{"id":5149,"date":"2016-10-19T13:46:43","date_gmt":"2016-10-19T20:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=5149"},"modified":"2016-10-19T13:46:43","modified_gmt":"2016-10-19T20:46:43","slug":"how-to-run-a-guitar-studio-theres-more-to-being-a-good-teacher-than-being-a-good-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/how-to-run-a-guitar-studio-theres-more-to-being-a-good-teacher-than-being-a-good-player\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Run a Guitar Studio: There\u2019s More to Being a Good Teacher than Being a Good Player"},"content":{"rendered":"
From the Fall 2016 issue of Classical Guitar<\/em><\/a> | BY PAULINE FRANCE<\/h6>\n

Being a gifted guitarist doesn\u2019t automatically make you a gifted teacher. So how do you know if you are teacher material? If you\u2019ve ever considered teaching guitar, there are important questions you must ask yourself, like \u201cHow much should I charge\u201d or \u201cShould I set up as my own business?\u201d<\/p>\n

Teaching is an art in itself, as is mastering an instrument and running a successful business. So we talked to a handful of accomplished guitar teachers and business owners to learn the ins and outs\u2014and the business\u2014of teaching guitar.<\/p>\n

YOU\u00a0CAN\u00a0PLAY,\u00a0BUT CAN YOU\u00a0TEACH?<\/h4>\n

Dr. Jorge Pastrana, classical guitarist and guitar professor at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California, recommends achieving the highest levels of musicianship before embarking on a teaching career. \u201cI strongly believe that in order to teach effectively, one must become a well-rounded musician first,\u201d he says. \u201cPossessing good skills or talent in order to play guitar is a very important aspect, but even greater is to pursue great musicianship skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Add patience and the ability to clearly relay information, and you\u2019ll be on the right track.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important for a teacher to be able to clearly articulate and explain concepts to students,\u201d Pastrana says. \u201cA teacher must be patient in order to share knowledge and expertise with people of different levels and proficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n

A good way to find out if you have the traits of a good teacher is to do a test run with a friend. After a few weeks of consistent lessons, you will learn a lot about yourself when it comes to patience and temperament.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u00a0TO TEACH\u00a0AND\u00a0FOR HOW\u00a0LONG<\/h4>\n

While you must adapt to each student\u2019s needs, several fundamentals should be part\u00a0of your classical guitar curriculum to ensure a well-rounded course.<\/p>\n

Classical guitarist Colin McAllister, who teaches at the University of Colorado, takes a flexible approach as he imparts classical guitar essentials to students with varying skills and goals. \u201cI have all kinds of different students at different levels who have different goals,\u201d he says. \u201cI teach every student a little bit differently, but there is a certain set of etudes and technique exercise books that everybody is going get at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n

McAllister\u2019s essentials include Solo Guitar Playing, Volume 1<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Frederick Noad, Twenty Studies for the Guitar<\/a><\/em><\/strong> (Andres Segovia Edition) by Fernando Sor, 25 Estudios<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Matteo Carcassi, Estudios Sencillos<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Leo Brouwer, Kitharlogus<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Ricardo Iznaola, and Pumping Nylon<\/a><\/em><\/strong> by Scott Tennant.<\/p>\n

Classical guitarist Dr. Kim Perlak, assistant guitar chair at Boston\u2019s Berklee College of Music, notes that versatility is invaluable when teaching students with wide-ranging interests. \u201cClassical players are looking for immersion in the authenticities of style,\u201d she says. \u201cSongwriters, jazz, fingerstyle, blues, rock, and funk players are often looking for aspects of technique, phrasing, tone, and compositional approach that they can apply to their own style. All students are trying to balance stylistic authenticity with their personal authenticity, and I do my best to guide them.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for class length, most teachers agree that standard lesson time should be half an hour to an hour\u2014the former when teaching children age 12 or younger. \u201cFor kids, 30-minute lessons work well because their attention span isn\u2019t longer than that,\u201d McAllister says.<\/p>\n

\n

\u2018On one hand, you have to look at teaching as an art, but on the other hand, it\u2019s a business. You want to run a great studio and you want to make a good living, so you have to balance those out.\u2019
\n\u2014STEVE LANGEMO<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

HOW\u00a0MUCH\u00a0TO CHARGE<\/h4>\n

Determining the value of what you do encompasses knowing what other instructors in your area charge, how many students you\u2019ll teach, and other considerations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to realistically gauge how much people are charging in your area, and you need to decide where your ability is within that,\u201d McAllister says. \u201cYou need to decide how many students you want, because if you charge more, you\u2019ll probably have fewer students. If you want more students, you may need to lower your price to make it more accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve Langemo, a guitar instructor and studio owner in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has established a successful business by offering a wide range of discounts and free trial-runs that let prospective students see the studio, meet an instructor, and take a sample lesson before committing. Effective incentives include discounts for family, military, and monthly pre-payment.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn one hand, you have to look at teaching as an art, but on the other hand, it\u2019s a business,\u201d Langemo says. \u201cWhen I\u2019m teaching, all I care about is my students\u2019 progress, but you also have to think about it as business owner. You want to run a great studio and you want to make a good living, so you have to balance those out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve taught weekly lessons to the same students for the past seven years,\u201d Langemo adds. \u201cIf people are on vacation or are sick, I don\u2019t charge them. It\u2019s simple economics. I\u2019d rather stay flexible than constantly look for new students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guitar teacher Eric Branner, who runs Blackforrest Music School in Seattle, Washington, and is CEO and co-founder of Fons, a web- and mobile-based application for private instructors, advises, \u201cEstablish a clear written agreement with students regarding lesson payment and cancellation policies. Many teachers have a 24-hour cancelation policy, and will often reschedule at no extra cost if it works within the teacher\u2019s schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

MARKETING\u00a0YOUR STUDIO<\/h4>\n

You can do many things to stand out in a competitive field, but Branner says that one element tops everything: word-of-mouth. \u201cWhen people want to learn how to play guitar, they usually ask someone they already know. When we started out, we had a handful of students, and most of the students we have now have a connection to our very first students. So if it\u2019s a long-term goal for you to be a professional music teacher, word-of-mouth is going to be your best friend.\u201d Other things Branner recommends include creating a good website, hosting open-mic events, performing locally, and generally being involved in the community.<\/p>\n

London-based guitarist Marco Cirillo has an effective online approach involving advertising on Gumtree, a free UK classified ad site that is much like the popular Craigslist in the United States. \u201cI also know about search engine optimization and have been using it to rank higher in Google,\u201d he adds. \u201cI might consider advertising on Facebook, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

LAUNCHING YOUR BUSINESS<\/h4>\n

For tax and legal reasons, you\u2019ll want to organize and register your educational efforts as a legitimate business.<\/p>\n

Jocelyn Celaya, also known as Radical Classical, is a San Diego-based classical guitarist and mentor for small business owners through SCORE, a nonprofit organization that provides free business mentoring services to entrepreneurs in the United States. She says, \u201cThe first basic step to take when starting a small business is to choose a name. If the name of your business is unique, then you should file for a fictitious business name at your county office. When you are finished with that process, apply for a business license at your city office and you\u2019ll become a sole-proprietorship company. People can find a lot of resources through SCORE\u2019s website [score.org].\u201d<\/p>\n

Further, it\u2019s important to consult an accountant or attorney to get professional financial and legal assessments\u2014all to make sure you\u2019re properly following all the necessary steps and requirements.<\/p>\n

THE BOTTOM LINE<\/h4>\n

As you teach, it\u2019s important to remind yourself that you\u2019re educating and influencing the classical guitarists of tomorrow. \u201cHand in hand with playing, teaching is the way we leave a legacy and push our art of guitar-playing forward,\u201d Dr. Perlak notes. \u201cTeaching requires the same deep\u00a0commitment as playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

For any instructor, those can be words of wisdom to live and work by. The rewards can be wonderfully fulfilling\u2014especially since your next student may be the next Isbin or Segovia.\b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Fall 2016 issue of Classical Guitar | BY PAULINE FRANCE Being a gifted guitarist doesn\u2019t automatically make you a gifted teacher. So how do you know if you are teacher material? If you\u2019ve ever considered teaching guitar, there are important questions you must ask yourself, like \u201cHow much should I charge\u201d or \u201cShould I set up as my own business?\u201d Teaching is an art in itself, as is mastering an instrument and running a successful business. So we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5151,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/How-to-Run-a-Guitar-Studio-There%E2%80%99s-More-to-Being-a-Good-Teacher-than-Being-a-Good-Player-Classical-Guitar-Magazine-Teacher-Tips-e1476820736702.jpg?fit=1661%2C1071&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}