Ten Years of Teaching Music Lessons
One of the things I was most aware of throughout 2021 was the vast difference between what I thought the year would bring and what the reality was. I built it up as a landmark year for me and my studio. I took on my first students in 2011 and I was anxiously awaiting the ten year anniversary. It was going to be a sign that I made it.
Starting out I had plenty of people tell me what a difficult road it would be, to reconsider the classroom opportunities I could take advantage of after graduation and to remember the value of a traditional job with a 401k and benefits. I was warned about students who didn’t practice, teachers who would poach your best students and parents who would criticize you at every step without realizing how valuable your time was and all the work that happens outside of lesson times.
I’d been given all the reasons it wouldn’t work, but I thrived on that personal, one on one teaching experience where I could focus on one individual getting better. Isn’t that a pretty incredible thing to fill your week with? And I love the puzzle of working for yourself, managing your own time and being an entrepreneur. So it’s been a wonderful fit for me.
Being able to say I’ve been doing this ten years had these expectations wrapped up in it, too. I felt I’d be hitting my stride, really finding a routine that fit me and whatever family or goals I had for myself. I was looking forward to celebrating with my students by creating special performance opportunities, welcoming back former students and generally celebrate the last ten years.
While some of the festivities I originally hoped for were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic from limits on childcare to group gatherings to cancelled concerts, I am still hoping to do something big in the coming years… Maybe 15 years is the next goal?
All of that to say, despite the naysayers, I’ve really been lucky to carve a path where I truly feel I’m useful and giving something unique to my students. From working with the studio families and encouraging them to observe their child, to trying to be a resource to the classroom music teachers in our local school systems to directing a community beginner orchestra and coaching for another. For each student, whether they’re five or seventy five, cheering them on and reminding them of just how far they’ve come while balancing it with how far we have yet to go.
This is where I belong.
But it wasn’t always this way. I hope you enjoy this little trip down memory lane with me!
How It Started
My very first student was a neighbor’s son. Just a few years younger than my little sister, I’d known this boy for many years. But I wasn’t prepared for how energetic, intelligent and observant he was! One week he chased a fly around our music room, while carrying on a review of the parts of the violin and the Twinkle we’d been working on that week. He was a great first student and at the end of the summer I passed him on to my old teacher, wishing him the best and sad to see him go even though I knew he was in excellent hands. When I started at a new college that fall and found out about their Preparatory Division, I immediately started asking about teaching to get more experience.
Looking back I know I was so lucky to cut my teeth through college. There were weekends trying out different studio softwares, designing websites, drafting studio policies, writing lesson plans. Within the first year of teaching I took Shepherd University’s Studio Pedagogy class and combed through all our textbooks looking for best practices. During these years, I read “Nurtured By Love” for the first time and truly felt I’d found a kindred spirit.
Switching Gears
Spring 2013, Eagerly looking forward to growing a studio!
My studio grew slowly and steadily through my time at Shepherd. My retention was good and overall it seemed I had a knack for teaching. I loved seeing the differences between each student, how their brain worked, how their families uniquely supported lessons. It was like a puzzle! And I loved being able to tailor lessons to where the student was at that moment, compared to my classroom teaching experiences. Though I’d gone into teaching with the idea of becoming a high school orchestra director, the call of a private music studio was becoming stronger and stronger!
On an impulse, I applied to an opening for a violin teacher at the local Music and Arts the summer before my senior year. I got the email about my interview while I was in Paris on my college’s music tour and was SO over the moon I made it that far. I thought my best case scenario would be a job offering for after I graduated with my degree. Instead they asked if I could start the following week.
That first summer teaching at the store I really started to dream about what owning a private studio could look like. On the drive home from that summer’s vacation I drafted a five year plan outlining how many students I wanted, my teaching rates, what teaching locations I worked at, what services I provided and what training I’d have completed and when. I was creating this idea of a studio that supported me and my dreams for a family and future, while still trying to follow the old model for the most desirable private teaching career. There was a lot to learn, still. As I mentioned in my opening, this was also the time when several of my former teachers were trying to reveal the downsides of a private music studio life. The only detractor was my former teacher, Frauke Higgins, who was always so encouraging that I could make this happen!
By the time I was presenting my senior recital, I was actively sharing my intention to expand my private studio.
Early Years, Post Graduation
In those early years after I graduated, I worked off that five year plan I created for the studio. After graduation I had 27 students enrolled in lessons, I continued to work a bookstore job and took on more work. I added another day at the music store, I started teaching lessons during the day at a local private school. A similar situation to my Music and Arts interview happened with a local music school with a stellar reputation. I put my application in although they’d been a couple years down the list for my Five Year Plan. You know, just in case. And I was able to start with them the next month.
All of this growth and change was good. I was young, driven and wanted to earn my keep on teaching music. I only kept my bookstore job for eight months after I graduated, because I knew if I dropped the nights and weekends I was there I could break even by just adding a student or two into that time. It was scary, but exhilarating. There were a lot of new situations and each one had its set of pros and cons. I learned a lot during this time that continues to inform the decisions I make about where I teach and the compensation I expect!
During this time, I really started my Suzuki Teacher Training in earnest. Just before I’d graduated I’d taken Every Child Can to learn more about the Suzuki method and I continued to love the philosophy behind it. I was able to audit units 1, 2, 3 and 4 between 2015 and 2017, which made it both affordable as I was first living out on my own, then saving up for and buying a house. I loved my time at the Pennsylvania Suzuki Institute and treasured how affirming the Suzuki community was. I’m glad I found a group of teachers, parents and students with that shared mentality.
Another way I was incredibly lucky during this time was through the other teachers at some of the locations I worked with. I had the benefit of teaching with a piano teacher, Rose Kaylor, at the store who literally taught piano her entire adult life and still loved it at the end. When her health forced her into retirement, I got to see how much she missed it and it was a powerful illustration to me. Seeing what a studio can look like long term, through all stages of life was so illuminating to me and continues to guide me as I make decisions to this day. This is just one example of the teachers I’ve been able to watch teach over the years. Whether you find that in a Suzuki influenced sphere or you just find a group of more traditional teachers, I hope you find those connections to learn from over time. It has been so grounding to me!
Recital at a local nursing home, Spring 2016. Students pictured are from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. At the time I was teaching in six locations six days a week and busy.
Settling In
At the height of all this expansion and never ending teaching I was maintaining an insane schedule. I taught six, sometimes seven, days a week. My highest enrollment was 72 students on a consistent weekly basis. I taught Suzuki group classes, directed my beginner orchestra in Shepherd’s Community Music Program and took on as much freelance performing as I could. I loved it for sure, but looking back I don’t know how I did it! I had no boundaries, and took on any work at any price.
As I continued teaching at all these locations and under all of these different schools of music or music stores, the differences became clearer and clearer. Some locations, like teaching during the day at the private school meant I never saw the parents. The ones who were good at communicating through email had students that did well, while others often forgot to pay and didn’t reinforce practice at home. All of my locations but one allowed me autonomy in deciding my rate. Naturally this music school also paid me the least and had me working my longest day to make it worth the drive! When I realized I was working eight or nine hours for them, but only earning what I made in five or six hours at my other locations, I realized I had to make some changes.
Course correcting isn’t easy and it can be sloppy. It was definitely nerve racking! I had to take a cold look at the numbers to make these decisions and do my best to keep emotions out of it. Between 2016 and 2020 I made small changes to the schedule by swapping my teaching locations a day at a time, switching in my locations that were more profitable for studios where I couldn’t influence my own pay or determine the worth of my time. By the fall of 2018 I had total control over my rate by leaving the community music school. By spring of 2020, I had left the music store and private school.
Of course a private music studio isn’t immune to the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve largely taught online since March 2020, with the exception of outdoor lessons in summer of 2021. I’m still waiting for my chance to stretch my legs in this new world where everyone contracts directly with me. But I love having control over my studio and am looking forward to seeing how it all feels once in person lessons are safe for everyone!
Shaw Strings Studio Recital, March 7, 2020. Just a few short days before everything shut down and lessons moved online.
So now what?
If you’ve made it this far, thank you! There’s so many more stories and lessons from these last eleven years, but I’m happy where I am right now. At the time of this writing, it is January 2022. I’ve been teaching violin and viola lessons since 2011. I’m hoping in the next year I’ll be able to find the ideal home where I can run a private music studio and continue my work in the Community Music Program at Shepherd University.
At this stage in my life, an ideal home music studio includes:
A Studio Library. I want to have resources for students and parents at my fingertips, ready for those surprise teaching moments in a lesson.
Acoustic Piano: I am one of those people that feel a house has to have a piano and I want the same for my studio.
Space for chamber music: I want enough room to have a small group of students work on duets, trios and quartets. Some of those teaching rooms in other locations are tiny!
Lots of bright natural light: This might seem silly, but I think this is so important for how we learn and process.
Perfect balance between separation and connection: Music teachers are not one dimensional. I want to be the kind of teacher who welcomes students into their home but also maintains a high level of expectations.
I’m sure it’ll look very different in another ten years, but so far, so good! I hope you’ve enjoyed this recap of the last ten years. I’d love to hear what changes you studio has gone through over the years, or if you’re at the beginning of your journey what it would look like! This is an exciting business, so the more the merrier.
Connect with me @shawstrings on Facebook, Instagram or at my website www.shawstrings.co.
