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PHIL KEAGGY - Grammy nominated and seven-time Dove Award winner, is one of the world’s great guitar players and a pioneer in contemporary Christian music.
- March 4, 2016
- Guitar Lessons
Rates/Factors/Locations/Types
One of the most common questions we get asked here at Pro Lessons is: How much do guitar lessons cost?
In order to give the best answer possible, we first have to discuss the various factors that can influence the price of guitar lessons.
These factors can include:
- Who is giving the guitar lessons
- Where the lessons take place
- How long the sessions are
- How many sessions you plan on taking
- And whether the guitar lessons are online or in-person
Without further ado, let’s dive into some of these factors that influence the cost of guitar lessons:
What is the skill level of your guitar instructor? Amateur or Professional
Amateur Guitar Lessons: Pros and Cons
Most of the times, as in this case, the word amateur means a person who engages in an activity for pleasure vs financial benefit. So if you wish to take guitar lessons from a friend who really seems to know what he is doing, or an uncle that used to play in a “touring band,” this can be a good way to break into a general understanding of guitar as an instrument.
Much like playing a pick up basketball game in elementary or junior high, you can actually pick up a generalized knowledge about the particular sport/instrument. Free lessons is also good thing, and most of the time amateur players will show you some basic info and do it for not cost at all. Give them a couple of compliments and stroke their ego, and they’ll be sure to show you all they’ve learned about the guitar.
Truth be told, while you do pick up some “free” introduction to the guitar, it is also quite possible that you will pick up some bad habits on the guitar as well. These bad habits can include things like: not tuning your guitar before practice, holding the pick wrong, having poor posture, not wearing a guitar strap, not learning rhythm, playing the one song you know and calling it practice. The list goes on and on. So while the temptation of “why pay when I can get it for free” is there, the reverse is also true. As the ole saying goes, “you get what you pay for.”
Professional Guitar Lessons: Pros and Cons
A professional means someone who is engaged in a specific activity as one’s main paid occupation rather than as a pastime. This definition makes me want to raise two main points. There are professional guitar teachers and professional guitar players, sometimes they coincide, and sometimes they don’t. Many guitar players can define themselves as professional guitar teachers, but cannot define themselves as professional guitar players.
What I mean is that they may have many guitar students and get paid well teaching. However, they are much like a baseball player that played great Triple AAA baseball but never quite made it to MLB.
The point is: most people will have access to many great guitar teachers, but rarely do they get the insights from current touring pro’s that play guitar exclusively for a living. Think about it, how much money would it take for Michael Jordan to teach a student basketball? He doesn’t need your money, so most of the teaching he would do would be from either something he wishes to do personally, or as a favor to a personal friend or business.
Location of the guitar lessons (small town, large city, in your own home, or online)
Small Town/Large City
Music lessons vary depending on where you live and who you taking from – meaning are they amateur, professional, etc...
Some of the differences are simply based on the law of supply and demand. There are more people in the city, so you may expect to pay a little more. However, in a small town the exact same lesson might cost 20% less. The downside of a small town is that you will definitely have fewer teachers to choose from.
Your own Home
Many times, the guitar teacher will have a specific location for you to come to for your guitar lesson. It is possible that you could find someone to come to your own home to teach. The pro here is convenience. The con is you will more than likely be paying a premium.
Online Lessons
Another option in these days of technology is to take guitar lessons online. Although not a perfect choice for everybody, this can be a viable option, and is widely becoming the option of choice. At Pro Lessons we are able to bring you the insights of touring Professionals that you could not hire, but based upon our relationships with them, they have graciously agreed to lend their insights to our company.
While each of these methods above are ok, some are more traditional in nature and some show the latest trends. What’s important is to find what works for you and put the effort in that will make you a successful guitar player.
How long each session is (often rated by the hour)
A traditional guitar lesson is anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. You may find an academy or a church that offers group lessons. In either case, most lessons fall into this time frame category, with the exception of online lessons.
While online lessons do take a student that has self-discipline, online lessons allow you to learn at your own pace. Some instructional videos are as short as a couple of minutes, while other guitar videos may run 30 minutes or longer.
How many sessions total you end up taking
With a traditional guitar teacher, most instructors follow some sort of schedule/pattern like semesters at a traditional school. This typically ranges anywhere from 12 to 15 weeks. For those students with the self-discipline to use online lessons, there are no set number of sessions that you get.
Typically, you will subscribe to a service that allows you, for a specific period of time, to access the company’s lessons as much as possible. Again, you are in the driver seat and you have no make up lessons to worry about.
How much do one-on-one guitar lessons cost?
As to our discussion above, taking in to account all the factors of guitar lessons, such as instructors, whether they are amateur or professional and the area of location, a good general range for pricing would be: $30-$45 per 30-minute lesson in the city, while in a small town you may pay $20-$30 for a 30-minute lesson.
Remember, a quality teacher is worth the fee.
Some teachers require a whole semester’s tuition up front. Others allow you to pay on a set schedule. Remember to be fair and pay for your class time even if you’re not there. If your teacher misses, you should expect a make up lesson or a refund.
How much do Online Guitar Lessons Cost?
In the technological age, online guitar lessons have become many families’ and students’ dream come true. There are several reasons for this.
First, you do not have to worry about scheduling, make up lessons, or travel.
Second, many online sites have a variety of instructors.
At Pro Lessons we only hire (based upon our relationships) touring or session guitar pros as instructors. The advantage is that you get the best of the best teaching you with the latest knowledge and trends that make today’s best guitar players. This eliminates the challenges of working with an instructor you just don’t seem to gel with. If you don’t like a particular online instructor, the beauty is that you can just click on another guitar instructor who you may prefer.
A few more benefits are that most online sites are “all device friendly”. This means that where there is an internet connection you can log-on to any device – your iPhone, iPad or computer. Many lesson sites allow you to pick right back up in the middle of the same program you were currently watching.
Last but definitely not least: online can be, by far, the most affordable option.
At Pro Lessons we have literally developed and produced over 1,000 lessons and songs from beginner, to intermediate, to the advanced level. All of these can be accessed for around 27 cents a day, which equals around $100 per year. Again, these are typically for the disciplined student who has the discipline to follow our program.
In conclusion, at Pro Lessons all of our lessons and songs are taught by the best of the best. We have chosen, as our name says, to only use touring and session pros to teach a few select students. By using online instruction, we have made the process as affordable as possible - .27 cents per day. For those students/parents who are seeking online instruction feel free to click on the link below to find out how this might be right for you. At Pro Lessons you can access the thousands of lessons online taught only by the pros at Pro Lessons dot com.
Click below to start your musical journey.
