If you’ve thought about how to become a music teacher, and why you might want to teach music as a profession (full time or even just part-time), you will find answers to your questions and some practical steps to get started as a private instrumental music teacher right here.
Consider the far-reaching appeal of music and what an important role it plays in the world. Imagine being able to share your love of music with students both young and old, and instil a life-long passion and love of music in those you teach!
No doubt you’ve heard all the adages.
Music is the universal language!
Music soothes the savage beast!
When words fail, music speaks!
Without music, life would be a mistake!
If you’re a lover of music and a passionate musician, chances are you agree with all those sentiments and you’ve probably even uttered those memorable quotes at least a few times.
Perhaps, in addition, you also have an itch to share your love of music through teaching others, but just aren’t sure how to get started.
Well, good for you! Teaching music is a wonderful profession and music-making touches hearts, builds brainpower, and develops discipline in your students.
… AND, contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a college degree to teach music and successfully develop a student base. There are many other options for learning how to become a music teacher.
What Music Teacher Qualifications Do I Need?
Music teachers come in many different forms, and the qualifications needed to be a teacher of music vary with each position or task.
Becoming a music teacher, of course, involves a reasonable level of music skills on an instrument and at least some training, so that you can not only share your expertise but also impart it in a way that is beneficial to your students.
If you wish to teach music in schools or at university, you will obviously need to enrol in a music program at the university level and obtain an official degree in music education and certification in your subject. This degree (or degrees) will allow you to teach students enrolled in public or private schools, as most of these institutions will demand a degree in your subject matter in order for you to be hired as a teacher.
However, if wish to teach private music lessons, it’s important to understand that you really DON’T need that expensive degree in order to teach privately.
If you are skilled at your instrument (or in singing) and you’d like to begin to share your talents with students, you can get started straight away! You just need to possess a desire to teach and some extra knowledge as to how to organize a private music studio.
Do Music Degrees Prepare You To Teach Private Music Lessons?
Of course, as we pointed out, if you choose to go the traditional route and wish to receive a bachelor’s degree (or higher) in music education, you’ll need to enrol in an accredited university.
While completing a music education degree, you’ll participate in courses that include the study of your principal instrument, music theory, composition, arranging, conducting, aural skills, musicology, music technology, music education, and all sorts of other related topics.
These are excellent subjects to learn, and very valuable for any developing musician and music teacher! You will certainly be a better teacher for the time you have spent studying these skills.
Unfortunately, however, even with a university degree, it’s not guaranteed that the students will hurry your way in order to learn from an expert.
One subject that is rarely taught alongside these music and education subjects is business skills! Setting up a music-teaching studio, even after you’ve graduated with a degree, is often guesswork. Most universities don’t teach business courses alongside music classes, and graduates are left to their own devices to try and figure out how to become a private music teacher.
You will need to gain some business skills to help you set up an exciting, growing and profitable music teaching studio!
Find A Music Teacher Mentor
The best way to grow your studio quickly is to find a mentor who is a successful music teacher and who is willing to share their knowledge and skills with you. You can model your studio on theirs, use their resources to grow your own studio, and they may even have some students on a waiting list they would be happy to recommend for you to teach as your first students!
This is a fantastic way to grow your own teaching studio quickly and you can be confident that you are setting everything up really well right from the start!
You may have such a music teacher and mentor in your life – that’s excellent if you do! Make sure you take time to ask them plenty of questions about teaching music and learn all you can from them.
Online Music Teaching Courses For Private Music Teachers
In today’s technologically-sophisticated world, there are plenty of other ways to learn to teach music privately and for profit, even if you don’t have a mentor right now. You can even do this without ever stepping foot in a university (or other) classroom!
These days, one-on-one learning via online courses on the internet or by using downloadable courses is more popular than ever. Regardless of the subject, students who engage in such learning can move at their own pace.
Additionally, a program can often be tailored to an individual’s learning style. Such courses also provide students with a tremendous amount of flexibility, allowing them to study when and where it’s convenient.
In the music field, a budding entrepreneur who’s interested in learning how to become a music teacher can find amazing mentors online and take advantage of the knowledge of experts who’ve already established a profitable music teaching business by purchasing tried-and-true systems, templates, tips, and other information that is easy to study and apply.
It’s that simple!
How To Become A Music Teacher Without A Degree
Becoming a music teacher, regardless of your level of higher education, demands just two things:
- Proficiency in your discipline (instrument, singing, music theory, etc.)
- A desire to share your knowledge with others
But what about a keen head for business? Do you need to take expensive business courses or learn accounting in order to run a successful music teaching business?
Learning some basic business and marketing skills will go a long way in making your journey to music teacher success faster and more enjoyable, but you certainly don’t need a business degree!
Or what if you work full-time or are a student and just want to teach music “on the side”? Is that possible … and can you make money doing it?
Absolutely yes! … And you don’t even need to spend money on college!
Music Profits Program is one option to help you get started – an online music teachers course that can equip you to become a successful private music teacher. Whether you want to teach private music lessons full-time or part-time – piano lessons, teach guitar, violin, drums, singing … whatever your instrument – this course is for you!
Getting Started As A Private Music Teacher
So, what do you need to get started in the private music teaching field and just how long will it take to make something positive happen? How long before you see a profit? How can you find students that are interested in taking your lessons? How can you connect with students who love piano (voice, trumpet, violin, clarinet, guitar, etc.) as much as you do?
Here are 5 steps that will certainly help you get started quickly:
1. You must believe in yourself!
Remember, even the world’s great musicians started at the beginning and no doubt had a number of teachers along the way. In most cases, they likely started with the local music tutor like you, who loved music and instilled in them a passion for music that spurred them to go on to great things in their field.
But how do you know what it will take to get started as a music teacher in your local area?
2. Do some research into lessons in your area
A great way to get a feel for what the private music lessons market is like in your neighborhood is to simply begin to look and listen. Gather as much information as you can about the current private teaching climate in your area.
Ask these questions:
- Are private music teachers plentiful or rare where you live?
- How many teach your instrument?
- Are there an abundance of private instructors who teach beginners but not more advanced students? Children but not adults?
- How much do existing teachers charge?
- Are they making a living at their profession?
While other teachers in the area may not be eager to share any trade secrets, you can certainly collect information via websites and by talking to friends and others who take private lessons or whose children take lessons. All of this information will be helpful as you approach the first module in Music Profits Program, allowing you to get off to a strong start while also being competitive in your field.
3. Gather your studio and teaching resources
- Decide where you will teach – setting up a home studio is definitely the best way to go if you are able!
- Decide your prices.
- Write a studio policy, which includes a fees payment policy and a cancellation policy to help protect your income!
- Write some ads. Think about who you’d love to teach, and write ads that would appeal to that person (or their parents!). Highlight your skills and passions as a musician, to connect with people who are looking for what you can offer to your students.
- Plan your program. What will you teach? Have a look at the various beginner method books for your instrument, have a think about how you started learning your instrument, and decide what will be the most effective way for you to teach your instrument. Once you have a basic plan, you can adapt it to suit each student.
The Music Profits Program provides prewritten ads, lesson plan templates, a studio policy, an invoice template, and more, to shortcut the extensive time it would take you to write your own – just download, add your personal details, and away you go!
4. Find a Mentor
Having an experienced music teacher as a mentor by your side to help you get started is SO valuable! They can guide you to becoming a great music teacher. You can bounce ideas off them, consult with them when you’re out of ideas for a particular student, and find encouragement as they share your journey. They can also provide valuable insights into your teaching that you may not even have considered.
If you don’t have someone in mind as a mentor, feel free to drop us a line at Music Profits – we’re always happy to listen and help!!
5. Go for it!
Take MASSIVE ACTION, and get your private music teaching studio up and running fast!
Tell everyone you can that you are teaching music! Get creative in advertising your lessons, so you can attract lots of students to teach.
It will become profitable the moment you enrol your first students, and if you dedicate yourself to learning how to become the best music teacher, you will certainly be able to achieve great success and enjoyment through teaching music!
Music Teacher Training and Resources
If you would like some additional quality training on how to earn over $1,500 per week teaching music part-time, you can join our free Introduction Program, which has 60 minutes of valuable online training for private music teachers!
Remember, you don’t have to do it alone and you don’t need to make a huge investment into a music degree to be successful teaching private instrumental lessons.
Let the Music Profits Program guide you into a smooth start and let us support you as your music teaching business grows.
The 8 modules cover important information about planning, advertising, teaching and running your studio as a successful business. There are also plenty of valuable downloadable music studio business resources, a bonus module on getting started with online marketing, and one-on-one mentoring! With this program, you can learn at your pace and start your private music studio within days or weeks!
To accomplish any or all of the steps in the Music Profits Program, a degree is not required. Nevertheless, a lot of drive and some good old-fashioned “elbow grease” will go a long way in getting you set up quickly teaching private music lessons!
Start Today!
There’s no time like the present. Begin now and keep going until you achieve your music teaching goals! You can certainly learn how to become a music teacher who is profitable, widely loved and well respected in your field.