Music Teacher's Helper - Your music studio manager

Rules to live by for the home music studio

Thu September 18th, 2008 by Sarah Luebke

Working out of the home as a music teacher is both convenient and rewarding.  Students are able to study in a warm, personal environment.  You, the teacher, are able to teach in your own personalized space, avoiding hauling books of music to a rented studio space and commuting in rush-hour traffic.  However, there are some rules to ensure you are able to continue teaching in your own space, and that your students are comfortable and happy studying in your home.

Be considerate of your neighbors:

  • No early morning lessons before 8 am
  • No late evening lessons after 9 pm
  • No weekend lessons
  • No large group lessons
  • Ask parents not to honk car horns to let students know their ride has arrived
  • Ask students to stay on your property while waiting for their rides. It’s better that they stay in your studio and have the parent walk to the door for them, for their security and your neighbor’s well-being.
  • Be sure parents are parking in your driveway, in a visitor spot, or in a legal section on the street in front of your house.

One of the surest ways to anger your neighbors is if students park in their assigned spots or across their driveways. Angry neighbors cause business problems, as well as social ones. Anything you do to prevent problems will repay you handsomely.

Be a good citizen:

  • If your city requires a business permit for a home business, get one. Start at your local city hall.
  • If you plan to sell music at retail (that is you buy at a lower price and sell it at the printed price), make sure your sales and tax permits are in order.
  • Confirm that your home studio is zoned for your small business.  Teachers cited for not following zoning and permit procedures could be fined $50 to $500 for each day of the violation.

Honor your spouse and family:

  • Keep your business and teaching materials from spreading all through the home. Confine them to your studio area at in your desk, file cabinet, and bookshelves.
  • Give your family space to function while you are teaching.  Are they able to retreat upstairs to watch TV and do homework on the computer?

Respect your students with a functioning studio:

  • Students should wait inside the home for their lessons in a designated waiting area.  Tell students in advance to wait in the kitchen or living room before their lesson.
  • Close off the non-public portions of your home to keep students from wandering about.
  • It’s best if students enter and leave through a door you can monitor. This way you know everyone has arrived safely and that no one who shouldn’t be there has entered your home.
  • Establish a bathroom near the studio for students and parents to use.  Keep it clean!!  There are tons of people walking in and out each week, so consider installing a self-cleaning toilet bowl cleaner to cut down on manual cleaning time.
  • Keep your studio area clean.  Clean 2-3 times a week, both vacuuming and dusting.  This is especially important if you have pets some of your students are allergic to.
  • Have proper lighting and ventilation in the studio.
  • Purchase an answering machine and use it! Make turning it on a standard part of sitting down to teach for the day.

Protect everyone from life’s uncertainties:
To protect your family’s financial security, I recommend a special liability policy. You also will want to insure your instruments and other materials. See your insurance agent about proper insurance.

Posted in Studio Management, Teaching Tips |

About the Author

Sarah Luebke

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.

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4 Comments (Add Comment)

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  1. Great piece! I have over 40 students and families coming in and going downstairs to the studio and waiting room. Some are courteous and even straighten up magazines, etc. Others will actually leave trash behind, trash the bathroom and leave the front door wide open when they exit (there is no screen door - that was trashed also). Thanks again for the article.

    by Ronnie Currey — Sat Sep 27, 2008 @ 3:54 pm

  2. I have in my studio policy clauses for dismissal or repayment if anything in my home is damaged. So far nothing has happened, but I think by having this in writing, people have understood the idea that they are guests in my home and should act accordingly. I have only had to get on to people twice for this. I also put in my studio policy that if more than one child is there for successive lessons, someone over age 18 must be there to supervise the other children. I cannot teach at my best if I have to babysit at the same time. Lastly, I only have people come through the front door and down the hallway to the studio. At some time in the future I hope to remodel to add another door that students can enter from the rear. But until that time, I have every student and parent that comes past the threshhold remove their shoes (to help keep the floors clean) and students wash their hands with soap before they touch anything! This has helped dramatically to keep things clean and help me from spreading disease. I also keep a bottle of hand sanitizer on the keyboard for quick fixes, like sneezes, etc.

    by Heather — Mon Sep 29, 2008 @ 9:38 pm

  3. My students' parents wait outside for the lesson to be over or leave and come back. I don't have parents/siblings waiting in my house. I also have a clause in my policy that I do not have a public restroom and students should used the restroom and wash their hands before coming to their lesson. If, however, I feel a student is in emergency and HAS TO GO NOW...I will walk them to the bathroom and I remain nearby in the hall in case one of my kids or their friends head for that bathroom and so I can accompany the child back to the studio room instead of them walking thru my house alone. I do not let waiting parents and their other children use my house or restroom. In 12 years of teaching I have only had students use my facility 3 times.

    by Wanda — Wed Oct 1, 2008 @ 9:36 am

  4. Hi. I just asked my homeowners insurance about extra liability coverage and they told me I could lose my insurance if I teach out of my home! What insurance company do you use?

    by Stephanie Dickinson — Thu Oct 9, 2008 @ 1:19 pm

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