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What is a fair price for guitar lessons?

Guitar Lesson Prices The average cost of guitar lessons ranges from $40 to $60 per hour. Local private lessons start at $30 for a half-hour lesson, while online guitar lessons via Skype cost about 20% less. Some guitar instructors will offer a free introductory lesson to beginners.

lessons.com - 2022 Guitar Lessons Cost - Average Prices Per Hour (Local & Online)
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Guitar Lesson Prices

The average cost of guitar lessons ranges from $40 to $60 per hour. Local private lessons start at $30 for a half-hour lesson, while online guitar lessons via Skype cost about 20% less. Some guitar instructors will offer a free introductory lesson to beginners. Guitar lesson pricing depends on the teacher's expertise and education, lesson length, and the standard cost of living in your area. Whether you want to learn electric or acoustic guitar, instructors are available to teach music theory, how to read music, and various genres, like classical, blues, rock and country. Guitar Lessons Cost Length Average Cost 30 minutes $20 – $30 45 minutes $30 – $40 60 minutes $40 – $60

Table of Contents

Average Cost of Guitar Lessons

Even though there is no standard national guideline for the average price for guitar lessons, guitar teachers do describe a general price range as follows:

Guitar Lessons Cost Per Hour

Guitar lessons cost $40 to $60 per hour depending on the instructor's experience and skill level. A brand new teacher may offer lessons at $30 an hour, while an award-winning expert may charge $80 to $100 per hour.

Guitar Lessons For Beginners Prices

Beginners can get a discounted first session to help decide if a particular teacher is the right match for them. For example, Alexander Milovanov in Torrance, California offers a free first lesson to new students, and after that, you can choose from several different monthly lesson-payment plans. The cost of guitar lessons for beginners is cheapest if you start with a teacher who may be a skilled guitarist but only has a year or so of teaching experience. They can show you the basics and get you off to a great start. Then when you're ready to learn advanced techniques and playing styles, you can move on to a more highly qualified teacher who charges more.

Private Guitar Lessons Cost

Customized coaching from a skilled guitarist in person offers you the fastest way to learn but costs more than online lessons. For example, in New York, expect to pay $80 per hour or more for private lessons. In a city known for its musicians like Nashville, Tennessee, the average private guitar lessons cost is around $30 for half an hour session and $40 or more for an hour session.

Online & Skype Guitar Lessons Prices

Online and skype guitar lessons cost $30 to $40 per hour on average, or about 20 percent less than what they would typically charge for an hour's lesson in person. Taking guitar lessons online via a video chat setup is highly affordable, and you receive valuable live feedback from an instructor. Guidance from an expert who can watch and listen to you play is a powerful tool to help you learn guitar faster. However, some techniques are difficult to demonstrate unless you're sitting with the tutor in person. That's why it's best to have at least one in-person lesson per month if you plan on taking mostly online classes.

Guitar Lessons Cost Factors

Instructor Experience & Reputation

A lot of music teachers offer guitar playing lessons to earn money while they pursue their career as a professional musician. The less experience they have, the less they will charge for classes. Once a musician gets famous, then they're free to charge as much as they like because so many aspiring musicians want to learn from them. For example, the world-class musician Jen Trani — who's performed with Grammy Award winners — offers private guitar lessons from $80 to 100 hourly in North Hollywood. Jen is so well-known that people are happy to pay more than average for Jen's personalized playing tips.

Lesson Duration

The cheapest lessons are usually 30 minutes long, which is an ideal lesson duration for younger students and beginners. You won't need 45-minutes lessons unless you're at an intermediate playing level. Hour-long sessions are generally for people who are auditioning to major in music at a university or for advanced guitarists who want to perform regularly. Many guitar teachers have fixed rates per hour. For example, if the teacher charges $60 an hour for lessons, then they will usually charge $30 for a 30-minute lesson and $45 for a 45-minute lesson.

Talk to your teacher about the right guitar lesson length for you.

Where You're Located

The prices of guitar lessons vary according to the standard cost of living wherever you are. For this reason, guitar lessons cost more in large metropolitan cities than they do in smaller, rural areas. However, you'll have a much better selection of highly qualified guitar teachers if you take your guitar lessons in the biggest city near you.

Where You're Receiving the Lessons

How much you spend on guitar lessons also depends on where you're taking your lessons. Let's compare the differences between: Taking online guitar lessons remotely from home Meeting with your teacher at their studio Hiring an instructor to come and tutor you at home

Online Guitar Lessons

Some online guitar teachers prefer to offer classes online through Skype so that their lessons are more accessible to a greater audience. On Lessons.com, you should select both online and local teachers while doing your search for guitar lessons to get the most results. Then you can compare choices and see what works best for you.

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Private Studio Guitar Lessons

Attending guitar lessons at school or in the teacher's private studio is the most popular option for learning guitar because it offers you the highest level of instruction within a reasonable price range. For example, they can help adjust your hand positions to make difficult chords more comfortable to play, and they can give you much more detailed corrections that can dramatically improve your playing ability.

In-Home Guitar Lessons

Booking a private guitar tutor to drive out to your home for private lessons is the most expensive choice. It saves you time traveling back and forth to the studio, and it's the most comfortable way if you're very self-conscious and want to make sure your lessons are private. However, expect to pay for the tutor's travel expenses and the extra time they spend to accommodate you in their schedule. If you're serious about taking music lessons, then it's definitely worth paying more money to rehearse with a professional in-person at their studio. They can offer you much more in-depth training in person that you can't get from online courses or books.

Professional Guitar Lessons Prices

Guitar Center Lessons Cost

Guitar Center lessons cost $120 for four 30-minute sessions and $240 for four 1-hour long sessions. Prices average $60 per hour but different at each location, so call ahead and ask your local store directly for updated information. The official Guitar Center guitar lessons offer extra perks though. For example, they have free workshops and clinics for students, free jam nights for student collaboration, and they'll answer additional questions for free during store hours on their scheduled shift. These guitar lessons cater to all skill levels ages 7 and up, and they can accommodate learning music in any genre. The Guitar Center lessons price plan is highly reasonable considering that they have certified instructors with years of experience teaching.

School of Rock Guitar Lessons Cost

The internationally known School of Rock's guitar lessons cost up to $400 monthly. However, exact prices vary according to the location and the type of class offered. For example, the New York School of Rock guitar lessons cost around $70 for 30-minute lessons for children. School of Rock teaches students through performance-based music education. Also, teachers offer discounted group lessons and workshops too, encouraging open collaboration with other musicians. You can find School of Rock locations in many states, particularly in California, New York, Texas, Illinois, and Florida.

Fender Guitar Lessons Cost

Fender guitar lessons cost about $10 a month after your free trial with the Fender Play App. It's a customizable online-video course that you can take at your own pace while you select your favorite types of music to learn. You also choose the specific instrument you're learning on so that you get advice tailored to your particular kind of guitar. Other online subscription sites like JamPlay and GuitarTricks offer a $20 per month subscription for unlimited access to guitar video lessons.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Often Should You Take Guitar Lessons?

If you want to learn quickly and avoid developing bad playing habits that are harder to break later, then weekly guitar lessons are a must. The hardest part of learning to play guitar is developing new motor skills in your hands, and there is no shortcut other than weekly repetition. Muscle memory only comes with lots of practice, and weekly lessons with 20 minutes of practice every day is the best way to make good progress. If you practice less than that or your lessons are further apart, then you'll learn much more slowly, and you're more likely to forget what you've learned earlier.

How Long Do Guitar Lessons Last?

Guitar lessons typically last 30 to 60-minutes per session. For beginners, shorter lessons are better because you need time to build up stamina in your hands before you can play for more extended periods of time. After a few months, it becomes more natural and beneficial to practice for an hour at a time with your guitar instructor. Some teachers will focus more on teaching how to read music and guitar tablature while others focus more on hands-on playing technique, so that also affects the length of the lessons.

What Is The Best Age To Start Guitar Lessons For Kids?

While many guitar schools tend to advise waiting until a child is at least 7 years old before they can take guitar lessons, children as young as 3 years old can enjoy learning to play with the special Suzuki Guitar Method that breaks the training down into tiny, simple steps. Each child has different talents and learning capacities, so no one can specify exactly when is the best age for a kid to learn to play guitar. The New York City Guitar School, for example, offers Suzuki Guitar Lessons for young children. They highly encourage parental participation to help them practice at home.

How Much Do Electric Guitar Lessons Cost?

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Electric guitar lessons are slightly more expensive than acoustic guitar lessons at $60 per lesson or more because they require more training. In addition to learning all the chords and playing techniques, you also have to learn how to use your electric guitar with an amp and all the additional controls.

How Long Does It Take To Become A Good Guitar Player?

The hardest part of learning to play guitar is developing strength in your wrists and fingers as well as good calluses on your fingertips to hold the chords, especially on a steel-string guitar. It takes about two weeks to one month for these muscles to develop, so be patient with yourself. The most fun way to learn is by getting guitar chords for one of your favorite song, especially songs written in simple keys with basic major chords like C, D, and G. You'll feel much more motivated to practice a song when you know the tune by heart already. Then after you can play your first song slowly, you can gradually practice playing it along with a recording of the song in the background to increase your playing speed. This way, you'll have more inspiration to learn more songs and keep improving.

How Much Should I Charge For Guitar Lessons?

Most guitar instructors charge $30 to $60 per hour. To find out how much to charge, you'll first need to call around and see how much the standard rates for guitar lessons are in your area. For example, a teacher with a music degree and training from George Washington University in D.C. and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill can easily charge $60 to $100 per hour. Those with fewer credentials and experience should charge $40 or less for guitar lessons.

How Much Does A Guitar Cost?

The average cost of a guitar for beginners is $200. Prices of a guitar vary according to what size and type it is as well as the materials used to build it. Acoustic guitars sound great in all environments, and the average acoustic guitar price ranges from $100 to $400 for a beginner's instrument. A professional musician's acoustic guitar can cost up to $5,000 or more! Electric guitars for beginners range from $100 to $200 or more, but for professional musicians can go up to $8,000! You also have to buy an amplifier to go with them. Amplifiers for electric guitars range from $50 to $200 or more depending on their size and performance capacity.

Which Guitar Is Best For Beginners?

You'll find endless options, but here's a helpful overview of the top affordable picks for guitars that sound great and are easier to learn on. If you prefer a guitar that's easy to play loudly and you have medium to large hands, then the larger body of dreadnought-style guitars like the Fender FA-100 dreadnought acoustic guitar or the Fender CD-60SCE dreadnought acoustic-electric guitar are excellent choices. For a medium-size guitar that you won't need to tune so often, the Epiphone DR-100 acoustic guitar is a good choice. Its 14-degree headstock puts less overall tension on the strings than most guitars, so they maintain stable chords longer while playing. Plus, less tension on the strings makes them easier to fret since you don't need to press them down so hard while holding a chord. Meanwhile, in the popular Yamaha line, the Yamaha FS800 solid-top and small body acoustic guitar is suitable for those with smaller hands or anyone who wants an easier guitar to travel with. For more playing options, you could also try out the Yamaha FGX800C solid-top folk acoustic-electric guitar that you can plug into an amp whenever you perform, though it sounds great even without one.

What Size Guitar Should I Get?

The following is a general guitar-size guide to help you get started, but it's always best to buy a guitar in person so that you can see how it feels in your hands first. For children younger than 6 years old, the 1/4 size that's about 32 inches long is advisable. Kids who are 3 to 4 feet tall tend to prefer the 1/2 size that's about 33 to 36 inches long. For anyone who is 4.5 to 5 feet tall, then the 3/4 size guitar that's 34 to 36 inches long is comfortable. A full-size 4/4 guitar suits most adults at 38 to 42 inches long. Beginners should especially take care to select a guitar that's easy to handle. Keep in mind if you're stuck between two sizes that it's usually easier to play a smaller size rather than a larger one.

Get free estimates on Lessons.com from guitar instructors near you:

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