<p>I’d faint if we’d paid 300. I suppose it only encourages serious students. </p>
<p>muscprnt:I am talking about people making quite a good living as well. In particular I am speaking about teachers at schools such as Rice, Juilliard and SFCM. Some of these teachers get hundreds of requests for sample lessons. And they are hardly starving artists and their time is extraordinarily valuable. Valuing ones time and efforts is in no way mercenary. It is professional.
(fyi My D is not a starving artist either-----BECAUSE she demands to be paid----but that’s a whole 'nother discussion)</p>
<p>I agree you get what you pay for. One teacher was only going to do a free 30 minute lesson. My son brought a check for that amount of time and it was extended to an hour. </p>
<p>My only concern about charging 300 is only the wealthy would be able to afford it or the student would only be able to afford one or two sample lessons instead of several. </p>
<p>.^ twas ever thus. Music education is expensive.</p>
<p>I agree! Except I’m not offering up money when none is requested cellomom6. I don’t think it’s outlandish to ask for $100 but $300!!!
They should credit your tuition account. Let’s see $50000 - $100 = a lot.</p>
<p>I’d still offer money. I keep thinking what would I want in their shoes. If it was too expensive id ask for a shorter lesson. I also think it’s a show of respect for their time. Although 300 is steep. What on earth does a 300 lesson give you opposed to a 100 or 150 lesson?</p>
<p>The thing is, the teachers don’t get a cut of your tuition dollars. Either they are salaried professors or they are adjuncts. The sample lessons are carved out of their free time. Even so, many do not charge. </p>
<p>.Higher priced lessons are dictated by the market (and possibly the ego). I assume that someone who charges 300 does so simply because they can. And the locale of the studio dictates a lot. Certainly a lesson in LA or NYC is going to cost more just due to the cost of living. D is in the EU. She currently pays a conservatory (Hochschule)teacher around 75 EU twice a month (while in LA or NYC she paid $150 per lesson) and the half dozen young students that D currently teaches she only charges 30 EU, though while she was in LA she charged $85. She also travels to Vienna once a month for a coaching. THAT costs $300. But the last time she was leaving that coaching, Ana Netrebko was waiting for her turn. The guy is worth it.</p>
<p>I think they also do it to discourage students who are not highly invested.</p>
<p>Glassharmonica this particular person has the designation Artistic administrator and professor of voice. D is getting lessons from three of his colleagues and no charge. But u know, we have to pay for the hotel to visit the school, and other crap that’s not nearly as important as the investment we are making for D’s future so if he wants the C-note it’s cool. My DH is outraged however. lol</p>
<p>From what I have learned, it can really depend on the school and faculty. If the school is trying to build up their program and the faculty is full time and at just one school, they may see free sample lessons as part of their recruiting process. At some top conservatories where professors don’t have to actively recruit talented students, they may be less motivated to offer up free sample lessons especially if they split their time between several schools. Even some of these professors still choose to offer sample lessons at little to no cost.</p>
<p>My dh wasn’t outraged by having to pay but to have to visit and perhaps even pay for camp. He needs a new bow. He needs a flight case and the cost of the airfare and hotel…He’s kinda grumpy about it but slowly warming up to the idea.</p>
<p>Ha! Yes cellomom6 so funny! Sounds like my dh.</p>
<p>I think it is only fair that a student inquire as to whether there will be a charge for a sample lesson. A teacher, who expects to be paid for a sample lesson should mention that to the student ahead of time if not beaten to the punch by the student, rather than "mail in the lesson " if no inquiry or offer is made. Even an accepted student should make the inquiry. The accepted student should gain something from the lesson and therefore value is given. As others have said, the interaction between student and teacher is a two way street. As for how much a teacher should charge, I think it’s market based. If the market for that teacher is $300/hr., than so be it. Students and mostly parents do cost-benefit analysis all the time when it comes to music such as when considering instruments, summer programs, pre-college instruction, and colleges. This is just another analysis. </p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with getting paid for your time, and some of the top teachers out there don’t ask money for sample lessons, while others do, and that is their choice, and yes, with any sample lesson, my son asked if there was a fee upfront. If someone is willing to pay that fee, it is fine, it is what is known as market economics. On the other hand, that doesn’t mean that prices someone charges is not open to criticism, either. It is funny, we keep hearing people in the classical music market moan about the lack of diversity, how they hate the fact it is seen as elitist, yet what they continue to do in many cases is perpetuate that system, by things like charging exorbitant fees that someone may not be able to afford as part of the enrollment process…no, I am not saying a professional should work for free, but maybe they also could take into account that some families cannot afford to pay that kind of money, yet the kid may be talented. </p>
<p>Put it this way, I have seen some of the same teachers who have a policy of charging a lot of money for sample lessons and such, be interviewed talking about the future of classical music and worrying about it, how it is a rich man’s game, etc…and I also know a lot of teachers who will waive the fee if the kid doesn’t have the means and I respect that. I am very fortunate, I have done well enough that we could support my son’s dreams, but I also have seen the struggles of families with lesser means and what this process means financially and I feel for them, because it can mean a kid who might bring something to music being shut out. There is an obverse to that, that the burgeoning number of music programs that fly against seeming demand for musicians, that seem more about employing people then about the realistic chances of the kids entering the program, the programs claim they will prepare the student to be the musicians of tomorrow, when the reality is the level of student they are admitting have very little shot of making it in music, and mostly what the kids are is kids with a dream, who are in love with music, and are paying $$$$ that employ the people in it, with very little hope of getting anywhere, it is two extremes of what I see as negatives of the world, the high cost of entry into serious musical training, and on the obverse, a ton of programs selling a dream that is basically impossible.</p>
<p>My D had five sample lessons and I believe we paid $100 for two of them. They were an hour long, and I believe the professors who charged were very up front about it when my daughter set up the lessons. We had heard ahead of time to ask as some charge and some don’t. </p>
<p>musicprnt … I love you. I so agree with you. Well said.</p>
<p>Funny about the disgruntled husbands. I reminded DH how much we paid over the years for pitching lessons and fancy-pants composite bats, etc for kid #1 and then it made sense. Kid #2 has been a bargain so far by comparison. That is changing fast, though. ;)</p>
<p>Completely normal to pay, especially if the teacher is hiring a pianist and it will be a full lesson. In our experience, the “free” samples were usually more of a conversation and a short run-through of some basics. Well worth the money especially if D is trying to make a decision about compatibility and style of teaching.</p>