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How much do you pay for a 9 year old's private piano lessons?

59 replies

gaussgirl · 07/01/2009 15:55

AM in Hants. Just wanted to get an idea before we ditch the school ones which are very cheap but not really designed to provide beyond 'taster'.

How long does a private lesson last?

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sarah293 · 07/01/2009 20:13

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BoffinMum · 07/01/2009 20:19

I just couldn't work for £20 an hour and pay my bills. I don't know how they make a living.

Hulababy · 07/01/2009 20:20

The tutor DD will be having has the following qualifications/experience. As a non music person I just took a recommendation.

Mr G.P.
BA(Oxon), ARCO

Piano, Theory and Accompaniment

G's musical career began as a chorister at King's College, Cambridge. Whilst there, he studied the piano and violin and, later, started learning the organ with David Goode. After further organ study with his father, J.P., at xxx School, G gained a DFEE Specialist Place at Wells Cathedral School. During his Sixth Form at Wells, he studied the organ with Rupert Gough and harpsichord with David Ponsford. He also held the post of Junior Organ Scholar at Wells Cathedral.

After leaving Wells, G spent a year furthering his organ studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam under Jacques van Oortmerssen and had the opportunity to play some of the most beautiful organs in Holland. Then, in 2000, he left Amsterdam to take up the post of Organ Scholar at The Queen's College, Oxford, where he also read for a degree in music. Whilst at Queen's, G became an Associate of the Royal College of Organists, winning all three of the top prizes in the exam.

On leaving Oxford in 2003, G spent four years working in church music ministry, first in London as Music Assistant at All Souls, Langham Place, and then in Sheffield where he has held the post of Music Coordinator at xxx Church. In October 2007 he started research on an MPhil at Sheffield University, looking into the links between the faith and music of J.S. Bach.

In his spare time G enjoys running, reading and cooking for his friends!

Hulababy · 07/01/2009 20:21

Boffinmum - the tutors linked tot he group we have chosen to use all appear to have other work as well, not just the music tuition.

stillenacht · 07/01/2009 20:23

oooh he likes his Baroque music then Hulababy!

BoffinMum · 07/01/2009 20:25

Hulababy, he sounds ace!!

stillenacht · 07/01/2009 20:26

Look for an ARCM,LTCM, AGSMD, ARCM etc as qualifications. Also many competent pianists have music degrees from unis too.

Most importantly recommendations for friends, gut feelings about the teachers personality - is it going to click with your child and does the teacher have same level of expectation as you and your DC.

Hulababy · 07/01/2009 20:29

It all means nothing to me, as I have no musical knowledge at all! DD has just been so keen to play, so got her a digital piano this Christmas and her first lesson is next Thursday. So we found out next week how he is. Very reassuring that you more knowledgeable people say it sounds ok.

stillenacht · 07/01/2009 20:32

I really think that at a young age the most important thing is to have a teacher that your DC is going to want to impress, going to enjoy seeing week in and week out. Growing up i had 4 piano teachers (excluding my teacher at Music College) and i really only liked my first one - if i had had any of the other three first i would have prob given up. She was wonderful and encouraged my love of composition too. Unfortunately she moved and so i had to take lessons at school with a teacher who i hated, stunk of revolting perfume and used to tut at me and smack my fingers.......however this person was very very highly skilled at the piano but hated teaching.

sarah293 · 08/01/2009 09:15

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SwedesInACape · 08/01/2009 09:17

£17.50 for half an hour in commuter belt Herts.

fircone · 08/01/2009 10:13

agree with stillenacht. It is vital that the dc likes, or respects, the piano teacher.

Ds's teacher is a lovely man, and ds really enjoys chatting with him about all sorts of things, as well as music.

I, however, had a witch of a teacher. She 'sacked' me after a year and my mother said she couldn't find another teacher so that was my musical education shot. The teacher (?) I had spent the first ten minutes of the lesson making a cup of tea, and then had to attend to her dog, or answer the phone etc etc. She didn't do exams, either.

And then, which brought it all to a head, I passed the 11+ and her daughter (who had the same name as me) didn't. So the woman rang my mother and said I could never visit the house again as the sight of me would upset her daughter too much.

I still feel cross about this as I would have loved to have continued to play the piano (with another teacher!) But different times and all that. We all complain about pushy parents, but I wish mine had been a tad pushier sometimes.

FAQtothefuture · 08/01/2009 10:17

Hula - he sounds famililar so I googled an exceprt of your information about him and I'm sure I was at the Oundle Organ Course with him!!!!

islandofsodor · 08/01/2009 10:23

Dh teaches singing rather than piano and charges £25 per hour. It is below the reccomended ISM/MU rate but he has to charge according to the area he works in (Stoke). London or Manchester you are looking at £30-£40 for a good teacher

snorkle · 08/01/2009 10:41

We were very lucky - £20 (rose to £24) for a block of six 30 min lessons. To be sure, she wasn't well qualified and by her own admission did it 'more as a hobby', but I went with her on a friends recomendation (friend was very musical - I'm not) and she was a good teacher (only taught to grade 4 though). By 11 dd had given up & ds got a music award to senior school which means he's had free individual lessons (with a very highly respected pianist) ever since.

Lancelottie · 08/01/2009 11:53

BM --
Ours is soooo cheap because the teacher is a young bloke who still lives with his parents (who take students themselves) and he deals with their overflow, as well as peripatetic school music teaching. They teach brass, really, but are happy to start youngsters with wobbly teeth on piano, hoping to get them hooked on music generally.

Don't know how 'good' he is at piano, but plenty good enough to accompany exams on other instruments, and he is a superb brass player.

weblette · 08/01/2009 12:28

£7.50 for 30 mins in South Bucks.

She's very highly qualified but can't play much herself due to carpal tunnel. She's only in her 30s and does it as extra work alongside working in the family business. My kids adore her and really enjoy their lessons as a result.

BoffinMum · 08/01/2009 13:57

I am in a very pricey area, admittedly, and my lessons cost about the same as the Local Authority ones. I have been teaching instrumental music for 20 years (although currently having a break for health reasons). I have a full time lecturing job in addition to doing this.

I am particularly thorough, so your 20-30 minutes is a very focused 20-30 minutes, and I also will set and mark theory homework for free, talk to Heads of Music, and deal with interim email queries and so on on top of that. There's certainly no mucking about making tea for half the lesson, and so on.

I've got a lot of qualifications, and have published professionally on music teaching in the past, plus I have also trained other music teachers. My pupils get really good results at whatever they are doing, and have a very broad and balanced training that helps them love music for life.

FAQtothefuture · 08/01/2009 14:00

I must just add my opinion, tbh I think in the early days the qualifcations don't mean a lot (actually I think that in general, you can have a massive list of letters after your name and still be a crap teacher - I had of those once.......actually 2 one was a Maths teacher, other Organ Teacher).

If I were looking for piano lessons for my DS's then for the early years of learning I'd be quite happy to take on another (advanced ability) piano student as their teacher.

BoffinMum · 08/01/2009 14:35

This is indeed true, FAQ, and I myself taught successfully before being qualified, but I think having things like a PGCE and a PhD has made me a lot better able to cope with a broad range of pupils, including a lot with Special Educational Needs. I think it also made me better at motivating pupils and helping them developing rock solid practice habits.

FAQtothefuture · 08/01/2009 15:50

shame it didn't work for my maths teacher having her PhD etc etc- honestly she was the most AMAZING mathmatician..........but as a teacher omg she was atrocious.

My organ teacher that was crap didn't have a PCGE (think many of the greatest music teachers in the world probably don't have one of them ) but did have a whole load of letters after his name, but god he couldn't teach for toffee (nor was he that good an organist either). And as for motivating me - well neither of the succeeded there in the slightest bit, infact nearly gave up the organ because of that organ teacher!!! Yet he is also a fabulous organist

Hulababy · 08/01/2009 18:07

FAQ - what was his name? This tutor's name is G. P. (not out full name on at moment as doesn't seem fair on him as I don't know him). If so, what was he like? I have only had email contact so far.

Hulababy · 08/01/2009 18:10

islandofsodor - DD will be able to do singing late on if we stay with this school of tutors. DD in really interested in it. I would like her to as well as think,not because I think she has some amazing voice or anything, but I think it would really be excellent for confidence as well as supplementing her piano lessons. How does it all work for singing?

FAQtothefuture · 08/01/2009 18:25

oh Hula it was several years ago now (I realised it was definitely him from who his father is ), and ermm most of what I remember from it was a lot of drunked organ students (and tutors) playing the school organ at 3am in the mornings LOL

Hulababy · 08/01/2009 19:13

lol, sounds fun!

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