Lucerne wants the youth rate up to 25, Ticino has already introduced it

In Lucerne, anyone turning 20 pays full price for music lessons: 30 minutes a week goes from 730 to 2,340 francs a year.¹ The city council (Stadtrat) is ready to accept a motion from the SP, the Greens and the Green Liberals that extends the children's and youth rate to age 25.¹

The city council speaks of a real “break” in musical careers; according to the Luzerner Zeitung, most people stop at 20.¹ Of the roughly 2,500 pupils in individual lessons, only a handful are over 20.¹ Lucerne would not be a pioneer: according to the city council, more and more music schools in Switzerland offer subsidised lessons up to 25.¹ The Luzerner Zeitung does not say how much this would cost the city or when the city parliament will debate it.

In the canton of Bern, the issue is broader. A motion from cantonal MPs across all parties calls for the canton to raise its share of teachers' salary costs, currently 30 per cent, to bring down parents' fees.² According to the motion, a child learning one instrument costs around 2,000 francs a year.² The cantonal government wants to convert it into a postulate, a less binding form, and first analyse where existing support instruments reach their limits.² Its argument, as reported by swissinfo.ch: “Eine blosse Erhöhung der Kantonsbeiträge führe nicht automatisch zu einem chancengerechteren Zugang zum Musikunterricht” (simply raising cantonal contributions would not automatically make access to music lessons fairer).²

Ticino has already taken the step Lucerne is discussing. From the 2026-27 school year, the age limit for cantonal support rises from 20 to 25, and families receiving specific cantonal subsidies can get a reduction of up to 90 per cent.³

The issue is not only about young adults. At music schools, the share of adult pupils has risen from 5 to 8 per cent in five years, not counting students, writes the Schweizer Musikzeitung.⁴ Unlike lessons for children and young people, theirs are not subsidised, says Eva Wartenweiler, head of the Zollikofen-Bremgarten music school.⁴

Who benefits? In Lucerne, if the motion passes, 20- to 25-year-olds who currently pay 2,340 francs. In Bern, nobody for now: the government wants to analyse first. In Ticino, already this year, young people up to 25 and families with subsidies.¹²³