Almost every music school in Singapore hides its fees behind an enquiry form, which makes comparing them close to impossible. We did the digging, and the usual quoted floor of $225 a month turns out to be wrong: Ossia publishes a full 2026 rate card starting at $129 a month for keyboard and $175 for beginner piano, violin, guitar or drums, GST and facility fees included. Against that, Aureus is $279, Studio 72 $280 and Mandeville $225 to $706, while Cristofori publishes no rate card at all and only its own campaign artwork gives the game away, at a usual price of $229 for four 30-minute lessons. This guide has the published fees for 8 established schools, what violin and guitar actually cost grade by grade, the registration fees and deposits nobody mentions until you are at the front desk, every branch as at September 2026, and the make-up-lesson policies that matter more than the fee gap: Yamaha replaces no missed lesson at all, while Ossia gives you one a month. The August promotions at Ossia and Cristofori have both ended and neither has been replaced, so this is a month to buy on rate card rather than on offer. Six of the eight still run a genuinely free trial lesson.
Almost every music school in Singapore hides its fees behind an enquiry form, but five of the eight below do publish them, once you know where the numbers are kept.
> Quick view: the cheapest published individual rate here is Ossia's keyboard at $129/month for four 30-minute lessons, GST and facility fees included, against Aureus at $279, Studio 72 at $280 and Mandeville from $225. The catch nobody prints: Yamaha never replaces a missed lesson.
The largest music school network in Singapore, and the one to start with if convenience is what decides whether your child actually keeps going. Aureus runs 30 centres, almost all of them inside malls: Central includes VivoCity, United Square, Thomson Plaza, Suntec City, Great World, Forum The Shopping Mall, Dunearn Village and Anchorpoint; the North has AMK Hub, Causeway Point and Northpoint; the North East covers Compass One, Hougang 1, NEX, Punggol Coast, Rivervale, The Seletar Mall and The Woodleigh Mall; the East has Century Square, Bedok Mall, Eastpoint, KINEX, White Sands and i12 Katong; and the West runs Bukit Panjang Plaza, Jurong Point, Rochester Mall, West Coast Plaza, Westgate and Yew Tee Point. Lessons are piano, violin, guitar, drums and vocals, plus a Musical Adventure introductory programme for the youngest students, all taught one-to-one rather than in groups. WHAT IT COSTS: this is the rare Singapore music school that publishes its rates. Four lessons a month runs $279 for 30 minutes (their 'Slow & Steady' journey), $399 for 45 minutes ('Optimal Progress', which they say most families pick) and $519 for 60 minutes ('The Gifted Path'). Lesson materials, books, professional backing tracks, access to the Aureus Progress Portal, achievement certificates and trophies are included in that. WHAT ELSE IS BUNDLED: an Achievement Guarantee, collectible treasures for each Adventure completed, and world-class backing tracks recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and Blackbird Studios. Aureus also runs its own certification alongside a partnership with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, which is unusual for a mall chain and is the clearest answer to the fair question of what the extra $50 a month over Cristofori buys. TRIAL: new students get a free trial lesson, booked online by centre through the Book a Trial button on aureusacademy.com. Pricing is confirmed after the trial and consultation, so ask at that point whether any promotion applies to your instrument or branch. BEST FOR: parents who want a one-to-one lesson at a mall they already visit on weekends, and who want the price before the sales conversation.
Free trial lesson for new students; published fees $279 / $399 / $519 a month for 4 x 30 / 45 / 60 min, materials, books and backing tracks included
The Singapore-homegrown chain, and the one most likely to have a branch within walking distance of an HDB block rather than only inside a mall. Cristofori has been teaching here since 1980, which is 46 years, and its own site now lists 36 music school branches across the island. Lessons cover piano, guitar (acoustic, classical, and electric/bass), violin, drums, ukulele, music production and music theory, with exam preparation including Rockschool (RSL London) at its Funan centre. Beyond lessons, the group also sells, tunes, rents, repairs and moves instruments, and runs the Cristofori Academy of Fine Arts at One Holland Village and Bechstein Music World at Shenton, which is useful if you want lessons and a piano from the same place. Branch hours are typically around 12pm-9pm on weekdays and 9am-7pm on weekends, but they vary by branch, so check yours. WHAT CHANGED THIS MONTH: the Cristofori Music Festival 2026 was printed AUGUST 2026 on its own poster and marked an August exclusive, and it is over. Its two headline offers, 2X MusicEnergy points on any purchase and a free durian voucher from $50 with any instrument purchase, both ran 1 to 31 August 2026 only. No lesson offer has replaced them. As at 16 September the homepage carries two banners and neither is about lessons: the Julius Asal piano recital at Victoria Concert Hall on 11 November 2026, and a new Signature European Sound Piano Fair running 19 to 30 September 2026, featuring Pearl River, Johannes Seiler and Ritmüller uprights and advertising a free A.I.PORT worth $999 plus an interactive eBook. That fair is for piano buyers, and the banner names neither the venue nor the qualifying purchase, so ask a branch before you plan a trip around it. The homepage still has no link to the music festival. The festival page itself is still live, which is exactly the trap: a campaign page that nobody has taken down is not a running offer. WHAT IT ACTUALLY COSTS: Cristofori publishes no monthly rate card, and most guides stop there. The festival artwork, though, printed both the offer price and the usual price for every package, and it is the usual prices that survive the campaign. The PIANO EXPLORER PACKAGE was $199 against a U.P. of $229 for 4 individual 30-minute piano lessons within one month, with free piano studio rental for daily practice that month plus a Cristofori Piano eBook and a hardcopy book. That $229 for four 30-minute lessons is, in effect, Cristofori's standard monthly individual rate, and it still undercuts Aureus ($279) and Studio 72 ($280) for the same format. The COCKTAIL MUSIC PACKAGE was $349 against a U.P. of $399 for 8 one-to-one 30-minute lessons within 3 months, with free lesson materials and the option to mix and match up to two instruments from piano, drums, guitar and violin, subject to availability at the outlet. Above those sat the instrument bundles: PIANO EXPLORER PLUS at $899 (U.P. $999) for 10 lessons within 3 months plus a free pre-owned 88-key digital piano worth $500; POPPY STARTER DRUM at $899 (U.P. $999) for 10 lessons plus an Aroma TDX-N1 kit worth $399 and an AMP-30 amplifier worth $249; and two $2,500 year-long packages, POPPY PIANO (44 lessons within a year plus a brand-new CDP5 digital piano worth $999, bench, headphones, delivery and installation) and POPPY PRO DRUM (44 lessons plus a CDD5 kit worth $999, an AMP-30 amplifier, a CDR-10 drum rug worth $50, stool, sticks and installation). ONE THING THE ARTWORK MAKES CLEAR AND THE PRESS DOES NOT: every one of those packages is labelled FOR CHILDREN, so an adult beginner should ask what the equivalent adult rate is rather than assume $229. Ongoing fees after a package ends are still branch-specific, so ask for a written quote including registration and material fees. TRIAL: book a trial class through the Lessons menu on their site. BEST FOR: families who want a long-established local school close to home, at a rate that beats the mall chains once you know what to ask for.
Free trial class through the Lessons menu; no monthly rate card published, but its own campaign artwork puts the usual price at $229 for 4 individual 30-min piano lessons
The value pick on this list, and the only school here that lets you price a full eight years of lessons before you call anyone. Ossia runs 4 branches: Junction 10 (1 Woodlands Road #02-17), Woodlands Civic Centre (900 South Woodlands Drive #05-02), HomeTeamNS Bukit Batok West (2 Bukit Batok West Ave 7 #01-04) and Tampines Central Community Complex (Blk 866A Tampines St 83 #03-02), with around 3,000 students and roughly 200 teachers, which makes it one of the larger single-brand schools outside the mall chains. Everything is one-to-one and the age range is unusually wide: 3 to 75. Instruments and minimum ages are clearly stated: Piano from 4, Violin from 5, Ukulele from 5, Drum from 6, Guitar from 6, and a Music Introductory programme for 3-4 year olds. Students are prepared for ABRSM, Trinity Rock & Pop and Rockschool graded exams. THE AUGUST OFFER HAS GONE: the 'Home Is Where Music Begins' National Day campaign, which gave enrolling students a free Casio keyboard worth up to $200 (first 5 enrolments) or a K-Drum set worth up to $1,599 (first 3), ended on 31 August 2026. The artwork itself said 'Enrol this August', so it is not a rolling offer. Be careful here, because the school's own website still carried an 'August Promo 2026' block and the August banner as late as 16 September: a banner nobody has swapped out is not a live promotion, so call the front desk on 6950 6175 and ask what, if anything, is running before you plan around it. TRIAL: free trial lessons are still available. WHAT IT ACTUALLY COSTS, AND WHY IT IS DIFFERENT: Ossia does publish its fees, as a downloadable 2026 rate card per instrument on its course-fees page, and it is the only school here that prices by GRADE rather than by lesson length, which is what makes it both the cheapest and, eventually, one of the dearest. Every figure is inclusive of GST and facility fees, which is not how the rest of this page quotes. Entry rates: keyboard from $129 a month (Initial, 30 min), ukulele $135, the 3-4 year-old Music Introductory class $153, music theory $147, beginner piano, violin, acoustic guitar, classical guitar and drums all $175, and basic vocal $179. THE PART EVERY OTHER GUIDE GETS WRONG: the fee does not climb for the same lesson. Ossia's rate card raises the lesson LENGTH along with the grade, so beginner piano at $175 is 30 minutes, Grades 1 to 5 are 45 minutes ($228 rising to $260) and Grade 6 upward is a full hour ($343 at Grade 6, $374 at Grade 7, $406 at Grade 8). Keyboard does the same thing at its own pace, staying at 30 minutes to Grade 3 ($169) before stepping to 45 and then 60 minutes ($375 at Grade 8). Read against Aureus, that reframes the comparison completely: $406 for a 60-minute Grade 8 piano lesson is cheaper than Aureus's $519 for 60 minutes at any level, so Ossia is not merely the cheap entry point; it is the cheaper hour at the top too. The rest of the ladder: Grade 8 violin $406, Grade 8 classical guitar $415, Grade 8 acoustic guitar $450, Grade 8 drums $530, and the diploma tiers at $422 (PC/ARSM), $427 (DipABRSM), $514 (LTCL) and $532 (LRSM), all at 60 minutes. Group classes are the real bargain and nothing else here comes close: classical guitar group from $100 a month, acoustic guitar and ukulele groups from $118. EXTRAS: a non-refundable $39 registration fee for new students, a security deposit of one month's fees, monthly auto-deduction from a credit card, and 30 days' notice to stop or the deposit is forfeited. On make-ups Ossia is the most generous school on this page: a public-holiday lesson becomes a make-up credit, you get one make-up a month with 24 hours' notice, and a same-day cancellation still counts if you produce an MC. ONE THING TO KNOW: Ossia is not an independent alternative to our No.1 pick, its own About section lists it under the AUREUS GROUP, the parent of Aureus Academy, described as five companies with around 22 locations and more than 18,000 students in Singapore. The two are run as separate brands on completely different pricing models, so the comparison is still worth making, but they are not two independent opinions. BEST FOR: North and West families, adult beginners and older learners, and anyone who still needs to buy an instrument.
Free trial lesson; published 2026 rate card per instrument from $129 a month, GST and facility fees included. The August free-instrument offer has expired
The one to pick if you believe a young child learns music better alongside other children than alone with a teacher, because that is the whole premise of the Yamaha method. Yamaha's children's courses start from around age 2 with the Apple Course, move through the Yamaha Primary Course (including an Explorer stream), and from about 5.5 years open up into piano, Electone, guitar and drums. Teens and adults get piano, guitar, bass, drums, wind instruments, violin and vocal courses, plus a Music Wellness Course. The distinguishing feature is the Pianoforte Syllabus, which builds solfege and functional harmony into the lesson through listening, singing, playing and ensemble work rather than treating them as separate theory homework, so children tend to come out with better ears and stronger sight-singing than a purely repertoire-driven course produces. Schools are spread islandwide; Yamaha runs a School Locator rather than publishing a branch count, so search your area on the education site. Yamaha Music School was also named Best in Creative Music Exploration in Parents World's Best Enrichment & Learning Schools awards. WHAT'S ON: free trial lessons are offered across all age groups and instruments, bookable through the registration form or by contacting the school, though Yamaha's promotions page currently states that there are no promotions available, so the trial is the whole offer. Fees are not published; use the Inquiry form for the course and location you want. THE TERMS ARE THE STRICTEST ON THIS PAGE, and they are the reason to read Yamaha's FAQ before you sign anything. Lessons are not conducted during Yamaha Term Holidays or on gazetted public holidays, and there is strictly no replacement of lessons: a missed lesson is not replaced, not transferable and not refundable, whatever the reason. If your child's weekly slot lands on a public holiday, that lesson is simply gone, whereas Ossia would convert it into a make-up credit. Individual lessons run on weekdays only, with the exception of the Yamaha Pianoforte Course, so a one-to-one Saturday slot is generally not on offer. ON PAYING: course fees are due monthly or before each 3-month term, with the first month, term or two months payable at registration; GIRO is deducted between the 4th and 6th of each cycle and a failed deduction costs $5 plus GST, while a late non-GIRO payment costs a $5 admin fee plus GST. There is a registration fee, plus a $150 deposit only if you opt out of GIRO, refunded on graduation or termination if nothing is outstanding. Termination needs one calendar month's written notice, and the registration fee is never refunded. Yamaha also publishes a Course Calendar 2026 showing every lesson date and term holiday, which is worth downloading before you commit to a slot. BEST FOR: pre-schoolers and young beginners, families who want structured musicianship rather than exam grinding, and adults returning to an instrument.
Free trial lesson for all ages and instruments, Yamaha's promotions page currently lists no other offer. Strictly no replacement for a missed lesson; $150 deposit only if you decline GIRO
The conservatory end of the market, founded by former Singapore Symphony Orchestra musicians, and the most financially transparent school on this list. Two locations: United Square (101 Thomson Road #03-20/21) and Parkway Parade (80 Marine Parade Road #11-05). Children can start from age 2.5, and the programme list leans classical: piano, violin, cello, guitar and Chinese instruments, taught in both individual and group formats. WHAT IT COSTS, EXACTLY: individual monthly fees are banded by teacher category. Category 1 is $225 for 30 minutes, $325 for 45, $411 for 60, and $528 for 60 minutes post-Grade 8. Category 2 is $261 / $387 / $490 / $591. Category 3 is $321 / $473 / $588 / $706. Group classes (Ukulele, Violin, Guitar and Violin Stars) are charged by term at $196 x 3 = $588 for three months. THE COSTS PEOPLE FORGET: there is an $80 enrolment fee for new students, plus a one-month deposit equivalent to your monthly fee, so budget roughly two months' fees plus $80 up front. Aural group courses run longer and cost more: Grades 1-5 are $196 x 6 = $1,176, and Grades 6-8 are $318 x 9 = $2,862. TRIAL, PRICED: Mandeville is the only school here that publishes what a trial costs, and it is banded exactly like the lessons, $75.25 / $108.25 / $137.00 / $176.25 for a Category 1 teacher at 30 / 45 / 60 / 60-post-Grade-8 minutes, $86.75 / $129.00 / $163.00 / $197.00 for Category 2, and $106.75 / $157.50 / $196.25 / $235.00 for Category 3. A group trial is $49, though not for Violin Stars. Trials must be paid for at least two days in advance. WHAT IS ACTUALLY ON OFFER: Mandeville runs the longest live promotion list of any school here, and none of it is advertised outside its own promotions page: 10% off if you pay a year in advance; $68 off your next monthly fee for referring a new student (current students only, siblings excluded); the enrolment fee waived if the student you refer is a sibling; a 4-lesson trial promo package; 15% off your first month when you progress to a new area of music education; 8-lesson introductory courses in ukulele or guitar (ages 6+) and, at Parkway only, in piano or violin (ages 5+), both with NO enrolment fee and NO deposit; and a Jubilant Course in keyboard, violin, ukulele or choir for ages 50 and above at a discount of up to 50%, sold as a 4-month group course with no enrolment fee or deposit, the best-value entry point for an older beginner anywhere in this guide. HOURS: United Square opens Mon-Fri 10am-9pm, Sat 8.30am-9pm and Sun 8.30am-8pm; Parkway Parade is Mon-Fri 12pm-8pm, Sat 9am-6pm and CLOSED on Sundays. Both shut on public holidays. BEST FOR: children on a serious classical or exam path, string and cello students, and any parent who wants the total cost known before the first lesson.
Trial lessons priced $75.25-$235 by teacher category and length ($49 group); 10% off a year prepaid, $68 off per referral, and up to 50% off the Jubilant Course for ages 50+
A single-location boutique school at 9 King Albert Park #02-17 in Bukit Timah, and the pick if the goal is a graded exam pass or a performance diploma rather than casual lessons. Instruments are piano, guitar and ukulele, violin and viola, and vocal. The programme list is where it separates itself: ABRSM and Trinity College London exam preparation, music diplomas, a dedicated jazz and improvisation track for piano, standalone music theory, a Music Foundation course for beginners, and, unusually for Singapore, a Music for Seniors programme, which makes it one of the few schools here explicitly set up for older adult learners rather than just accepting them. WHAT'S ON: a free trial lesson, booked through the Free Trial Lesson Form on their site. The offer that actually saves money over time is the referral scheme: when a friend you refer completes their free trial and registers for lessons, you get 25% off the following month's lesson fee, and there is no cap on how many friends you can refer, so a family enrolling two or three children's classmates can stack it meaningfully. Lesson fees are the one thing Harmony & Pitch genuinely does not publish anywhere, not on the programme pages, not on the instrument pages, not in its online shop, so call 6251 0730 or email enquiry@harmonynpitch.com.sg for the schedule and ask for the all-in figure. What it does publish is something no other school here offers: a bookable practice studio with an upright piano, at $15 for 30 minutes or $28 for an hour IF you are an H&P student, and $20 or $38 if you are not. That student gate is worth knowing before you quote the $15 to anyone, and the room is worth knowing about at all if you are an adult learner or a student in a flat with no piano. Only one person is allowed in the studio at a time. BEST FOR: exam and diploma candidates, jazz piano students, seniors picking up an instrument, and families in the Bukit Timah belt.
Free trial lesson; refer a friend who registers and get 25% off your next month's fees, with no cap on referrals
The school for people who want to play in a band rather than sit an exam, and the most upfront pricing on this list after Mandeville. Studio 72 sits at 24B Circular Road in Boat Quay, a few minutes from both Raffles Place and Clarke Quay MRT, genuinely convenient for an after-work lesson. Instruments are guitar, drums, vocals, keyboard, bass and ukulele, taught one-to-one or in small groups (group drum and group guitar are both offered). WHAT IT COSTS: individual monthly rates for four lessons are $280 for 30 minutes, $330 for 45 minutes and $380 for 60 minutes. Three-month packages of 12 lessons work out cheaper at $690, $840 and $990 respectively. Single ad-hoc lessons are $100 for 45 minutes or $120 for 60 minutes if you cannot commit to a schedule. Group classes are $270 per person a month for a pair, or $210 per person for a three. Group classes run as 4 x 60-minute lessons over 4 weeks. THE EXTRAS TO BUDGET FOR: a one-time $45 registration fee and a $70 refundable student deposit, and one line most adult learners want and nobody else on this page states either way, Studio 72 does NOT accept SkillsFuture credits, so the fee is entirely out of pocket. TRIAL: every new student gets a complimentary first individual lesson with no obligation to sign up after; group class trials are $50 per person. The school no longer publishes a usual price for that free lesson, and its cheapest paid single is $100 for 45 minutes, so treat the trial as worth roughly that rather than the $65 figure that still circulates. BEST FOR: working adults, teenagers who want to play pop and rock rather than grade pieces, and anyone whose schedule suits paying per lesson rather than monthly.
Free first individual lesson, no obligation, plus a $50 group-class trial; monthly rates from $280, 12-lesson packages from $690, group from $210 per person. SkillsFuture credits not accepted
The East-side specialist, and a good answer if you live around Katong or Paya Lebar and do not want to cross the island for a lesson. Finger Waltz runs two branches: the Katong branch at 865 Mountbatten Road, Katong Shopping Centre #02-23/46, and the PLQ branch at 10 Paya Lebar Road, PLQ Mall #03-20/34. The teaching focus is deliberately narrow, piano and violin only, and that is the trade-off here: no drums, no vocals, no band instruments, but a school that does two things rather than eight. Alongside lessons it is also a piano dealer, carrying Estonia and Schulze Pollmann pianos, with tuning and moving services, so it is another school where instrument and lessons can come from the same place. WHAT'S ON, AND WHAT THE HEADLINE HIDES: the school advertises Free Trial + 10% Off on piano and violin lessons, and the terms printed on its own trial application page are narrower than that reads. The trial is free only subject to available time slots and to Finger Waltz assigning a teacher; a trial that does not qualify is chargeable, though at a 40% discount, payable before the class begins. And the 10% is not an open discount on your fees; it applies to the FIRST TERM only, and only if you sign up on the spot straight after the trial. If you go home to think about it, you lose it. Applications are processed within 48 hours and confirmed by phone or email. Fees are not published online; contact Katong on 9324 1404 or PLQ on 6970 0987 (WhatsApp 9235 9087) for the current schedule. BEST FOR: East-side families, piano and violin students specifically, and anyone shopping for an acoustic piano at the same time.
Free trial (subject to slots and teacher assignment; otherwise 40% off a paid trial) + 10% off the first term, but only if you sign up on the spot after the trial
| School | Best for | Outlets (Sep 2026) | Published monthly fee | Trial / live offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aureus Academy | One-to-one, mall convenience | 30 islandwide | $279 / $399 / $519 (30/45/60 min, 4 lessons) | Free trial lesson |
| Cristofori Music School | Homegrown chain, exams + instruments | 36 islandwide | $229 U.P. for 4 x 30 min (package pricing only) | Free trial class; August festival offer prices have ended; 19-30 Sep piano fair is for buyers |
| Ossia Music School | Cheapest published beginner rate | 4 (Junction 10, Woodlands, Bt Batok W, Tampines) | $129-$532 by grade, incl. GST (group from $100) | Free trial; August free-instrument offer has expired |
| Yamaha Music School | Group curriculum from age 2 | Islandwide (use School Locator) | Not published, enquiry form ($150 deposit if no GIRO) | Free trial lesson; no other promo currently listed |
| Mandeville Conservatory | Classical / conservatory track | 2 (United Square, Parkway Parade) | $225-$706 by teacher category & length | Trial $75.25-$235; 10% off 1-yr prepay; up to 50% off age 50+ |
| Harmony & Pitch | ABRSM, Trinity & diplomas | 1 (King Albert Park) | Not published, ask directly (practice room $15/30 min, students only) | Free trial + 25% off next month per referral, no cap |
| Studio 72 | Adults, pop, band instruments | 1 (Boat Quay) | $280 / $330 / $380 (30/45/60 min, 4 lessons) | Free first individual lesson; $50 group trial; no SkillsFuture |
| Finger Waltz | Piano & violin in the East | 2 (Katong Shopping Centre, PLQ Mall) | Not published, ask directly | Free trial (else 40% off); 10% off 1st term if you sign up on the spot |
The honest range for a weekly one-to-one lesson is wider than any roundup admits, because two schools price by lesson length and one prices by grade.
Priced by lesson length (the same fee whether you are a beginner or Grade 8): Aureus Academy is $279 / $399 / $519 a month for four 30 / 45 / 60-minute lessons, with all lesson materials and books bundled in. Studio 72 is $280 / $330 / $380 for the same three lengths, dropping to an effective $230 / $280 / $330 a month on a 12-lesson package ($690 / $840 / $990). Mandeville Conservatory prices by teacher category as well as length, from $225 (Category 1, 30 min) to $706 (Category 3, 60 min post-Grade 8).
Priced by grade: Ossia Music School is the outlier, and the reason the floor of this market is far lower than the usual "$225 and up". Its published 2026 rates start at $129 a month for keyboard (Initial, 30 min), $135 for ukulele, $153 for the 3-4 year-old Music Introductory class, $175 for beginner piano, violin, guitar or drums, and $179 for basic vocal, all inclusive of GST and facility fees, which is not how anyone else on this page quotes. The trade is at the top, and it is not quite the trade most write-ups describe: the fee rises because the LESSON GETS LONGER as well as harder. Beginner piano at $175 is 30 minutes, Grades 1 to 5 are 45 minutes ($228 to $260) and Grade 6 upward is a full hour, reaching $406 at Grade 8, $450 at Grade 8 acoustic guitar, $530 at Grade 8 drums and $532 at LRSM. Per hour that is still cheaper than Aureus, whose 60-minute rate is a flat $519 whatever the level. So Ossia is the cheapest school here for a beginner and, once you compare like for like, not the dearest for an advanced student either.
Group is where the real floor is. Ossia's classical guitar group runs from $100 a month and its acoustic guitar and ukulele groups from $118. Studio 72's group classes are $270 per person for a pair and $210 each for a three-person class (4 × 60 min over 4 weeks). Mandeville's group term fee is $196 a month billed as $588 for three months.
Package pricing is a fourth model, and this month it has reverted. Cristofori does not publish a monthly rate. Its August 2026 festival material priced the entry packages to the dollar, at $199 for the Piano Explorer (4 individual 30-minute piano lessons within a month, plus free practice-studio rental and an eBook) and $349 for the Cocktail Music Package (8 one-to-one 30-minute lessons within 3 months, mix and match up to two of piano, drums, guitar and violin). Both offers ended with the campaign on 31 August and nothing has replaced them, so what stands are the usual prices the same artwork printed beside them: $229 for four 30-minute lessons and $399 for the eight-lesson package. That $229 is Cristofori's real monthly individual rate; it still undercuts both Aureus and Studio 72, and it is quoted for children, so an adult should ask for the adult figure.
THE COSTS THAT ARE NOT IN THE MONTHLY FEE. Registration or enrolment fees: Mandeville $80, Studio 72 $45, Ossia $39, Yamaha charges one but does not publish the amount. Deposits: Mandeville and Ossia both take a full month's fees, Studio 72 takes $70 refundable, and Yamaha takes $150 only if you decline its GIRO payment scheme. Books and materials are extra almost everywhere; Aureus is the exception. Exam entry fees go straight to ABRSM or Trinity, never to the school. A realistic first-month outlay at a school taking a deposit is roughly two months' fees plus registration.
Not every school on this page teaches every instrument, and violin is where the list splits most sharply.
The violin specialists. Finger Waltz teaches piano and violin and nothing else, across two East-side branches (Katong Shopping Centre and PLQ Mall), which is the strongest answer if you live east and want a school that is not spreading itself across eight instruments. Mandeville Conservatory was founded by former Singapore Symphony Orchestra musicians and is the deepest string school here, running violin, viola, cello and double bass, an Ensemble Programme and a Violin Stars group track. Harmony & Pitch teaches violin and viola with an explicit ABRSM, Trinity and diploma route.
The convenient ones. Aureus Academy teaches violin at all 30 of its mall centres and Cristofori across its 36 branches, so for most families the nearest violin teacher will be one of those two.
Who does not teach it. Studio 72 has no violin at all: it is guitar, drums, vocals, keyboard, bass and ukulele only. Worth knowing before you walk down to Boat Quay.
What violin costs, cheapest first. Ossia is the only school publishing a violin rate card: beginner is $175 a month for four 30-minute lessons, Grades 1 to 5 run $228 to $260 at 45 minutes, and Grade 6 to 8 run $343 to $406 at a full hour, GST and facility fees already included. Mandeville's group violin is $196 a month, billed as $588 a term, and its individual violin is $225 to $706 depending on teacher category and length. Aureus is $279, $399 or $519. Cristofori and Harmony & Pitch quote on request, and Finger Waltz does the same, though its free trial plus 10% off the first term (only if you sign up on the spot) is the cheapest way to test a teacher. Mandeville's Parkway Parade branch also runs an 8-lesson introductory course in piano or violin for ages 5 and up with no enrolment fee and no deposit, which is the lowest-commitment start for violin anywhere in this guide.
Guitar is the instrument where the gap between an individual lesson and a group class is widest, and where the cheapest real tuition on this page sits.
Group is dramatically cheaper. Ossia's classical guitar group starts at $100 a month and its acoustic guitar and ukulele groups at $118, both inclusive of GST and facility fees. Nothing else in this guide comes close: that is under a third of what the same school charges for one-to-one, and roughly a third of Aureus. Studio 72 runs group guitar at $270 per person for a pair and $210 each for a three, over four 60-minute sessions. Mandeville's guitar group is $196 a month, billed as $588 a term, and it also runs an 8-lesson introductory guitar or ukulele course for ages 6 and up with no enrolment fee and no deposit.
One-to-one guitar rates. Ossia is $175 a month at beginner level for either acoustic or classical guitar at 30 minutes, climbing to $415 for Grade 8 classical and $450 for Grade 8 acoustic at 60 minutes. Aureus is $279, $399 or $519 for 30, 45 or 60 minutes. Studio 72 is $280, $330 or $380, dropping to an effective $230 a month on a 12-lesson package, and it teaches bass as well. Mandeville is $225 to $706 by teacher category. Cristofori teaches acoustic, classical and electric or bass guitar across 36 branches but publishes no rate; its usual price of $229 for four individual 30-minute lessons is the best public indication.
Who to call for what. For a child starting cheaply, Ossia's classical guitar group at $100 is the clear answer. For an adult who wants to play in a band rather than sit Grade 3, Studio 72. For exams and diplomas, Harmony & Pitch. For an electric or bass guitar and lessons from the same shop, Cristofori.
This is the single biggest practical difference between the schools on this page, and none of them lead with it.
Yamaha is the strictest by a distance. Its own FAQ states that lessons are not conducted during Yamaha Term Holidays or on gazetted public holidays, and that there is strictly no replacement of lessons: missed lessons are not replaced, not transferable and not refundable. If your child's slot falls on a public holiday, that lesson is simply gone. Yamaha also runs individual lessons on weekdays only, with the exception of the Yamaha Pianoforte Course, and bills either monthly or per three-month term, with GIRO deducted between the 4th and 6th of the month; a failed GIRO deduction costs $5 plus GST, and so does a late non-GIRO payment.
Ossia is the most forgiving. A lesson falling on a public holiday becomes a make-up credit on your account, students get one make-up lesson a month with 24 hours' notice by WhatsApp or email, and a same-day cancellation still earns a replacement if you produce an MC. Unused fifth-week slots auto-schedule outstanding make-up credits.
If your family travels, has an unpredictable work roster or catches every bug going round the childcare centre, that difference is worth more over a year than any of the fee gaps above.
1. Distance beats reputation. The single strongest predictor of whether a child is still learning in two years is whether getting to the lesson is easy. Aureus (30 mall centres) and Cristofori (36 branches) win on this by default; Ossia covers the North and West; Finger Waltz covers the East.
2. One-to-one or group? Aureus, Ossia and Mandeville's individual track are one-to-one. Yamaha's children's curriculum is deliberately group-based, and for a pre-schooler that is often the better format, not a compromise. Studio 72 and Mandeville offer both, and group is materially cheaper.
3. Take the trial before the sales conversation. Six of these eight run a free trial. A teacher who is patient with your specific child matters far more than the school's brand, and you cannot assess that from a website.
4. Ask for the all-in first-month total, in writing. The monthly fee is rarely what you pay first. See the fee section above for every registration charge and deposit we could verify at source.
5. Decide the exam question early. ABRSM and Trinity grades give structure and a certificate, but a syllabus year narrows what a child plays for months at a time. If your child is not exam-minded, Studio 72's pop-and-band model or a Rock & Pop syllabus is a happier route than classical grades.
Aureus Academy and Ossia Music School are not independent rivals. Ossia's own website lists it under the Aureus Group, which it describes as five companies with around 22 locations, 500 staff and more than 18,000 students in Singapore, founded in 2013 by brothers Lawrence and Julius Holmefjord-Sarabi. They are run as separate brands with different pricing models and different branch networks, so comparing them is still worth doing, but if you are shortlisting them as two independent second opinions, they are not.
*All fees, branch lists and promotions were re-verified against each school's own website, fee tables, PDF rate cards and campaign artwork on 16 September 2026. Fees change and promotions have caps and terms, so confirm directly with the school before you enrol.*
Less than most guides tell you, if you are a beginner. The commonly quoted floor of $225 a month is simply the cheapest rate among the three schools that price by lesson length; it is not the cheapest rate in Singapore. For four weekly 30-minute one-to-one lessons, the real published range in 2026 runs from $129 to about $280 for a beginner, and from roughly $400 to $706 once you reach Grade 8 or a diploma. The concrete numbers: Ossia Music School is the cheapest and the only school here that prices by GRADE rather than lesson length, starting at $129 a month for keyboard, $135 for ukulele, $153 for its 3-4 year-old introductory class and $175 for beginner piano, violin, guitar or drums, all inclusive of GST and facility fees, then climbing to $406 at Grade 8 piano and $532 at LRSM. Cristofori Music School publishes no monthly rate, but its August 2026 festival artwork priced an introductory package at $199 for four individual 30-minute piano lessons against a usual price of $229. That campaign ended on 31 August, so the $229 is what stands, and it is effectively its standard monthly rate. Aureus Academy charges $279 for 30 minutes, $399 for 45 and $519 for 60, with books and materials included. Studio 72 charges $280, $330 and $380 for the same three lengths, dropping to an effective $230 to $330 a month on a 12-lesson package. Mandeville Conservatory runs $225 (Category 1, 30 min) up to $706 (Category 3, 60 min post-Grade 8). Group classes are far cheaper per head, Ossia's classical guitar group starts at $100 a month, its acoustic guitar and ukulele groups at $118, Studio 72's three-person group is $210 per person, and Mandeville's group term fee is $588 for three months. THE COSTS THAT ARE NOT IN THAT NUMBER, and which catch most parents out: a registration or enrolment fee (Mandeville $80, Studio 72 $45, Ossia $39, and Yamaha charges one without publishing the amount), a deposit (Mandeville and Ossia both take a full month's fee; Studio 72 takes $70 refundable; Yamaha takes $150 only if you decline its GIRO scheme), books and lesson materials (Aureus includes these in its rate, most schools do not), exam entry fees paid separately to ABRSM or Trinity, and the instrument itself. A realistic first-month outlay at a school taking a deposit is roughly two months' fees plus the registration fee. Always ask for the all-in first-month total in writing before you sign.
Six of the eight schools in this guide run a genuinely free trial for new students, and it is the single most useful thing you can do before committing, a trial tells you whether the teacher and the child click, which matters more than the school's brand. FREE TRIALS: Aureus Academy offers a free trial lesson to all new students, booked online by centre at sg.aureusacademy.com/trial/start. Ossia Music School offers free trial lessons across its four branches. Yamaha Music School offers free trial lessons across every age group and instrument, from the age-2 Apple Course to adult vocal. Harmony & Pitch offers a free trial via the form on its site. Studio 72 gives every new student a complimentary first individual lesson, which it values at $65, with no obligation to sign up (group class trials are $50 per person). Finger Waltz is advertising a free trial plus 10% off on piano and violin. PAID OR CONDITIONAL: Mandeville Conservatory charges for the trial and requires payment at least two days in advance, but credits you one free lesson off your second month's fees if you enrol with the same teacher afterwards, which effectively refunds it. Cristofori Music School runs a Book a Trial Class option through its Lessons menu; confirm the cost with your branch, as terms vary by location. Its $199 Piano Explorer package, which used to be the better way to test the school than a single trial, ended with the August 2026 festival, so ask what the same four lessons cost now against the $229 usual price the campaign printed. One practical tip: book trials at two or three schools in the same week rather than one at a time, so the comparison is fresh.
The schools themselves set clear minimums, and they are a better guide than general advice because they reflect what actually works in a lesson room. Ossia Music School publishes its age floors instrument by instrument: a Music Introductory programme for 3-4 year olds, piano from 4, violin from 5, ukulele from 5, and drums and guitar from 6. Mandeville Conservatory accepts children from 2.5. Yamaha starts youngest of all with the Apple Course from around age 2, moving into the Yamaha Primary Course and then splitting into piano, Electone, guitar or drums from about 5.5. WHY THE ORDER MATTERS: piano and keyboard come first for most children because the notes are laid out visually and you do not have to produce the pitch yourself; the child can make a correct sound on day one, which protects early motivation. Violin is harder to start on precisely because pitch and bow control are the child's responsibility, so it rewards a child who already has some patience. Guitar and drums are later starters mainly for physical reasons: hand span and grip strength for guitar, limb coordination and reaching the pedal for drums. Ukulele sits between them and is a good first string instrument for a 5-year-old. FOR A 2 TO 4 YEAR OLD, a group music-and-movement introductory programme is usually more appropriate than a formal instrument lesson, Yamaha's early courses and Ossia's Music Introductory class are built for exactly this. Do not push a formal instrument onto a child who is not ready; a year of enjoying music beats a year of dreading a Saturday lesson.
No: graded exams are optional, and whether they help depends entirely on what you want out of the lessons. WHAT EXAMS ARE FOR: they give a structured syllabus, an external benchmark of progress, a deadline that motivates practice, and a certificate that has some currency for school CCA placement, DSA applications and, at the higher grades, music-related further study. WHAT THEY COST YOU: exam entry fees are paid separately to the exam board on top of your lesson fees, and a syllabus-driven year narrows what a child plays down to three set pieces, scales and aural tests for months at a time, which is exactly why some children lose interest around Grade 3 to 5. WHO PREPARES FOR WHAT: Ossia Music School prepares students for ABRSM, Trinity Rock & Pop and Rockschool graded exams. Harmony & Pitch specialises in ABRSM and Trinity College London preparation and takes students all the way through to music diplomas. Cristofori Music School covers exam preparation including Rockschool (RSL London) at its Funan centre. Mandeville Conservatory runs a dedicated ABRSM track and prices its post-Grade 8 lessons as a separate tier. Yamaha runs its own examination system alongside the graded boards. IF YOUR CHILD IS NOT EXAM-MINDED: Studio 72's pop, band and ad-hoc-lesson model is built for exactly that, and Rockschool or Trinity Rock & Pop are far more forgiving syllabuses than classical ABRSM if you want a certificate without the classical repertoire. Decide this before you enrol, because it changes which school suits you.
Yes, and more than most people assume, the assumption that music schools are only for children is the main reason adults never call. THE ONES BUILT FOR ADULTS: Studio 72 at Boat Quay is the most adult-oriented school on this list, teaching guitar, drums, vocals, keyboard, bass and ukulele with a pop and band emphasis, published pricing, and ad-hoc single lessons at $100 for 45 minutes or $120 for 60 minutes for people whose work schedule will not support a fixed weekly slot, its location a few minutes from Raffles Place MRT is not an accident. Harmony & Pitch in Bukit Timah runs an explicit Music for Seniors programme alongside its jazz and improvisation piano track, which makes it one of the few schools in Singapore set up for older learners rather than merely willing to take them. THE BEST-VALUE ROUTE FOR AN OLDER BEGINNER, and one almost nothing else mentions, is Mandeville Conservatory's Jubilant Course: keyboard, violin, ukulele or choir for ages 50 and above, sold as a four-month group course at a discount of up to 50%, with no enrolment fee and no deposit. At a school whose normal enrolment fee is $80 and whose normal deposit is a full month's fees, that is a materially cheaper way in than any standard rate on this page. Yamaha Music School has a full Teens and Adults course range covering piano, guitar, bass, drums, wind instruments, violin and vocal, plus a Music Wellness Course. Ossia Music School teaches one-to-one across an age range it states as 3 to 75, so an adult beginner is squarely within its normal intake rather than an exception. PRACTICAL NOTES FOR ADULT BEGINNERS: take the free trial before you commit, because teacher fit matters more for self-conscious adult learners than for children; ask specifically about evening and weekend availability before you pay, as the best slots go to school-age students first; and if your schedule is genuinely unpredictable, a pay-per-lesson model beats a monthly package you will not fully use.
Five of the eight in this guide do, in three different places, and knowing where to look is most of the battle, because a school that says "enquire for pricing" on its homepage often has a rate card two clicks away. ON THE WEBSITE, PLAINLY: Aureus Academy prints $279 / $399 / $519 a month for four 30 / 45 / 60-minute lessons on its Lesson Packages page, with all books and materials included. Studio 72 publishes its whole structure on its homepage: individual, 12-lesson package, ad hoc and group rates, plus registration and deposit. Mandeville Conservatory publishes the most detailed table of the three, banding individual fees by teacher category and lesson length and pricing its trial lessons too. AS A DOWNLOAD: Ossia Music School keeps a course-fees page with a separate PDF rate card for every instrument, priced by grade and inclusive of GST and facility fees; this is the one most roundups miss, and it is the reason this guide's price floor is $129 rather than $225. ON CAMPAIGN ARTWORK: Cristofori Music School publishes no rate card at all, but its Music Festival page prices its lesson packages precisely, and each carries a usual price that reveals the underlying rate. GENUINELY UNPUBLISHED: Yamaha Music School (enquiry form only, though its FAQ does explain every surcharge and deposit), Harmony & Pitch and Finger Waltz. For those three, ask for the monthly fee, the registration fee, the deposit and the materials cost as one written all-in figure, and ask what happens to a lesson that falls on a public holiday.
Yamaha publishes a Yamaha Course Calendar 2026 on the Schedule section of its Singapore education site, showing every lesson date and term holiday at a glance, alongside a course-schedule search by course and location and an Event Lineup for concert dates. Download it before you commit to a slot, because Yamaha's holiday rules are unusually strict. THE RULE THAT CATCHES PEOPLE: no lessons are conducted during Yamaha Term Holidays or on gazetted public holidays, and there is strictly no replacement: a missed lesson is not replaced, not transferable and not refundable. If your weekly slot falls on a public holiday, that lesson is simply gone. That is the opposite of Ossia, where a public-holiday lesson becomes a make-up credit. HOW FEES ARE PAID: most course fees are payable monthly or before the start of each three-month term, and you must pay the first month, term or two months at registration to hold the place. GIRO is the default and is deducted between the 4th and 6th day of each month or term; if a GIRO deduction fails you pay over the counter plus a $5 surcharge subject to GST. If you do not use GIRO, fees are due on the last day of the preceding month or term, and late payment carries a $5 admin fee subject to GST. THE DEPOSIT IS OPTIONAL IN PRACTICE: on top of the course fee there is a registration fee, plus a $150 deposit only if you opt out of GIRO, returned when you graduate or terminate, provided nothing is outstanding. TO STOP: give one calendar month's written notice, so if December is your last month you must tell the school by 30 November. The registration fee is never refunded, but if you cancel before classes begin the course fee and deposit are returned. One more scheduling note: individual lessons run on weekdays only, with the exception of the Yamaha Pianoforte Course.
There is no single best one, and any guide that names one is selling you something. The honest answer is that the eight here win on different things, and the one that suits you falls out of four questions. IF PRICE DECIDES: Ossia Music School, at $129 a month for keyboard and $175 for beginner piano, violin, guitar or drums, GST and facility fees included, and $100 a month for classical guitar in a group. Nothing else here is close at entry level. IF CONVENIENCE DECIDES, and for most families it should, because getting to the lesson is the strongest predictor of whether a child is still learning in two years: Aureus Academy at 30 mall centres or Cristofori at 36 branches, most of them in HDB estates rather than malls. Cristofori is also the cheaper of the two, at a usual price of $229 a month for four 30-minute lessons against Aureus's $279. IF THE GOAL IS EXAMS OR A CONSERVATORY PATH: Mandeville Conservatory, founded by former Singapore Symphony Orchestra players and the deepest string school here, or Harmony & Pitch for ABRSM, Trinity and performance diplomas. IF THE STUDENT IS AN ADULT: Studio 72 at Boat Quay, which is built around working adults, publishes everything and sells single lessons at $100. THE ONE TO AVOID IF YOUR CALENDAR IS MESSY is Yamaha, not because the teaching is weaker but because it replaces no missed lesson at all, which over a year of travel and public holidays costs more than any fee gap on this page.
They are not really competing for the same student, so the choice is about format and terms rather than quality. FORMAT IS THE REAL DIFFERENCE: Yamaha's children's curriculum is deliberately group-based and starts at around age 2 with the Apple Course, moving through the Primary Course before splitting into piano, Electone, guitar or drums from about 5.5. Aureus is one-to-one only, from the Musical Adventure introductory programme upward. For a pre-schooler, group music-and-movement is usually the better format, not a compromise, so Yamaha wins for the under-fives. For a child who already knows what they want to play, or who needs individual attention, Aureus wins. PRICE: Aureus publishes $279, $399 and $519 a month for four 30, 45 or 60-minute lessons, with books, materials, backing tracks and its progress portal included. Yamaha publishes nothing and works from an enquiry form, so you cannot compare until you have asked. TERMS ARE WHERE AUREUS IS CLEARLY AHEAD: Yamaha runs no lessons during its term holidays or on public holidays and replaces a missed lesson strictly never, with no transfer and no refund; its individual lessons are weekdays only except the Pianoforte Course; and it charges a $150 deposit unless you sign up for GIRO, plus $5 plus GST for a failed deduction or a late payment. CONVENIENCE: Aureus has 30 mall centres and you can book a free trial online by branch. Yamaha has centres islandwide but you need its School Locator. BOTH RUN A FREE TRIAL, so the sensible move is to trial one of each before deciding, and to ask Yamaha for its all-in monthly figure at the same time.
