]</font>

Bretton · Post by **Bretton** » Thu Aug 22, 2002 8:09 pm

I used to pay $10 for a 30 minute lesson once a week (in St. Louis). Now I pay $35 for an hour lesson about once every 4-6 weeks.

-brett

Lizzie · Post by **Lizzie** » Thu Aug 22, 2002 8:21 pm

My teacher charges $ 20 per hour here in Toronto. I felt if I was paying that I would be taking advantage of her good nature...so I pay her $ 30 per hour. And I take her little presents every so often , like stuff fram my garden or a loaf of homemade bread.

Another teacher here charges $ 25 per hour....I told her she was worth more than that, but she says she does it to help others learn Irish music.

If the plumber gets $ 60 an hour, a skilled teacher of music should certainly equate.

liz

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Thu Aug 22, 2002 8:36 pm

Most music teachers here in bay area charge about 40 to 50 per hour. Thats just the way it is in expensive areas, not a sign of bad character! Prices are regional. So they do half hours and it seems more reasonable.

I hate to sound dark about it, but most teachers spend a lot of time hearing about how their students didn;t have time to practice, so maybe half hours are just as well. Part of the reason I didnt take up teaching cl. guitar. My former brother-in-law, a great flatpicker, had one student who never opened her case but just started talking at every lesson. He was bemused but ultimately frustrated. I think he was cheaper than a shrink.

The ADHD/ADD society.....

ChrisA · Post by **ChrisA** » Thu Aug 22, 2002 8:38 pm

...and by the way...I have played guitar for over 11 years, consider myself an accomplished guitarist, and would NEVER charge a soul $50 for a guitar lesson...

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Tradman on 2002-08-22 22:09 ]</font>

And living where you do, you also don't have to pay over $1000 for a 'studio' apartment (by which I mean, 10x12ish room with a kitchenette on one side and a shower-only 'bath'-room on the other side; utilities are not included, of course...) ... it might be slightly high, but I think it'd be near impossible to actually make a -living- at teaching around here at anything less than $40, and doubtless the music stores take a fraction of that cost for 'studio space' or whatever.

The only way the aforementioned piano teacher makes it at $35/hr is that she's been in the same place in a very undesireable (both high-crime and no transit) part of the city for a long time, and landlords are raising rents slightly less on established tenants, usually. (No rent control, so they don't have to, it's a tradeoff on remodeling costs/unoccupied time/current rent... )

In short, it's not nearly as larcenous, with local costs of living, as you might think.

--Chris

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Thu Aug 22, 2002 8:52 pm

I asked about this a few weeks ago when I started teaching my student. I was told by a couple music teachers here in Boise that $10-$15 is a reasonable low end rate for my area. Since I am a new teacher I am charging $10 per half hour.

Patrick · Post by **Patrick** » Fri Aug 23, 2002 12:03 pm

My bagpipe teacher charges $15 per hour lesson, assuming you will be coming in every week and actually practicing what she teaches. She provides all the music and often ends up providing things like reeds and hemp. She really does it because she loves it. I know at least one of her other students pays her $25 per lesson. She says she's lost track of how far ahead that student has paid, but the student does so because she feels her lessons are worth more than what the teacher charges.

My wife used to take fiddle lessons and paid $20 per hour. Weekly lessons and we were supposed to get the sheet music ourselves, most of the time. We felt the price was fair, but I doubt we'd have paid much more.

I'd start by developing a curriculum for teaching the whistle. Figure out how much to charge based on what you think a serious student would be willing to pay. My guess is that you should start at about $15 per hour, if you want to do it mostly for fun and a bit of extra income. If you plan on having students work from one of the available books, get a couple of extra copies and sell them to the students at cost. Explain to your students what you expect from them in terms of practicing and dedication.

Also, have a comfortable and friendly place for the lessons. My bagpipe teacher teaches at her kitchen table. My wife's fiddle teacher had a room downstairs in her home that was sort of a rec room and doubled as a music studio. Some teachers rent studio space. It is all about creating an environment in which your students are not distracted or uncomfortable.

Please let us know how it turns out. I am nowhere near ready to teach, but I do think about it as a "some day" thing.

-Patrick

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Fri Aug 23, 2002 1:08 pm

I'm paying $20/half hour lesson but they always go at least an hour. That's a fair price in Cleveland for an experienced teacher. Cleveland is a musically dense town for a city its size and there are many excellent teachers for any instrument you can name from tamburitzas to crumhorns to tinwhistle.

Mike

fluter_d · Post by **fluter_d** » Fri Aug 23, 2002 1:13 pm

Deirdre

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Fri Aug 23, 2002 1:27 pm

On 2002-08-23 15:13, fluter_d wrote:

Deirdre

My teacher's from Achill. You can charge that much but getting enough students to make a living is another thing altogether.
Mike