Kids music lessons - (merged)

Sharra

My sister is a violin teacher and the one main piece of advice she gives parents is that they get a decent intrument for their kids to play on - whether you buy or hire.
Initially the violin is a very hard intrument to make sound nice, if you have a cheap violin it is all the more difficult, a decent one will sound better and children are more likely to carry on playing if they sound good.

cheekymole

1/4 size for a 7 year old, hire first then buy if they like it.

Tesco.com sell violins for about £50 with clubcard points too

Tesco Violins

looby75

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but it is about saving money and my dd is my family :rotfl:

My dd has asked for a guitar and lessons for Christmas. I know NOTHING about music other than how to put it on my ipod lol

I've seen a basic guitar set in Argos for £49.99 which seems good value (and the description says it's a good learner pack) but I haven't got a clue how I'm going to find someone to give her lessons, or what kind of things I should look out for in a good teacher, or even how much lessons are on average. I will have about £100 to spend on lessons, will that be enough to get her started?

Anyone know anything about these things, I would hate to agree for her to have lessons and then find out I've wasted my money on a pants teacher or paid way above the odds.

dora37

Hi,

I would definitely find somebody through recommendation. Depending on your DD's age, it may be worth enquiring at school, as some do provide private music lessons.

My DS2 learns Clarinet through the school (Senior) and we pay £60 a term for one lesson a week on a 1 to 1 basis (£50 if taught in a group). This price is the same regardless of the instrument.

DD has just started to learn the keyboard - this is at a ladies house and she charges £4 per 1/2 hr, however this is going up after half term to £5.

Hope that helps.

looby75

Thanks Dora, I hadn't thought about asking through the school, she's in high school so I'll get her to ask at her next music lesson.

Pobby

May I suggest,as someone who owned one for years,to buy the guitar at a music shop.They will have far more knowlage and should be able to put you in touch with a music teacher.You should be able to get the complete kit for the same price as Argos.

looby75

Thanks for the advice, I always presumed it would cost a fortune to get one from a proper music shop, but as I said I know NOTHING about music lol

hobo28

Which sort of guitar does she want to learn? There's accoustic, classical and of course electric. I went to a tutor and he could only teach classical but not accoustic. I didnt even know the difference until then!

Annabee

For my daughter's piano lessons (not through the school) we have been paying £10 for a half hour lesson. Presume guitar lessons would be similar price?

cheap-n-cheerful

My daughter has just started flute lessons at school and it cost £42 for the year but this includes loan of an instrument. This way if she is bored after a year I haven't had to buy a flute..even on Ebay they were about 70!! Why not see if a friend has one to borrow, or check out free cycle, then if she gets bored just stop the lessons. Our Headmaster teaches the guitar at school to beginner level for free, if music lessons are pricey why not see if a friend could give her a few basic lessons, see if she likes it first.