5 Rules for Being a GREAT Teacher
The right teacher is the key to a student going all the way or not getting past the first hurdle.
Speaking as a musician, who wouldn't want to make a living by inspiring others to chase their dreams and hit their goals. Sounds good right? It is. Teaching is a very rewarding career and if you have a musical skill you can teach, why not teach it. I've been a musician since a very young age and I now earn a large amount of my income from teaching. Helping students realise their dreams and work hard to play like their heroes gives me more job satisfaction than you can imagine. When I started my teaching business, I had 2 or 3 guitar students and I didn't know how to teach, I read a few books and looked on a million forums but ultimately it's the message you convey. Here are my top 5 tips for being a great teacher, even if you've never taught in your life.
- Be Real - Students don't want to be taught by someone forcing it. You're teaching someone about music, music is an emotional and personal journey. Don't let the students feel you aren't into it. Show them your passion and they will develop theirs.
- Be Inspiring - This goes without saying. For a new guitar player. or any other instrument, you could be one of their heroes. You're the person who is living the dream. They will possibly see themselves wanting to follow in your footsteps. Perhaps you play with a band as well as teach, that's impressive! Inspire your students to work hard and push for the goals they hold dear.
- Teach the Things that Matter - One thing I realised early on in my teaching career was that everyone is different. There is no forumla for teaching. You have to teach the person sitting in the chair, not the subject. Think about your delivery and how that person learns. Learn from them about their own methods and their own lives so that you can cater your method to suit them. This will give the student the most immersive experience of your lessons and keep them engaged throughout. Break your lessons into bite sized chunks and don't weigh students down with too much theory and detail early on.
- Love What you Do, Do What you Love - This goes hand in hand with inspiring people. If you love what you do, you will be a better teacher. You will inspire students more because they will pick up off your passion for what you do. You should love it, it's a blessed position to be in. Imagine being fortunate enough to fund your entire living from doing something you love doing every single day. Let this shine through in your lessons.
- Live your Message Every Day - When we work with students, we not only help them learn their instrument, we sell them the dream. The dream of being a musician, of playing your instrument everyday to a high level, the dream of playing in a band and going on tour, the dream of making a living from it. If you live this, you're selling that dream.
Of course, when you get started you'll be nervous and you might find it hard to get a steady stream of lessons in your calendar. This is not a field for people who hide from hard work. When you get into the music teaching field you have to put yourself out there. For me and my business, social media was the biggest growth factor. I was able to grow my business and my online presence to a point where I no longer need to advertise for work, work just finds me. Don't neglect having a great website and the benefits of reading up on SEO. When people search for your service in your town, you want to be the person they come to.
When you get your first lesson in your calendar, things are moving. You might feel nervous if you've never taught before, but that's ok, just remember what the goal is, it's about the students needs. I think the teaching mission statement should read like this list, live your passion and always aim to inspire. For that student, you are their fountain of knowledge. All the things you've learned on your travels and all the experiences music has brought you are things for you to pass on to the next generation of musicians. If you're looking to boost your teaching career and find more students, there are many great companies who pair students with high quality teachers, check out https://mgrmusic.com, if you're looking for more students to take you to the next level, sign up and let them get your name out there.
Relax and enjoy the ride, it's time to learn how to be great!