How to Teach Piano Lessons: 8 Steps
- Amanda Becker
- May 24, 2015
- 3 min read
You love music and want to share your passion and knowledge for piano with the world, and you've decided to become a piano teacher. Excellent! Music is moving and emotionally powerful, and even scientific research is showing it can go beyond touching our souls to helping kids to do better in other subjects, developing the brain, relieving stress, and more. With all of the benefits, teaching music can be a very rewarding experience. Here are some tips to get you started.
Know Your Instrument
Piano teachers need to know there instruments well. In order to teach piano lessons effectively and responsibly to paying customers, you will need to be proficient at your instrument. This does not mean that you need to be a conservatory grad to become a private music teacher. It does mean, however, that you should have technical mastery of your instrument.
Get Organized
You will want to get everything organized and set up for success. You will be a business owner now and it is worthwhile to set everything up to be organized from the beginning and is a lot less messy than trying to go back later and order everything. This will include getting a business license, keeping records, getting a daily planner, purchasing business cards, setting up a bank account, etc.
Decide Your Lesson Length, Rates, and Ages Your Will Teach
Most piano teachers will teach 30, 45, or 60 minute lessons to students. The decision usually depends on the maturity and interests of the students. Serious, older students tend to like a longer lesson, while the attention spans of little ones usually require a 30 minute or even a 15 minute lesson. Rates depend on your education, geographic location, and what you are willing to ask for. Most beginning instructors will start off in the $20-$25 per hour range and raise their rates from year to year as they gain more experience, with the top instructors charging from $60-$100 per hour. You'll also want to determine what age groups you like to teach.
Decide Where You Will Teach
Online and in-home lessons are becoming very popular these days, and some instructors prefer to teach from their own studios as well. It is just a matter of preference on the part of the instructor and student. If you are just starting out, it is a good idea to be flexible on location. Whatever space you choose to teach in, a quiet and clean space is always best and will help keep your customers coming back if the environment is a pleasant one.
Find Students
Most piano instructors find this to be the hardest part, often asking "Where do I find students?". There are a variety of resources for finding students and marketing your lessons. Most music studios will allow you to put out your business cards. You can also hand out flyers and post ads in newspapers and classifieds. The most effective way to find students is by making sure you have an online presence, such as through your own website or through a teacher listing site such as I Love Music Lessons that helps get you in front of more potential students.
Plan Your Lessons
To be successful at teaching piano lessons, it is important to structure your lessons, choose your curriculum, decide your teaching strategy, and to choose what tools to use. You can always revise your strategy later, but having a plan for lessons will show our clients that you are a professional.
Give your first lesson
Your first lesson with a student will most likely make you equally nervous as excited and this is normal. Just have fun and share your passion with the student and it will be a success.
Improve Your Skills
Piano teachers are always working on their skills. This includes practicing the piano regularly to maintain and improve their playing skills, learning music theory, and learning better ways of communicating their knowledge to students. Never stop learning and your students will respect you for it when they see you practicing what you are teaching them.
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