Four Ways to Help Fund Music Lessons
There’s no simple way around it – Learning music can be an expensive endeavor. When you account for the instruments and their upkeep, books, lesson and rehearsal fees, and beyond it can feel very daunting to anyone considering starting the process for themselves or their child. While you can consult with a teacher or professional musician about areas to cut or limit expenses, there are other ways to help those who have difficulty coming up with the funds for music lessons to come up with some money and achieve their music goals. With some determination, a willingness to put yourself out there and some ingenuity, you can find ways to make music lessons fit your budget. As the saying goes, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Take a look through this list of four ways to help you find ways to make lessons more accessible for you or your studio.
1. Scholarships/Funds/Grants
Depending on your lesson location, there may be money available in your community for students interested in studying music. For example, students in my area can apply for a variety of scholarships and funds through our local organization: Community Foundations of Washington County MD, Inc. . Some key phrases to include as you are searching are field of study, designated funds and community funds. Other likely places to have scholarships available are community music programs, orchestras or municipal bands. Another local resource for my students is our Maryland Symphony Orchestra in Hagerstown! Some schools even have a scholarship for current students from an alumni looking to invest in their alma mater’s music program. It is worth doing this research and asking questions!
For music teachers, some may also have some rare success with applying for grants. Eligible avenues to use this money might be community group classes or private lessons directed at specific schools or programs. Look at local or state offerings specifically directed to the arts and culture of the region. For teachers with a real passion to establish something more comprehensive than a handful of students in their studio may be interested in establishing a non-profit to open up their access to funds like grants as well. I’d also recommend this episode from Beyond the Music Lesson: Access & Equity in Music Education with Clara Hardie. Be inspired by the success of her work on Detroit Youth Volume and gain some practical tips on improving your offerings in your studio.
2. Raising Money
Remember those days of screeching “Twinkle”? Remember how even when it may have been a lot to take in, it was exciting to see someone working so hard at a difficult task? People love to see someone demonstrating perseverance, everyone wants to cheer someone on! While it can be intimidating for some students, consider going out and busking. This is a great activity for students who shine in the spotlight and can’t wait for their next recital! For those with more performance anxiety, this can be a simple way to work out some of those nerves. Take a busy street corner or visit a popular park some weekend and see what happens! These days many musicians are offering virtual concerts through Facebook or Instagram Live and setting up a Venmo account as an online version of this idea, which would be easy for you to set up as well. Even just donations from family and friends could help fund lessons!
Very entrepreneurial students who are further along and friends with other musicians can also try their hand at forming duets, trios or quartets for social events. Think of weddings, business events, holiday parties, birthday bashes or anniversary parties… There’s a wide market out there! This would require a good deal of organization and professionalism that could be handled by the students themselves or an adult, depending on their age and maturity.
3. Barter Work
While this is a very personal option depending on the family enrolling in lessons and the teacher, it can be a viable option for work that needs to be done. One personal example I can share from high school is a discount I received on lessons in exchange for a couple hours of babysitting following my lesson each week. Other teachers through my music education offered discounts for lessons in exchange for housework, bookkeeping, landscaping, and so on. Depending on your music teacher’s needs, they may be open to a similar arrangement!
To make bartering successful, keep a couple things in mind. Continue to be appreciative of the services you’re exchanging. Make sure what you are offering is something they really need and do the work as if you were doing it for yourself, if not even better! An arrangement like this requires a lot of trust from both sides and it can become a sticky situation if the work on either side doesn’t measure up. With that in mind, some teachers and students may find this to be a bigger risk than they’d like to take with their relationship and that is okay! Evaluate yourself and your teacher carefully and proceed with both parties’ best interests at heart.
4. Music Link Foundation
For teachers and students in the United States looking for a way to open their studio, you may want to consider looking at the Music Link Foundation. Their mission is: “Any child who has musical potential deserves the opportunity to nurture this talent to its full extent. Many children lack the chance to receive music lessons due to financial need. The MusicLink Foundation reaches out to low income families by linking these students with professional music teachers willing to reduce their fee to make the lessons more affordable for the child.” While it is important to note there is not a reimbursement portion for this program, but eligible teachers receive support through discount programs, referrals and more. This is ideal for teachers currently charging reasonable rates, making a living from their studio and perhaps with some wiggle room on their income they’re willing to “donate” to students with a financial need.
I hope these ideas help some deserving students gather ideas on how to fund their music studies. It isn’t uncommon for musicians to look back at their developmental years and point to the things they sacrificed for music or ways they had to get creative to afford music lessons and equipment. But how many more musicians and music lovers would there be if these experiences were more accessible to the masses? Every child can learn afterall.
If you have other ideas or experiences you’d like to share, feel free to comment below, visit me on Facebook or Instagram, or email me at renee@shawstrings.co. The more ideas out there to help this need, the better!
