10 Proven Tips for Launching a Successful New Music Teaching Business

Are you passionate about music and eager to share your knowledge with others? Becoming a private music teacher can be a fulfilling and lucrative career path. However, it's not just about having musical skills; communication and recruitment are also crucial aspects of the job.

1. Get your name out there. Set up a free website to have a landing page for people interested able to start somewhere, because most searches start online. Start hanging flyers up, and advertise at local coffee shops, neighborhood newsletters, and community boards online. Become the name people know and recognize.

2. Start thinking about how you can effectively communicate with parents. Start practicing answering common questions that are asked. You can see some of the top ones I’ve encountered here. The goal is to get them on the phone and chat with them, or in your door for a trial lesson to make sure things click between you and the family. 🎶 The trial lesson does not have to be free. That’s your choice, but remember, your time is worth something. You can always start offering free trial lessons, and change at a later time too.

3. Select the method books you are going to be teaching from. There are a lot of choices out there and take the time to sit down with the different method books and decide what you feel most comfortable with. For private piano lessons, I use the Faber & Faber Piano Adventures.

4. Create your business model and scheduling. To maximize your time spent teaching block off time in your week and schedule all lessons back to back. Have the students come to you if you can and just keep them rolling in one after another. You can teach a lot of students in very little time.

5. Bookkeeping is essential to track your business. From income tracking, to tuition statements, you will want to have some form of Bookkeeping. I created a mini course with all the Bookkeeping tools I use so you can become a powerhouse too, plus accompanying videos on how to customize all documents on your computer for your studio! Check it out here! Successful Private Music Studios Bookkeeping Powerhouse Mini Course.

6. Start working on your musicianship skills. You’re going to be teaching others, but still take the time to keep developing yours. From working on a new piece of music to joining a local community ensemble to perform with. 🎶 This creates Credentials that you are actively performing still is a great talking point for why learning music can benefit not just as a child but later in life too. Even if you are just back into picking music back up.

7. Create a studio policy so that all the questions regarding your music studio is answered before the student comes to the first lesson. That way you establish the rules, sets you up as someone who’s taking this seriously and leaves out any questions for what to do when. You can get my IRONCLAD ready made studio policy template that you can customize to fit your studio. I walk you through exactly how to customize it to truly make it your own. You can get it here: Successful Music Studio Policy Templates Mini Course.

8. Set a goal for how many students you want to have by a specific date. Then work to start a wait list so that you will always have students in demand ready to walk through your doors.

9. Think outside of the box when it comes to what you can offer as a teacher. Can you teach more than one instrument, a primary and a secondary? Are you an accompanist? Can you sing? List what you can offer on your website.

10. Create a fun atmosphere for your students from the moment they walk in the door. Believe it or not, even just having a simple candy bowl from them to take a piece of candy from at the end of lessons, will make them want to come back week after week, year after year. You can also create sticker charts, or challenges for them to work for prizes from a “treasure box”. Practice x amount of days and they get to take a prize from the box. Keeps them engaged and excited.

Becoming a private music teacher can be an exciting and rewarding career path for those who have a passion for music and teaching. Remember that communication, recruitment, forming bonds with your students, and organization are all crucial aspects of the job. With dedication and hard work, you can help aspiring musicians appreciate their artistry and create beautiful sounds through music lessons.

Happy Teaching!

Private Piano Lessons Method Books

I’ve been using this Faber & Faber Piano Adventures 4 book series set since I started teaching in my home based studio back in 2007. I literally sat down in the music store and went through all the different method books and choose this series because it was slower paced, not introducing too many concepts at once or super early on giving a very strong foundation in the basics of note reading and counting. The 8th note learning doesn’t even happen until level 2A. And the book series has worked well for me!

When you decide on the method books you choose to use, I suggest you get a full set of every level to have on hand that way you have a set of books if your student forgets their books for lessons or if you are doing online lessons so you are following along in your set of books with the student during their lesson.

Happy Teaching!

Simplify Your Business: How to Maximize Your Teaching and Business Schedule

Running a private music studio and teaching lessons can be a fulfilling and rewarding experience, but it can also be overwhelming. Between managing your schedule and keeping track of your students' progress, it can feel like there's never enough time in the day. However, simplifying your business and maximizing your schedule with just a few days a week can help you achieve a better work-life balance while still providing quality education to your students.

One way to simplify your business is to streamline your scheduling process. Rather than offering lessons every day of the week, consider limiting your availability to just a few days and always back to back. This not only makes it easier for you to manage your time, it gives you a block of working hours that are easy to tell prospective parents about and you always know what slot is open. Plus, your students come to expect that their lesson day remains the same. Giving the students a sense of structure and consistency. You can offer multiple lesson times on those designated days to accommodate different schedules.

Another way to maximize your schedule is to prioritize your teaching methods and focus on what works best for you and your students. Instead of trying to teach every genre or style, hone in on your areas of expertise and offer those lessons exclusively. Or create a lesson plan for specific grades associated with a level. My advanced students all follow the same path. Freshmans, is fugue year. Sophomores, is mini Sonatina year. Junior is accompanist year (they will actually learn to accompany me while I play a horn solo) and Senior year, is Senior recital year ranging from a Mozart concerto to a big Solo piece. This not only makes it easier for you to prepare for each lesson, but provides a structure to your teaching.

In addition, for the back end of the teaching. You can simplify your bookkeeping and send emails only one day a month. For me, every 23rd of the month is the day I have scheduled on my calendar to send out lesson summaries, (tuition dues) And I wait until the 1st to do my banking from depositing checks or transferring the income received in my Paypal to my bank.

Ultimately, simplifying your business and maximizing your schedule with just a few days a week can help you achieve a healthier work-life balance while still providing quality education to your students. By streamlining your scheduling process, prioritizing your teaching methods, and incorporating technology, you can become more efficient and effective in your role as a private music instructor.

Happy Teaching!

The Ultimate Guide to Overcoming Challenges in Your Music Teaching Business

As a music teacher, running a successful business can be challenging. From attracting new students to managing finances, there are many obstacles that can make it difficult to thrive in this industry. However, with the right strategies and mindset, it is possible to overcome these challenges and build a thriving music teaching business. In this ultimate guide, we will explore some of the most common obstacles faced by music teachers and provide practical tips and advice for overcoming them. Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your business to the next level, this guide will provide valuable insights and actionable steps that you can take to achieve success in your music teaching business. So, let's dive in and discover how you can overcome the challenges and build a successful and fulfilling career in music teaching.

1) Lack of practicing by the students. This is number one and can be frustrating for not only you, whose goal is to keep the learning happening week by week but also the parents at home. If they have to keep reminding their child to practice or nag them to get it done, it isn’t fun for anyone.

• Tip 1: LET THEM PICK A SONG TO LEARN at their level. Use a Popular music book that has some of your favorite current songs in it. When a student enjoys what they are doing, they will practice.

• Tip 2: Incentivize your student to practice. Through a challenge or even just having a simple candy bowl for them to pick a candy at the end of the lesson.

2) Late tuition payments. Because this is a business you are reliant on receiving payment. For me and my family, this is what helps pay the bills. So for us, receiving timely tuition payments is a must.

• Tip 1: In your studio policy clearly state when the due date is for payments and if payments aren’t received within a week of the due date, a late fee will be added. This is a business. A service-related business and most services expect payment.

• Tip 2: one thing that has truly helped my business is to transition on receive online payments. You can set up a “due date” and a reminder is sent out if they haven’t paid by the due date.

3) Incompatible personalities. Whether it’s with the student or the family. It happens. Even when I was taking lessons, I didn’t mesh well with one of my teachers and it was horrible.

• Tip 1: Address it. Talk to the family, and be open. Don’t just try to “get through it” If you’re feeling the strain from it, they are too, which will impact the lack of practice and a willingness to participate fully.

4) Tardiness. Being late to lessons happens, occasionally but if a student is habitually late or misses lessons that is a cause for a discussion with the parents and even to the point of removal from the studio. Remind them that you don’t want to waste their time or money and your time as well. You are here to help them, but can only do so if the student is there to receive the help.

• Tip 1: Clearly state in the studio policy that lessons will not be extended if a student is late. Their lesson time is the lesson time and If there is excessive tardiness or missed lessons, may cause removal from the studio. If a new lesson time is required, please notify me as soon as possible to help remedy the situation.

5) Filling your music studio. If you struggle with filling your studio, this can be from a number of factors from, specialized instrument —not enough people playing to fill a studio, location, tuition dues too high or even just more advertising.

• Tip 1: If you teach a specialized instrument, can you teach a secondary instrument? I play french horn, and there aren’t a lot of students in the area that play horn, or don’t already have another horn teacher. But I also play piano. So most of my student is actually filled with piano students and 1/3 is horn. I’m personally so close to closing the gap but, piano is technically my fall back, studio filler.

• Tip 2: Are you away from the city center, or out in a more rural area? A solution could be to open a studio closer to town. While it won’t be run in your home you might have to rent a space to teach lessons. Places to look into renting: churches, music stores, ask the schools if you can use a practice room for after school lessons, or even open up your own storefront.

• Tip 3: If you are getting a lot of interest in lessons but not converting to students in your studio, reevaluate your tuition. Maybe you’re priced a little high in your area. You can always start tuition lower, and over time increase it. But don’t undersell yourself either just to get students in the door. Be reasonable. Check pricing of local teachers in the area and be in the median point of that.

• Tip 4: Advertise anywhere and everywhere you can. Call subdivisions and ask if they have a monthly newsletter or Facebook group you can advertise on. Make an ad in there. Leave your card or flyer on community boards at the gym, coffee shops, or other local eateries that often have a advertisement / posting board up. Create an incentive in your studio for referrals. Contact churches and see if they can pass the word on. Post on Instagram or Facebook that you are have opening in your music studio. Talk about it often, with anyone and everyone.

At one point or another you will have at least 1 of these challenges in your studio. And It’s never fun to have a difficult conversation with any parent regarding their child, but it must be done if you are going to overcome any of these challenges. Just remember, this is your business. You are here to serve but, there hast to be a willingness on both sides for you to effectively do so.

Happy Teaching!

How To Easily Transition To Teaching Online Music Lessons | TOP 5 TIPS

Non-essential business have been shut down in our state for at least a month at this point and I had to make the quick decision on transitioning to online lessons. It’s actually an easy transition, technology wise! Follow these steps to continue your teaching online during this time, or open up your teaching to online lessons to be able to teach more students in general!

ZOOM is an amazing teaching site that allows you to have multiple people and devices at once and it’s FREE! Set up an account and select MEETINGS —> Schedule Meeting. Assign each student a RECURRING meeting time so that it uses a custom code for every student. Be sure to scroll down to ADVANCED, and select waiting room, so that they have a place to wait while you end one student and then start theirs. Password is optional. Then just Send them their customized link. Each week you sign into your zoom and open the meetings as they happen.

Be sure to send out a notice to all parents about what you expect during this time from being in the waiting room for lessons 5 minutes early and even advise them on no shows/late and that lessons will only be for the time allotted. If the student is late, you will not be making up the time at the end or at a later date. You, as the teacher, should not be expected to send out a text message to the parents each time they don’t show up for lessons. It’s the parent’s responsibility to remember to have their child in lesson on time.

SAMPLE LETTER:

For you as the teacher, know that teaching online is a much SLOWER process. You can not go at the speed you did when teaching face to face. It takes more listening than talking at times too.

1) You must have a copy of every book the students are using. Forego doing theory if you have to, but you will need a copy of their books plus a notebook and keep record of what you assigned them.

2) Allow the student to complete their playing then give them notes on what and where to correct then go back over. Often there is a lag and if you correct while they are playing by the time they hear your comment they could already be half a measure ahead and get confused. So listen then correct.

3) Be clear with where you are talking about, measure numbers. Older kids need to write in every measure number to make it easier. For younger students go back over how to count their measures. Be prepared to hold your music up and show them exactly.

4) If you tell them to mark something in their music, mark yours too so you know exactly what you are telling them to help them next time.

5) if you are feeling frustrated or the student is feeling frustrated, move on to the next thing, and let them know we’ll work on it again next week. This is new for you and them, and it’s a big change. Don’t let your frustration show. Often they just need a break, or will be able to pick up the concept during their practicing that week after they sit down with it.

In the end, lessons online are completely doable. Be open and honest with the parents. Check in with them each month to see how it’s working for them. Honestly having our 75 Days of practicing challenge already going has helped us stay committed to practicing during this time because they know that they will still get their prizes even with being quarantined!

Happy teaching!