All About Piano Lesson Costs

[foreverj]

Hi any recommended teachers for grade 1/2 can travel to home near buangkok mrt or live closeby? Appreciate if can pm me, tks!

[Serendipity]

Hi all, may i know the market rate for a private piano teacher’s monthly fees for beginners? What is reasonable for a Diploma holder teacher who does home visit?

Thanks!

[cwwsim]

My son is 5 going to 6 yrs old. I am currently paying $50 per 30 minute lesson at teacher's place, seems very overpriced compared to what I am reading from this forum.


Any recommendation for piano teachers who is fun and enjoys teaching young kids at our place? I am located at King's road, short walk from Farrer mrt.

Please email me at [email protected]

[peanut_butter]

cwwsim:

My son is 5 going to 6 yrs old. I am currently paying $50 per 30 minute lesson at teacher's place, seems very overpriced compared to what I am reading from this forum.

Some of the fees here are even lower than that from 'budget' music schools. They may get exactly what they pay for. :siam:

If your son is learning properly, it is probably worth your salt. Some very experienced teachers and schools charge a flat fee across the grades. It is a common practice in Queensland, Australia.

[peanut_butter]

Serendipity:

Hi all, may i know the market rate for a private piano teacher's monthly fees for beginners? What is reasonable for a Diploma holder teacher who does home visit?

I charge an extra $10-$40 for commuting. That would put my beginner fee to $170-$200/month, as the market rate suggest. However, it makes no business sense as it takes me at least 45 minutes to travel between my students' place. I could had given a lesson in that duration. :moneyflies:
Hence, from my perspective, It is reasonable to charge an extra 100-200% on top of the fee for my time or simply teach in a school for a commission >50%.

[Serendipity]

peanut_butter:

Serendipity:

Hi all, may i know the market rate for a private piano teacher's monthly fees for beginners? What is reasonable for a Diploma holder teacher who does home visit?

I charge an extra $10-$40 for commuting. That would put my beginner fee to $170-$200/month, as the market rate suggest. However, it makes no business sense as it takes me at least 45 minutes to travel between my students' place. I could had given a lesson in that duration. :moneyflies:
Hence, from my perspective, It is reasonable to charge an extra 100-200% on top of the fee for my time or simply teach in a school for a commission >50%.

Thanks peanut butter for your response!

[pahchee]

Hi,


There are some doubts I would like the experts here to enlighten me.


Currently I have got a NAFA teacher who cost $360/mth to teach both my daughters (aged 5 and 6) piano.
What she does with my elder daughter is that she had been playing scales, sight reading and 2 grade exam pieces for around 3 months. That’s what we do week in and week out. Every time we are there, she is just there to listen 1 or 2 scales then the pieces.
Previously before we started on the pieces, we were playing some fingering techniques like czerny and hanon.
Some how it seems like she never showed my daughter how was it played and I have to "teach" my daughter every time there is a new piece until last 3 months as there is no new songs since then.

For my younger daughter, she is just there to "listen" to her playing as everything is taught by me myself.

What I would like to ask is that:
1. Is this the way NAFA teacher teach?
2. If my ultimate goal for my daughter is to play as many pieces as possible and in future, she can play "any song" i would like her to, what should I do?
3. Should I change the teacher cos it seems now im the teacher rather?
4. If I were to change the teacher, what kind of teacher should I look for? A "branded" one? or 1 that just asked us to go for grades (which I don’t think that is the ultimate goal for piano)

The last thing I want to emphasize is for my kids to enjoy playing piano which the elder one does not seem like nowadays.
Please enlighten me

Thanks

[jce]

When you say "NAFA teacher", do you mean a teacher who is currently (or previously) teaching at NAFA or do you mean a NAFA graduate? From the above it does sound like NAFA junior session’s teaching - drill, drill, drill, emphasis on technique. What’s the reason for not giving new pieces? Is it because the old ones have not been perfected? Not up to scratch or not up to the teacher’s standard? Or it’s because the girls have exams round the corner?


Focusing on technique is a good thing as it opens up ways to play many pieces with ease, but as your girls are still young, there needs to be a better balancing. In NAFA it is a different story as the goal is different and therefore the way things are taught are geared to achieve this goal. Have you expressed your view to the teacher? Tell her that you’d like the kids to have a more balanced technique vs repertoire ratio.

Focusing on sight reading (which you mentioned the teacher is doing) is also a good way to achieve your "ability to play any piece in future".

If you were to change teachers, I’d suggest getting somewhere who is able to share or accommodate your opinions and goals, someone whom you feel at ease to communicate with and someone who has the ability to execute the teaching.

[pahchee]

Hi jce,


Thanks for the advice

My concern is that are NAFA teachers teaching techniques different from other teachers outside? So how to the "branded" teachers teach? do they teach the way like the NAFA teachers do? The reason I asked is that do they just say which pieces they want the students to learn and then just that? The parents and the child will figure out how to play the song by themselves (by sight reading first) and the teacher did not demonstrate and is just there the next week to listen?

Please advise

[jce]

Best I PM you