How Much Do Clarinet Lessons Cost?

The Complete Guide to Clarinet Lesson Pricing

By Rose Park  12/28/20 • updated 2/1/23 • 4 min read

The Average Clarinet Lesson Cost:

Clarinet lessons generally cost between $40-$70 per hour, depending on the teacher level, the location and length of lesson, and whether the lessons are in-person or online.

The average price for an one-hour clarinet lesson is $60. Live online clarinet lessons using Zoom or GoogleMeet charge between $18-30 for a half hour lesson. Local private clarinet lessons range from $25-50 for a half hour lesson, while in-person group lessons can cost $20 for a half hour lesson.

Clarinet teachers without a music degree will charge as little as $35 an hour, and concert clarinetists with prizes from top music competitions might charge as much as $350!

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No contract or credit card necessary.

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What Determines Clarinet Lesson Costs?

Clarinet Teacher Level

The most basic question is if you want to find a clarinet teacher to have a music degree or not. Teachers without music degrees tend to charge between $35-$40 per hour but they do not offer a professional level instruction.

Clarinet teachers who have a music degree that isn’t clarinet related, such as ones with a Bachelor’s in oboe who have some clarinet skills, will often charge $35-$50 per hour. They generally have a solid understanding of music, but they don’t have advanced clarinet performing skills and are very limited in giving practical instruction. This increases the risk that they will teach beginners bad habits that will be harmful over time.

Ideally, the clarinet teacher will have at least a Bachelor’s degree in clarinet, and lessons with those teachers range from $40-$80 per hour on average. Teachers with a Master’s or Doctorate in clarinet typically charging $60-$90 per hour.

Q. Should beginners take clarinet lessons from professional teachers from the start?

Absolutely! Playing clarinet correctly from the beginning is important, even for beginners.  A professional clarinet teacher can guide you smoothly from beginner to advanced levels without building bad habits. Sometimes, it can take years to correct posture, breathing, warm-ups, and technique issues without an expert teacher’s help!

The sooner beginners have professional clarinet teachers, the sooner they can develop their musicality and solid techniques, setting them up for future advancement.

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In-person vs Online Lessons

Online clarinet lessons are generally the most affordable, with an average increase of about $10 for in-person lessons at a teacher’s studio, and a small additional increase to have the teacher visit your home. 

In-person clarinet lesson costs can vary widely, depending on the number of qualified clarinet teachers in your area. To find qualified clarinet teachers at reasonable prices, live online lessons will be your best bet.

Recorded vs Live Lessons

If you’re looking for the cheapest possible clarinet lessons, there is the option of pre-recorded lessons. 

These are typically video or app-based lessons that aim to teach you basic clarinet skills and technique for a monthly fee. Unfortunately, these lessons cannot compare to the quality of live one-on-one lessons where the teacher can customize the lesson material for you, give you live feedback  in real time, and guide you to become better at practicing and performing.

Any clarinet student who is interested in becoming a capable clarinetist is better off looking for live 1-on-1 lessons, such as the $35 half hour lessons offered through Lesson With You.

How much do clarinet lessons cost? Lesson With You Clarinet Lessons Cost Guide

What Do You Learn in Clarinet Lessons?

Posture and Breathing Methods
In clarinet lessons, students learn how to play clarinet with the proper posture and breathing methods. Professional clarinet instructors can help students to learn both elements to prevent injury and muscle tension around the mouth, neck and shoulder.
Clarinet Techniques
The instructor works with students to develop their clarinet performance skills by teaching them various techniques. These techniques include producing the right tone, articulating the notes correctly, and refining the music to match different musical styles like Classical, Jazz, or Pop. Students also learn how to practice clarinet efficiently by incorporating exercises that focus on developing finger control, vibrato and dynamic control.
Music Theory and Sight-Reading
During clarinet lessons, students can improve their knowledge of music theory and sight-reading skills. A professional clarinet teacher can help student learn how to read music notation accurately and  recognize important musical symbols and terms. By developing these skills, students play music more efficiently, learn new music faster and expand their repertoire.

How to Find the Most Affordable Clarinet Lessons

We surveyed over 100 clarinet teachers across our own site, Lesson With You, and two other major sites, Wyzant and Takelessons.com, using a random zip code as the location. We specifically looked for teachers who have a degree in clarinet and teach lessons online.

Lesson With You has a set price of $65 per hour and indeed the price value is better than any other lesson site we’ve found. Each clarinet teacher at Lesson With You has a Master’s in clarinet performance, including from schools such as Northwestern University. Lessons are only $65 per hour, making the live online clarinet lessons an incredible value.

Wyzant had the highest average price among qualified clarinet teachers, at $65 per hour. Even finding a teacher who didn’t major in clarinet, such as one with a flute or piano degree, didn’t do much to lower the price.

Takelessons has a slightly lower average price, at $65 among the teachers we surveyed. Many of the clarinet teachers listed either didn’t have a music degree or didn’t major in clarinet at college.

Wyzant and Takelessons both have a very large number of clarinet teachers, so surely there are some good deals, but finding teachers who’s education and prices matched that of the teachers at Lesson With You is difficult and time consuming.

Looking for Professional Clarinet Lessons?

Lesson With You offers live 1-on-1 clarinet lessons with highly professional clarinet instructors who earned at least Bachelor’s degrees in clarinet performance at the top music schools, including Northwestern University.

The first trial lesson is free! No Contracts Ever.

Try a Half Hour Clarinet Lesson Completely For Free!

Meet your clarinet teacher, discuss goals and begin 1-on-1 instruction.
No contract or credit card necessary.

60+

Instructors

25,000+

Lessons taught

4.9/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Average lesson rating

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Rose Park

Rose Park

Rose Park is a graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University where she studied Piano Performance and Arts Administration, receiving both Bachelor's and Master's degrees before co-founding Lesson With You. As a pianist, Rose was a prizewinner in many international piano competitions and performed at  various summer programs and festivals across the United States, Italy, and Japan.