Good luck - and Lea Ann, you ARE lucky to paying so little. I was paying
$45/hour to the top teacher here 16 years ago (and she played piano even
worse than I do now!). BTW, only one person is charging more than that now
in this area -- the teachers who are affiliated with universities or who work
ONLY with professionals charge no more than $45.
Christine Thomas
Well, as you may remember I was paying 19.00 for a half hour with the other
teacher...and she had a BA, and bragged about being so active in the singing
community (untrue) but anyway...she wasn't worth 19.00 for a half hour...she
wasted at least 5 minutes at the beginning of each of my lessons,she let the
student before me run over their time, and then she chatted about her dog or her
pot roast for three minutes. So my lesson would start and then end five minutes
early when her 17 year old soubrette arrived (myself just a lowly and unwanted
mezzo)...so I guess I was actually paying 19.00 for 15 minutes. My new teacher
is actually still working on her BA....she however is a working opera singer.
And her mentor and teacher is the most coveted and sought after teacher here and
the head of the vocal music dept. SO my teacher always defers to her teacher
when she needs an answer..instead of passing along bad and dangerous advice the
way so many smug teachers have a tendency to do. It's all about what the market
will bear regarding price...and as a teacher what your reputation is. When I
switched teachers I soon found out who had a good rep and who was largely
considered to be bad news...i.e. my old teacher was considered bad news. (and
for this area she was charging a pretty high rate) Of course every teacher
thinks they have a precious and valuable commodity to sell....and the reality is
that some do and some do not. Those that do not will probably never realize it.
I would cold call music stores and ask about music teachers....try to get the
skinny on who is considered wonderful and why. That's what I did....and I am
very happy.
Lea Ann
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