Music Lessons for Kids - A Parent's Guide to Private Music Lessons

Private music lessons are an effective way to help your child learn to play an instrument, but for parents who have little musical experience, figuring out how to begin lessons can be a difficult task. This article will show you what is involved in taking music lessons, and help you get your child's music education off to a great start!

First, let's get an idea of what to expect in private music lessons. In lessons, an experienced musician shares her expertise on an instrument with a student who plays the same instrument. During the lesson, the teacher assesses the student's difficulties and strengths, introduces new concepts, and assigns homework. After each lesson, the student learns by practicing the lesson material each day. Music lessons require more commitment than scouts or karate class, because much of the learning is the student's responsibility. If your child practices daily, she builds a foundation that the teacher can expand upon in the next lesson. But without practice, progress grinds to a halt, and you end up paying the teacher to say the same things every week. When you enroll your child in music lessons, it's important to realize that you're signing up for a few minutes of daily practice as well. By understanding what is expected in lessons, your child can make fast progress and have more fun learning music.

Generally, children ages 7 and up who have a strong desire to learn, good listening skills, and willingness to practice are great candidates for lessons. Younger children often benefit more from group classes that teach basic musical concepts in a playful environment. These classes give young kids the chance to learn valuable musical skills without the responsibility involved in private lessons. Having fun with music at home is another great way to introduce young children to music. Singing silly songs, experimenting with sounds, and banging on pots and pans with your children can give them a positive view of music and encourage their creativity. An experienced music teacher at a local elementary school can show you many activities you can do at home to build your child's musical understanding.

If your child is ready for lessons, are you ready to support his musical development? Children generally achieve more when their parents actively support their musical efforts. Driving your child to weekly lessons, attending recitals, and helping her develop a regular practice schedule can lead to lasting musical success. Likewise, considering lessons a valuable investment goes a long way to help your child succeed. Lessons are most effective when taken regularly over a long period of time, so making a long-term commitment to your child's lessons gives him the chance to excel musically.

Once you've decided that lessons are a good fit for your family, it's time to find a good teacher. Generally, the teacher should have substantial experience, and should play the same instrument as your child. Be careful of teachers who claim to teach many instruments. Each instrument is unique, so a teacher who specializes in one or two instruments can provide more detailed, quality instruction than a general teacher can. Good teachers will be more than willing to discuss their teaching approach and expectations, and may even schedule a trial lesson to get to know you and your child better. Take the time to find an experienced, caring teacher who works well with your child. A teacher has the power to shape your child's attitudes toward music for years to come, so make sure to choose someone who empowers your child and makes learning fun.

When your child begins asking to play an instrument, don't feel pressured to start lessons right away. Take the time to decide if lessons are right for your family, and find an excellent teacher. In the meantime, have fun planning musical activities for your family. Go to a concert that features your child's favorite instrument, listen to recordings of the instrument, or visit a music store. Introduce your child to the idea of practicing and taking care of an instrument. Before the first lesson, your son or daughter will already have a strong musical foundation!

Christina Thompson is a professional trombonist and music educator living in Raleigh, NC. She offers private trombone lessons, musical workshops, and creativity coaching designed to help you discover, develop, and enjoy your unique musical talents. If you need help learning music, please visit http://www.summerglen-music.com

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How To Increase Your Income As A Private Music Teacher

Private Music teachers are teachers who teach one instrument, usually one on one with a student, or in small groups of students. Often these lessons are in the teachers or the students homes, or sometimes they are held within a school situation, often with the student coming out of a larger class to spend the time with the teacher.

In a private studio or in a school, the monetary arrangements for this kind of music lesson involves the parent paying the teacher "per lesson" and it is these kind of teachers that this article hopes to help increase their income.

In this article are four strategies for increasing income as a private music teacher - some of them may not be suitable for every teacher, but hopefully they will give you some insights on how private music teachers can improve their income.

Strategy #1 - Never refund or credit a lesson because its in the clients best interest

Students miss lessons. It's a fact. People get sick, there are special sporting events that happen, there are times when for whatever reason students are going to miss their music lesson. The fact is that this is unavoidable. What you can do as a music teacher is have a policy that says that "lessons are always made-up, they are never refunded or credited to your account", however the important thing that is often missed in this is the WHY of that statement... it should be because it is necessary for the student's progress on their instrument.

If you use this philosophy you won't ever have to argue with parents over it - because its in the students interest, not yours! If you start the arrangement with this agreement in place you'll find it much easier to enforce it - the parents will make the effort to make up the lesson rather than you having to insist on it. If you have outcomes for the student (such as an assessment or exam) in place it makes it even easier to make sure that it happens.

You will need to make time to make the lessons up - it might be necessary to allow one or two days in the holidays or during non-contact time to do it, but you'll find that the ability to do this will be worth it in extra income. Very often the parents will not bother making it up, and you'll not have to credit or refund any money!

Strategy #2 - Find your Niche and make yourself exclusive in that Niche

If you have something special about your teaching you'll find that you'll attract more and better quality students, and you'll be able to charge more.

For example, lets say you teach the guitar.

If you teach anyone who comes you'll probably end up with some young children, some high school children, and maybe one or two adults and you'll have to teach a variety of styles depending on the type of music that the students like.

If however..... you start a niche business, specializing in only one area you'll eventually find that people will seek you out because you are a specialist, and you'll be able to charge more for your services and you'll be able to only take on the students you want.

Examples of a niche business for guitar might be: - A business that specializes in guitar for young children - A business that helps adults fulfill their dreams of playing guitar in a band - A business that specializes in heavy metal guitar

These are just examples - there are literally thousands of possibilities, but the niche must be something that customers actually want, it cant be something that you think might be good!

Strategy #3 - Increase your retention rate and don't take on every student

Increasing your retention rate is vital for all businesses - but particularly for music teachers - where your income is determined by the number of students you are teaching multiplied by the dollars that you charge.

If you increase the quality and standard of the students you teach while simultaneously cutting down on the number you lose you'll steadily increase your income, and have a more satisfying day to day teaching role.

There is no way you should accept every student that you get offered. Not every student is going to be right for you - they often are looking to learn different things to what you offer, and they might not be as reliable in terms of paying their fees and attending lessons as your regular students, so you should always meet and interview prospective students before you agree to teach them.

By avoiding "problem" students in the first place you'll be able to spend your time with more productive activities and better quality students.. and this definitely helps to increase your earning potential.

Most of the problems with retention can be traced back to one thing - the students lack motivation because they don't practice enough. At the fun music company teachers blog we have a few strategies for increasing your retention rate, including practice systems and ideas for making lessons more fun.

Strategy #4 - Add passive income streams to your business

Teaching income is active income - if you stop teaching the income stops. That is ok.. because it is like any earned income. What you should be looking to do is also add passive income to your business.

Do you write any teaching materials which can be used in music classes or lessons?

If so you are in the perfect position to add passive income to your income mix. All you have to do is find a way to publish your materials so that your students and others can access them. It can be as simple as getting the materials printed and bound at a copy shop just for your students only.

Do you purchase books and music for your students and pass them on to them?

If so you may be able to negotiate bulk discounts from suppliers and then add the full retail cost of the books to the students account. Parents will appreciate the convenience of not having to go into a shop to purchase the books if you put it through your business.

Can you sell leads to other teachers or businesses?

For example students all need to purchase instruments. Sometimes possible is an arrangement where you can can get a monetary commission from a music store if you refer your students to purchase their instruments there. This is certainly possible on the internet, via the use of affiliate programs.

I hope this article has given you some ideas of ways that you can improve your income as a private music teacher. I was a private music teacher for over ten years, and I've used all of these strategies during that time. Private music teaching should be fun and rewarding, and it gives you freedom to practice what you love, which is sharing the joy of music with others.

Kevin Tuck is an ex-music teacher and owner of The Fun Music Company, an internet publishing company which aims to help make music learning fun for children. You can download heaps more music teaching resources, and ideas for business development at The Fun Music Company Music Teachers Blog.

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Beginning Music As an Adult - Are Private Music Lessons Right For You?

If you're an adult who wants to study music for the first time, or are picking up your instrument again after a long hiatus, taking private music lessons can help you improve steadily and can lead to years of musical enjoyment. While lessons can be very helpful for growing musicians, there are several important things to consider before getting started, like your commitment level, the amount of time you can devote to music, and the availability of a quality teacher. By reading this article and learning the facts about private music lessons, you'll be better equipped to decide if lessons are right for you.

What is a Lesson Like?

When you sign up for a private music lesson, you're reserving the undivided attention of a master musician who understands the processes of teaching and learning music. In lessons, you can expect to play for your teacher, talk about music, learn new skills, and leave with assignments to practice. Every music teacher has a different approach and style, but the best teachers are skilled at diagnosing your playing problems and recommending practice exercises to strengthen your abilities. One of the biggest myths about private lessons is that if you take one or two lessons, your playing will automatically improve. Not so! Lessons help you understand the musical challenges you need to overcome. Progress happens when you work on these challenges outside of lessons.

Do You Have Time?

Before you begin lessons, make sure you have time to practice regularly. Practice solidifies the knowledge you gain in lessons, trains your mind and body to make music, and helps you improve at specific musical skills. Without practice, you'll find that you make little progress and lessons become less enjoyable. Practice doesn't have to be a major time commitment--working on your lesson material for even 15 minutes each day can make you a much better musician. Ask yourself this question: "With my other commitments, do I have time to practice at least several days per week?" If your answer is no, private lessons may not be ideal for you at this time. Instead, you might consider joining a community band or choir, where expectations for practice may be more relaxed than in private lessons.

Another consideration involves making time to attend lessons. As mentioned above, many people falsely believe that taking a few lessons brings astounding musical progress. In reality, progress takes place over time--people spend years perfecting their musical technique. When you consider taking lessons, a good rule of thumb is to plan to take weekly lessons for a year. This may seem like a long time, but if you make a commitment to a year of lessons and stick to it, you'll find that your commitment helps you persevere through rough patches and build a solid musical foundation. If your child signed up for choir and begged to quit after the second week, you'd likely reply, "Keep trying! Don't give up!" Treat your own musical journey the same way. If you can't commit to lessons for at least several months, you might want to put them on hold for the time being.

Finding the Right Teacher

Private lessons are one-on-one experiences during which you'll work closely with your teacher to achieve your musical goals. Because you'll develop a close working relationship with your teacher, it's important to find an experienced teacher whose company you enjoy. There are a variety of ways to find music teachers, like asking around at music stores, calling your local musicians' union, or searching online. As you search, keep your musical goals in mind. Do you want to make music your career, or do you just want to learn some songs to entertain your friends? What style of music do you want to learn? Make note of teachers with experience that relates to your goals and a teaching approach you think you'll enjoy, and contact them to discuss lessons. Good teachers will be approachable, open about their expectations, and willing to help you achieve your goals.

Are You Willing to Learn?

Many adults choose to take lessons so they can achieve their musical goals efficiently; however, a surprising number of adult students hamper their own musical development by being unwilling to listen to their teachers. As an adult, you may spend much of your time in a leadership role; as a result, returning to "student" status during your music lesson may feel quite unsettling. Before you sign up for lessons, ask yourself if you're willing to follow instructions and trust your teacher's expertise. It may be helpful to consciously shift your mindset to "beginner" mode during lessons, and practice being willing to listen and try new things. When you trust your teacher and follow his or her suggestions, you will find yourself making excellent musical progress.

Greatness Takes Time

Lastly, remember that learning music takes time. When playing music, you use your body and mind differently than you do in everyday life, and you must train yourself to be able to do these new activities. It's normal to become impatient or have occasional negative thoughts about your progress, but don't give up! Instead, practice accepting your progress and allowing yourself to learn at your own pace. Instead of looking for major leaps in your abilities, listen for subtle changes from day to day. Your teacher can be a great resource for helping you overcome the little frustrations of learning music.

If you're able to make a commitment to regular practice and attendance, private lessons can be an excellent resource to help you learn music. Even if you decide that lessons are not a good fit right now, you can easily plan ahead to make lessons part of your life in the future. Whether you decide to take lessons or use another approach to learning music, you have started on a rewarding path. When you learn to make music at any age, you develop an exciting skill that you can enjoy for the rest of your life!

Christina Thompson is a professional trombonist and music educator living in Raleigh, NC. She offers private trombone lessons, musical workshops, and creativity coaching designed to help you discover, develop, and enjoy your unique musical talents. If you need help learning music, please visit http://www.summerglen-music.com

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