Is it too late to learn music at 40?
What adult beginners worry about, what is genuinely harder and what is easier when you start later in life.
What music lessons really cost in the first year
Fees, instruments, books and concert clothes: a realistic first-year budget for each of our four courses.
Monthly fees are only part of the cost of learning music. Families planning a first year usually want the full picture, so here it is for each course.
Carnatic vocal is the least expensive. Fees are ₹2,200 a month, or ₹22,000 for the year if you pay by the term, since one month in each four-month term is free. Add about ₹600 for notebooks and a printed lesson book, and a shruti box for home practice at about ₹3,500, or a free app on a phone. A first year comes to about ₹26,000.
Violin is the next. Fees are ₹2,800 a month, ₹28,000 a year by the term. We lend a violin for the first three months; after that a decent student violin with bow and case costs ₹9,000 to ₹15,000. Strings need replacing once or twice a year, about ₹1,200 a set. The first year is about ₹40,000.
Keyboard beginners pay ₹2,000 a month, ₹20,000 a year by the term, plus ₹8,000 to ₹14,000 for a 61-key keyboard with a stand. Graded exam students pay ₹3,200 a month and exam board fees of ₹3,000 to ₹6,000 per grade. Guitar beginners pay ₹2,000 a month. A good beginner acoustic guitar costs ₹6,000 to ₹12,000, with a capo, picks and a gig bag adding ₹1,500. Concert outfits are your own; there is no uniform, and families simply dress as they would for a function.
