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Home » Tutorial » 7 Tips for Finding Affordable Music Lessons as a College Student

Woman Recording Music

Last updated April 21, 2025

7 Tips for Finding Affordable Music Lessons as a College Student

  • Proudly written by Pro-Musician,
  • Robert Emery
  • 5 Comments
  • Voice | Music Theory

Learning music can be such a rewarding experience, and if it brings you joy, it is important to keep playing no matter what. However, enrolling in music lessons as a college student can be quite expensive. 

If you are a student with a tight budget, you might wonder if it is possible at all to continue playing your favorite instrument while monitoring your expenses. 

It certainly is! In this article, we will present 7 tips on finding inexpensive yet rewarding music lessons.

Table of Contents
1

Utilize College ResourcesUtilize College Resources

Many colleges and universities offer music lessons to their students at a reduced rate, often for free. The advanced music students at some schools offer lessons at a reduced rate as part of their training. Faculty monitor these lessons, making for really good instruction at a low price. So, call up your music department or look into extracurricular music courses on campus. They will help you be more relaxed and allow you a break from academic stress. To relieve those pressures even more, hire the ukwritings dissertation service when you are working on an especially demanding project. They can advise you, edit your paper, or take over the writing process altogether.

Student Holding A Blue Book
2

Look for Community Programs

Music lessons through community centers, local non-profits, or churches can be offered at low or reduced cost – check with the institutions in your area.

These centers will often have group music lessons that you can join regardless of your financial status. You might also find community colleges offering continuing education classes in music. These classes are often reasonably priced and are leaps and bounds cheaper than private lessons. 

Musical Community Programs

Keep your eye on your local community board and online forums, as they will likely feature useful announcements.

3

Consider Online Lessons

The advent of the internet has also come in handy to aspiring college students who wish to learn music because they no longer have to physically travel to meet the teacher or attend an expensive music institute. Instead, they can just go online to attend lessons with an expert from almost anywhere on the planet. Most of the popular sites that offer music lessons to students provide numerous opportunities through lessons. These can be accessed at any time and as per the student’s convenience.

Man And Woman Musicians Having Online Violin Lesson

These are just a few channels that offer free music lessons on YouTube:

  1. JustinGuitar: Comprehensive guitar lessons from beginner to
    advanced.
  2. Piano Lessons on the Web: Easy-to-follow piano tutorials for all skill levels.
  3. Drumeo: Drum lessons featuring
    tips, techniques, and play-alongs.
  4. FenderPlay: Guitar, bass, and ukulele lessons with a wide range of songs.
  5. Yousician: Interactive lessons for guitar, piano, bass, and
    ukulele. That latter is among the easiest musical
    instruments to learn
    and it’s small, so you can easily take it to college
    with you.

Do additional research, and you’ll see that free online education is more abundant
than you thought. 

4

Share Lessons with a Friend

Know someone who has an interest in learning music as well? Try to learn with a friend (two or three friends, even) and share lessons.

Taking group music lessons with a pal can reduce your individual costs by as much as 50 percent.

The experience will be just plain fun and can serve as added motivation to practice together outside of lessons.

Just make sure that your instructor is comfortable with teaching small groups and can pay attention to each one of you.

Musical Collage
5

Negotiate with Instructors

It’s OK to tell prospective teachers that your budget is limited; some will reduce their rates.

You might also find that reserving shorter lesson times or meeting less frequently could make the fee more affordable.

Instructors tend to be flexible when dealing with students who really seem to want to play. They won’t mind your modest proposal to save money.

Violin Teacher Helping A Student
6

Attend Workshops and Masterclasses

Check out weekend workshops and masterclasses, which can be often takes at a lower cost than ordinary lessons.

Workshops are usually organized by colleges or music schools, whereas masterclasses are often put on by local community organizations and involve more experienced musicians. While these aren’t long-term options, they are condensed ways of learning and offer an opportunity to spend time with other learners and tutors, learning important technical approaches and ideas from others.

Family Trio Rehearsing
7

Practice Diligently

Regardless of the method you choose to learn music, developing good practice habits is essential. Regular practice helps you make the most from each lesson – whether a paid lesson from an instructor or a free video tutorial on YouTube.

Dedicate a specific time every day for practice, follow the techniques modeled by the instructor, and track your progress so that you get the most out of each lesson. 

Girl With Notebook Playing The Piano

Making the most of each learning experience, even on the tightest of budgets, will help you achieve your musical goals.

Harmonizing Budget and Passion
Summary

As a college student, it is possible to continue your music lessons, despite not having much money. With smart planning, you can enjoy music lessons with a low budget and without becoming overly dependent on support from your parents. 

Take our tips into account and have the best musical education without breaking the bank.

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  • Robert Emery
    Robert Emery

    Robert Emery is Founder & CEO of Ted's List. He has performed all around the world as a conductor and pianist. From Sydney Opera House to the Royal Albert Hall, Robert has enjoyed bouncing around on stage in most of the major venues in the world. As a record producer, he has worked on fifteen No 1 albums, and hopes he can get to sixteen asap! The Times called him 'the eccentric barefooted maestro' and the Mail quoted that 'the assured baton was controlled by the rather energetic and brilliant conductor'. Robert has a wife (Mrs. E), two children (Master T and Master A) and four cats (Merlin, Mulberry, Partridge & Penguin). Between performing, producing, composing and running Ted's List, he runs an entertainment business called The Arts Group, comprising of a symphony orchestra, choir, live event production house, digital TV company and artist agency. Any spare time is usually devoted to sleep.

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↓ Click here to leave a comment ↓
  1. JJSpinner says:
    January 6, 2025 at 7:23 am

    If I share lessons with a friend, does that mean only half the music talent will rub off on me? Asking for, uh, a friend.

    Reply
  2. Zane_the_brain says:
    December 2, 2024 at 5:04 am

    While I agree that community programs and online platforms are great for learning music on a budget, I have to wonder how effectively these compare to traditional, face-to-face learning in terms of feedback and personalized instruction. Are we sacrificing quality for convenience?

    Reply
  3. FrankieJ says:
    September 27, 2024 at 12:48 pm

    I truly appreciated the section about leveraging community programs for learning music. Many overlook the rich resources available locally. It’s a fantastic reminder to connect with our communities.

    Reply
    • TaraQ says:
      January 6, 2025 at 7:23 am

      Absolutely, FrankieJ! I found my best guitar teacher through a local summer program. Community centers often have hidden gems.

      Reply
  4. Lexi T. says:
    August 18, 2024 at 12:51 pm

    Has anyone actually tried online music lessons? Wondering if it’s worth exploring or if it’s better to just stick to YouTube tutorials. Thoughts?

    Reply

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