i have been playing the tenor banjo for a couple of years now (self taught) but i don't seem to be getting past the stage were i am at now. i have enquired about lessons and the price given to me was £20 per hour, is this the going rate or slightly expensive?
In my experience in London, anything between £15 - £20 is standard for a one hour lesson. Just depends on the teacher, but I think that that is more than fair - especially if you think how much you would pay a plumber - yikes!
Some 10-12 years ago I was employed by the city local authority as a part-time cello coach for one of the city's junior orchestras. The hourly rate for that job, then, was £13-£14 per hour. The rate depended on qualifications and experience; if you had a degree (no matter what subject!), that pushed you up into the next bracket.
Trevor
I know it seems expensive,Billy, but if you put it in the context that a qualified teacher has spent thousands of hours dedicated to getting to where he/she is and has, one hopes, learnt how to teach as well, you may see that a teacher's time can't come cheaply especially if that's what they do full time to earn a crust.
There's no way to answer this question definitely; prices for private lessons vary substantially in different geographic regions.
However, the best way to make sure you're getting your money's worth is to:
(a) be prepared when you walk in. Have specific questions you want to ask/have answered. Have specific tunes you can play for the teacher to elicit feedback.
(b) record the lesson, particularly demonstrations by the teacher.
(c) be flexible. You may have specific things you think you need to get, but the teacher may be able to identify other things you need to work on.
(d) don't go for a next lesson until you've assimilated the material from a prior lesson as completely as possible. There's no need to rush back until you've reallyl digested everything.
(e) follow instructions. If the teacher says "you need to do these six things before you come back for your next lesson," make sure you actually do them.
thank's for the replys, i live in the belfast area, so there should be no shortage of tutors,but this one was reccomended to me and he also teaches at the francis mcpeak school of music, so next week i will have my first lesson!
I take a lesson every week at Euro 15. Now some weeks I don't get around to practicing what was learned but I still go and as the lesson is always taped I have found the lessons endlessly useful. Later, even years later, when the understanding and ability improves somewhat. Many things not understood fully at the time, many variations used by the tutor not fully picked up on then become clear.
Having had many previous lessons in traditional Irish music from someone who didn't play the Banjo before meeting my present Banjo Maestro tutor, I do believe it is a bad mistake to take lessons from someone who does not play the instrument you wish to learn.
cost of banjo lessons
cost of banjo lessons
i have been playing the tenor banjo for a couple of years now (self taught) but i don't seem to be getting past the stage were i am at now. i have enquired about lessons and the price given to me was £20 per hour, is this the going rate or slightly expensive?
# Posted on March 10th 2004 by banjo billy
Re: cost of banjo lessons
That is quite cheap. Around $20 probably wouldn't get you a half hour. One teacher I know of charges $50 /hour.
# Posted on March 10th 2004 by tocotodo
Re: cost of banjo lessons
Oops! Sorry. Pounds. Sterling, I suppose. I should really pay more attention.
I meant around HERE (Michigan, U.S.) $20 is an inexpensive half hour lesson.
# Posted on March 10th 2004 by tocotodo
Re: cost of banjo lessons
i just wasn't sure of the prices, but i think i will go for my first lesson next week.
# Posted on March 10th 2004 by banjo billy
Re: cost of banjo lessons
In my experience in London, anything between £15 - £20 is standard for a one hour lesson. Just depends on the teacher, but I think that that is more than fair - especially if you think how much you would pay a plumber - yikes!
# Posted on March 10th 2004 by nick b
Re: cost of banjo lessons
Some 10-12 years ago I was employed by the city local authority as a part-time cello coach for one of the city's junior orchestras. The hourly rate for that job, then, was £13-£14 per hour. The rate depended on qualifications and experience; if you had a degree (no matter what subject!), that pushed you up into the next bracket.
Trevor
# Posted on March 11th 2004 by lazyhound
Re: cost of banjo lessons
I know it seems expensive,Billy, but if you put it in the context that a qualified teacher has spent thousands of hours dedicated to getting to where he/she is and has, one hopes, learnt how to teach as well, you may see that a teacher's time can't come cheaply especially if that's what they do full time to earn a crust.
# Posted on March 11th 2004 by Joe Quinn
Re: cost of banjo lessons
There's no way to answer this question definitely; prices for private lessons vary substantially in different geographic regions.
However, the best way to make sure you're getting your money's worth is to:
(a) be prepared when you walk in. Have specific questions you want to ask/have answered. Have specific tunes you can play for the teacher to elicit feedback.
(b) record the lesson, particularly demonstrations by the teacher.
(c) be flexible. You may have specific things you think you need to get, but the teacher may be able to identify other things you need to work on.
(d) don't go for a next lesson until you've assimilated the material from a prior lesson as completely as possible. There's no need to rush back until you've reallyl digested everything.
(e) follow instructions. If the teacher says "you need to do these six things before you come back for your next lesson," make sure you actually do them.
chris smith
# Posted on March 11th 2004 by coyotebanjo
Re: cost of banjo lessons
thank's for the replys, i live in the belfast area, so there should be no shortage of tutors,but this one was reccomended to me and he also teaches at the francis mcpeak school of music, so next week i will have my first lesson!
# Posted on March 11th 2004 by banjo billy
Re: cost of banjo lessons
Hi Banjo Billy,
I take a lesson every week at Euro 15. Now some weeks I don't get around to practicing what was learned but I still go and as the lesson is always taped I have found the lessons endlessly useful. Later, even years later, when the understanding and ability improves somewhat. Many things not understood fully at the time, many variations used by the tutor not fully picked up on then become clear.
Having had many previous lessons in traditional Irish music from someone who didn't play the Banjo before meeting my present Banjo Maestro tutor, I do believe it is a bad mistake to take lessons from someone who does not play the instrument you wish to learn.
# Posted on March 12th 2004 by Silver