Anyone ever taught music before? Just thought of starting this thread to pick up pointers on how best to initiate a newcomer to music.

Well to start off, I remembered my first experience was with a student who had no concept of music whatsoever. Try as I might to get him to get into note reading, understanding the concept of keeping to a constant beat before moving onto handling the instrument (in this case, a classical guitar), my efforts just didn't work.

When handling newcomers, what is your usual approach? How do you explain key concepts etc and any exercises to recommend which can hold their interest while at the same time add to their learning experience?

How much is enough, i.e. how much to teach in each lesson and where to start off? I usually start off by going into theory i.e. timing, time signature & note reading. Not easy to maintain their interest though cos' it's so damn boring and they expect me to teach them timeless classics on the get-go!

There were times I've been so tempted to rap their knuckles with a ruler, just like my music teacher in primary school did.

Of course, that'll only make them hate you and music...


This post has been edited by changhao: Dec 2 2006, 11:00 PM

I fully agree, and as crazy a teacher as I was, I didn't do all that in a single class! Would probably kill myself in the process together with the student! Sad part was, my classes were limited to 30-45mins for each session and only once per week (as per arrangements made by the music school)! By the time the lesson was over and another week passes, most of them just plain forgot all that I taught. Needless to say, the lil' buggers never bothered to practice what I taught back home or read the notes I gave.

As much as I should be happy with the knowledge that I can continue collecting my paycheck at the end of every month regardless of how badly they're soaking it up, I can't help but feel a tad bit incompetent that my students aren't soaking up all that I've dished up. Then of course, there's the fear that their parents will smash my head in with their kid's guitar if they don't see any progress...

Thankfully, most parents these days will only buy a kapok guitar for their kids as a starting instrument! Softer on the head...

This post has been edited by changhao: Dec 5 2006, 02:08 AM

Good question, how to get students?

My guess is that if you're doing private classes, word-of-mouth recommendations are the best. Either that or you'll have to shamelessly post bills & adverts into people's mailboxes to solicit their services. I tried posting a few adverts on a news bulletin board once, but pranksters tore them down and response was pathetic.

As for teaching in music shops, what I did last time was to scout out the shop. I found this shop in my hometown the last time that was trying to get its music classes going, so I just strolled into the shop, asked to "test" one of their guitars, let rip a few nice tunes and voila! Someone asked me if I wanted to teach!

The advantage of teaching in a music shop is that you get a larger number of students as compared to private tuitioning. However, the 50% commissions sometimes really do not justify the effort put in. What you can do is, start off by teaching in a music school, establish your reputation & rapport with the students, then go into private tuitioning, taking the students with you. Besides, if you're producing good results, most parents will want you to continue to teach their kids. Also, if you're giving private tuitions and are willing to travel to their homes, you can charge an extra RM30-RM50.

Hurhurhur~

Just love the smell of cold-hard cash at the end of the month!

No kidding?! How foul can an 8 year old get lah?

My gosh... I remember as a kid, the SLIGHTEST sign of disrespect will earn you a slap across the cheek or a mouthful of soap!

But are moderate forms of punishments still allowed these days while teaching i.e. rapping the knuckles with a wooden ruler or copy the F# maj scale 100 times?

In such cases, I'd be very much inclined to not progress any further until he/she absorbs the lesson. However, yah the student may accuse you of being boring, not giving him/her more stuff and quit...

Kids these days...

"I don't get out of bed for less than USD24,000 a day." - Linda Evangelista

I wish I was in a position to say that!

Standard price is RM90, but if you're travelling to their house, can charge extra RM30. That's for grade 1 practical. If include theory, I round the package to RM190.

Grade 2 practical: RM110, theory: RM90.

Grade 3 practical, RM130, theory: RM110.

So on & so forth. But of course, the above doesn't include teaching materials, books & exams fees.

But as was said before, you get more students teaching at a centre.

The most I ever had was 3 students. And they all stayed so far apart travelling was a real b****.