The nation’s economic downturn is affecting more than prices at the gas pump and the grocery store. More and more parents are struggling with budget shortfalls and making tough decisions about which essential services to continue and which to cut. In some situations, the budget crunch is endangering funding for children’s extra curricular programs, which can include dance, sports or music.
Private music teachers across the country are feeling the impact of the economy in their studios. Students may have to decide between paying for gas and groceries, or canceling their lessons for the next few months. So how can a private teacher provide tools for the student who needs to temporarily suspend lessons with you due to financial reasons?
- Encourage the student to keep on playing even though she won’t be seeing you on a weekly basis for a while.
- Send the student away with material she can learn on her own during the hiatus. Usually, this will be material one level below his current one; sometimes, two levels below is a better choice so that the parent and student will be better able to teach themselves the material.
- Encourage her to work on assigned sight-reading exercises, review old pieces, and work on technique exercises.
- Give her the basic skills so she can explore playing by ear, improvisation, and playing fake book style.
- Suggest that composing might be a good way to make use of this non-lesson time.
Most students can work in this fashion for two or three months, particularly if you counsel them or their parents about what you are doing and engage their help in keeping the student practicing and performing. Suggest home concerts, which the entire family will attend. Encourage the student to use skills in a community setting (school, church, etc.), which will help keep them sharp but also provide a “goal” for practice.
If the suspension is longer than this, perhaps the family can afford one or two lessons each month at your normal fee until the financial crisis is solved. Offering reduced or free “scholarshiped” lessons poses some problems.
- It devalues your service. The family will wonder if your teaching is worth the normal fee if you are willing to deliver it for less.
- Sometimes there is a noticeable drop in the student’s effort; what she’s getting for free somehow seems less important to her than when her family must pay for it.
- The “normal value” of any tuition-waiver scholarships you give are not tax-deductible. The IRS considers this a gift of your services. Since you do not collect a fee, no tax is due on it, and therefore no business expense can be claimed.
What have you experienced in the studio? Are some areas of the country more affected than others by the economic downturn? Have you been able to find other solutions to continuing a gifted student’s progress? Are there avenues to find private funding for students to continue lessons? Please share with us your thoughts and ideas.
About the Author
Nebraska native Sarah Luebke completed her MM in vocal performance at the University of Kentucky, and her BM in vocal performance at St. Olaf College. Recently she has been seen performing the female lead, Jane McDowell, in "The Stephen Foster Story" and the ensemble of "Big River" with Stephen Foster Productions. Other performances include the soprano soloist of Bach's St. John Passion, La Fee in Massenet's "Cendrillon" at the Intermezzo Opera Festival, Najade in "Ariadne auf Naxos" at the Brevard Music Festival, Monica in "The Medium", Rose Maybud in "Ruddigore", and Fiordiligi in "Cosi fan tutte". She currently resides with her husband in Florida, teaching a studio of 40 students and auditioning and performing locally.
To answer your question, my studio has not yet been directly affected by the economic situation. However, I am fully aware that for many families, private music lessons are a luxury which can easily be cut. Although teaching in public schools is not necessarily "permanent," the income tends to be more stable from month to month. Likewise, the income from my studio would help if I lost my school job.
by Stengel99 — Sat May 17, 2008 @ 3:51 pm
I think the points about value are key - parents and pupils think they get what they pay for and free to them means poor quality. However if you can focus on being the best teacher/studio for your instrument in the area you should be better placed to avoid the downturn than most.
Also one point not mentioned above I would encourage other teachers to really focus on what their students do between lessons - in effect learning to teach themselves. If you do this as a matter of course the learning can still continue even if the lessons do not.
by Mike Saville — Mon May 19, 2008 @ 2:34 am
The economy hasn't really impacted music teaching around here. It's been pretty much the same thing year after year.
by Laetiseaya — Mon Jun 2, 2008 @ 5:45 am
by Laetiseaya — Mon Jun 2, 2008 @ 5:47 am
There is a qualification requirement and students must be progressing in order to keep the scholarship. They pay at least 50%.
My studio has grown since offering the scholarships and the parents don't know it is me, since the scholarsip is named after my grandmother, so no diminishment to my name.
by Donna — Fri Jun 13, 2008 @ 2:56 pm
by linda ellison — Tue Jul 8, 2008 @ 6:37 am
by Cindy Nelson — Thu Jul 17, 2008 @ 5:52 am
by Christine Schumann — Thu Oct 9, 2008 @ 1:16 pm
by Kathryn Borrell — Thu Jan 1, 2009 @ 11:52 pm
by bingo in the uk — Tue Jan 20, 2009 @ 4:09 am
structure. Short-term funding or working capital is mostly provided by banks extending a line of credit.Online
Finance Help
by Online Finance Help — Tue Mar 3, 2009 @ 5:05 am
by Music College — Mon Jul 6, 2009 @ 7:06 am
by siti di backgammon — Wed Sep 16, 2009 @ 5:14 am