Throughout my years of private teaching I have learned many lessons! I began teaching private piano lessons in high school as a way to earn spending money and as I progressed through my undergraduate and graduate degrees I was able to grow my studio and create a livable income. This path was not without some hiccups along the way. Between 2004 and 2012 I was able to grow my studio from 10 students to over 70. While this provided a wonderful income and allowed me to utilize the skills I was gaining in school, I found myself thinking more like a business major than a musician.
Organization is Key!
In the beginning my organization consisted of notes scribbled on tiny pieces of paper and only some events entered into my calendar. As my studio began to grow it became apparent this system was not going to work. Then I discovered Music Teachers Helper. For me, this was a LIFESAVER!! I don't want to sound like a walking advertisement, however, I will say it made me look WAY more organized that I really was! And when it came time for taxes all of my information was in one place. Here is a link to my teaching website.
Organization for the students
It's important to keep the students up to date on their progress and your expectations for them. Therefore, I would suggest updating them on:
- Recap of their lesson and goals the next lesson
- Upcoming lesson dates/times
- Future goals (i.e. how many days until competitions or events)
- Practicing expectations
Not only does this involvement help the students stay on top of their lessons, but it allows them to treat their private instrument lesson just as they would a classroom class.
Organization for the parents
Parents love to know how their children are doing and see the results of the money they are spending. Most of my private teaching was done within the schools and I never had a chance to see the parents face to face. Therefore, I felt it important to keep the parents up to date on what was happening in their children's music lessons. Once I started doing this I found parents were less likely to drop lessons after the big competitions were over. Here's a list of things I would update parents with:
- Student progress of lesson
- Upcoming goals for student
- Upcoming lesson dates/times
- Payment amount/check # of payment made
- Future payments that might need to be made
- Expectations of practicing for the week
Organization for you, the teacher
It sounds so simple, just organize who you're teaching and when. But there is so much more that goes into being successful with a private studio. Especially as your studio starts to grow.
Basics
- Parent/Student Names and Contact information (Be mindful of how they like to be contacted. Do they text, e-mail, or prefer phone calls)
- Lesson day/time/place for each student - make sure all of this is listed in whatever calendar program you are using
- Amount for each lesson
- Keep a ledger for lesson payments and stay on top of it! 15 minutes a day of this can save you hours at the end of the fiscal year!
Extras
You want to be prepared for each student and most student's have different music to work on. It is hard to carry around music for every student, therefore, I tried to to as much digitally as I could. On my iPad I loaded scale, technique, and warm-ups that would work for most students. Not only could I use this in lessons, but I could e-mail it directly to the student. I also tried to keep up with the solos and repertoire they were all working on and have them on my iPad as well. In addition, I found it helpful to always have something to sightread and have some different music that they students were not doing in school. If it was Christmas time we might work on Christmas music, if it was the end of the year we might work on some Top 40's tunes. Anything to keep the student engaged and excited about learning.
After dealing with returned checks, nonpayment, and students canceling at the last minute I realized it was extremely necessary to have a studio policy. This policy is a contract between you and the students and it outlines what you expect from the students and what the students can expect from you. Below are some sections outlined in my studio policy.
.jpeg)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private lessons are a vital component to a complete musical education. In addition to participation in
school ensembles and chamber groups, private instruction will aid the student in achieving a more
comprehensive understanding of the instrument and the proper fundamentals concerning issues of
tone, technique, repertoire, and history that are specific to the instrument.
Lessons:
To maximize the lesson time the student needs to be prepared. All equipment (i.e. reeds,
mouthpiece, ligature, neck-strap, etc.) must be with the student at the time of the lesson and be in good
working condition. In addition to the instrument and its proper parts, the student must also bring
his/her lesson book, band binder, and a pencil. Assignments will be given to the student each
week and the student will be expected to practice a minimum of thirty minutes a day to keep up with the assignments. Private lessons are a chance for the student to learn outside of the classroom, and must
therefore be treated as such during the student’s preparation and practice. Students are encouraged to
log on to my website and record their practicing.
Lessons payments will be made for a month at a time (typically four week blocks – please note some
months will have five weeks). All account information is available through my studio website provided
you have created a username and password.
Payment can be made in three ways. First, payments can be made online with a credit card. Please
note, there will be a small service fee of $2.00 for all online transactions. This will be charged at the
end of each semester depending on the number of online transactions.
Second, payment can be made by check. Checks can be made payable to Teacher's Name.
There will be a $20 service fee on ALL returned checks.
Finally, some have found it helpful to create a reoccurring deduction from their bank account each
month an automatic bill pay. The address this payment can be sent to is teacher's address.
Payments for lessons need to be made by the 15th of each month. There will be a $20 late fee on all
student accounts if payment has not been received by the 15th of the month. In addition, the student’s lesson may be forfeited if the payment is not received by the 20th of each month.
Missed Lessons:
Cancellation of a lesson needs to be done at least 24 hours in advance of the lesson time to facilitate
a possible make-up lesson. If the instructor is not notified within 24 hours of the lesson, the lesson will
be forfeited and the student will be responsible for the payment of that lesson. There are, of course,
certain extenuating circumstances that will be handled on a case by case basis.
As a graduate student and freelance musician, there will be times lessons will be cancelled. 24 hours
advance notice will be given and make-up lessons will be scheduled, or adjustments to the monthly fees will be made.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other sections added to the policy might be required materials, or where students can purchase equipment.
It is important the policy be presented to the student/parent at their first lessons and it is signed and dated by the parent and the teacher and each retains a copy. Therefore, it can serve as a binding contract between both parties.
Hopefully this blog entry will help anyone looking to start their private studio. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a question or comment!
No comments:
Post a Comment