10 Helpful Things I Wish I Knew Before Teaching Private Music Lessons
Private lesson teachers do it all. We send invoices, track attendance, write lesson plans, and communicate with students, parents, and band directors. Though I am a trained professional bassoonist with two degrees, I learned almost everything about being a great private music teacher through trial and error. Lots and lots of errors.
I taught for over ten years, and when I quit teaching private lessons, I had taught 3,531+ hours in 7,200+ lessons.
It can be hard to find information on how to start teaching private music lessons. I made quite a few mistakes as a new teacher. These are the essential lessons I learned in 10+ years of teaching private music lessons.
💸 Require students to pay in advance for lessons.
When I started teaching private music lessons, it felt SO awkward to ask for money. And even worse to track down missed payments. But here is what I learned: You must get paid for your work, and you’re the only one looking out for YOU.
Your time and knowledge are valuable; you are a professional musician providing a service. Lesson payment policies can feel harsh because we all want to be compassionate. But the reality is that some people will take advantage of your kindness.
“Lessons are PRE-PAID. You will receive an invoice on the 20th, and your payment for the following month is due by the 1st. A $15 LATE FEE will be applied to any invoice that is five or more days past due. Lessons may be discontinued until payments are current, and any missed lessons will not be made up.”
ALWAYS insist on payment before teaching lessons. Take the payment before the lesson begins (if you take Venmo/cash/checks). Or send invoices weeks in advance if you charge by the month or semester (which I recommend). It might not seem important to insist on payment before EVERY lesson, but it is. Doing unpaid work hurts you and everyone else working alongside you.
Some students understandably can't afford weekly private lessons. But that doesn't mean you should work for free. Discuss scholarships or alternative payment plans with their band director and parents.
I lost hundreds of dollars being too flexible with lesson payments. Then I stopped teaching lessons without payment first.
✅ Always track attendance and payments due.
I was pretty laid back when I started teaching. I had a calendar and a lesson schedule, but I didn’t do a great job of tracking attendance throughout the day. Then I’d have to think back and try to remember who was late, sick, and out on a field trip that week.
Always track attendance DURING each lesson if possible. Whether you use a calendar, a piece of paper, or a system like MyMusicStaff, track as you go! This is essential for your financial records and to address lesson payment discrepancies.
And you should also track every payment owed to you! If you provide a service and it isn’t pre-paid (see the above tip!), you need to have a system for tracking past-due payments. Write it down and follow up repeatedly until you get paid! MyMusicStaff is great for this. I tracked every scholarship lesson, masterclass, judging engagement, and performance fee. And I could always see at a glance who stilled owed me and send a follow-up email.
Take attendance at every lesson. Track payments owed to you and follow up until you get paid!
📝 Set a clear attendance & make-up lesson policy.
“Lessons canceled or missed by the student with LESS THAN 24 HOURS’ notice will not be rescheduled or be refunded. Lessons canceled with MORE THAN 24 HOURS notice will be given a make-up lesson credit to use within 14 days. Extra lessons and make-up lesson times are available via Zoom, subject to teacher availability.”
I’m an advocate for distributing an annual studio policies document for parents to sign each year. And one of the most important policies is how you handle absences.
I used to be way too flexible. I would let students make up a lesson for anything: field trip, sick day, or even "oops, I forgot my bassoon". I wanted my students to have the benefit of a lesson every week. So I would rearrange my schedule to make it up. Don’t be like me!
I learned that being too flexible doubles your work. You showed up for a lesson, but they didn’t. Now you have to show up a second time. Make-up lessons threw my schedule and income off so much. I had weird gaps during the day and ended up working in my free time on evenings and weekends. Or getting up early to do lessons before school. You have to set boundaries around your personal time to rest and recharge.
Here's what helped. I started offering 2-3 weekly online lesson spots at times that worked well for me. Students who were proactive enough to request a make-up lesson could claim a spot. I always charged students for unexcused absences, but they could choose to have a make-up lesson or not.
I know it can feel scary to enforce something like this, but trust me, it’s better. You get more respect for your time, students appreciate the value of working with you, and you don’t burn out.
Your personal and professional time is valuable. Don’t waste it by doubling your workload due to missed lessons. Set an attendance policy and put it in writing.
🌐 Build a website sooner rather than later for your private studio.
Some people may disagree with this, but a website is a must-have for every private lesson teacher. Make it easy for students to find you, see what you offer, and contact you. Your business will appear much more professional to prospective students. Having a simple, modern website is hands down the best way to advertise private music lessons.
Your website doesn’t have to be complex. One-page websites are perfect for displaying your bio, services you offer, and how much you charge. I built my first website with the music studio management app MyMusicStaff and eventually switched to Squarespace. Investing a little time in creating a website also saved me HOURS in responding to emails. I even had a reed request form, so I knew which students needed new reeds each week. And anytime I had a repeated question from a parent, I would add a section to my website that I could point to instead.
Websites are easier and cheaper than ever to build! A one-page website with an about you, services, and contact info section is all you need. Recruit more students and stop repeating information in emails!
P.S. If you’re a bassoon teacher or reed maker looking to reach more students and increase your sales, join the Friends of Blue Moon Bassoon to be listed on this site!
📚 Create and follow a structured curriculum.
My old curriculum outline!
Like most new private music teachers, I didn’t have a curriculum when I started. I had ideas about what I wanted to teach and what was appropriate-ish for each level, but I didn’t have a written plan. Be as detailed or flexible as you want, but at least create a list of required lesson materials for your students.
At first, I used too many handouts and jumped around too much. This made it difficult to keep track of assignments. Students would forget which materials to bring to lessons. And I never knew what we had already worked on.
Pick one or two method books or etude books and stick with them. This way, students know what to bring each week and get the satisfaction of working their way through the book.
Eventually, I wrote my own bassoon method books since I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted. But, picking something and sticking to it would have been a better way to start.
Pick one or two books for each student and stick with them. Write out an outline of what you would like students to learn and in what order. Be thorough in your planning and flexible in your teaching!
🎵 Never select solo repertoire that is too difficult.
“Etudes and fundamentals should push our technical boundaries. Solo repertoire should showcase that growth!”
As a bassoon student, I loved a good challenge. But as a music teacher, I often made the mistake of selecting solos that were way too demanding. This resulted in a lot of stress, anxiety, and heartbreak for students. Solo pieces are really the only opportunity students have to showcase their individual talent. You DO NOT want them to crash and burn.
It’s a delicate balance to select a piece that is interesting but still fun and manageable to play. When in doubt, err on the side of too easy, especially if they don’t have enough time to learn the piece. Or if you know they won't practice enough to pull off the piece.
What if a student insists on a certain piece or says they want a challenge? Either ensure they have enough time to learn it or try a shorter piece. Or choose something tough to practice alongside their solo for fun. For all the bassoon teachers, I have a list of my favorite fun pieces for bassoon beginners and great pieces for intermediate and advanced bassoonists.
Select repertoire according to the student’s CURRENT playing level, not what you hope they can play in a month or two. If the student gets bored, focus on enhancing the musicality of the solo. A simple musical performance is better than watching a student break down tackling a tough piece.
⚖️ Don’t skip fundamentals in lessons.
Lessons are almost always too short, or at least they feel that way. Sometimes I would want to skip right to the repertoire so we could get as much “work” done as possible. HUGE MISTAKE. The fundamentals ARE the work. The fundamentals make it easier to play the hard things. The fundamentals are also the first thing students skip during practice at home. Don’t reinforce that bad habit in lessons too!
Play fundamentals at every lesson with your students. Keep students engaged with a variety of exercises and scales. Experiment with ear training and call-and-response. Then help them apply those fundamentals to their music. Working through fundamental exercises in lessons also allows you to diagnose and address problems quickly. Build on those cumulative fundamental skills and revisit them often, even those that seem like they’ve been “mastered”.
Professional musicians know that practicing fundamentals is essential. Students don’t, so don't skip them in lessons.
🙋 Ask students what they want out of lessons.
What you want for your student may not be the same as what they want. It’s critical to be on the same page as your student about what they want out of lessons. And if you aren’t in agreement, I can guarantee they won’t make progress.
Some students want to be great musicians, and some just want to pass their band class. You need to know this and adjust your curriculum accordingly. Not every student has an hour a day to practice. Not every student can or wants to play the hardest music. Don't compromise your standards, but communicate regularly about how lessons are meeting the students’ needs.
Ask your students what they hope to get out of lessons. What do they like learning? What do they need the most help with? What are their goals? The clearer you both are on this, the happier everyone will be.
💬 Communicate often with parents and band directors.
Communication is key in all good relationships. You have a business relationship—with the student, their parents, and their band director too. These people can influence how lessons are going, so communicate often!
I learned so much from checking in with band directors between lessons—like who wasn’t turning in homework, or who was bored in class because the assignments were too easy. Parents can also be a huge help when it comes to managing at-home practice. Another thing I found really helpful was to email lesson notes (again with MyMusicStaff) after each lesson and CC the parents. That way they knew exactly what we worked on and what the student should prepare for the next week.
All this communication can be a lot, especially for us introverts. I recommend using a separate “work” email and phone number for your private music studio. It’s easy to set up a free GMAIL account and Google Voice number that forwards to your phone. Then turn off those notifications and recharge without studio messages interrupting personal time.
Set up a separate work email and phone number if you can. Talk to band directors and parents often about student progress. You are a team!
❌ Terminate lessons with students who aren’t a good fit For You.
Ok, this one is really hard. And to be honest, I was never good at it. But I regret the times I held on to a student out of guilt for too long. I spent so much time trying to please everyone and adapting my teaching for each student. It was exhausting. You can't be everything to everyone. It’s ok to end lessons, whether it's a mismatch of teaching style, behavior, or even personality.
As the private lesson teacher, you are in control. I know it doesn’t always feel that way. It’s up to you to decide who you spend your time and energy working with. If there’s a student that doesn’t enjoy working with you or doesn’t respond to your teaching style, let them go. Likewise, if a student is draining all your time and energy, let them go.
If there are specific behavioral issues, address them first. Talk with the student and parent to determine a solution and reasonable time frame.
You can teach anyone, but not everyone. It’s ok to let a student go when you’re not a good fit.
Here are 10 things every private lesson teacher should know.
Require students to pay in advance for lessons.
Always track attendance and payments due.
Set a clear attendance & make-up lesson policy.
Build a website for your private studio.
Create and follow a structured curriculum.
Never select solo repertoire that is too difficult.
Don’t skip fundamentals in lessons.
Ask students what they want out of lessons.
Communicate often with parents and band directors.
Terminate lessons with students who aren’t a good fit.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Every misstep is an opportunity to improve your teaching skills. We’re all human, and students and teachers alike can help each other grow. I know I learned as much from my students as they did from me.
For reference, here is a copy of my studio policies. You can also download my studio policies template and studio calendar template to create your own private lesson policies document.
I hope these tips will help you build a sustainable private lesson studio and avoid burnout. You deserve respect for your time and your work. Don't settle for anything less, no matter how many years you've been teaching!
P.S. Here’s a bonus tip for all the woodwind teachers out there. Have your students show you their reed case at every lesson. And avoid those last-minute, panicked “all my reeds are dead or moldy” calls before big performances 😉
