Music lessons here are typically forty-five to sixty minutes weekly, at the teacher’s home studio or yours. The weekly rhythm matters more than the length: an hour a week with twenty minutes of daily practice beats a three-hour block every fortnight, and any teacher worth booking will say so.

Ask who supplies the instrument. Most teachers have a piano or drum kit in the studio but expect you to bring your own guitar or ukulele, and humidity here is hard on wooden instruments — a case with silica and a dehumidified room are worth more than an expensive upgrade.

Art and ceramics classes are usually sold as a course rather than by the hour, because materials and firing are part of the cost. Confirm what the fee covers — clay, glazes, kiln firing and whether you keep the pieces — before you commit to a block.