why do teacher charge so much ?

November 22, 2009 at 1:35 AM

Here is a question why do teachers charge so dang much ? I thought I would learn somthing new so I got a " fair " violin and went looking for a teacher to find that every one in my nearest town wanted to charge 25-60 BUCKS per 1/2 hr. I told them I'm not one of those marble headed kids that are being forced to practice ! I'm an older person that wants to learn, I know that I'm never going pro. or even to a community level player BUT I do want to look and sound like I do know what I'm doing while in the park or where ever !

I can't wait to hear the bees swarm on this topic

Thanks Randy <<< old fart

From Stephen Brivati
Posted on November 22, 2009 at 4:12 AM

Greetings,

interesting question. I think I wrote a polemic response to it many years ago . Wonder where it is....?

Basically, you are getting much more than you think. A good teacher will evaluate you carefully in the first lesson. They will make some decisions during that lesson. They may well make notes about you at the end of the lesson. They may spend more than a few minutes trying to fiund the right exercises and pices for you. This may involve reading old notes, purchasing books, contacting other pros or using sites like this. Prior to the next lesson they may well practice a specific exercise or piece to give you the best possible demonstration. When I have studnets playing Vieuxtemps or Paginin I have to get up at 4 in the morning to squeeze in four or five days practice. We have to inspire our studnets and its bloody hard sometimes.

We spend a huge amunt of money on music we will never play because we need it for our studnets. We buy DVDs and attend seminars inb order to have the greatest range of skills and knowledge to benifit the student.

All thisis predicated on our giving up our childhood in many cases for hours of relenless practice in order to be skilled enough to be able to teach,

Very often the needs and schedules of the students take priority over our own lives because it is hard to make ends meet as a teacher. So we lose opportunities for socila interacrtion, friendship and other challenges in life so that little Johny can have hislesson on seven o`clock on Friday night.

You are paying for someone who cares about you and wants you to suceed. Who is willing to make personal sacrifices at quite a deep level for all students even though there is a whole spectrum anging from passionate, committed and dedicated to couldn`t care less and hace no respect. We cannot afford to compromise.

Finallty we are artists. What we do is important and the value placed on something importnat is , in this culture, monetary. If it wa ssomething else then fine. Let that be the benchmark. But if you want somethingof lasting value that matters in any filed the fact remains you are going to have to pay.Sure, I have and still do give free lessons at times to families that are hard uporpeople thta have travelled far to see me. That is a choice I make but there is no moral obligation on anyone else to do likewise. It is a profession like any other and any honroable craftsman, be they plumber, cmputer programmer or violiniost is paid. What is there really to question?

With love,

Buri

From SAM MIHAILOFF
Posted on November 22, 2009 at 12:55 PM

Randy,

If you were serious "I'm an older person that wants to learn", then you should welcome the experienced teacher whereby you can eek every ounce of knowledge from lesson time. However, your statement " I can't wait to hear the bees swarm on this topic"...speaks volumes.

What do you actually consider to be a "fair" price for a music lesson from an experienced player, performer, teacher ???

This type of idiotic attitude has been a thorn in my side for a very long time

people do not quibble with the car mechanic who gets $85.00+ per hour
people do not quibble with the plumber or electrician that charges upwards of $100.00 just for the privilege of driving to your home...labor charges are more of course.
you gladly pay $15.00+ for a full-service car wash, because you don't want to get wet
let's buy junior the X-box for a couple hundred bucks, so he can cook the last few functioning brain cells left
how much was that family Mc Donald's meal? Was it because you are either too lazy to cook or think the stove is only there to hold the floor down?
how much was your last 10 minute basic haircut???

But when it comes to music lessons, holy moly...it's toooooo expensive

even if lessons are given in one's home, extra liability insurance is necessary (if you don't do it, you are playing with fire) and if studio space is rented, well that's self-explanitory.

At this point in my life, with un-countable hours of practice, and experience; if someone even gives the slightest hint at suggesting a modified price, no good will likely come of it, once the bargain hunter arrives. Best just to send them down the road. These are the same folks who balk at the price of a lesson book, and think the broken string gets replaced gratis.

nopity.gif No Pity image by TGrosjean

From Anne-Marie Proulx
Posted on November 22, 2009 at 10:09 PM

What I can say, as a student who attended a less expensive school in my little town (before) and switched to a much more expensive school (conservatory in the nearest big city) is that whatever the price, EXPERIENCE IS PRICELESS. There is nothing (if you can afford it) as having a teacher that is ideally old ennough to have had an interesting carrer may it be as a symphony member, soloist, chamber musician, teacher of many students over the years etc. Yes those are the most expensive "usually", I know... but they know so much things and have lived in a so "fertile" period for the violin. (not to say it isn't fertile now) They know things and advice passed from generation to generation. If the teacher is a good player, he/she will have had excellent teachers to teach him in his/her country etc. It's really not politically correct to say and can look elitist even if it's not my intention at all but yesterday, I looked a "race horse movie" and they were talking about who bread who and if x horse came from a good breeding family etc. In the violin, it's a little bit a who taught who thing. You are what your teacher gives you and he/she is what his/her teacher(s)gave him/her. You see, you are very lucky if you "happen" to arrive between good hands and it won't make you the next soloist or anything but it will allow you to learn your basics well to become an acceptable amateur player.

So you pay a bit for this, the reputation of the school and the one of the teacher. (In addition to everything Buri said that is very true!) Do they exploit you??? (it's up to you to see) and it's a sad thing when one can't afford a good teacher (not all the good teachers charge much however and vice versa, however)

Good luck!

Anne-Marie

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why do teacher charge so much ?

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