Music Teaching Rates of Pay

The MU recommended teaching rates are concise, annual rates that we publish ahead of the start of the next academic year - August in Scotland and September in the rest of the UK. They cover music teaching (one-to-one and small group), workshops (one-off larger group sessions) and school concerts (one rehearsal plus performance).

Our rates factor in all the financial obligations of being self-employed, such as holiday pay, sick pay, pension contributions and parental leave. They are recommended minimums and should be used as a starting point for negotiating where work involves additional travel, increased preparation time or greater responsibility. Rates do not reflect regional cost-of-living differences or experience level, which we recommend should be negotiated on top. Learn more about MU teaching rates.

Rates are for self-employed work and do not apply to employed teaching work. For advice on employed rates, or further advice on how to set self-employed rates, please contact the MU.

Rates for 2025-2026 academic year

Individual lessons and small-group teaching: £44 per hour

This minimum rate can be interpreted as follows:

• Pro rata for lessons shorter than, or more than, one hour
• Increase as appropriate for the number of students per lesson
• Increase for whole-class, large-group or ensemble direction to reflect additional skill and any longer-than-usual preparation time
• Increase if travel time is unusually long

Workshops: £285 per day, maximum 5 hours length

This minimum rate can be interpreted as follows:

• Pro rata for workshops of less or more than five hours
• Increase to reflect longer-than-usual preparation time
• Increase to reflect any equipment or resources you are required to provide
• Increase if you are leading or overseeing other musicians
• Increase if travel time is unusually long

You can compare this year’s rate with previous years’ rates in the table near the end of this page. 

School concerts

We previously supplied a minimum rate for performing in school concerts. For the academic year 2023-24 onwards, we have decided to signpost to the MU’s agreement with Making Music instead of supplying a separate rate here.

This agreement covers self-employed musicians working for non-professional orchestras, which we view as comparable to performing in school concerts. It details a range of applicable rates and other considerations.

Please note that in the context of school concerts we are using the Making Music rates as recommendations only. The MU agreement with Making Music does not cover school concerts.

Other information

For rates relating to accompanying exams please see the MU Live Accompanist rates.

Members and engagers are advised to refer to and download our education template contracts, covering different types of work and settings.

The MU recommends a mileage rate of 56p per mile as part of our guidance on National Gig Rates.

How we set our rates

We are recommending an increase of 3.5% to our hourly teaching rate and our workshop rate, which reflects an RPI-based increase. We believe this represents an increase that is achievable for members and reasonable for engagers. 

While we advise members and engagers to refer to our rates and guidance, members are free to use their discretion and set their rates according to their own criteria. Engagers should note that the freedom to negotiate rates is a marker of genuine self-employment.

The following table gives previous years’ rates for comparison with this year’s.

	Individual & small groups	Workshops	School concert plus rehearsal
2024-2025 MU minimum	£42.50	£275	See Making Music rates
2023-2024 MU minimum	£40.50	£250	See Making Music rates
2022-2023 MU minimum	£38.50	£222	£95
2021-2023 MU minimum	£36	£208	£89
2020-2021 MU minimum	£35	£202	£86.50
2019-2020 MU minimum	£35	£202	£86.50

The MU’s Education Committee discusses the rates as part of its remit, recommending any yearly increases to the Executive Committee. MU members can sign up to the Teachers Section to become eligible to stand for the Education Committee.