What Does a Teenage Music Teacher Do?

As a teenage music teacher, you will teach younger kids or maybe even kids your age how to play a musical instrument that you have already mastered. You could choose to do private lessons or group lessons if you have enough people interested to set that up.

In addition to teaching how to play the actual instrument, you may also need to teach things like reading music, the names of the notes, and chords. How much you’ll need to work with your student(s) will depend on their previous knowledge of music and whether or not they can play other instruments.

How Much Does a Teenage Music Teacher Get Paid?

How much you get paid as a teenage music teacher will depend on what instrument you are teaching, how often you have classes, and whether you are doing private or group lessons. If you have group lessons, how much you make will also depend on how many students you have in your class.

As a private music teacher, you can expect to make anywhere between $20 – $100 per lesson. As a group music teacher, you could make between $30 – $200 per lesson. Typically, if you play a more unusual instrument, you can make more because there won’t be as many teachers in your area, but too unusual of an instrument and there won’t be anyone looking to learn.

How Can I Get Started as a Teenage Music Teacher?

1. Ask your parents’ permission. Since you will likely be working with kids you don’t know and either inviting them to your home or going to theirs, it’s important that your parents are aware of what your plans are.
2. Learn how to teach. Knowing how to play an instrument well is obviously a prerequisite to becoming a music teacher, but you also need to know how to teach this skill to others. Take time to study your music teacher and think about how they teach effectively, or ask them for tips on teaching. You can also watch videos on YouTube to get more ideas about how to be an effective teacher.
3. Decide on your rates. To figure out how much you will charge for lessons, find out how much other people are charging in your area for the same service. Since you are probably a beginner compared to them, you will need to charge less until you get better at teaching and gain a reputation as a good teacher.
4. Find a location. If you are teaching the flute, you could teach pretty much anywhere since they’re small, portable, and relatively quiet. However, if you’re teaching piano, you’ll need to be somewhere that there is a piano. If your parents agree, you may use your own home for teaching music lessons, or go to the home of your student. Alternatively, you may be able to borrow a practice room at your school or rent one at a local music store.  If you are teaching group lessons, you will need to get more creative with your location. The size of your location you’ll need will depend on the type of instrument you’re teaching and how many students you have. You could do this in your parents’ house with a smaller group learning a smaller instrument, but a larger group with a larger instrument may require renting a space in your local community center. Churches will also often rent spaces to people.
5. Put together some lesson plans. When you’re first starting, you’ll probably want to help your student(s) work their way through a beginner book on that instrument, which you can find at a local music store or on Amazon. These books are designed by professional teachers to guide someone through the learning process which makes them perfect material for you.  However, you will also need to provide information and practice that goes beyond the book, so once you’ve found a book that you like, take some time with the first few lessons and decide what you need to focus on so that they can complete the practice sections in the book. Keep in mind that different people learn differently, so you may need to teach something several ways before you student(s) will fully grasp it.  If you decide to try group lessons, then you will need to put a course together that covers a certain amount of material over a period of time. Be realistic when planning so you don’t end up cramming too much information into one lesson which could make it hard for your students to learn everything.
6. Make a flyer. Put together a flyer that includes information on what instrument you are teaching, how long you’ve been playing it, any special music awards you’ve won, the cost of lessons, and your contact information. You should also include a picture to get people’s attention and print them on colored paper to draw attention to them.
7. Post your flyers everywhere. Starting at your local music stores which usually have bulletins for people to share music-related information and advertisements, put up your flyers in as many places around town as you can. Libraries, community centers, and coffee shops are other great places where you might be able to put up a flyer. Just be sure to ask before putting it up. You might even be able to advertise in schools.
8. Advertise online. Use Facebook and Craigslist to get the word out about what you’re doing. If you have prepared a course, make sure you let people know when the last date to register is and begin advertising long in advance so as many people as possible will see your advertisement.
9. Start teaching! Once you get some interest, then all that’s left is to start teaching! As you teach private lessons, make sure you watch for areas where your student is struggling so you can have them focus on that while they practice at home, and you may need to prepare extra material to help them in certain areas. With group lessons, you should be doing the same, although this is a little more difficult with multiple students.

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Helpful Resources

• Amazon.com:  This is where you can get a beginner music book for your students.  it’s best to do this and include it in the price of the first lesson to keep them coming back.
• Craigslist.org:  This is where you can go to advertise your services if word-of-mouth in your neighborhood isn’t enough.