sgx Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I've been thinking about seeing if anyone in the area would be interested in music production lessons, focusing on soft-synths and various electronic music styles. I know there are a lot of people that would love to be able to make tunes, but are intimidated by software and don't know where to begin. I know if I had someone suggesting things and answering questions when I started, at least my technical production skills would have been way better much quicker. I wonder if there is any market for this. Putting up ads on craigslist is free, so no harm in finding out. Only problems I see is the equipment - in order for the student to 'practice' on their own, they'd have to invest in some pretty expensive software (relatively, $300 or whatever for some software always makes newbs go, "Omg that much for a computer program???lolol") and maybe a midi keyboard. Also, they may or may not want to work with what I use, what I know, or what I recommend. I know Ableton Live, Reason, ACID, and Cakewalk stuff pretty well, but what if they want to use FL, Orion, Logic, etc? You guys have any thoughts on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 It would SEEM like there's a market for this considering the amount of schools out there with programs in recording arts & production. Generally speaking with lessons the teacher and student both have to have the same kind of gear. It wouldn't make sense for someone to have Orion while you're using Reason. You would have to teach what you know. If they want to learn, they oughta get the right stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgx Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 How much would you charge for a 1 hour lesson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 i like the idea, though, sgx. kind of a more affordable route for folks to learn the tricks and general skills without going the *professional* route. i shall ponder on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 How much would you charge for a 1 hour lesson? Assuming this was face-to-face, in person, maybe $20-30 to start? I'm not a big shot producer or anything. Beginner piano lessons start at that price range IIRC. Higher end teachers are $60/hour to up to $100/hour. That's what I'm comparing it to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgx Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Hmmm. I'm going to put up a craigslist ad and see if anyone bites. I'm not sure if $20-$30 would be worth it to me, depending on how far I have to drive. I imagine someone older than me, with more money from a job already who wants to jump in but doesn't have the time or patience to fiddle with stuff to get something good. What I can help with is probably worth more than $30 an hour. There are so many things I learned slowly on my own that would have been great if someone just TOLD me outright what I needed to know. And I've taken a couple music tech courses at my old college....the professor knew a lot of about certain things, but almost none of it helped with me making electronic music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 You know what I always thought would be cool, would be to figure out a way to have "workshops" pertaining to specific software programs or skills, etc. For example, establishing and coordinating through local advertising and public radio a workshop where if you want to join, there's a fee (say... $20 per month or so) and people could collaborate and kind of teach each other. Specifically, I use FL Studio, of course. I consider myself adept enough in general, but I know I could learn a lot from other FL users. If I basically put out a bunch of fliers around music stores and local campuses, I wonder how many people would attend a "FL Studio workshop"... And what kind of revenue that would generate. I dunno. Anyone else ever considered anything like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgx Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 I feel that getting enough people for a workshop on one DAW would be tough. That's really niche. Possibly if your school already had a music production concentration that was popular... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xelebes Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I know of a few producers in England who let their studios out like this. In fact, I'm kind of sure they have this about in most of Europe. For a "tuition" you get to use the studio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analoq Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I imagine someone older than me, with more money from a job already who wants to jump in but doesn't have the time or patience to fiddle with stuff to get something good. What I can help with is probably worth more than $30 an hour. to you, perhaps. but to any random person, maybe not. consider your qualifications: - you're not an industry professional - you're not a local performer - you have no musical honors (grammys, etc) - you have no teaching credentials - you have no experience conducting private study (yet, at least) - you're a nobody (the vgm scene is the nicheist niche that ever niched) i'm not cutting you down, all of that applies to myself as well. you may have some educational background, but what kind of students were there? mostly young people, right? there were some older people in my music technology courses but the majority of them were just college kids with no money. it's a little less than fantasy to think some 30-yr old dude with a good career is going to wake up one morning and say "God damn, I want to learn Fruity Loops" and proceed directly to craigslist. you have to approach this like any business ventrue: start small. build a base of happy clients, get referrals, earn experience and build off it. now, you may find someone who wants your lessons for more than $30/hour at this stage of the game, i really don't know what people would value this sort of thing at. i'm just saying don't put your expectations high; you may have to take what you can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoozer Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 It would SEEM like there's a market for this considering the amount of schools out there with programs in recording arts & production. Yeah, but those give you an accreditation of sorts that is somewhat useful. I wonder if there is any market for this. Putting up ads on craigslist is free, so no harm in finding out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Yeah, but those give you an accreditation of sorts that is somewhat useful. Not really. I don't know of anyone who would care about a degree in recording from X school. At least in America they're not worth much - after all, the degree just shows you did the coursework and didn't totally screw up. How hard is that? Almost anyone can do it. It doesn't say anything about your real talent or musicianship. The education of course is worthwhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgx Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 to you, perhaps. but to any random person, maybe not. consider your qualifications:- you're not an industry professional - you're not a local performer - you have no musical honors (grammys, etc) - you have no teaching credentials - you have no experience conducting private study (yet, at least) - you're a nobody (the vgm scene is the nicheist niche that ever niched) i'm not cutting you down, all of that applies to myself as well. you may have some educational background, but what kind of students were there? mostly young people, right? there were some older people in my music technology courses but the majority of them were just college kids with no money. it's a little less than fantasy to think some 30-yr old dude with a good career is going to wake up one morning and say "God damn, I want to learn Fruity Loops" and proceed directly to craigslist. you have to approach this like any business ventrue: start small. build a base of happy clients, get referrals, earn experience and build off it. now, you may find someone who wants your lessons for more than $30/hour at this stage of the game, i really don't know what people would value this sort of thing at. i'm just saying don't put your expectations high; you may have to take what you can get. Well, in my case, I do not have to take what I can get because I have a job already, and this is just something to do for fun on the side for a little extra cash. I have no problem holding out and trying to find that one person who wants to learn what I have to offer. I had not even fathomed that any sort of popularity I have in the VGM scene would help me get started. Regarding credentials, I don't think that is terribly important. I have a good portfolio I can point people to - my site with all my free music. It speaks for itself and I think it speaks pretty well, especially to a beginner. I don't think anyone gives a shit about my academic background in this as long as they can tell I have the skill to back it up. I can say, "Do you want to make music in this genre? I can teach you. I think that is strong. By the way, do you guys know of any easily portable, cheap, powered speakers? It might be handy to have so I could hook up sound that doesn't suck ass to my laptop if I'm doing house calls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Yeah, start small. I get work mixing and mastering peoples CDs. I don't even charge by the hour yet, just a flat rate of $200 per CD (my clients are mainly local acts and such). I've already got a good deal of satisfied customers that are starting to refer me and my repuation is growing. Just be sure that you don't overdo it with the "starting small" cuz you may get a reputation as being a very affordable alternative, and then you may lose alot of business by raising your rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analoq Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 the degree just shows you did the coursework and didn't totally screw up. How hard is that? Almost anyone can do it. It doesn't say anything about your real talent or musicianship. no, but it helps in that it's better than nothing and the commitment it represents separates one from the droves of hobbyists. success in the music industry is dependent on networking and having some credentials gives people not a primary, but another reason to talk to you. i agree it's not important, but i would also agree it qualifies as 'somewhat' useful. this is just something to do for fun on the side for a little extra cash. I have no problem holding out and trying to find that one person who wants to learn what I have to offer. in that case, i wish you good luck with this endeavor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgx Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share Posted April 1, 2007 Well, I put a listing up on craigslist and got no interest . Ta-da! I might try for a few more weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fray Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 I agree that $20-30/hr is kinda steep. That's what my parents paid for lessons from somebody with a Masters' degree in their instrument, at least in New Orleans circa 1998. Or maybe it was a half hour, I can't remember. I'd say start at something more like $10. Good luck w/it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degree Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 Good luck with this. I, myself, being novice to remixing and audio production, would actually pay a pretty decent price for lessons, but the only problem is that I don't think anyone around my area actually works with digital production and the likes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustin Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 Get off Craig's List, man. What, are you TRYIN' TO GET RAPED?! Get down to University. Talk to professor. Talk to student. You talk. Flyer. You gotta get the word out, son! Can't just let people find you - you've gotta find them! I do a bit of this. I have people come into the studio, and they ask a lot of questions, and I tell them "For $50 an hour, I'll teach you this stuff." Some people take me up on it (serious people) and some people don't (Slackers!). Lucikly, I have a lot of street cred here. I have the recording studio, the band, the two record labels, awards, numbers of CDs sold, etc. I can charge "that much." It's good times. But I always recommend people teach what they know. Don't always do it for free, mind you, because you're worth something. I love to watch people's faces when they "get it." I think it's a great thing to teach all of your skills. I never worry about, "Well, this kid is better than me so I'm out of a job." Because you can teach skills all day. But you can't teach talent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgx Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share Posted April 2, 2007 I agree that $20-30/hr is kinda steep. That's what my parents paid for lessons from somebody with a Masters' degree in their instrument, at least in New Orleans circa 1998. Or maybe it was a half hour, I can't remember.I'd say start at something more like $10. Good luck w/it! $10?? That's only $3 more than working at a fast food place for an hour. Totally not worth my time. What I can teach is HIGHLY specialized. This isn't guitar lessons which you can find anywhere. Thanks, Mustin, I had thought about posting fliers up at my school in the music dept. Guess I'm just doing the lazy thing and posting on craigslist first. I don't have any urgent reason to start this as soon as possible. I should probably give my old music tech prof an email too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustin Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Networking - everyone is a resource. Always tell everyone about what you're doing. Chances are, someone will know someone that needs something that you offer. Smile! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fray Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 $10??That's only $3 more than working at a fast food place for an hour. Totally not worth my time. What I can teach is HIGHLY specialized. This isn't guitar lessons which you can find anywhere. Ok I can see what you mean I guess if anyone's really interested they'd pay the $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pezman Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 I get the impression that most people here are willing to teach for free. Maybe not in the "I'll sit down with you and go through every single step with you till you've got it" kind of way, but the wealth of free information out there is vast. The problem is synthesizing it (pun intended) all together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaylos Posted April 6, 2007 Share Posted April 6, 2007 Actually, relatively recently, Jonathan Smith opened a music studio here in good old G'ville FL. I think he moved here from D.C. http://www.usaudio.com/ Frankly I don't know much about the guy, but apparently he won an Emmy. So I guess that counts for something eh? hehe. Towards the bottom of the page, he offers a music production "course" He charges a flat rate of $1,500 but I don't know if that's for the whole course or not. Just some food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboKa Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Assuming this was face-to-face, in person, maybe $20-30 to start? I'm not a big shot producer or anything. Beginner piano lessons start at that price range IIRC. Higher end teachers are $60/hour to up to $100/hour. That's what I'm comparing it to. Zirc, you teach FL right? If so I'd be glad to take a few lessons from you, but I live in Canada, BC, Coquitlam, so that's kinda far eh :S I don't own the full ver. yet, I'm using the trial for FL, but I do have some half-made WIP's (I can only export my music, not save it T_T) http://media.putfile.com/crack-indusion http://media.putfile.com/deatheven http://media.putfile.com/gods-paradise http://media.putfile.com/my-1st-attempt-at-Tyrano-Lair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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