Suppose you’re someone who’s into music. At least once, you’ve probably wanted to learn to play guitar. If you already have a gifted voice, harmonizing it with some guitar beats can take your natural talent to a whole new level.
So, before you begin, the chances are that your first question is, how much does it cost to be a pro guitarist?
Although an average guitar lesson would cost somewhere between $20 to $40, the actual cost incurred would depend on several factors such as your physical location, the experience of the instructor, your ability to learn and the medium of the lessons.
Let’s dive deeper into all these factors and see to what extent they affect the ultimate cost of a lesson. In this way, you will be able to know how much would you have to spend beforehand and make your final decision.
Your Physical Location
The location of your residence contributes the most to determining how much the lessons would cost.
Urban areas will have better institutions and top-quality music schools to learn from.
If you live in such areas, then expect to spend a lot of money. However, the quality of lessons would be far better here than in a small studio in a rural area. It’s a simple formula. You get what you pay for.
If you live in a small town, one benefit that you can get by moving to a bigger city is that you’ll have a lot more options to choose from. You can compare different instructors and classes, and quickly find an institute that offers the best of both (Quality & Cost) worlds.
Experience of the Instructor
If you want a one-on-one experience where you can have your teacher’s full attention, then you must hire a private guitar instructor. And just like all other factors, the price varies here too.
Beginner Instructor
An instructor who’s just starting their career would undoubtedly charge less than a certified and experienced one. However, it doesn’t mean you will get less quality here.
Mostly, new instructors would put more effort into establishing their name, and you’ll get to learn a lot from them.
Expert Instructor
Hiring an experienced teacher has its perks too. They can handle you professionally and try to make every penny spent worth it, the sum of which will be a lot more than a beginner instructor. They will make a productive routine for you. So, you might be able to learn more in less time, which means the quality-price formula is still applicable here.
Your Ability & Willingness To Learn
Many people get inspired by some motivational stories of musicians and want to start learning from scratch immediately. It would mean countless hours of struggle, and each hour will come with its cost.
You’ll learn a lot faster when you already know the basic music theory and can strum some basic guitar beats, which means fewer hours of learning and ultimately less cost.
Once you’re above the beginner level, specializing in a specific area would start costing more and more. Only a specialized instructor could help you in achieving this feat. However, the hourly charges for such an instructor would increase exponentially.
Medium of the Lessons
Another price determining factor would be the mode of your guitar lessons. There are two mediums for this purpose, physical lessons, and online lessons.
Physical Lessons
Having your instructor in the same room as you can be very beneficial. There are many intricate patterns to master while learning guitar. It will be easier for the instructor to teach you and easier for you to learn.
However, because the teacher would come to your place, which takes more time and fuel, these things add up and substantially increase your lesson cost.
In that case, you can also go to your instructor’s studio or any place they have specified for guitar training. This way, you’ll be the one spending more time and effort to reach their place, but the final cost you’ll experience will get a lot lower.
Online Lessons
Online lessons are very convenient. There’s no denying that. They also usually cost much lower than physical classes because of no travel expenses from your instructor, and time management is a lot easier.
But, learning an instrument like the guitar isn’t something you can learn entirely over the internet. Even if you’re taking live sessions, all the small details, like how to hold your guitar properly, would require a lot of practice before you get them right.
In the end, it all comes down to your passion and willingness. If you’re passionate enough to learn guitar, it’s just a matter of time before you get the hang of it. With complete focus and interest, you can learn a lot even with a low-priced course. If you really want to master those strokes, resources should not come in the way to stop you.
The Bottomline
These were the most critical factors determining how much a guitar lesson would cost. If you are a beginner, we suggest starting from the basics. Learn the initial lessons with a beginner-level and low-priced course. After that, as you learn, gradually move towards the expert level.
You will find lesson prices from very little to extremely high at any stage of learning. In most cases price of a course directly relates to its quality. It would be best to choose a balance between both variables so as not to waste your hard-earned money.
Frequently Asked Questions
It mainly depends upon the duration of your class. However, the price for an hour-long class should be around the $40 mark.
Yes. It would be best if you had a guitar of your own before enrolling in a course. Without your instrument, you will not be able to practice yourself, and you can’t achieve perfection without practice.
It depends on how much time you can take out of your routine. A 30-minute session would be enough. However, practicing at least 60 minutes is the ideal time duration.
