Fees: private tuition

The survey was carried out for us in February 2010 by statisticians at the University of Reading. Our members were asked what they charged per hour of private tuition in September 2009, the start of the 2009/10 academic year. 1084 music teachers responded. Most charged between £24 and £34 per hour. The mid-point (in the sense that half the teachers charged more and half charged less than this figure) was £28. The lowest fee charged was £10 per hour and the highest was £159 per hour.

The results showed regional variations in fees charged. Teachers in Inner London charged significantly more than teachers in Outer London who, in turn, charged more than teachers living elsewhere. Additionally, fees charged in the South, South-East and East Anglia seemed to be higher than elsewhere in the UK outside London.  

The survey also showed that teachers with greater experience tended to charge more than less experienced teachers.

The tables below show the survey results broken down by region and teaching experience.

Music teachers may wish to bear these survey results in mind when they are setting their fees.

Fees charged in September 2009, in £ per hour.

 Overall UK

Central London

Outer London

South, South-East & East Anglia

Rest of UK

* Half the respondents charged this amount or more and half charged this amount or less.

** Most respondents charged fees within this range. (Only 20% charged more and 20% charged less.)

Items you should include in your fees

Remember that your fees should cover not only the time you spend actually teaching, but also the administrative and other time you spend maintaining your teaching practice. This may include:

• time spent travelling if you give your lessons in your pupils' homes
• time spent on lesson preparation
• time spent updating pupils' records, marking and writing reports
• time sent on interviewing prospective pupils
• time spent at pupils' concerts and workshops.

You should also build an allowance for holiday periods into your fees.

Finally, your fees should also cover your overheads.  These may include:

• instrument maintenance and repairs
• instrument, property, car, health and public and employers’ liability insurance*
• pension contributions
• income tax and national insurance contributions
• accounting and audit fees
• interest on business-related bank loans and mortgages
• studio hire charges 
• business rates
• music, books, stationery, recordings, advertising
• subscriptions to professional associations and periodicals
• secretarial, telephone and answering services
• studio lighting, heating and maintenance
• cost of transport or car mileage.

* The ISM’s public and employers’ liability insurance covers full and student members of the ISM.

How often should I increase my fees?

It is sensible to review your fees regularly. Most music teachers do so once a year, even though they may not always raise their charges. Regular reviews enable you to adjust your fees gradually upwards to to reflect your accumulating experience. They also allow you to take account of general price inflation, as measured by official statistics, such as the Consumer Price Index. This is published monthly by the Office for National Statistics at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=19. In deciding whether or not to raise your fees, and by how much, you will probably also want to bear in mind the general economic environment and how this might be impacting on demand for music lessons as well as the general level of music lesson fees in the area where you live.

The ISM’s agreement for private music tuition allows for fee increases. Teachers are required to give clients written notice of proposed increases by no later than the start of the series of lessons preceding the series when the increase is to take effect. It is good practice to obtain a written acknowledgement of any notice of increase of fees.

Shared or group lessons

Because of the greater time required for preparation and administration of lessons given to a group, most teachers charge more for group than for individual lessons.

You might consider using the following ‘formula’ for charging for group lessons:

• two pupils sharing a lesson would each pay two-thirds of the fee for individual tuition
• for three to four pupils, the total fee would be one-and-a-half times the individual tuition fee
• for five to six pupils, the total fee would be twice the individual tuition fee.

Audition lessons

Teachers do not usually charge for auditioning potential pupils or interviewing them and their parents before deciding whether or not to accept them.

Consultation lessons

If you are going to charge for a consultation lesson, you should tell pupils and parents at the time the lesson is booked that there will be a fee payable on the day. You should also tell them the amount you will charge. An appropriate level of fee for consultation lessons might be one-and-a-half times your usual lesson rate.

Level taught

Some teachers charge more for advanced pupils.

Financial hardship

If you teach in an area where there is particular financial hardship or if an individual client is experiencing financial difficulties, you may consider reducing the length of lessons and adjusting your fees accordingly.

Another way of helping clients who are having difficulty paying your normal fee is to award a bursary for a specified period. The terms of the bursary should be put in writing, as it is a variation to the terms of tuition. It is a good idea to make clear that the bursary is made at your discretion, that it lasts for the stated period only and that it is not necessarily renewable. Bursaries should be shown on accounts.