Q&A with Kristin Yost and Wendy Stevens
Answer #1 by Kristin Yost
Some teachers think that their piano lesson rates should be kept secret, and I completely disagree. If you are a member of a music teacher association it should be relatively easy to find out the average rate by calling the president or fellow members of your association and just asking. However, you have to keep in mind level of experience, what kind of achievements that particular teacher has and education. If fellow teachers are unwilling to give you that information, I would call and pretend to be a prospective student and be my own Private Investigator! The best advice I have for you on this is if you don’t like what others are doing in your area, change it.
Answer #2 by Wendy Stevens
I wanted to answer this question as well because our local association recently did a survey to find out the piano lesson rates of teachers in our city and surrounding areas. We asked a lot of questions in the survey including the area of town, education, experience, etc. that might affect teachers’ rates. What we found was that
besides the degrees possessed by teachers*, all the other factors didn’t seem to matter what teachers charged. What we found was that everyone just did their “own thing” and didn’t really base it on their experience, education, results, offerings, etc. When I compared what I charged with someone who had similar qualifications and experience, I found that the other teacher was charging a significantly lower piano lesson rates than I did. Yet, I am not hurting for students and this teacher was not hurting for students. So, I say all that to say, even if you do find out the rates of teachers in your area, that doesn’t mean it is a fair rate for you.
What is helpful in determining what your piano lesson rates should be is calling other professional organizations to find out what they charge. For example, call the popular dance studio in your area and find out what their rates are for their classes and for private lessons. Call your swimming club (not your local Y as they are subsidized by private donations and also charge a monthly fee) and find out how much they charge for 30 minute private lessons. Call your local baseball team league (again, not the ones that are governmentally subsidized) to find out how much they charge and then keep in mind they are not giving private lessons.
What you’ll probably find is that piano teachers notoriously undercharge for what they offer and for what their qualifications are. As Kristin said, YOU are the CEO of your company and I would add that YOU are the one that can set your own rates so that you do not feel overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated.
It is only professional and fair to other teachers who are trying to make a living off their piano lesson rates that you charge a fee that is competitive with other teachers as well as other activities (dance, etc.). But, you should keep in mind that what is fair to YOU and your family is of utmost importance as this will help you be a contented and happy teacher. When you are content and know that you are being paid fairly for all the things you do, you can take your focus off of money and put it where it needs to be: on the student.
Read more in the Dollars and Sense Q & A category. Send your Dollars and Sense questions, as well as questions about piano lesson rates to Wendy.
I love the idea of calling other organizations like dance companies and see what they charge for private instruction! That could really be an eye opener!
It’s absolutely as you say, “an eye opener!”
Calling other entities like dance/karate classes, etc. is essential, I think, if you are considering group piano lessons.
For a long time I included the price for hair styling – getting a permanent – as part of my community research as to the fees for certain activities. I have been very remiss in raising rates according to the inflation rate since 2006 I have held my rates. We have a plethora of piano teachers in my area both MTNA and not-affiliated but the music stores do not refer to the local teachers because they have music instruments taught in their retail stores and they rent space to teachers and they support the teachers affiliated with them. Also the school district – a very large one – does not refer to piano teachers even those with MTNA membership and national certification. That is what I’ve been told. My annual email to music specialists in this school system has not received any response except for one teacher who has had some of my students in her classes and she suggested I bring some business cards into her. I am now raising my rates and rewriting all documents that represent me with the public. I have found those inquiring want a fast synopsis of “how much are lessons” and “where are you located”. Hardly ever over 41 years of teaching have I been asked detailed questions about my background or my teaching. But, I have always made the effort to give more information than they have asked for, to speak about my teaching philosophy, and to be communicative with parents at every opportunity. I feel educating the parent as to being supportive to the student is part of my role too. My students usually stay with me 5-7 years and I now have one in his 10th year who is playing for enjoyment. I am at a point in my life where I need much more income than I have been earning as a senior citizen through an unexpected divorce. I expect to teach for as long as my abilities and health allow me to and I do love piano teaching so that is something to look forward to!
I checked online for rates for ballet, martial arts, gymnastics, etc. in my area but couldn’t find anything that was comparable to my own tuition system. Either they charged a set monthly fee but allowed makeups (I don’t) or they charged lots of extra fees or big registration fees or different amounts for siblings or all kinds of things. But I didn’t call and ask outright, so that is what I need to do next.
With some trepidation I put my fees and policies online this summer for all to see. I figured there was no need to be coy about it-schools and other educational programs are upfront with costs, why are we piano teachers so secretive? I don’t regret it. People contact me after seeing the fine print and they want me and they want to know if I have time in my schedule, no nonsense about the tuition. You can see it here at http://www.meganhughesmusic.com under “Tuition and Policies”.
My accountant says I should raise my fees somewhat every year. People expect it, so do it, thereby avoiding a big jump every several years.
yours, Megan Hughes
Hi Megan,
Yes, no one is going to have the same tuition structure as we do. The competitors in my area didn’t. But, you still should be able to figure out how many classes or lessons are available to take per semester and divide the total monthly billing by that to get a “per lesson” price. You usually have to break it down “per lesson” to be able to compare apples to apples, though we try so hard not to give a per lesson price.
I did a whole segment in my presentation about why teachers should increase their rates each year…I need to post about that in Dollars and Sense. But, yes your accountant is absolutely right! Inflation happens every year and if you don’t increase your prices, you are trying to have the same standard of living with less money. So, increasing it at least the amount of inflation that occurs for the year will prevent that (but don’t think you are giving yourself a raise…just a cost of living increase). Thanks for your comment!
How do you determine the inflation rate to use in setting your tuition increase each year? There are numerous indices available on the internet, and each one says something different.
Hi Suzanne,
I’m working on a blog post about this, but I’d recommend using the inflation calculator on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics website: http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
Thanks!
When determining rates, the elephant in the room that no one is noticing, is that you can only charge what the market will bear. If I charged $70/hour (even when disguised as tuition), I would be out of business, because no one except the teachers producing competition winners charges that amount. The ‘average” student who comes to me, even ones with lovely natural abilities, would not if I charged way more than everyone else.
Brenda, couldn’t of said it better myself. You are right on! I live in a small economically depressed midwest town. I know I am charging well below what I could if I lived in a larger metropolitan area, but if I did that, I too would be out of a job. Families in my community are not flocking to get their kids into piano lessons. Piano lessons are in direct competition with dance, karate, traveling sports teams, etc. and when kids can only choose 1 or 2 extracurricular activities, they generally opt for the ones with the least demands outside of the time spent in the class. So, when up against this kind of thing, I don’t want to price myself out of a job so I go for a lower rate and keep my studio healthy.