Group vs. Private Music Lessons: What's Right for Your Child?

Private lessons in Volusia County typically run $30–50 per half hour — $240 or more per month for weekly hour-long instruction. Group lessons at POMA are $85 per month for a weekly 55-minute class. But the real question isn't price; it's what actually keeps a child playing.

After four decades of teaching, we've seen the pattern clearly: kids quit private lessons because practicing alone for an audience of one adult feels like homework. Kids stay in group lessons because their friends are there, because ensembles sound better than solos, and because a little friendly competition works wonders.

Group classes also build the skills parents actually care about: cooperation, listening, patience, and performing without fear. Every POMA class is a small ensemble, so by concert time in May, standing on a stage feels normal.

Is private instruction ever the right call? Yes — for advanced students preparing for auditions or students who need highly specialized attention. For the first several years of a child's musical life, though, the group is the feature, not the compromise.