Music is a tough industry, and music performance jobs are impossible to come by. That’s why a lot of performance students have been turning to music teacher jobs.
While you shouldn’t teach music if you don’t want to, it can be helpful. That way, you can diversify your music career and do what you love.
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Should Music Performance Majors Teach?
Almost every music performance major will probably think about teaching at some point. Whether you want to teach private lessons or not, it can be a good thing to do.
Unfortunately, performance jobs are getting harder and harder to find. Teaching has a few benefits, but not every music performance major should teach.
Expand your skills
One of the best reasons to look for music teacher jobs is to expand your skills. As a performance major, you already have to know how to play your instrument.
Music teacher jobs allow you to teach others how to play your instrument. Not only can you teach your primary instrument, but you can also teach other instruments.
If you can play a second instrument, you can teach lessons on that instrument. It will help you build your teaching and performance skills. And, you can also get more students more easily.
Diversify your income
Musicians are almost always freelancers, and we need as many ways to make money as is feasible. If you rely solely on performance jobs, you will have a much harder time making an income.
However, music teacher jobs allow you to make money with music in a different way. You don’t have to worry about taking a day job that you can’t stand.
Instead, you can keep working in music, but you don’t have to constantly travel for gigs.
Music Teacher Jobs for Music Performance Majors
If you want to teach as part of your music career, you need to find music teacher jobs. Of course, you need teacher certification to teach in a public school.
However, there are quite a few music teacher jobs that don’t require state certification. Even if you major in music performance or another specialty, you can teach private and small group lessons.
Private lessons
One of the most common music teacher jobs for performance majors is teaching private lessons. You can teach almost any instrument that you can think of.
Even if you play a “weird” instrument like a non-concert flute, you can teach it. However, it will be easier to find students for more common instruments, like the piano.
Of course, you can teach individual private lessons, but you can also teach small groups. Teaching small groups can help you earn more per hour if you have enough students.
No matter what you teach, it can help to have a variety of materials on hand. You should also do some reading on how to teach your chosen instrument.
College/university
If you have an advanced degree in music performance, you can look for college and university music teacher jobs. These jobs can be very competitive, so you may need to apply for a lot before you get one.
Full-time tenure track positions can be especially competitive. If you want to go this route, consider getting your doctorate if you haven’t already. It can make you stand out in a sea of applicants.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t land these jobs with a masters. You may just have to teach at a couple of colleges to earn your income.
How to Find Music Teacher Jobs
Once you decide to teach music as a music performance major, you have to look for music teacher jobs. Finding these jobs is similar to finding other positions.
However, you may need to get creative depending on how you want to teach music. If you want to primarily teach music, you may need to find two or three music teacher jobs so that you can fill out your schedule.
Market yourself
If you want to teach private or group lessons, you can market yourself as a teacher in your area. You can also teach online lessons through video chat.
Post on social media that you’re taking on new students. Ask your friends to share your posts on their accounts.
You can also create flyers and put them up in local coffee shops, though that may not always be effective. Depending on the students you want, you can also network with parent groups.
If you prefer adult students, you can reach out to community music groups. Then if any members are looking for a teacher, the group director can give out your info.
Look at community schools and studios
One of the easiest ways to find music teacher jobs is to work with a school or studio that offers music classes. In many cases, the school handles the marketing, scheduling, and payment.
You can give them your availability, and they can schedule students for you. all you have to worry about is showing up to teach.
Another benefit to some schools is that you may have the chance to get paid when your student doesn’t show up. If a student cancels, some studios may have a policy that allows you to still get paid.
However, you do have to be available during the school or studio’s business hours. You also may not have much control over when you get students or how many you have.
Find colleges and universities
If you want to teach at the college level, you should start following a few colleges and universities. Decide if you want to stay in a particular area or if you’re willing to move for a teaching job.
Then, you can look at local schools, or you can look nationally. When you find some music teacher jobs that fit your needs, apply for them.
Of course, you will need an advanced degree to land some of these positions. However, it can be a great option. You can start with an adjunct position and work your way up to full-time if that’s what interests you.
Be open to different things
As you look for your first couple of music teacher jobs, you may have to be flexible. Not every school is always hiring teachers, or at least not for your instrument.
You may need to apply to a couple of schools before you find the right one for you. Or you might have to be willing to teach a couple of instruments.
You may not always be able to teach the age range you want. Sometimes, you may have to drive farther than you expected. The more open you can be, the easier it will be to find music teacher jobs.
You can be pickier about your teaching jobs later.
So…
Did you or are you currently majoring in music performance? Do you want to find music teacher jobs? Share your thoughts in the comments!