Private music teachers' fees: Our survey results 2022
The survey was conducted by an independent statistician and was open from 16 September 2021 to 17 December 2021. In total there were 545 respondents that answered enough questions to be included in the results.
As with the previous survey, this survey was conducted in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and questions were asked about its impact on delivery method, fees and amount of employment.
Eighty-nine percent of respondents had conducted some private face-to-face teaching in the past year, reverting close to pre-pandemic levels. There was a corresponding decline in the numbers conducting private teaching remotely – down from 89% to just under 70%, presumably because of the relaxation of lockdown measures.
The majority of respondents that had conducted private teaching provided their hourly rate, with a median rate of £35 per hour for both face-to-face and remote delivery. This is an increase of 6% and 9% respectively on last year’s rates. Charges ranged from £12 to £110 per hour – last year’s maximum was £85.
It is interesting to note that the rates for face-to-face and/or remote private teaching have converged (the rate for online teaching being slightly lower last year). It appears that online teaching remains popular and is seen as an additional service to face-to-face teaching.
Assessing the hourly rates charged by region, London is again the highest, though there has been no change in median rates of £40 per hour. However, average rates have increased by 6% in outer London to £42.50 and reduced slightly in inner London, to £42.65 in comparison with last year when rates in Inner London were approximately £4 per hour higher than Outer London. For all other regions (where a direct comparison is viable) there was an overall increase in median rates, which has narrowed the gap to London. South East England has increased more than 5% to £38 per hour, followed by West Midlands at £34.50, and Eastern England enjoying a 13% increase to £34. The lowest rate for a viable sample this year was in Scotland, at £31.00 per hour.
Hourly rate for face-to-face teaching by region (not including Wales, NI and Isle of Man where sample sizes were too small)
| Bottom 20% | Median | Top 20% | |
| Inner London | £36.60 | £40.00 | £50.00 |
| Outer London | £35.00 | £40.00 | £46.40 |
| Elsewhere in South East England | £32.80 | £38.00 | £44.00 |
| West Midlands | £30.00 | £34.50 | £36.00 |
| East England | £30.00 | £34.00 | £40.00 |
| North West England | £30.00 | £32.00 | £37.20 |
| North East England | £28.00 | £32.00 | £35.60 |
| South West England | £30.00 | £32.00 | £40.00 |
| Yorkshire | £28.40 | £32.00 | £34.91 |
| East Midlands | £28.80 | £31.50 | £35.20 |
| Scotland | £25.20 | £31.00 | £34.40 |
| Overall | £30.00 | £35.00 | £40.00 |
Rates change over the past year
Of the respondents that had conducted private teaching since September 2021, more than a third – 185 respondents – said they had increased their rates for such since the previous September. Where there were increases, the median uplift was £2 per hour.
43% of respondents expect to increase their fees in the coming year, a sharp increase on last year (30.7%) and the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (32.8%).
In last year’s survey, private teachers were asked if they had seen an increase in adult clients, given that many people were either working from home or furloughed. There was a slight increase noted by some teachers and so this year respondents were asked about client numbers again to see if this trend continues. The median number of total clients was thirteen, the median number of adult clients just three but, on average, 30% of private teaching clients were reported to be adults.
For our full survey results, see: The ISM’s annual survey of teaching, examining and accompanying rates: Conducted September - December 2021.
