| Music Business 9: Private Bass Lessons, Part 2 By Roy Vogt Bass Instructor, Belmont University |
Print This Lesson |
Most larger cities have some sort of music store, whether a Mom-and-Pop operation or one of the Big Chains. Either is a good place to start looking for a location to teach. Most stores will either rent a studio space to you for a percentage of your fee or on a daily basis, or will book the students for you and manage your schedule. Usually this is at a cost of anywhere up to 30% of your instructional fee. The good news is that they are also in charge of collections (i.e., getting paid). I've worked in both environments and they each have their advantages and disadvantages. If I'm renting a teaching space for a set fee, it behooves me to book as many students as possible in that time frame to maximize my earnings against cost. If the store is managing it for me, that's not an issue.
The advantage of teaching in a music store environment is that the store itself is a source of referrals. A lot of students come from the pool of people who purchase that first bass or the inevitable upgrade. Also, depending on the resources of the music store, they may be able to furnish music stands and an amplifier or two for your class. As you establish a working relationship with them, you can often get good deals on the basses and other equipment they sell. The reciprocal of this is that you should, if at all possible, have them stock the books and materials you will have your students use so that you can contribute to their business by more than paying rent.
There are many, many methods and books out there. At this point, my personal favorite is the excellent series written by David Overthrow for Alfred's Music - although I've used the method materials from David C. Gross, Beaver Felton, and Stephan Richter with excellent results. With younger students, I've found that mixing up book work with learning songs keeps them interested. The trick is to find some way to relate the book material with a tune, often by writing out the bass line for the student and illustrating a point that the book makes. Recently, I've used the bass line from the Jimi Hendrix tune "Hey Joe" to teach triads and passing tones.A great source for seeing what books are out there is www.bassbooks.com.
If you cannot find a suitable environment to teach in at a local music store, you always have the option of teaching in your own home or at the student's home. If you teach at your own home, try to have a space to work set aside away from friends, family and roommates. Ideally, this is a spare and separate room. In a perfect world, it's great if you have a separate entrance so that the students can come and go without interrupting the rest of the household. I personally prefer not teaching at my house because I like to keep my business work and my family environment separate. Also, since none of us live in Mayberry anymore, there's an additional element of safety for you and your family by keeping your work away from your home. If you teach at the student's home, your rates will often be double what you would charge at your own locations owing to transportation costs. Once again, screen carefully and make sure that the environment you're teaching in is safe for you and free of distractions for your student. I've not done this, but some of my friends (particularly drummers) have done this with mixed results.
Most major metropolitan areas have a free alternative/entertainment paper that you can run ads in. It's helpful to have voice mail or an email address (I recommend either your website email or a hotmail account for this) listed along with what you're teaching (all styles, Jazz, just Rock, or whatever) and you're qualifications. If you're in a hot local band, so much the better. If you're a session player or a touring musician, say so. A lot of times the student will be coming for music lessons, but also because you're a window into a world where they would like to go someday.
I've found that if you have to cancel lessons due to work conflicts, it's best to do that as early as possible and try to schedule a makeup lesson time within the week, to keep the student interested. I've also found that charging for at least 2 lessons at a time keeps people from "forgetting" they have a lesson with you. With parents of younger students, it's not uncommon to charge for the entire month. It's better for your cash flow and keeps them committed for at least that time period.
Don't forget, there are no taxes taken out of teaching income, so put 25% of your lesson money in a separate savings account and don't touch it - it's the government's money and you'll have to pay it if you declare that income as you should. Work with your tax professional in this regard. Most self-employed musicians in the US, for example, pay quarterly estimated payments to avoid a nasty surprise at tax time.
I hope I've given you some useful tips about how to navigate the field of private teaching. In addition, my good friend and career guitar instructor Guy Lee has written an invaluable guide to making a living teaching guitar. You can find his book at www.guytar.com .
Peace and Low Notes,
Roy C. Vogt
Nashville Bassist
Bass Instructor, Belmont University, Nashville, TN
Print This Lesson | Return to Lesson Index
Roy's Bio | An Interview with Roy | Visit Belmont U. | Visit Roy's Website