i see many of you guys do some business in music like selling instrument or teaching music. just wanna get some opinion about this. i'd like the idea of teaching basic guitar but dono how to start..

go to yamaha music school apply for teacher role

can i be independent from yamaha?

its not really worth the time and effort to be independent, unless they come to ur place and u kick them out on time when the lesson is over

problem is... my music theory is pretty weak. my strength is listening to music & learn & teach "by ear" way, hence my reluctance to join yamaha.

then you can try finding for Churches or College/University Clubs..



This post has been edited by gapnap: Feb 2 2009, 03:56 PM

he mentioned as a part time career in music. so i guess his main aim is to make money. as far as i know churches and college university clubs dont pay much at all (thats even if u're lucky enough to get paid).

well just because you can play well doesnt mean you can teach well. diff teachers have diff styles. imo, you do need theory too. what happens if a student asks you something and you couldnt answer or explain it? well its still possible to teach, just make sure you clarify with your students before taking them in as students that theory isnt something you can do. its best doing business honestly. for a start, go through diff books and diff youtube videos to see how diff people approach teaching/explaining something. sometimes we can play til it becomes a natural thing and dont realise we still have to point out small simple things.

good advice bro..
i still have basic knowledge on music theory but that's not what i intend to teach. if student asks i can still answer, but don't ask too advance theory la
the target is those beginners who don't know how to play (young & old but prefably young )

go to musicmaster =D

ts, in your situation, you'll be having a hard time to compete. you might be able to survive, but most likely you ain't gonna sustain.

i'd ask you a simple question, how advanced do you expect your student to be? if you just want to teach beginner, means you're going to see the same face for only 2 years then off he/she go?

also, never underestimate the word of mouth. you'll be surprised.

This post has been edited by little ice: Feb 2 2009, 11:46 PM

i would abstain from teaching if you don't know theory. But that's just my bias

as i mentioned, i know basic music theory & want to teach beginners only. this is just a side income project & enjoy at the same time since music is my hobby

yes, there's no problem with that. but you see, your students might want to learn more and might end up disappointed.

you still can teach, but make sure you tell your students in advance that you only teach beginners and won't teach theory.

but then, if i'm looking for teacher like you, i'd rather learn from friends or join bands.

just my rm0.02.

i second little ice-san
i know a moderate amount of theory yet i still dun have the courage to teach be it part time or full time. i'd rather perform really, its more fun.

besides, not everyone is meant for teaching. Teaching is another skill all by itself =/

how about opening a jamming studio? does it really can make profit ah? i did the math but can't figure out how to get profit after minus operating cost

make money from jamming rates? nope.
offering rental / instrument sales / lessons? possibly.

why not just set up a nasi lemak stall and save the headaches?

slim chance of making profit opening a jam studio my friend.
you seem very hyped on making money in this industry. my advice is to do your research properly first. like everdying said, better chance setting up a nasi lemak stall.

no one is stopping you from teaching, but then again, if i were a student, i wouldnt wanna pay some guy who doesnt know his stuff inside out to be teaching me. teaching is selling your services as a teacher, so evaluate if your fees are worth the services.

musicians are miserable. maybe only 0.01% can become rich.

ok la at least i get reliable inputs before start doing anything . i wasn't too hype about it. just wanna listen from u guys, especially those who already doing it

musicians are keep doing it bcoz, music the thing that makes them feel satisfied,happy, and enjoy!. haha...

lol bro dont pour cold water lah.
a lot do it for passion mou

passion doesnt pay bills.

but ok wat, nasi lemak seller by day, mat rocker by night

yeah i like that

thats precisely true!!

very realistic pov

This post has been edited by Ryuuga: Feb 4 2009, 11:52 AM

well ..you need a combo ...


sell + teach
play + teach
sell + play

but i think ..the best combo is ..
repair shop + sell

but you gotta be famous as a guitar tech first lah ....look at tham

This post has been edited by gapnap: Feb 4 2009, 01:11 PM

lol!! got combo summore dude...!!
like playing online game.. best combination of skills for different jobs! haha

Great effort TS!

Teaching music is very very good..

While you share the passion and skill you have, you earn money too!

Well, my advice is master any kind of instrument you're planning to teach (guitar for your case). I guess theory is not the problem for you as some teachers actually bluff their students too when they don't know to correct answer/solution.. this is bad but this happens.. I think qualification is the problem if you don't have any..

If you're a performer, people judge you based on experience and your style. Students who love your style will of course learn it from you.

Church/college do pay for external teachers to come teach. hey after all art works needs to be paid besides the cost to go there. Nowadays, teachers seldom do home tuition (music) because it is time+money consuming with all the traffic jams and bad weather.

This is my suggestion:

1. The hard way: Do a blog or website about yourself. Mainly your profile/achievement or sharing something. Let people know you. Advertise your class. You might get lucky. Haven't I mention many artiste pop out from youtube and myspace too...

2. Even harder way: There's this school call Play By Ear (www.playbyear.com.my) where they teach students to play with a very very good method. If I'm not mistaken, students who qualify can become a teacher there too. You don't need to work there fulltime. So if you're really into it, give it a try!

Good luck bro!

As long as you try, I'm sure you're heading somewhere...

thnx!! especially for introducing me to the playbyear. yeah, that's something i'd like to explore

Hi guys....im a musician as well a music tutor part time as well....
Just to let you all know you can make a reasonable sum of $$ by doing part time. As musicians for start up...you have to do lots free shows and putting lots video on youtube...once people know you.....people will keep calling you. Sit and send out emails to every event organizer you know as well look them up and send a profile to them...and out of the 100's of email u sent at least one will reply...again if a good show is put up...the ball will keep rolling.....Music tutoring privately i have been doin it for 3 years now since i got in uni....its all based on recomendation...I have not thought in any music school thus i dont know their rates....but rates for private tutoring is better than alot people working full time...

Just be unique ...thats what the industry wants...give them something that no one else can do but you....you will make big bucks...but again....noo guarantee....its an up and down road....no constant income...but satisfaction is guaranteed.

Thats a lil from ....from what i went through...

param....

if you want to make good money you need a good marketing.

if you want to sustain, you need to be competent.

but then, music scene today are dominated by marketing. you need about 10% of skill, and 90% of marketing (read: communication skill a.k.a sweet talk), and you'll be doing very well.

repair shop eh? can one....
look how many man power u have already *cough cough*

famous as in...skilled and knowledagable guitar tech?

and this also lead into a conclusion - you won't get far if you're not prepared. means, if you're well prepared, you can be successful in anything.

the rest are all marketing...

err he is trying to be a teacher.. not finding gigs bro..

haha...teacher also i mentioned based on recomendation...just a student and the ball will get rolling...

i think anybody who is full time entertainment-music industry will advice newbies not to follow their footsteps

part time still ok la ..

TS, u could try apply for the suzuki method from the malaysia suzuki association. (forgot the link ady, maybe u can search it up at google) =)

the prob is u have to pay around rm30k for the 1 year course, then afterwards, doing practical for a few months(they pay u 1k per month), after that, i heard they straight give u a job with a rm2k++ per month salary.

lol, doesn't "worth" it or make sense if teaching part time, especially ts only want side income...

suzuki? i thought only yamaha deals with music . anyway, i'll google it to get more info. 2k++ part time or full time job? if part time may be can consider la

who says musicians dun earn much?? my teacher earns 3k per night performing solo . he perform for 2 weeks continously (he plays violin)

This post has been edited by youjian: Feb 5 2009, 06:59 PM

3k per night ? waaa..must be some millionaires club is it ...

philharmonic orchestra also don't pay that much wei ..where he play ?

who is your teacher? if you dont want to make it public feel free to PM me. i do have friends who earn pretty big and also know of a violinist who plays regularly here in KL. however, you mentioned performing solo. i dont know of any place where theres performance consisting merely of a VIOLIN SOLO.


not so easy earning over 2k+ part time, unless ure a pretty regular gigger. then again, u mentioned you wanted to teach. in order to earn 2k+ per month you need quite a number of students.

i know a female violinist play for 2k~4k per night, but only when there's big function going on. she play solo, means minus one and electric violin hah! 5 songs can earn as much as 2k~3k.

of why she can be successful? because she's got certs and papers plus she's fantastic on marketing and packaging herself.

and her cousin is trying to compete with her, a handsome violinist.

big functions yes, but not 3k per night 2 weeks continously

3k x 14days is way more than the pay of regular MPO player's monthly salary.

no comments...

yeah..big time CEO also don't get paid that much ...

thats why i say lah..this violinist must be playing for some millionaires night club or something

or mebbe just bullshit.....

well...lol...

not to say youjian's teacher is bs'ing, but i know some teachers want to earn big respect from their students so they made up some stories.

or perhaps he heard wrong, it's 2 week straight, 3k in total. that sounds more reasonable.

RM3k a night for 14 days?? that's total baloney! LOL!

hey, we all know its not always about the money when it comes to music right?
yet, 3k per night for 2 weeks is hell lotta dough for a local musician...
we ALSO know, local musician aren't getting paid very well >.<

got a call from playbyear personnel. will meet them tomorrow

Think about it this way: If you were a new student, would you want a teacher who couldn't teach you theory?


I'm not saying it isn't good to play by ear (I do both). But unless the student makes it clear that they're only interested in playing by ear, you will not be able to give them the all-round musical education that they deserve. Theory isn't just for classical instrumentalists; it becomes especially useful as the student becomes more advanced. It will give them a greater insight into what they're playing (especially if they start dabbling in a bit of jazz) and allow them to read sheet music (instead of having to learn everything by ear) among other things.

Can they be good guitarists without learning theory? Of course! Some of the world's greatest players don't have any formal knowledge of musical theory but almost all of them have an intuitive knowledge of theory based on their many years of experience.

But as a teacher, I feel that teaching a student to play without theory is like teaching someone to build electronic circuits without any understanding of current-voltage relationships. Sure, they can still build some good circuits with enough practice, but they will be technicians, not engineers.

In short, my suggestion is this: Build a good foundation in musical theory yourself before starting to teach OR find students that are absolutely certain that they only want to play by ear ( problem is, many people are scared of "theory", so students don't necessarily know best what is good for their own development).

Basic knowledge may be enough for your own playing purposes, but it isn't enough to teach an instrument. Teaching requires a totally different level of understanding as well as the ability to convey concepts in a way students can understand (I teach both engineering mathematics and advanced fingerstyle guitar, so I should know!).

I don't think many students will actually ask you questions about advanced concepts in theory. But that is not the point. The thing is, many people don't know what they need to know. As a teacher, it is your responsibility to be proactive and teach what is beneficial to them whether or not they ask about it

This post has been edited by mmmaak: Feb 14 2009, 11:21 AM

thnx for yr advice bro..
anyway..went to visit play-by-ear class just now just to get to know what's it's all about. got drum, piano & guitar lesson. they even got jerry felix the pro drummer to teach advance drum class later. music theory lesson is pretty basic & u learn mostly by listening. got parents sending their kids when i was there. quite difficult to slot into their schedule, especially on weekends so business looks ok. they also briefed me about the business/licensing side of it & how to become a trainer. they invite me to visit them again next week for further briefing. jerry felix will be there too.

im not sure how business is ok for play-by-ear.
they seem to have been around for 12yrs, yet have not fully expanded.

and come on...jerry felix?
u seriously dont expect a kid learning drums to read notes right? of cos its all 'play by ear'.
were their graduate freshie guitarists or pianists there?

im not doubting their system, but it just doesnt seem complete without theory.

anyway, their business side of it kinda reminds me of those 'smart reader' outlets who seem to concentrate more on mlm/franchising...
go get some friends who are in the financial line, ask them to do a study on them...they will tell u it cant make money

well.. just doing my research into these things. not paying anything yet la. now they got some arrangement with a london music college. why u all so negative. give some encouragement sikit la. like this everybody go back to makan gaji

My reply was not meant to be negative/discouraging. It's too bad if you feel that way

People should realize that, in certain jobs, the first priority must be towards the actual work, and not just the money. If you are a garbage collector, it doesn't really matter whether or not you have very high expertise at throwing the contents of rubbish bins into the truck - it isn't a skilled job and the only reason any one does it is because they need the money. That's fine. But if you are a doctor/lawyer/teacher/etc., then two things must be considered: (1)Do you have the necessary level of expertise? (2)Are you passionate about what you do? If any of these are lacking, and your main priority is money, then your students/patients/clients are going to suffer because of your actions.

As someone with a career in education, I feel very strongly about this issue. But, I am not trying to tell you to not teach. What I am trying to say is that, as an educator, both your level of knowledge and the ability to convey that knowledge must be at a certain minimum level (do you qualify in those two aspects? I don't know, you have to ask yourself that). Students will depend on you to tell them things they need to know (they don't always know what to ask).

There's nothing wrong with teaching music entirely by ear. But the student must be very clear about the fact that this can possibly limit their future musical development.

There are many other things you could do that don't involve high levels of expertise, teaching ability and direct impact on other people's education.

This post has been edited by mmmaak: Feb 15 2009, 12:12 PM

regarding the play by ear, i don't have comments on their system, but their student's concert doesn't impress me much, in fact, lots of bad habit were not corrected.

hmm. let me put it this way.

say, you want to open a speghetti restaurant. so you started off everything and start cooking. taste ok, not bad, and can compete with other stalls. however, you only know how to cook speghetti, and only know what to put.

so here comes the problem - one day you found out your speghetti become so bad. but you don't know what's the problem - your pan? your timing? your ingredients? spices? noodles/pastas? or even the environment? you don't know cause you never got deep into it - you only know what to put and how to cook, but dunno why you want to put those ingredients/the way you cook.

if i want to learn how to cook speghetti casually, i can straight away learn from my mom or my friend, or even buy recipe books. i don't need to go to chef schools.

you might be able to sustain for a while, but you'll end up disasters when you try to troubleshoot when problem arrised.

but then, if that's what you want, then just go ahead. nobody can stop you.

This post has been edited by little ice: Feb 15 2009, 10:03 AM

really appreciate all your input. it's ok i'll take all your positive & negative comments. not a problem. as i said i have not paid anything & still searching for the best alternative. i'm also looking at other non-music ventures as well

nasi lemak stall la

yesterday's classifieds got a canteen tender for The Star's canteen to serve 300 ppl.
only requirements are halal and no beef, and rm2500 refundable deposit.
no rental charges.

no beef? are they all vegetarian or what
actually my wife already start sending kueh-mueh to some restaurant & will be sending more to factory canteen soon. opening a stall at a food court is also being considered

err... shouldn't talk in music thread la

do i need a g8 to teach part time in music? ...piano
i will be teaching pop.
and how to find students?? hhaha.

This post has been edited by latlawlim: Jul 20 2009, 09:30 PM

grade 8? yes and no, as long as you have the true skill. pop piano is surprisingly in demand, so it's not difficult to find students. just head to one of the music center that offer pop piano lessons, teach there for a while. if your teaching is good (which has nothing to do with your piano playing skill), then your students will start to bring you more students. if your teaching is not good, sorry, your name will also become bad among the public.

that said, if you don't have any idea what teaching is all about (read: goal of teaching, NOT teaching skill), i suggest you not to. students have no time to waste so please let them have a nice learning journey.

Sorry to divert the discussion a little bit... How much does an MPO player get paid?

i'll let empire to answer this...

a lot..

HAHAHA... sry that I'm abit out of topic, but I can't stop laughing after reading this thread!!!


I think musician can earn enough and a decent amount of money.. The Question is How much you wanna earn?
wanna earn more? brush up your skills.. whether u wanna b a performer / tutor...
U need to have 'something' lah... pls..

This post has been edited by ilovelesport: Jul 21 2009, 10:57 PM