You’ve been curious about music lessons for a long time so you decide to call Confident Voice Studio to get more information about lessons, yay for you!

But then, you’re told the price of lessons and hang up thinking, “How on earth do piano or voice lessons cost THAT MUCH? How hard can it be? Seems like easy money.” 

Come to the dark side, I have some splainin’ to do. 

After reading a fabulous blog for voice teachers by my colleague and friend, Michelle Markwart Deveaux, I decided to pop the top off our studio and invite you behind the scenes to see exactly what your tuition pays for. 

Your Initial Fit Lesson

Here’s what goes into getting your bum in the door:

• 5 minutes: Listening to voicemail or reading the email/text message
• 10-15 minutes: Responding to initial inquiry and scheduling a phone call
• 15-30 minutes: Phone conversation to establish your needs, find out what kind of teacher you’re looking for, and making sure we can serve you well. 
• 5 minutes: Choosing a time for your initial fit lesson and getting you scheduled or sending an email so you can do it yourself.
• 15 minutes: Talking with your teacher to make sure they know everything we’ve discussed so they can prepare for your initial fit lesson!
• 5 minutes: Sending address to the studio and making sure your Siri can find us. 
• 30-45 minutes: Initial fit lesson time, finally we get to meet you! 
• 30-60 minutes: Making sure all your questions by phone, email or text are answered which includes:
  • Discussing policies and tuition plans so you know how the studio runs
  • Enrolling in our automatic payment system so you can set it and forget it
  • Discussing why we don’t worry about makeup lessons (who needs one more thing to schedule anyway?)
  • Collaborating with other teachers and sharing skills to ensure your needs are met and expectations are exceeded. 
  • Establishing a short term and long term plan for your goals
  • Generally making sure music lessons are the most convenient activity on your weekly calendar.

We invest several hours into making sure your very first lesson with us is as amazing as possible. Teaching is our passion, and every single lesson should be a sparkling, glittery example of that!

All The Other Stuff Tuition Pays For:

When you’re enjoying your favorite latte from the Grand Central Bakery next door, it can be easy to forget why that coffee in your hand is $5 or more.

Having a business is expensive, so here’s a few (and I use that term loosely) things you might not realize your tuition is paying for. 

• Rent for our fun, colorful studio spaces
• Insurance and business licenses 
• Advertising and marketing materials like:
  • Your favorite color pencils
  • Stickers, birthday cards, and your “Welcome to the studio” postcards
  • Emails and text messages so you don’t ever forget an event
  • Website management so the info you need is always up to date
• Wifi
• Up to date iPads for studio use
• The music library our teachers have access to at all times
• Studio licenses for music books and songs
• Continuing Education from: 
  • Conferences
  • Workshops
  • Books
  • Mastermind Groups
  • Online Courses
  • Masterlasses
  • Professional organization dues
• Answering questions via email
• Answering questions via text
• Answering questions via phone
• Arranging songs 
• Scheduling and coordinating recitals, rehearsals, and studio classes
• Costs associated with recitals, recording projects, or community concerts including supplies and facility rental.
• Providing learning materials, books, tracks and sheet music
• Providing professional grade audio equipment
• Coordinating schedule changes
• Solving scheduling and payment snafus
• Credit card and debit card fees
• Computers, printers, paper, ink 
• Software: TeacherZone, Apps, Zoom for online lessons
• Connecting with a network of other resources like:
  • Bodywork specialists like ENT’s/SLP’s, massage and trigger point therapists, yogi, dance instructors and acting coaches
  • Audition opportunities
• Learning repertoire students bring to lessons
• Taking lessons to sharpen our skills and learn new ones 
• Performing on our own time so we can speak from first hand experience about what it’s like to be “up there”.
• Paying for our previous educations 
• Time spent in preparation for the student (It has been cited by professional music journals that for every hour enrolled in lessons, you are investing in at least 2 hours of the teachers time!)
• Professional organization memberships to enhance our teaching skills and provide students with opportunities for festivals, competitions, and performance events.
• Property taxes, self-employment taxes, insurance, retirement
• Certification costs
• Book and music club memberships
• And finally, the time spent with the student in lessons

Good grief! That’s a LOT of stuff your tuition pays for! So thanks for that!

Without you, we couldn’t create such a spiffy lesson experience and cultivate our beautiful community of creative artists and.

Teaching is what we live for, and being able to serve your needs every week keeps the inspired fire burning for us. 

See You In Lessons!