Finding Your Students, Finding Success

Have trouble finding students for music private lessons? Then, this blog is for you! The purpose of this blog is to share my personal tips, advice, experience, and journey when I first opened my music instruction business. I hope this will greatly help you in finding students in your areas and have a fulfilling career in music teaching!

When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts."- Dalai Lama

1.) Always give the highest quality of music lessons.

I will never forget what my favorite concert violinist and violin professor, Ms. Gina Medina-Perez said, "When you teach, it is not about you anymore. It's about your students." Just by listening to her voice, advice, and experiences as a violin professor, I am deeply inspired by her words, aspiring to be as inspiring as her. She is not my professor but I was able to sit in one of her chamber music classes in the conservatory as a pianist in a quartet. My admiration for her as a teacher didn’t start there for she has been a great professor and performer I admire from afar, but I could still remember all the teachings I gratefully attended for free as a sit in student. 

For me, as a teacher, you should give your best to your students- your abilities, knowledge, skills, understanding, and compassion. Every precious hour or session of teaching will greatly affect the student's progress, motivation, growth, and as broad as it can be, their lives. I always come prepared not only with what I am going to teach but to be mentally and emotionally ready. As teachers, we give a part of our lives, like passing on this gift of music that was also passed onto us. Again, I want to quote my chamber music professor that when we teach, we should remember that it is always the student first, then the instrument. It is always the well-being of our students that we must hone through music education and its discipline and values we get from it.

They say that our students are our biggest reflections to us, teachers. I half agree to this, but let us not forget that we teach not to make ourselves look good and to make our reputation higher, but it is always about giving fruitful and meaningful lessons to our students and making a difference in their lives.
 

2.) Your biggest asset is yourself.

If you want to be a music teacher or a private music instructor, the most basic requirement is that you should know how to teach music. You cannot teach music if you do not know anything about it. A knowledgeable and trustworthy teacher is what the students are looking for because they need teachers who can help them learn the instrument. We do not need teachers to pretend that they know everything. A great teacher doesn’t need to know everything but possess a humble heart and open mind to learn new things together with their students.

Investing in education is crucial. It is something that cannot be taken away, and can always be accessed when needed. It can always be a valuable resource.

Be a life-long learner. Take courses, certifications, licensure, and workshops to enhance your teaching skills. Join conferences and meet other music teachers in your local areas, nationwide, or worldwide, and you will realize how important collaboration and connections are when you want to grow and improve in your field. Never stop learning and take opportunities and chances to learning from others as well.

Be reliable, competent, and excellent. Our students trust us to be their teachers, so we should also be at least reliable, credible, and qualified music teachers. The parents and students will not question your credibility, qualifications, and reputation as a professional teacher if you are competent enough to be a music teacher.

Lastly, find your niche. In my experience as a music teacher and piano teacher in Tokyo City since 2022, I know I am just one of the many piano/music teachers in this very highly competitive city. But what makes me thrive in my piano teaching is that I know I also have the capabilities, and there are many opportunities I can create for myself and my students. My niches are my originality, uniqueness, creativity, and individuality. No two teachers are the same and same goes with the students. Everyone is unique and special so let’s make that as one of our biggest assets in promoting our teaching services.

3.) Show what you can do.

During my first week of work at an international school as a Kindergarten Music Teacher, my first job was to prepare a major concert for the KG department... in as short as one month! Organizing concerts is one of my favorite jobs as a music teacher because we focus on performance, concert preparations, rehearsals, and the concert itself. I was also to accompany all my students' performances as a pianist. Our former principal said to me the day before the concert, "You know what, why don’t you play for the parents before the concert starts?" And so, I performed for a good half an hour before the concert started. After a month, I got my first private piano student. I didn't advertise anything about my piano lessons, but they were the ones who asked if I do piano lessons. 

Your potential students want to see how you perform. In the eyes of the students, they want to be like you. The students seek you out to teach them because they are inspired by your performance. That happened to me as well. When I was in college, I watched the solo piano concert of Professor Belinda Salazar, pianist, and I will never forget such a powerful, jaw-dropping performance! After that, I asked if I could enroll under her tutelage for one summer of piano master class and it was one of the best summer piano lessons I've had in my life. I am forever grateful to be her student and I was starstruck every lesson I had with her.

There is a saying that "Those who can't do, teach." I strongly disagree with this one because teaching in itself is a form of discipline, an art, a passion, and a career. As music teachers, we do not only teach but we also perform. We constantly perform in many ways possible. There are many skills that music teachers have other than performing like arranging, composing, demonstrating all arrays of instruments, organizing concerts, planning lessons, and many more.  To end, I would like to use a quote from one of the philosopher-teachers:

"Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach."
— Aristotle

4.) Word of mouth.

When I first opened my private piano lessons in public, I advertised mainly my social media page, and the rest was through word of mouth. That powerful relay of message about what you are offering for the community is a strong indication that you must have been doing something valuable and good. It also says a lot about how you teach because everybody is recommending you to friends, families, students, and the whole community. The majority of my students are in the same community- from my school and the music scene in Tokyo City. Families referred me to another family, and friends referred me to another friend until I filled up my schedule very quickly in a span of three months.

Prepare a business card with your details like email, phone number, and website. I am not only using social media account to introduce the business but I invest and design my own professional website so I could feature my work as a piano teacher. I highly recommend you to have your own music teaching website that’s easy to navigate. 

Extra tips: Make separate social media accounts for your private life and professional life. Always be cautious when posting your students online and always ask permission from the parents first. 

5.) Reach out to your local community.

I was a little intimidated by Tokyo's population of 42 million residents, but I saw a big opportunity here. I only needed 10 piano students to start since I also have another music classroom teaching job during the day. I thought I could get 10 students out of the millions of residents here. So I posted once or twice to a Facebook group called Tokyo Expat Network where you can advertise your business once a month for free. It was a great venue to be exposed and be known for your business. After posting, I had more than 10 piano student inquiries. I just had to select the students based on their locations and the convenience of the commute.
Make use and take advantage of social media groups to advertise your business. Again, a website is a great portfolio to show your teaching services. It is the best way to advertise and promote yourself. They will see a portfolio of your works, performances, blogs, upcoming events, and any necessary information for your students to find out.  
Reach out to your local school communities and offer your music teaching services. If they are hiring for music teachers, apply and send your resumé to the schools. If there are educational centers that are in need of teachers, do not hesitate to offer your services, too. That’s how I opened my music school in the Philippines in 2016 and how I collaborated with an art school. I will make a different blog about it next time but you can follow them here: Musikala Performing Arts Studio.
 

To end my blog…

I would like to thank all my piano students for trusting me to be your piano teacher! From the bottom of my heart, I always am grateful for this opportunity to share with you what I am passionate about and what I have learned for so many years as a musician.

For all aspiring music teachers out there, always remember not to chase success but compassion. Pursue kindess and excel in your most unique ways. Success will definitely be chasing after you, not the other way around. 

Happy music lessons to everyone!