Guitar teacher vs private music instructor

The differences between guitar teachers and private music instructors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a guitar teacher and a private music instructor. Additionally, a private music instructor has an average salary of $55,947, which is higher than the $51,810 average annual salary of a guitar teacher.

The top three skills for a guitar teacher include learning process, group classes and songwriting. The most important skills for a private music instructor are clarinet, saxophone, and music theory.

Guitar teacher vs private music instructor overview

	Guitar Teacher	Private Music Instructor
Yearly salary	$51,810	$55,947
Hourly rate	$24.91	$26.90
Growth rate	12%	12%
Number of jobs	52,628	29,072
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	2	2

Guitar teacher vs private music instructor salary

Guitar teachers and private music instructors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Guitar Teacher	Private Music Instructor
Average salary	$51,810	$55,947
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $72,000	Between $35,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between guitar teacher and private music instructor education

There are a few differences between a guitar teacher and a private music instructor in terms of educational background:

	Guitar Teacher	Private Music Instructor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Music	Music
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Guitar teacher vs private music instructor demographics

Here are the differences between guitar teachers' and private music instructors' demographics:

	Guitar Teacher	Private Music Instructor
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 82.9% Female, 17.1%	Male, 54.4% Female, 45.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 6.0% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 6.9% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between guitar teacher and private music instructor duties and responsibilities

Guitar teacher example responsibilities.

Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
Provide weekly flute lessons through organization that provides musical empowerment to those who cannot afford it otherwise
Challenge students to master basic math concepts through implementation of manipulative graphing, and charting exercises that develop problem-solving skills.
Specialize in beginner and intermediate piano students.

Private music instructor example responsibilities.

Own and manage a small business as a CPR and first aid instructor and consultant for diverse clients.
band coaching, theory & songwriting classes
Provide individual traditional and Suzuki piano instruction.
Cover the fundamental concepts of chemistry and biology including cell biology, metabolism, microbiology, genetics, evolution and histology.
Instruct adults in a variety of topics including; emotional psychology, biological psychology, anatomy and physiology, motivational psychology ...

Guitar teacher vs private music instructor skills

Common guitar teacher skills

Learning Process, 39%
Group Classes, 12%
Songwriting, 11%
RAN, 9%
Music Lessons, 9%
Music, 7%

Common private music instructor skills

Clarinet, 16%
Saxophone, 12%
Music Theory, 9%
Music Education, 8%
Mathematics, 7%
Guitar Lessons, 6%

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Guitar Teacher vs Private Music Instructor

Updated January 8, 2025

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