Ukulele lessons

How much would you spend? I just called the music store and the charge about $90 a month. For 1 lesson a week for 30 minutes. Is that to much? Or should I just do online ? How did y'all learn? I'm at a place that I need help. Thanks

Based on the going rates here in Los Angeles, that's pretty inexpensive - the teachers I know here charge $30-$35 for a 30-minute lesson.

As for online learning - it really depends on your learning style. Me, my eyes glaze over with boredom when I try to watch a video lesson, no matter how great the teacher, and the latency issues I've encountered with Skype frustrate me, so it was a no-brainer to opt for in-person lessons. I benefit from actual interaction and being able to stop and ask questions, which you can't do with a video.

I haven't taken ukulele lessons, but I took voice lessons. They were $25 bucks for a thirty minute lesson. To start with I had to sign up for four lessons and pay up front. After that it was just up to me how often I wanted to take them, and I paid at the end of the month. Everyone is different though.

If there are any uke clubs nearby, I suggest you start there. If you do take uke lessons, try and find an instructor whose primary instrument is uke if possible, if not, at least insure they are not just a guitar instructor who teaches a little uke as well and isn't really excited about ukes. Guitar instructors sometimes teach guitar techniques to new uke players which may not serve them well in the long run. Additionally, if you go to lessons on youtube, you can go to the gear icon below and change the speed of the tutorial so you can keep up. It's better you go as slow as you need to to master a technique. Many beginners fail because they try and learn too many skills simultaneously, and at too great a speed, especially if they are trying to learn to play by playing songs rather than focusing on individual skills and techniques.

Souper said:

How much would you spend? I just called the music store and the charge about $90 a month. For 1 lesson a week for 30 minutes. Is that to much? Or should I just do online ? How did y'all learn? I'm at a place that I need help. Thanks

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That seems like a reasonable price for private lessons. But it is important to find a skilled teacher with whom you can connect and who understands you goals for learning music and the instrument. There are a lot of free internet instruction video, some good, some not so good. Search around and you will find them. There are also some fee-for-service on-line instruction available from UU, the Ukulele Way and others. I don't have any experience with those, but if you are committed, I expect they will be excellent.

I took a class at the local community college. It was group sessions, 45 minutes each for eight weeks and cost about $100. It was a great introduction into the basic skills and variety of music styles playable on the ukulele. Also, local ukulele groups will often embrace beginners and offer group lessons and an opportunity to play with like minded folks. Regular daily playing helps a lot and opens up new knowledge and skills. Keep it up and you will improve.

Aloha

I do 5-week Beginner Classes through a local Parks and Recreations Program,
and they charge about $75, I believe. I get a percentage, but I let them figure it out

Try to find out what they will be teaching you and what you should be able to do
at the end of the course. My goal for my beginner students is to get them ready
to participate in any Song Circle, being comfortable (with practice) playing any songs
in the keys of C, F, G, A, and D. (NOTE I use the Ukulele Boot Camp materials for
my core syllabus, and you may access them as well via the link in my signature below)

If you're paying, your teacher should be able to let you know where they are planning
on taking you... but, of course, you will need to pay attention and followup with regular
practice at home for the duration of the course at least

Please view the YouTube video by Josh Kaufman on "The First 20 Hours". It's a 20 min
video that you may find interesting, helpful and encouraging as well. I show it to my
students during session 1 of our time together. It's a TED talk, and I find it helpful

keep uke'in',

They wanted $30 for a half hour lesson where I live. 1 month paid in advance, but I hated the store. When I was in grammar school I got one lesson a week free. In Jr. High I paid fifty cents a lesson! Imagine that! I took trombone lessons later from a fellow church member. I don't remember how much I paid, but I sold him my trombone cheap.

Oh the times we live in. ld:

Thanks for all the great responses. I'm just afraid that I'm teaching myself bad habits. The nearest ukulele club is 100+ miles away from me.

$90 per month is very reasonable for music lessons - My sister is quite active in a violin teaching organization and our discussions indicate that $90/month is on the low side, but not ridiculously so.

When I did banjo lessons it was $20 for a half-hour lesson and it was worth it.

Souper said:

How did y'all learn? I'm at a place that I need help. Thanks

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I started out with books, teaching myself, but the Seasons threads on this very forum was my inspiration, once I got over the hurdle of making video & posting.
You can learn a lot by listening & watching others. The hardest thing to learn is not to be in too much of a hurry.

uke1950 said:

I started out with books, teaching myself, but the Seasons threads on this very forum was my inspiration, once I got over the hurdle of making video & posting.
You can learn a lot by listening & watching others. The hardest thing to learn is not to be in too much of a hurry.

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You're right about being in a hurry. I will check out the season thread.

Hey Souper,

I am fairly new to the ukulele myself (only been playing for about 5 months). However before that, I have been playing guitar for about 8 years or so. For guitar I took in person lessons and for ukulele I just use the online lessons here at Ukulele Underground (which is only $20 a month). Since you asked about lessons in person or online, let me give you my experiences with both.

For me, in person lessons weren't that great. I took one on one guitar lesson for 30 minutes a week and they charged about $30 from what I remember. I found that depending on my schedule, I would either have a ton of time to practice or not have any time at all. Thus some weeks I would go to my guitar lesson with a great grasp of what I was learning and some weeks not so much. I also found that the material I covered in the private lesson was easily accessible on online websites. The only advantage for having guitar lessons was to have someone that I could talk to about any questions or concerns. Although I did have some questions answered, I felt that I could have found the answers online as well. But I am someone who likes learning independently so looking up music questions on my own was no big deal.

With regards to online ukulele lessons at Ukulele Underground, I really enjoy it! I like being able to go at my own pace and having all the lessons available to me anytime I want. This fits my schedule much better. Also there is a wide variety of content available from Hawaiian to Blues music. So for a player like me who wants to learn these types of styles, it is quite accommodating. In addition there are also many lessons on music theory and technique which I have found to be invaluable. So I feel that you would have access to the same content online compared to in person. Finally if you have take UU lessons and don't like it, there are many other online lessons that are cheaper and also cover a great amount of content (The Ukulele Way by James Hill, Rock Class 101 etc).

Thus I think this comes down to personal preference. If you go with in person lessons, you will have someone who can carefully guide you and watch your playing style closely to offer advice. You can also ask many questions and learn a lot from a great teacher. If you go with online lessons, you will not have someone guide you but you can learn at your own pace and always have lessons available if you want to revisit them. Hope this was helpful; best of luck on your musical adventure!

A local pro guitarist teaches out of his house. I took a couple months worth or uke lessons for $30 per week, 30 minutes per. I didn't think it was worth it to me.

CheeseSandwich said:

Hey Souper,

I am fairly new to the ukulele myself (only been playing for about 5 months). However before that, I have been playing guitar for about 8 years or so. For guitar I took in person lessons and for ukulele I just use the online lessons here at Ukulele Underground (which is only $20 a month). Since you asked about lessons in person or online, let me give you my experiences with both.

For me, in person lessons weren't that great. I took one on one guitar lesson for 30 minutes a week and they charged about $30 from what I remember. I found that depending on my schedule, I would either have a ton of time to practice or not have any time at all. Thus some weeks I would go to my guitar lesson with a great grasp of what I was learning and some weeks not so much. I also found that the material I covered in the private lesson was easily accessible on online websites. The only advantage for having guitar lessons was to have someone that I could talk to about any questions or concerns. Although I did have some questions answered, I felt that I could have found the answers online as well. But I am someone who likes learning independently so looking up music questions on my own was no big deal.

With regards to online ukulele lessons at Ukulele Underground, I really enjoy it! I like being able to go at my own pace and having all the lessons available to me anytime I want. This fits my schedule much better. Also there is a wide variety of content available from Hawaiian to Blues music. So for a player like me who wants to learn these types of styles, it is quite accommodating. In addition there are also many lessons on music theory and technique which I have found to be invaluable. So I feel that you would have access to the same content online compared to in person. Finally if you have take UU lessons and don't like it, there are many other online lessons that are cheaper and also cover a great amount of content (The Ukulele Way by James Hill, Rock Class 101 etc).

Thus I think this comes down to personal preference. If you go with in person lessons, you will have someone who can carefully guide you and watch your playing style closely to offer advice. You can also ask many questions and learn a lot from a great teacher. If you go with online lessons, you will not have someone guide you but you can learn at your own pace and always have lessons available if you want to revisit them. Hope this was helpful; best of luck on your musical adventure!

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Thanks for a great post! I was wondering about the ukulele lessons here on the forum. I would also have to include the drive time for the lessons. I'm an hour away. Thanks again you have been most helpful.

I also agree that online lessons which allow you to play over and over again are very useful. Homework, which means, practice, practice, practice is the key to getting better. When I first started playing uke over three years ago, I wanted to learn Iz's version of "Rainbow" but I couldn't for the life of me get the strum pattern. I put it aside for a few months while I practiced and learned songs with a couple of uke groups. Then one day I thought I would get back to "Rainbow" and to my surprise, I was able to do the strum pattern without much difficulty. Over those few months I gained enough feel for it to just happen.

Hello all!

Just replying back to the post. I was wondering if someone can chime in on their experience with doing both online and in-person lessons. I've been playing the ukulele for about two years now and I am by no means an expert. I've taken the ULTP course and it was valuable but I didn't find the songs to be that interesting to play. I was looking into in-person lessons but is it common to charge $135-150 a month for once a week 30 minute lessons? I feel 30 minutes isn't enough time. From the previous replies above, I am also concerned the teacher would primarily be a guitar player and would just brush up on playing the ukulele. Is it okay to ask them to play a few songs on the ukulele to see the skill they can teach? What are your thoughts? I am in Sacramento and I made a thread on here for ukulele groups but no one has replied and when I last searched, I didn't find any groups in Sacramento.

Souper said:

How much would you spend? I just called the music store and the charge about $90 a month. For 1 lesson a week for 30 minutes. Is that to much? Or should I just do online ? How did y'all learn? I'm at a place that I need help. Thanks

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IMHO $90.00 a month is a bargain. Though I'm a uke newbie, I've taught banjo lessons intermittently for three decades. I prefer not to exchange my time and expertise for less than $50.00 an hour. By way of a less-subjective perspective, my son paid $25.00 for 30-minute-per-week bluegrass fiddle lessons nearly two decades ago. We're in an Atlanta suburb BTW.

pmg2021 said:

Hello all!

Just replying back to the post. I was wondering if someone can chime in on their experience with doing both online and in-person lessons. I've been playing the ukulele for about two years now and I am by no means an expert. I've taken the ULTP course and it was valuable but I didn't find the songs to be that interesting to play. I was looking into in-person lessons but is it common to charge $135-150 a month for once a week 30 minute lessons? I feel 30 minutes isn't enough time. From the previous replies above, I am also concerned the teacher would primarily be a guitar player and would just brush up on playing the ukulele. Is it okay to ask them to play a few songs on the ukulele to see the skill they can teach? What are your thoughts? I am in Sacramento and I made a thread on here for ukulele groups but no one has replied and when I last searched, I didn't find any groups in Sacramento.

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In my area, I agree that most, if not all, folks billed as 'ukulele teacher' by music stores are garage band guitarists who teach uke to help pay the bills. Intending no offense to the many, many UU-ers who played guitar long before uke, I, too, am not interested in paying such a person to teach me, any more than you should agree to pay me (an experienced 5-string banjoist) to teach uke.

Oldscruggsfan said:

In my area, I agree that most, if not all, folks billed as 'ukulele teacher' by music stores are garage band guitarists who teach uke to help pay the bills. Intending no offense to the many, many UU-ers who played guitar long before uke, I, too, am not interested in paying such a person to teach me, any more than you should agree to pay me (an experienced 5-string banjoist) to teach uke.

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Thank you for your candor! Yes, that's what I'm afraid of when trying to find a ukulele teacher. I was even looking into zoom lessons but I feel in person is better. Sigh, maybe I'll purchase another online course.

@pmg2021 I have done a little of online, and a little of in person. I am assuming by "online" you mean the package deals that are pre-recorded and you work on them at your own pace? I think there is a lot of value available for certain online lessons, not the least of which is convenience. But I have learned so much more in the four in person lessons that I've had thus far than I've managed on my own. My instructor is not a specialist in ukulele, but a specialist in stringed, plucked instruments. He plays a lot of different instruments, including ukulele, and has been teaching many different instruments for 25+ years (including ukulele). I agree, though, that if someone is a guitarist and just figures ukulele is the same, it won't be as valuable an experience as learning from someone whose main focus is ukulele. That said, there are skills that are transferable between the two, so it's possible you'll still learn useful things, if they're a skilled player and recognize those similarities and skills that can work on both. I wanted to learn classical/fingerstyle, and there was absolutely no one more local to me to offer that (lots of strummers, probably quite a few guitarists that dabble in ukulele), and for me, that wasn't good enough.

What I find most valuable about the in person is his immediate feedback about "feel", which is obviously not something you'll get with the pre-recorded stuff, and maybe even not something that could be communicated as well through a medium like a Zoom lesson (which I've also done). Many of his comments have to do with technique, but not in a "hold your hand thusly" or "thou shalt not do this", but much more from a feel: there's a lot of time to move between notes, make small shifts to get there, etc.

My instructor charges $1/minute, but only for the time I've booked, so if I book a 60 minute session and we go over, I still only get charged $60. He brings decades of excellent experience to the table, so his time is valuable to me as well as to him, and I feel that $1/minute is worth it. I have to drive 40 minutes each way, and with the cost of gas being somewhat grim here, I only have classes every other week, but it's enough to keep me going (I am a pretty good student, though, self motivated enough to put the work in, because I want to improve and I want to make the effort). So I'm paying a lot more than $60 for a session, but that's because I am gaining an enormous value from it.

Oldscruggsfan said:

IMHO $90.00 a month is a bargain. Though I'm a uke newbie, I've taught banjo lessons intermittently for three decades. I prefer not to exchange my time and expertise for less than $50.00 an hour. By way of a less-subjective perspective, my son paid $25.00 for 30-minute-per-week bluegrass fiddle lessons nearly two decades ago. We're in an Atlanta suburb BTW.

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Yeah I'd agree. I've paid for a lot of one-on-one lessons for various instruments, and I'd say $50/hr is not unreasonable at all. And they're probably not teaching 8 hour days, so that $50/hr is probably not reflective of their annual income.