If you’re handy on the guitar, the thought of teaching others to play might have crossed your mind as a way of making extra money. But how do you get started as a private tutor?
Well, there are a few steps that can make starting your private tuition journey considerably easier. This guide explains some tips for planning lessons and what you need to get started with your private tuition business.
1) Build a Bank of Resources
One of the first, most exciting steps to take is building your bank of teaching and learning resources. These can be songs, games, exercises and anything else you might use to help others to learn to play. When you’ve got a nice, organised folder (hard or digital), you’ll feel confident and well-equipped to start teaching.
A quick Google search will lead you to many websites that have TABs and chord charts to help kids learn from and also guitar recommendations for kids in case their string snaps or they can’t bring their own. Practise charts are also a useful thing to print out and give to your pupils. Many of these are free of charge.
2) Get a DBS Check
If you’re keen to teach children, it’s important you get a DBS Check (formerly CRB). These can be a little pricey, but it will make parents far more likely to be comfortable sending their children to lessons with you.
You can now order these as a self-employed practitioner, so get online and make yourself a trusty practitioner!
3) Plan Some Lessons
There’s nothing like preparation to make your lessons run smoothly. Take some time to get some sessions structured. If you’re teaching younger kids, it’s important to plan fast-paced, varied lessons with plenty of fun. These could look something like this:
0-5 Clapping warm-up
5-10 Chord drills
10-15 Song (new or revisit from previous week)
15-20 Listening Game
20-25 Next part of song
25-30 Packing away and setting homework
With older kids (or adults!), you might spend longer on the different sections and perhaps reduce the game-like activities. Planning all of this will make you feel in control and give you the confidence that’s necessary to becoming an effective teacher.
4) Advertise Online AND Offline
Adverts, when you start out, are what will get you some business. Place an advert on Gumtree, put a teacher profile on Music Teachers, Rockschool, and any other websites you can find! As you do this, you really need to shout out about what makes you a great music teacher. As a new practitioner, you are initially at a disadvantage to those who get pupils via word of mouth. But that doesn’t need to be a problem; there will be something that makes you stand out from the competition. Are you committed to getting your pupils being creative? Will you organise performances for them? Perhaps you’re a whizz at music theory. Do you have qualifications? If so, shout about them (as long as they’re music-related, of course!). Make sure your advert makes you shine and sound exciting! These shouldn’t just be limited to the internet; make sure you also check out ways of marketing offline.
5) Learn Something New
Something else that’s an essential part of effective teaching is empathy. How can you connect with someone enough to teach them, if you have no idea how they’re feeling?
It’s easy to forget how hard playing the guitar was when you first started. Instead of trying to think back, I’d urge you to either take on a different instrument or to try something completely out of your comfort zone on the guitar. As you learn that, take note of how you feel and what the learning process is like for you. This will help you to understand what your pupils are feeling as you teach them.
Teaching the guitar can be very rewarding. Following these preparatory tips will help you to embark on your exciting new journey as a private tutor.
