Being a teacher means providing your skills to help someone who intends to learn something.

The demand for private repetitions is increasing and, given the particular economic moment in which Italy finds itself, the availability of teachers who choose to share knowledge in exchange for remuneration is also increasing.

The subjects on which you can choose to give repetitions are truly endless: ranging from Italian classics and mathematics, teaching the use of new computer software, up to private lessons of singing and music.

In fact, to learn how to play a musical instrument or sing, you don’t always have a school at your doorstep. Often, these institutions are so expensive and require so much effort that students are discouraged. They choose to learn from self-taught or to ask for private lessons from teachers with good references.

Do you know how to play an instrument and want to start a career in this field? Whether you decide to create a career for yourself or to do it as a second job, before you start you will need to bring in and answer some basic questions and then be able to create a reputation as a teacher.

Good musician and teacher skills plus a good reputation will make you a reference point for all those who want to learn how to play… you will have your calendar full of lessons booked!

How do you start giving music lessons?

Follow our advice to start your career as a “music teacher”:

TAKE STOCK OF YOUR SKILLS

When you choose to start giving private lessons in any subject, in this case music, you have to take stock of your skills. Yes, because it is not enough to know the subject perfectly, you also need to have the ability to transfer your knowledge to the student.

In short, you need to know how to teach and this is not for everyone. In fact, you can be great musicians, but bad teachers. Try it out with a friend or relative to see if you can or need to start to learn more about pedagogy. Once you are ready, identify your level of preparation and a target group to which you can turn.

Do you have the skills to teach a beginner piano or can you even teach someone who already chews a little bit of music? Once you have identified your level of musician and teacher skills, the level of students you want to teach, write it down.

Draw up your own profile and make a good description of yourself that you can use to make yourself known.

MUSIC STUDENTS LOOKING FOR… BUT WHERE?

There is no fixed age when people can begin to feel like learning to play an instrument:

• You can start as a child, perhaps at the suggestion of one or both parents.
• there are those who begin during adolescence, high school or university to distract themselves from their studies
• you can start by choosing to play an instrument as a hobby after work and have a source of relaxation
• but you can also start in old age when, now retired, you are looking for ways to spend your time and stay active
• If you have identified the level of your skills and the target group of “students” you want to target, it’s time to find them! Have you already thought about how to do it?

If your goal is to make you as known as possible, do not leave unexplored any tool to publicize yourself and promote your activity as a musician.

So what to do? Start developing an integrated off-line and online communication plan.

OFF-LINE ADVERTISING

If I tell you to think about the traditional methods that come to mind to advertise you, what do you say? Of course: Word of mouth and flyers!

The first tool ever, known since time immemorial for advertising, is word of mouth. Start spreading the word with your friends and relatives and tell them to advertise.

Say it to everyone, but above all dwell on the knowledge that you think are opinion leaders, that is all those people who have a fairly broad knowledge base and who have the ability to “influence” the opinion of people, or in a way their behavior.

Those people are an inexhaustible source of contact. Offer them privileged treatment, maybe a few free lessons… you will see that your number of bookings will triple quickly.

The other traditional way to advertise off-line are flyers or paper ads with your data.

In the flyer insert:

• title, e.g. music teacher
• a small description: who you are, your level, what you teach and your time availability
• one photo (optional)

the contact details (very important) in order to be contacted
Spread the flyers at strategic points in the city and wait for someone to notice your ad. If your goal is to give music lessons to students, you can ask permission to place the ad on the notice boards of schools or outside universities, for example.

ONLINE ADVERTISING

Using traditional methods to promote yourself in the city is fine, but to reach a large number of possible “students” you need more.

The Internet is useful in a number of ways, first of all because it allows you to reach a potentially infinite number of people quickly. It also allows you to get student contacts quickly and create a good reputation for yourself at no cost.

Ways to promote your online business:

• Share posts on your personal Facebook profile
• Create your own Facebook page and Instagram account
• Share creative and fun content about music (videos, memes, photos)
• Strategically share your content on other Facebook groups that are consistent with your activity (job search, music, city groups…)

Create a profile on Skuola.net | Repeat and link it to your social profiles
By using these techniques, you will not only be able to make yourself known to a larger number of students, but you will also be able to become a point of reference in the field of music.

The main goal you will have to pursue is to become a top of mind, that is to be one of the first ones people will think about when they want to take music lessons.

Consider that as for the offline, also in groups and on Facebook pages there are people who, for their personal attitude and level of activity on social, manage to become a reference point for other members. Ever heard of Influencer?