In Person Lesson Question

[Groove Finder]

Hello all!

So I just read the book "Guitar Zero: The Science of Becoming Musical at Any Age" by Gary Marcus and have decided that before the pandemic gets out of control again I would like to take some in person lessons to ensure I'm making ground and not developing bad habits.

I've done some research on local music schools that offer lessons in my area and am seeking an instructor to serve as a motivator and help impose structure in my practice routine. The instructor would ideally be able to pinpoint errors, target weaknesses, and have the ability to diagnose problems.

Personally, I am looking to understand the tools of music and how songs are written and played, rather than concentrating on simply memorizing particular songs. My overall goal would be learning to improvise vs. playing great songs the way the greats played them (If that makes any sense).

During my research I've noted that the average price for a 30-minute lesson is about $25.50 and the average price for a 60-minute lesson is about $50.50 (based on the 8 places I've talked with). I also figured out the average commute from my office to the music school to my home.

With that said I have a few questions I would like to ask because I don't want to rush into anything as money and more importantly time is of the essence these days.

1. Which is more ideal for a beginner - a 30-minute or 60-minute lesson?
2. On average do these costs sound like the standard cost for lessons?
3. Do you prefer music lessons from a store (corporate entity) or would you recommend I find someone local that does the lessons as a side hustle or means of survival?
4. Any other recommendations based on your experience I should consider in my search?

Thanks!

 

[BrotherMister]

Hello all!

So I just read the book "Guitar Zero: The Science of Becoming Musical at Any Age" by Gary Marcus and have decided that before the pandemic gets out of control again I would like to take some in person lessons to ensure I'm making ground and not developing bad habits.

I've done some research on local music schools that offer lessons in my area and am seeking an instructor to serve as a motivator and help impose structure in my practice routine. The instructor would ideally be able to pinpoint errors, target weaknesses, and have the ability to diagnose problems.

Personally, I am looking to understand the tools of music and how songs are written and played, rather than concentrating on simply memorizing particular songs. My overall goal would be learning to improvise vs. playing great songs the way the greats played them (If that makes any sense).

During my research I've noted that the average price for a 30-minute lesson is about $25.50 and the average price for a 60-minute lesson is about $50.50 (based on the 8 places I've talked with). I also figured out the average commute from my office to the music school to my home.

With that said I have a few questions I would like to ask because I don't want to rush into anything as money and more importantly time is of the essence these days.

1. Which is more ideal for a beginner - a 30-minute or 60-minute lesson?
2. On average do these costs sound like the standard cost for lessons?
3. Do you prefer music lessons from a store (corporate entity) or would you recommend I find someone local that does the lessons as a side hustle or means of survival?
4. Any other recommendations based on your experience I should consider in my search?

Thanks!

So, good news is that you know exactly what you want to get from lessons. Which means you are likely to spot bad instruction from good instruction, to a degree. The most important thing you can remember about this stuff, and I'll be unpopular for saying it, is that don't be fooled by the fact it's a player who does lots of gigs. Music education is an a bit of sorry state and it's not helped by the fact a great many people teaching have no skill set outside of being good on their instrument. A good instructor goes beyond that and helps you turn information into knowledge.

1. As a student I'll also go for a 60 minute lesson and as a teacher I always encourage 60 minute lessons. Either weekly or fortnightly depending on your budget, practise time, intent etc. I personally don't mind paying for great instruction, I'm invested in myself as a musician both personally and professionally but I understand that doesn't stay the same for everyone.
2. I'm not sure of US rates but I don't think the rates are unreasonable since lesson rates in the UK can be anything from £20 - £60 per hour depending on the player.
3. I'd personally stay away from most stores since it's usually full of the song a week instructors, in my experience anyway. I've had a great many students through the door who have come from those places and it is usually just that with zero knowledge of what they are doing, why or how it works. Other peoples experience may vary.
4. While I think in person lessons are probably the best the pandemic has made instructors available from across the globe. I teach people far and wide now and we've never hit any problems outside of a wonky internet day here and but we always find ways to work around it. So I wouldn't write that option off either.

Hope that helps, but any other questions feel free to ask or PM me them.

 

[egroeg]

I'm pretty new at playing bass and not exactly a kid, I'm 54. I take 1 30 minute lesson a week. This is in a local music store whose main business is lessons.
I find the lessons/ teacher keep me focused on what I need to be practicing, instead of trying to figure what and when I should be working on.
Right now I'm learning to read music and keep in time with a metronome.
I practice 30 minutes to 2 hours every day and my progress, while not super fast is very measurable.

Previously I had taught myself to play guitar and often found myself stuck and frustrated with things a teacher almost certainly could have helped me fix. I taught myself alot of bad habits.

When I decided to learn bass I wanted to start fro scratch with a teacher so I could really learn to play properly. Learning to read music has been a great help.
So... I guess I'd reccomend a private teacher

 

[Jrussblues]

I would recommend talking to a few local shops and see if they have recommendations.
As for lesson length, mine were 30 minutes. My teacher was great at teaching me songs that I brought to him (this is before internet tabs were available), making sure I learned the fundamentals/techniques/theory behind the music, pushing/motivating and introducing me to new music to stretch my abilities/musicianship. He has a music major and has been a working musician for many years.
I would then go home and practice 20-30 hours a week. I would often work on riffs, songs and solos for hours a day.
I took lessons from age 13 to 15 and I still use some of my notes from then as resources 25 years later.
I am a firm believer that anyone can learn at any age. I have continued to learn things about music through my entire adulthood, but I don’t have 20-30 hours a week to spare nowadays so progress is slower than it was when I was young and had no responsibilities.

 

[bass12]

So, good news is that you know exactly what you want to get from lessons. Which means you are likely to spot bad instruction from good instruction, to a degree. The most important thing you can remember about this stuff, and I'll be unpopular for saying it, is that don't be fooled by the fact it's a player who does lots of gigs. Music education is an a bit of sorry state and it's not helped by the fact a great many people teaching have no skill set outside of being good on their instrument. A good instructor goes beyond that and helps you turn information into knowledge.

1. As a student I'll also go for a 60 minute lesson and as a teacher I always encourage 60 minute lessons. Either weekly or fortnightly depending on your budget, practise time, intent etc. I personally don't mind paying for great instruction, I'm invested in myself as a musician both personally and professionally but I understand that doesn't stay the same for everyone.
2. I'm not sure of US rates but I don't think the rates are unreasonable since lesson rates in the UK can be anything from £20 - £60 per hour depending on the player.
3. I'd personally stay away from most stores since it's usually full of the song a week instructors, in my experience anyway. I've had a great many students through the door who have come from those places and it is usually just that with zero knowledge of what they are doing, why or how it works. Other peoples experience may vary.
4. While I think in person lessons are probably the best the pandemic has made instructors available from across the globe. I teach people far and wide now and we've never hit any problems outside of a wonky internet day here and but we always find ways to work around it. So I wouldn't write that option off either.

Hope that helps, but any other questions feel free to ask or PM me them.

I'll echo what BrotherMister has said above. For me, as both a student and a teacher, half-an-hour flies by really quickly. I would opt for the 60 minute option. The rates quoted by the OP sound pretty standard to me - unless you're talking "big name" educators. As mentioned above, an experienced - even great - player will not necessarily make for a good teacher (it's amazing what I didn't learn from a player that a lot of people on TB have heard of).

The only thing I'd add is to keep in mind that you're not bound to any single teacher. If you begin lessons with someone and the fit isn't right, keep looking and move on. OP, if you're not sure about a local teacher I'd give BrotherMister a try. He is dedicated and knows his stuff.

 

[AGCurry]

My lessons are 45 minutes, which I find ideal. It also gives the teacher a break between on-the-hour lessons.

 

[Robf]

1. Which is more ideal for a beginner - a 30-minute or 60-minute lesson?
2. On average do these costs sound like the standard cost for lessons?
3. Do you prefer music lessons from a store (corporate entity) or would you recommend I find someone local that does the lessons as a side hustle or means of survival?
4. Any other recommendations based on your experience I should consider in my search?

I've been taking lessons in person for about six weeks from Guitar Center, so here's my personal thoughts.

1. I started off with 30 minutes which is a mellow start but you need to be really careful on what is discussed and what questions you bring to the lesson. A simple drawing and some theory examples can easily take 10 minutes, leaving very little to play in the rest of the session. Recently I moved to weekly one hour sessions, which work better but again, it's really important to have a list of what to ask before hand, time is money.

2. I believe Guitar Center is four 1 hour blocks for $269 US (I could be wrong here). I haven't explored other sources but I recall most 30 minute sessions are about $40, with 60 minutes around $60 or more.

3. This is my first time taking lessons as a long term, before I tried visiting a friend or trial demos of lessons. For me I'm pretty lucky that I have an instructor that is a bass player first and does teach other things musically. It's nice that it's at a store so there's a manager for the schedule and a large practice room, it's not awkward if I need to cancel and it's less stressful at times. But I would like to explore taking more personal lessons with someone at home where it's more casual and have better 1:1 time.

4. I would really say find an instructor who plays the bass, not a guitar player teaching bass. When I was searching I found it extremely difficult and I kinda lucked out with Guitar Center. Not saying you can't learn and I'm at some high level of lessons (I'm not) but I think the vibe of playing bass is not just how to find notes on the fretboard but much more how to work with the musicians, how to pull back or add more notes to the song, etc.

Best of luck, message me if you have any other questions!

 

[forrestlaw]

I've had online lessons with two different teachers and in-person lessons with one. For what it's worth I've gotten FAR more out of my Zoom/Skype lessons than my in-person lessons because I was able to choose almost any bass teacher on earth rather than whoever happens to live nearby. I'm glad I found my current teacher... we get along great and I really like my lessons.

Also, I take one hour lessons. Regarding price, with my current teacher I can get a block of 6 for about the $269 that Guitar Center charges for a block of 4, but my old teacher was quite a bit more than that.