Group vs. Private Music Lessons: Which Gets Better Results?

By ABC Academy of Music teaching team · Updated August 2026

Parents ask us this a lot: “Should my child take private lessons, or would a group class work just as well?” It is a real decision, and it affects cost, schedule, and how a child experiences music. We looked at what the research actually says about skill-building and social growth in each format. See our full Music Education Research hub for every study behind our program.

Skill Growth: A Head-to-Head Study of Young Beginners

One of the few studies to test this question directly comes from the University of Washington in 2016. Researchers worked with 45 beginning piano students, ages 5 to 7, none of whom had played before. Some took group lessons. Others took private, one-on-one lessons. All students completed 24 weekly sessions, then took the same test of music knowledge, reading, listening skills, and playing ability.

The result may surprise some parents: there was no significant difference in overall musical achievement between the two formats. For these young beginners, group and private instruction produced similar skill gains over six months.

This does not mean format never matters. It means that for true beginners in this age range, group lessons taught skill just as effectively as one-on-one lessons did, at least on the measures this study used.

What the Broader Research Says About Group Settings

A separate 2015 review looked at whether music training improves reading-related skills, and whether the setting, group or individual, changes that effect. The researchers found something specific: one-on-one lessons are not required to see language-skill benefits. Several studies using group-based music training still found real gains.

Put together with the piano study above, a pattern starts to form. For young children building foundational skills, the format may matter less than simply showing up, practicing, and having a good teacher.

Where Group Lessons Pull Ahead: Social Skills

Skill on an instrument is not the only thing lessons build. A Canadian study followed 84 children, ages 8 and 9, through 10 months of group music training and compared them to a control group with no music training.

Children who started the program with weaker social skills showed a real jump in sympathy and helpful behavior toward others by the end. Their scores on a sympathy measure rose from an average of 4.32 to 5.09, a statistically significant increase (t(17) = 3.45, p = .003). Children in the control group barely changed, from 4.41 to 4.59, and did not improve significantly. A related, separate measure of helpful, prosocial behavior showed the same pattern: a significant rise for the music group (t(13) = 3.49, p = .008) and no significant change for the control group. Children who already had strong social skills did not show much extra gain, since they had less room to grow.

This is the clearest evidence in favor of group formats specifically. Playing alongside other children, taking turns, and listening to a group gives kids social practice that a one-on-one lesson simply cannot offer in the same way. Our article on music and parent-child bonding covers a related angle: how shared musical activity builds connection between people.

Where Private Lessons Still Have an Edge

The research above does not mean private lessons offer nothing extra. In a private lesson, a teacher can slow down. They can repeat a tricky passage. They can give feedback made just for that one child, every week. For a child working on a specific weak spot, or getting ready for an exam, that kind of focused attention has real value. We could not find a study that tested this directly against group lessons for advanced students. But it is a reasonable, practical edge for one-on-one teaching, even without a study to prove it.

What This Means for Choosing a Format

For a young beginner building basic skills, the research suggests either format can work well. For a child who needs focused correction, or one working toward a specific goal, private lessons offer more individual attention. For a child who needs practice with sharing, turn-taking, and connecting with peers, a group setting has real, measured social benefits. The right answer often depends on the child, not a single rule for every family. See our article on music lessons and discipline for more on how structured lessons, in either format, build follow-through.

Music Lessons at ABC Academy of Music

Our private, one-on-one lessons in piano, guitar, voice, and drums give each student focused, personal attention. For young children, our Music Together® program brings families together in a group setting built for shared music-making, turn-taking, and connection with other families. We also work with schools and daycare centres on customized group programs — contact us to discuss what might work for your child. Browse our class schedule to see what fits your child, or visit our rates and payment page for current pricing.