Teaching piano lessons for the first time – where do I start?
I will start giving piano lessons. I’m 20 years of experience, I know that my instrument, but I’m not sure where to start with beginners. What series of books should I use? What lesson is it? How much should I charge? Anyone can give help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Well about £11 for half an hour is the average in the UK at the moment. I’d recommend the John Thompson range, I started learning on them and they were entertaining and very useful. You should do a little theory, some warm ups such as scales and then some piece work. Maybe finish with a simple duet.
You didn’t say what age you hope to teach, so I’m going to talk about the average 7-9 year old student.
Start them in the Alfred Basic Lesson book and Alfred Fun book. These books coordinate with each other so you know when to assign each song. Start with teaching the finger numbers and the basic note values. Just follow the pages in the books and they will introduce new topics when it’s time. Only assign songs you have had time to go over in the lesson. Have the student bring a notebook so they know exactly what to practice.
Once the child gets to reading notes, have them start in Hal Leonard Notespeller 1 and give them a written assignment each week.
Make sure you have a written policy to protect yourself from parents who will try to take advantage of younger teachers.
I always gauge my fees on what our Community Ed is charging. Right now they are $21/per half hour, so I am charging $20. Since you are a new teacher you should charge anywhere between $10-$15. If you are well-known in your area for playing the piano you can charge more.
The series you use should depend on what you feel comfortable teaching and what style you like. I use the Faber and Faber series. I like the way they introduce the topics and I like the pace they move at. When I get them more advanced, then I switch to the Alfred series. Try different series and see what works best for you and your students. If you have any really young students like around 5 or 6 then I highly reccomend the Mozart Mouse series. They are really good for kids that young.
I use a lesson book, and theory book, and some kind of fun book. I highly reccomend doing some kind of theory with your students. It is easier to learn all the material when you know the theory behind it. Sometimes I do the theory in the lesson with them, sometimes its homework. It just depends on the student and their needs. Some need you to go over it with them and talk it through. A lot of it just depends on how they learn and how you feel comfortable teaching. Another thing I have found that works good is I got a big book of reproducible theory worksheets. I just make copies of them and give them when they need them.
I like the idea of a fun book because it gives them something fun that they can pick out. If they are always doing the lesson stuff then they tend to not want to practice and do not enjoy playing. I let them chose which song they want to play in the fun book also so they have some choice in everything.
Lesson rates probably depend on where you are located. I live in a rural area where lessons are usually $8-$12 for a half hour lesson. When I was in college in a bigger city the cost was $15-$30 for a half hour lesson. My uncle who lives in Seattle pays $65 for a half hour lesson for his children. So it just depends on your location. I would reccomend getting in touch with other teachers in your area and see how much they are charging. If you have never taught before I would go a couple dollars lower than the current teachers. You might have the playing experience but the teaching experience is what people like.
I hope this helps!