Adapting To Music Teaching During Lockdown

Adapting To Music Teaching During Lockdown

The world has changed in 2020 & this is something that has affected everyone in one way or another. One industry that has been hit hard is the music industry. Venues have had little to no support and are shutting down, performers are having to find new ways to get by and Music teachers are having to completely change the way they teach. From a music teachers standpoint, the main way in which most teachers have adapted is to try to make the move to online lessons & this is probably the best way to retain business and still be able to have an income during these times. 

What many have had to do is to start offering lessons via skype or facetime which having taught online myself for many years is a great way to still offer high-quality tuition which benefits both the teacher and the student. For the teacher, it gives them a way to still have an income during these difficult times and it is far more convenient for students to learn online from their home and to have no travel time to and from lessons etc.

A great example of this would be Maria Hernandez at Singing Lessons London who has started offering online lessons via both skype and facetime which is a great move for the music tuition industry meaning that local students and teachers like Maria can still have the lessons they want and need. 

Many teachers think it might be hard to make the move to online teaching but it really is quite easy & if some students aren’t quite keen to try online lessons then I recommend you offer them a free lesson to show them the ropes and make sure they are comfortable before they start paying for regular lessons. Although generally, as long as you convey yourself in the same way you would face to face then there are rarely any issues. Online learning can be just as informative and enjoyable as face to face learning.

As a teacher myself, the hardest thing I have found to adapt to is gaining new students during this time. I have found that music lessons aren’t the highest priority during times like these to which I can understand however there are still many places in which I would recommend promoting yourself online. Firstly, if you are lucky enough to have your website then you shouldn’t have much to worry about but if you are not in that position then I would still recommend avenues like Facebook, Gumtree & even local forums. It is worth saying that to build up a few student enquiries you need to be posting ads and promoting yourself in at least 6 or 7 different ways. Although there aren’t as many students requiring lessons as before, there is still plenty for you to carve out a small group of consistent online students. As I said before if you already have a student base then you are already halfway there. You just need to get your current students to try online and with no other options in the market currently, I believe students have more of a willingness to try. 

You should also make sure you prepare for this switch to online learning to be something you will offer for the long term. We are all unsure as to what is happening over the next year in terms of coronavirus so I would recommend keeping that in your plans and potentially aiming to move many of your students online for the foreseeable future. I also have found that some students even prefer learning online & this is something to also keep in mind, some students prefer the idea of learning from home and not having to commute again after work which I can understand and as a teacher we have to be as accommodating as possible. 

As music teachers of all levels, instruments & styles I think we can all agree that this pandemic has been probably the most threatening thing to ever happen to our career and the thing we love most in the world. Sometimes it feels like we are up against it all but I believe that there is always a solution for everything & I think that right now we have a clear solution in front of us, it’s just up to you as a teacher to make sure you explore it for your own business and to help keep music learning alive. We all have to make sure we spread the word about online learning and make sure students are interested to try it because this is something that is becoming if not has already become the norm for music teachers.