Tag Archives: music lessons

Work -Life Balance for the Musician

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By Cindy Hallo

 

I was going to title this post “Time Management”…..and then I remembered I don’t know ANYTHING about that subject. Like at all.

I’m the girl that works two jobs, runs 40-50 miles a week, travels around the country for marathons, and sleeps no more than 5 hours a night. Free time is something I had back in 2005.

I think a better word for what I want to talk about is “Boundaries”. It’s very easy for people whose job doesn’t require them to be parked in a cubicle from 9 to 5 every day to extend the work day. This is especially true for lesson teachers – it’s like a game of Tetris sometimes to fit all your students in the allotted amount of time on the right days at the right school, during the right class period. Obviously the administration wasn’t thinking about our needs when they created the school day…rude!

Maybe other people learned this a little more quickly than I did, but I can’t tell you how many times my schedule come September would resemble a 12 hour shift on an assembly line. Student willing to start lessons at 7am? Sign me up. Stacking them four deep after school? Hellz yeah. Going to students houses in the evenings/on the weekends if I couldn’t fit them in during normal school hours? Of course! Before I knew it, I was working 10-12 hour days 6 days a week. An 8 hour day was like a vacation. When the drive-thru girl at Taco Bell knew my order by the sound of my voice, that’s when I realized how bad it had gotten.

This year, I’ve taken a step back and realized something.

I don’t have to take every student that crosses my door.

I know. I’m a freaking genius.

Turning down students does not make you a bad teacher, much like saying “No” doesn’t make you a bad person. This took me several years to understand. The first part anyway…I’m still trying to figure out the second part. It actually makes you a BETTER teacher when you realize how many students you can comfortably handle in your studio. Each student gets a little more of your brain power, a little more of your time. And you get to eat something besides Taco Bell for dinner during the week.

I’ve found myself spending more time thinking about the best plan of action for each student, following up on emails, making sure I bring the right music to school with me, etc. And I’m definitely taking better care of myself. I eat better, find more time to run, have more time to relax with friends and family, and sleep better. And I don’t think I need to tell any of you that a well rested teacher is a much better teacher.

Now I’m not saying drop all your kids and only accept a few each year. We’ve all gotta pay the rent. But I am suggesting instead of just blindly accepting any student that sends you an email, you take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Is there a lot of driving? Am I going out of my way at rush hour? Am I giving up something I enjoy to teach this lesson? How serious is this student? This might sound a little selfish, but teaching is a lot like being a parent (says the girl with no kids, so take it with a grain of salt)….taking care of yourself first makes you a better teacher.

And quit eating Taco Bell. That stuff will kill you.

David Cutler’s Savvy Music Teacher

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Fellow music teachers, have you ever wished there was someone you could approach for specific advice on maximizing the earnings and efficiency of the niche market of private lesson teaching? Look no further! I give you your new career guide: David Cutler’s The Savvy Music Teacher.

9780190200824

Having just finished this book, I was extremely impressed with the author’s ability to relate and expound upon the daily struggles of private teaching combined with the provision of various strategies for financial and personal improvement. At times I found myself turning pages with the excitement of a Harry Potter novel!

The book outlines a clear goal: Become the most impactful music teacher possible while earning a yearly salary of $50,000 to $100,000. Is this really possible for us private teachers? I can say, without hesitation, that if you were to aggressively implement David Cutler’s strategies into your financial model of music teaching, you would be well within this figure.

How many unorganized or un-savvy music teachers do you know living week to week, with no concept of their financial future, or present earnings? This sad situation can even sometimes lead to musicians leaving the music field entirely. If this describes you or a teacher you know, this book will be a lifeline for changing your views on earning and managing money, as well maximizing impact on your students.

Even if you consider yourself a highly organized teacher without any more room for financial expansion, this book will outline additional financial avenues you may have not considered, or overlooked, that will enhance your current earnings.

The book is divided into two halves. Part one outlines seven distinct streams of income available to private music teachers. It then outlines detailed steps on how to integrate these into your life, or how to expound upon them. These numerous streams include:

Private teaching
Group classes
Camps
Events
Technology
Products
Additional (miscellaneous services)

If you believe you are already implementing these elements into your small business of music teaching, you will be surprised by the many avenues available you may not have considered in each chapter. Specifically for me, I always see a significant drop in earnings during the summer months. I’m teaching as many students as I can, but it is never enough. This book proposes a detailed process on establishing summer camps, and clearly outlines the large financial benefits this type of event can have on your summer earnings.

If you feel many of these categories are not realistic to you, you may be surprised at how easily you will be able to generate extra income from the author’s suggestions. True, not every teacher may be able to integrate every stream into his or her lifestyle, but even getting just a few streams of music income going besides private teaching can really have a positive effect on your bottom line earnings.

 

 

The second half of the book is dedicated to setting up your studio, filling your studio, time/life management, winning the money game, your financial picture, and career blueprint. In a field that can easily be isolating, these chapters are gold. How often can one receive free financial advice specific to the private lesson field? These chapters are even more valuable than the first half because they help motivate music teachers to plan for the future of their business, and not live in the now of lesson check to lesson check.

 This book is completely inspiring and a must read for lesson teachers in any capacity. Whether you are teaching one night a week or full time, you will be inspired to teach better, smarter, and create higher earnings after completing this book. Personally, I have been planning many, many expansions to my studio from reading this book and am confident my earnings will rise as a direct result of reading this book. To purchase a copy click here

Chromatik app

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As we enter summer lesson mode I sometimes depart from the traditional repertoire and allow my younger students to play something “fun”, which to them is a pop song or a work from a movie soundtrack. Usually, this takes some planning ahead and often times transcribing skills. Also, you have to have a working knowledge of popular music which I do not always possess.

 

Recently I discovered the chromatik app, and this has revolutionized my access to music of this nature. This app is free to download and requires a free account to utilize. Once you do this you are allowed access to sheet music ranging from pop, rock ,country, movies, etc. Most of this is in concert pitch, but this is not a big problem in a private lesson setting.

Additionally, the app has a classical library where you can search solo pieces in the public domain by instrument. This is ideal for the occasional student who forget his or her music.




Also, the app offers a real book function that simultaneously plays chord changes. This is a great feature for a student who does not have access to Aebersold play alongs.

I am thrilled to have discovered this app and it has made summer lessons more enjoyable for all my students. I highly,recommend it!

 

Tracking down end of the year payments

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The end of the school year is upon us.  If you are like me, you have a few students who don’t pay on time.  They always do pay you eventually, but frequently it occurs one or two weeks into the next month, rather than in the month lessons actually occurred.  My normal motto for this type of situation is to kill them with kindness, and persistence.  Each Friday I send a Bcc email to all my students still owing for the current month, asking kindly if they could please bring a check the following week.  Most of the time I am fine with this strategy and my number of outstanding accounts drops each month until everyone is current.

 

However, at the end of the year if you are not paid by the last day of school, it becomes much harder to track down payments.  You are no longer seeing the student each week, school is out of session, and you are unable to roll the money over in to the next month’s bill.  In this case I try several strategies until I am able to collect the check.

 

First, I use a direct email, rather than my Bcc technique above, explaining school is over and everyone needs to get their accounts current.   I then ask for a response in the message verifying funds will be brought the coming week.  If I do not hear back this way, I try a phone call.  This is a bit more direct, but sometimes works better.  If no one answers the phone I try a text.  If this doesn’t work I speak directly to the student about it, and will even text the student a reminder the day before to bring payment.

 

Your last card to play is band director intervention.  Frequently band directors wield larger influence than the private lesson teacher.  So, you can try telling your student if they cannot bring funds you will be forced to tell band director.  This may scare them into paying you, or you may actually ask if the band director will contact student’s parent/guardian.  If all else fails school band budgets will sometimes compensate you for one month of unpaid lessons on a school by school basis.

Persistence will pay off in this matter.  There have been times where I wasn’t able to collect a check by then end of school and could not get in touch with parent suddenly.  I just kept emailing weekly, daily, until suddenly a check appeared in my mailbox.

Maximizing the efficiency of your teaching schedule

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This school year may not quite yet be over, but I am already considering my teaching schedule for the coming school year.  I am extremely obsessed with creating the most efficient schedule possible to both maximize income, and reduce travel.  Here are my top three considerations when coming up with my teaching schedule

  1. Directional planning: I like to go as far south as possible first, and then continually work my way back north to my house through as many stops at schools as necessary.  Obviously, you will need to tailor this to your location.  The idea being if you are leaving early for before school lessons you can get there with minimal traffic, and then end your day as close to your home as possible-to cut down on afternoon rush hour delays.  I avoid doing the following at all costs: Driving south to School A, diving North to school B, then driving back south again to School C.  This creates a longer commute home at the end of the day, wasted time that could be allocated to teaching more lessons during these drives back and forth, and increased consumption of gas
  2. Prioritize with Rate: Not all my schools have the same set rate per lesson. Also, some charge a monthly fee for facility use.  I put the schools with the highest rates on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday.  School is rarely closed on these days.  The most common day school is closed is Monday.  There is one Monday each month in the school year where the building is closed.  Friday comes in second place with at least one Friday closure or early release every other month.  If my school charges a facility use fee, or has a lower rate I put these students on Mondays and Fridays.  This way if I am going to be losing potential earnings due to school holiday, I minimize my losses
  3. Scheduling of Fridays after school: It is difficult to maximize the number of students when Friday after school Is consumed by marching band performances. To counteract this I either teach at a middle school or a private school, which has no marching band, on Fridays.  It is difficult to maximize your studio potential when Fridays after school hours are being lost to football games.  This strategy has given me the best result for weekly Friday after school teaching.

The Private Lesson Teacher’s Guide to Surviving the Summer

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The summer can frequently be a season of less work for the private music teacher. Students are not attending school daily, and traveling to these buildings during their band classes to conduct lessons is no longer an option. This issue, combined with family vacations, sporting events, and other summer activities can make life difficult for the private lesson teacher in the summer months. With a few proactive measures, however, you can survive the summer without going broke.

1) Plan to save-You know that summer comes each year, and will present a predictable financial issue. So, during the school year do your best to put some money aside each month towards your summer living expenses.

2) Sell the importance of summer lessons-You cannot reasonably expect your entire studio to take summer lessons. Personally, I retain about 35% of my studio in the summer. Toward the end of the year I send out a mass message asking who would like summer lessons, and highlighting the importance of reinforcement of what we have learned this year, and the upcoming competition they will be practicing for in the form of all region  bands at the middle and high school level. This works better than just saying:  so, you want summer lessons?

3) Cater to your better students-Your best students are already planning on taking summer lessons. The ones that are serious about music would probably be interested in hour long lessons. This is a win-win for student and teacher. In the summer there is much more flexibility, so you can schedule an hour with less of an issue, you enjoy teaching this student, you can cover more material, the student improves more, and you are paid more. I send a targeted email to my better students proposing an hour.

4) Get in touch with beginners-Many times parents like for their student to get lessons before school starts so their child does not feel overwhelmed or fall behind during the beginning of band classes. This is another way to grow the summer studio. Hopefully, these beginners turn into your regular students, but even if some are just interested I a few start up lessons, this will help you survive the summer

5) School sponsored band camps- The schools you teach at may host summer band camps, and often look to hire private teachers as staff.

6) Marching camp staff-During marching band camps directors are often looking for extra part time staff to help with marching and learning music. Private lesson teachers are usually ideal candidates for this.

7) Start your own summer camp-Many musicians have had great success starting their own instrument specific camp or series of camps. The biggest hurdle is finding a location, but once this is established you can set the duration, length of sessions, cost, and material covered. This is a good time to introduce chamber music or instrument specific choirs to your students. It can be a lot of work to organize, but will help you survive the summer and possibly grow your studio going forward if you offer it school or district wide.