How Much Do Guitar Lessons Cost? What Affects The Price?

We were all beginners at one point. Sometimes it’s really difficult to learn on your own, and honestly, getting lessons is a good investment. By getting a teacher, it will be much easier for you to progress. Furthermore, if you make mistakes, the teacher will easily spot them, and bring it to your attention. While if you’re playing alone, you might not realize that you made a mistake until you already made it too many times. Mistakes like this can leave a trace in your muscle memory and it will be difficult for you to learn to do something properly after that.

So how much do guitar lessons cost? A face to face guitar lessons can vary between $30 and $60 for one hour lesson. Online Guitar Lessons Can vary between $10 and $20 a month.

So why is there such a gap? What are the determining factors?

Lessons At Music School Vs Private Tutor

If you opt for a music school, you will have to pass the test, be of a certain age, and satisfy several criteria. While music schools are an excellent way of learning, it isn’t 100% certain that you’ll have a chance of attending one.

Private Tutor, on the other hand, is available for everyone. Unlike music school, you won’t have to invest several hours each week and fit it with your busy schedule. Whether you are in elementary, high school, or even college, you will have some kind of a schedule and your own commitment to the school. And there are lots of music schools that might say that you are too old.

You are never too old to learn something new. Almost all guitarists I know started playing at the age of 14 or later. Furthermore, Clapton started playing at the age of 14, so I doubt that age is a factor in your learning journey.

One of the best things about private classes or lessons is that you will be alone. The teacher will have a chance of committing to you and you only. In class, there are lots of students and sometimes it is impossible for everyone to get their spotlight.

Unfortunately, private classes are often more expensive. So, let’s continue further.

Local private lessons (meaning in person) can go for around $30 for a lesson. One lesson is 30 minutes or half an hour. The full hour is around $60, but the price can vary. Guitar lessons online can cost 20% less.

School is considered to be a professional lesson so the price can go up to $400 monthly or $70 for half an hour class.

What Are The Things That Affect Price Of A Guitar Lessons?

As you probably saw in the example is that there is a vast range of prices. And that it can go from $30 to $400, which is a rather huge price range. Let’s start from the beginning.

Experience

By experience, there are two factors or two sides of the experienced coin. The first one being your skill level and the goal you are trying to reach, and the second one being the skill of the teacher. If you have absolutely no knowledge of the guitar, music, or anything about that subject, and your general goal is to know how to play chords and such; you will have no trouble finding a cheap professor that will be able to teach you basics of the guitar playing. Without busting the bank, of course.

Now, if you are a beginner or in the same situation as in the previous example, but your goals are much higher, you will need to pay more. The reason is simple, you will need to find a teacher with greater knowledge. That teacher will also lead you to beginner lessons but will create the foundation to learn much more after that. Furthermore, you will be able to get high-quality lessons, and each question you might have will be answered.

Finally, if you are an intermediate or even higher skill level player, you will have no use of the teacher with basic guitar knowledge. You will need to find someone who knows much more than you to be your teacher. What this means is that your teacher will have to be at the pro level, and naturally, that will cost more.

Duration

the duration of the class is the second determining factor. How many lessons per week do you want/need? How long? How often? Depending on these answers, there might be a difference in prices. If you want one half an hour lesson per week, logically, you will pay less than have an hour-long session three days per week.

Location

Depending on the place you live in, you will pay a different amount for the class. The price would be in the same range when you look at the USA, UK, and Canada. But, the price can also vary depending on your city.

Naturally, prices in smaller towns will be lower compared to the lessons in major cities. The reason for this is simple – higher competition. Better guitar players will charge more, and it is not a secret that life in big cities is more expensive.

Location Of Your Classes

While this might seem similar to the previous question, it will go a bit deeper into the question. Will you be taught in your place, teacher’s home, or some sort of school. As you can imagine, there will be a difference in price between these things. The teacher might have his own private space for lessons, or you can go to his apartment or house. Of course, if you expect the teacher to come to your place, you might pay a little extra for that comfort.

Online Lessons

Usually, online lessons will cost less compared to lessons in person. Both you and your teacher will stay in the comfort of your home, and no one will have to carry an instrument across the town. You will need to have good a microphone, camera, and great internet connection. There is nothing worse than saying “Hi, can you hear me?” for ten minutes over Skype.

Today, thanks to modern technology, you will have an option to choose between private online lessons or school that is providing this kind of service. Whatever you choose will be more comfortable and less pricey, for sure.

Furthermore, there are two types of online lessons. You can get lessons in real-time from a real guitar player. And this type will cost more because someone will invest time to teach you something. It will be like a real in-person lesson except it will be online. The average price for this type of lesson is $1 per minute or $60 per hour. Online lessons can go as low as $30 per hour!

The second type is a lot cheaper but with a little downside. You will subscribe to the website, and you will get thousands of lessons and video materials, books, and whatnot. You can subscribe and pay each month around $20! Sounds amazing, right? The only downside is there won’t be anyone to tell you that you are doing something wrong. It can happen that you are holding your fingers in a wrong way or making some typical beginner mistakes, and no one would know.

While this is not something that can happen a lot, it is still a possibility. You will have the option of watching video lessons recorded with professional equipment. As you can imagine, you’ll be able to see what your teacher is doing, and simply mimic everything. Working on your muscle memory is one of the most important aspects of guitar playing.

Learning Guitar From An App

There are many apps that can help you with your learning. Fender recently launched their guitar tuner that will allow you to get customizable lessons for $10 per month! If you are looking for just a little push, this might be the right thing for you. You will be able to find chord diagrams, scales, and even a rhythm machine via these apps. What is best is that you will have them on your phone. Furthermore, you will always have your guitar in tune since this phone app has a guitar tuner. Of course, both acoustic and electric guitar is covered through their app.

Buying Guitar Lessons In Bulk Can Lower The Costs

If learning to play the guitar is something you want to do, then you’ll be delighted to know that you can find bulk lessons. What this means is that you’ll pay for several lessons and get a discount on the price. So instead of getting ten individual lessons with a price of $40 per class, you can find bulk deals where you’d pay $300 total instead of $400. This is a great way to invest completely in the wonderful journey of guitar players and save some money. Plus, one of the best things is that you’ll have a certain routine that will keep you practicing and learning. Like we mentioned, muscle memory is rather important when it comes to guitar playing. Besides, it’s better to practice for one hour every day, than to spend seven hours one day and then do nothing for the rest of the week.

Conclusion

Whatever you decide, you will have to invest if you want to become a good player. While there is no age limit (don’t let anyone try to convince you otherwise), and it is never too late to start rockin’, you will need to figure out the level you want to be. The higher the skill level, the more you’ll have to practice. In the end, it all comes to that – practice.

The price of the lessons will depend on your preferences; whether you like to do it in person, online, or simply find lessons and learn by yourself. And of course, the most important factor is your teacher’s skill level and reputation.

You could always put the word out that you’re looking for a teacher, and see what happens. You might have a neighbor who’d be willing to teach you something. The second option is to try to find someone on social media. Whatever you decide, it will cost you both time and money. But when it comes to guitar playing, it’s definitely worth it.

If you found this article useful, you may want to save this pin below to your Guitar board.