Monthly Musical Miscellany – October 2025
Hi folks,
I’m on half-term break at the moment, so this month’s miscellany will need to be short and sweet.
Happy practising!
Will
Opening times 2025 & 2026
I’ll be officially re-opening the studio on Tuesday 3 November, and lessons will run weekly or fortnightly until Saturday 20 December 2025.
If you already know of any dates you can’t make during this period, please let me know as soon as possible — I’ve got a busy list of rota students who are always keen to pick up spare lesson slots.
Looking ahead, here are the provisional term dates for 2026:
Carnival
5 January to 15 February 2026
6 weeks
Songbird
23 February to 5 April 2026
6 weeks
Blossom
13 April to 24 May 2026
6 weeks
Midsummer
1 June to 12 July 2026
6 weeks
Tide
20 July to 16 August 2026
4 weeks
Harvest
24 August to 18 October 2026
7 weeks
Fall
26 October to 20 December 2026
7 weeks
(These may shift slightly — I’m planning some professional development and training next year, which will mean the odd week away.)
Reminder: rates change from 1 December 2025
From 1 December 2025, lesson fees will change to:
Adult lessons: £29.00
Low income/Under-25s: £24.50
The Musician’s Union recently updated their recommended individual lessons and small-group teaching rates from £38.50 to £44 per hour, which is the biggest jump for many years.
Prices for children will remain the same — no increase there.
Part of the reason for this adjustment is that several people pointed out the large disparity between the hourly rate for adults and for children. The new structure evens things out and feels much fairer across the board.
Of course, this also reflects the usual culprits (inflation, rising cost-of-living, insurance premiums, the new Making Tax Digital changes) and the additional time I now spend writing up more detailed and structured lesson notes for students after each session (again, this came up in feedback and was requested by many students).
I’m also investing in a lot more sheet music, subscriptions to platforms like Tonebase, Ultimate Guitar, Musescore and Open Studio, and recording/editing software to I can begin to create more professional looking resources.
I am committed to accessibility so existing discounts still apply and they’ll be added automatically.
Also, as ever, if the increase makes things difficult, please let me know — I’ll continue to offer discounted rates for anyone in more precarious circumstances.
Acoustic Cottage Piano Up For Grabs
I’ve recently been donated a rather charming 1940s cottage piano — a smaller-scale acoustic (about six and a half octaves) — and I’ve set myself the project of getting it tuned, cleaned, and having one string repaired.
It’s got a lovely, slightly Nils Frahm-ish character: gentle, warm, a bit weathered in the best way.
These smaller instruments are brilliant for most learners — they take up far less room than a full upright and are much easier to move around.
I don’t plan to keep it, so if you’re interested, do let me know. It won’t be ready immediately, but I should have it sorted over the next few months.