So you've decided to teach private music lessons. Congratulations!
Comfortable as you are with your teaching skills, perhaps you’re
less certain about how to set up a studio. Let’s look at choosing
a location, setting up a functional and comfortable studio, and
co-existing harmoniously with your neighbors.
Location, location, location. Like property values, the success
of a business often hinges on its location. Fortunately most people
will go out of their way to see a reputable teacher, so it’s not
imperative that you set up shop in the high-rent district at the
center of town. On the other hand, don’t locate your studio a scenic
50 minutes from anywhere.
You’ll find many options: your home, a space in a music studio,
a cubicle in a music store, the parks and recreation center or civic
arts department, a church room, or a space in an office building.
Studios outside the home have some advantages. They often come with
built-in advertising and a steady stream of referrals. If you want
to maintain a limited teaching schedule, sharing a studio with cooperative
people may be the perfect solution. There’s also the benefit of
meeting and networking with other teachers and musicians. And by
starting off in a studio, you can try out teaching without turning
your home upside-down, launching your career in an atmosphere that’s
more professional than the average family room.
However, many successful private instructors teach in their homes.
Home studios tend to be comfortable and spacious, with a warm ambience
that is hard to match in other settings, and they offer the most
flexibility for setup and scheduling. Other advantages of the home
studio include the short commute and a kitchen that’s always open.
Plus you can water the lawn, do your laundry, and download your
e-mail between lessons. And if you use an entire room solely for
business purposes, you may deduct it at tax time (as well as a percentage
of your utility bills) as business expenses. If you’re the home
owner, just be aware that later you may have to recapture the depreciation.
Everyone has the right to operate a home-based business, however
your local planning department may require that you obtain a permit,
and it may place certain constraints on business activities. Your
rights and restrictions are usually spelled out in the Home Occupation
section of the zoning ordinance. Fortunately, many ordinances include
a clause that specifically endorses tutoring in the home. You may
be able to find the home occupation statute on-line. Try searching
for "home occupation ordinance," "home occupation
permit," or just "home occupation" or "home
business." Include the name of your municipality. If you are
in an unincorporated area, make sure that you’re researching county
ordinances.
Setting Up Your Home
Studio
Consider some of the following points when deciding how to set
up a room in your house as a studio.
Parking. If possible, provide off-street parking. It’s convenient
for your students and courteous to your neighbors. Above all, consider
the safety of the youngsters and do your best to keep them away
from the street.
Bathroom access. Sometimes students just need to wash their
hands. Then, of course, there are the calls of nature, and the kid
who needs to switch into a soccer uniform after a lesson.
Space. Afford yourself a large open work area if possible,
preferably about six by nine feet, with room enough to get to both
sides of a student so you can observe from different vantage points.
And leave enough room next to the student’s seat for an extra armless
chair or stool so that an interested parent can look on. In addition,
you’ll want to get up from your chair once in a while simply to
move around a bit, so make sure it’s easy to do so.
Waiting room. Invite your students inside. When it’s 92°
F. outside, it may feel like 120° F. in your student’s car. If you
do not have a suitable room adjoining the studio, ask that people
show up no more than five minutes early and keep some extra folding
chairs or stools at hand. (You never know when back-to-back students
will be accompanied by an entourage that includes the entire family
plus a friend.)
Outfitting and Arranging
Your Studio
If necessary, start with a spartan studio. Countless teachers have
produced astonishing results using only a music stand and adequate
lighting. Choose a sturdy music stand, such as an orchestra stand
that can support a heavy binder without swaying or twisting. High-quality
folding stands are also available.
Of course, you can expand beyond this basic setup by getting a
second music stand so that you can play duets with your students
and setting up a handy accessory shelf that attaches to your stand
for holding pencils, erasers, rosin, and so on. An excellent combination
is a Konig Meyer 10065 folding music stand plus the Manhasset Accessory
Shelf.
So that children’s legs aren’t left dangling, provide a stool about
ten to 12 inches tall and wide enough for both feet. And for your
own comfort and health, find a good-quality armless office chair.
Make room for any instrument that you play, including accompaniment
instruments. If you don’t have room for an acoustic piano, look
into the better keyboards that are available today; some have impressive
qualities of sound and touch.
Keep certain essentials within arm’s reach: an electronic tuner
or tuning fork, a tape recorder (certain Technics and JVC models
include microphone inputs), a microphone (preferably a stereo mic
on a boom; good microphones include the Shure SM 57 or SM 58, the
AKG C 1000 S, and Sony’s ECM-MS907 stereo mic), a binder in which
to chart your weekly schedule and your students’ progress and assignments,
a box of cassettes, a stack of your favorite CDs, a metronome, a
large hand mirror (to show students things they can’t easily see
from their perspective), and a current list of your students’ phone
numbers. Here’s an important item to keep out of reach: the
telephone. When someone calls during a lesson, let your answering
machine respond. Don’t use your student’s lesson time to take a
call. Also include a clock for all to see, a bulletin board, and
a lost-and-found box. For detailed suggestions regarding accessories,
see www.SingingWood.com/Accessories.html.
More than ever, the computer is a musician’s tool. You can use
it to record and play digital audio, record CDs, and run MIDI applications
such as music notation and theory lessons. And you can get inexpensive
software that allows you to adjust the playback speed of regular
CDs, so your students can play along with the great recordings,
but at slower speeds. Choices include Slow Gold for WinTel PCs,
and Transkriber, Amazing Slow Downer, or RetroCD for the Macintosh,
each under $50. Some of these titles also allow you to transpose
tracks to different keys, set up practice loops, and ease the process
of learning music by ear. For the best fidelity, connect your computer’s
sound output to the aux channel of your stereo, or connect it to
multimedia speakers. Always locate speakers near head level. Don’t
place your computer setup or stereo system directly against a wall.
Leave enough room so you can get behind it for maintenance, rewiring,
and replacement, or put the whole system on wheels.
A large desk can be the centerpiece in your studio. If it’s deep
enough, you can stack your stereo equipment on it and still have
ample useable desk space. Short on square feet? Build up. Or remove
the sliding doors from a closet and move your desk inside. Also,
you’ll want file cabinets for your bookkeeping materials and sheet
music, bookshelves for software and CDs, and possibly a photocopier.
If you have enough room, provide a sofa or love seat. On an end
table or bookshelf, put out easy-to-read books on music, such as
Making Music for the Joy of It, by Stephanie Judy. Make your
studio a nice place for kids; sometimes children like to invite
their friends, and the enjoyment of observing a music lesson can
be a pivotal moment. So don’t forget the comics and a small box
of safe toys to occupy the wee siblings!
The Impact of Working
at Home
And now a necessary word on the social realities of working at
home. Your activities will affect family members and housemates
on many fronts. Here’s some of what your co-habitors can expect:
phone calls, noise (i.e., music), parking problems, being awakened
by an early morning lesson, kids making their way to the bathroom,
more phone calls, the occasional car that’s stuck in the mud until
the tow truck arrives. And the
biggest issue of all: if you use shared living space for your teaching,
other household members will have to evacuate the area while you
work. Count on regular surprises for the first few months;
later you’ll come to accept these as part of a normal work day.
A separate phone line will go a long way toward keeping housemates
happy.
Now consider your neighbors. You’ll probably find that they are
overwhelmingly supportive of your career and good fortune. To them,
you look like a living example of the American Dream— you’re self
employed, working at home, and contributing to society through a
satisfying career. But even if you’re the best possible neighbor
and you run your business with the utmost consideration, you may
encounter a person who feels compelled to complain. Handle this
with diplomacy, for an inconvenienced, frightened, or angry neighbor
can round up the posse quicker than you can say, "once again
with feeling"—even when you’re fully within your rights.
Likely neighborhood issues include noise, parking, traffic, security,
and unfounded fears about where this is all going to lead. Bear
in mind, it’s easiest to solve neighborhood issues before they escalate.
So get to know your neighbors. Say hello, lend a hand, offer to
entertain at the block party, and donate a coupon for a free lesson
or two to the neighborhood raffle. If your neighbors know you and
trust that you’ll respond reasonably and intelligently to their
comments or requests, they’re much more likely to voice any grievances
or concerns.
Setting up your own studio can be one of the most satisfying moves
in your career. So do your research, talk to your housemates and
your neighbors, consider your own needs, and start off with the
basics in equipment and studio space. And
remember, teaching music is part music and part business. Attend
to both and you may successfully launch and sustain a truly rewarding
career.
