Palumbo Piano Studio

What Tuition Buys

Have you ever wondered exactly what your tuition dollar buys?  Your music tuition pays for the teacher's expertise.  However, tuition fees include much more than the teacher's expertise.  Our professional journals tell us that 33%-50% of the money coming in goes out for expenses.  Because of the added opportunities I offer, my expenses run at the high end of that.  Examples of these costs are: recital expenses, liability insurance, repairs and maintenance of equipment,  professional membership fees and journals, teacher expenses incurred in competitions and festivals (postage, printing for applications, travel) continued teacher training of new techniques, equipment and materials.  Theses expenses, of course, are in addition to the normal operating expenses any small business proprietor incurs. In addition, a self-employed business person must do without many benefits that you probably enjoy if you are not self-employed such as sick leave, paid vacations, medical insurance, disability insurance, retirement pension.

A significant part of your music dollar pays for the teacher's time. But were you aware that it includes much more time than that spent at the lesson?  Not only is time spent preparing lessons, evaluating new music, and studying the most current interpretations, but time is spent in organizational tasks such as planning and physically preparing for recitals, festivals, competitions, and scheduling for lessons, workshops and rehearsals.  Did you know that we must type at least one application per student, and usually judge's sheets and other papers, for each event a student enters?  Did you know that we are required to volunteer many hours to each organization providing student activities?  You make tuition payments that are prorated for an entire year's worth of activities, not only for individual lessons.  Statistics reveal that for every hour enrolled in piano lessons, you are actually investing in at least two hours of the teacher's time.

Music lessons may be expensive, but they are  a lifetime investment.  Students who study through high school often consider the purchase of a piano to be a first priority after graduation from college.  Whether for pleasure or profit, they keep the piano and music as a lifetime investment.  This is possibly one of the most rewarding facets of a piano teacher's career.  I hope that your child will be added to this list of lifetime musicians.

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                                                                  Reprinted by Permission of Soundboard Magazine

06/10/2008