Teaching From Home, Considerations Options

[Cadence]

I am fully introducing my terms and conditions tomorrow (scary!) My students have been given notice and have had time to look through them and express their views and opinions, but from tomorrow they will be in force and enforced!

Another part of my trying to be more secure in my teaching, is that I would like to start teaching from home. However, my flat/house (its technically a flat, but it is on the ground floor and has 2 floors, so I call it a house!) is not very large (typical London) and I don't know whether it will be seen as OK by my students to be taught there.

I also have the problem that I have just moved in and I am not going to be receiving my piano for a good few months. It needed a significant overhaul, which I am paying a lot for, so for the time being, I have a digital piano. It is a very good quality, expensive one, as I use it for my own performance preparation, bu it is never going to be the 'real deal'. And because I am still suffering from the restoration of my own piano, I am not really in a financial position to rent a piano, although I have decided that I could make stretch if I feel this is the most important consideration.

So the poll is to get an idea of what people consider important or not much of an issue in a home teaching practice. (I am able to deal with 1 or 2 of the problems, but not all 3 at the same time, so it will be interesting to see which are considered more important so I can gauge which I need to address)

To reduce the problem, I am considering the option of teaching beginners at home (on the digital) and teaching more advanced students at the studio where I currently teach all my students. The only thing with this, is that I would have to pay rental for the room and piano.

This means that I have three options as I see it:

1 - keep the lesson prices for the 2 places that same (slightly lower), include the rental cost in my prices and just accept that I will make less from the studio lessons.

2 - include the rental cost in my prices, so that lesson prices for both places are slightly more expensive.

3 - charge more for lessons taught at the studio than those being taught at home.



It may well be that for the time being, teaching from home is not a feasable option.
I'd be grateful for your opinions, from teachers as well as parents and students.

C x

[SueHM]

I voted before reading the rest of your post. Bear in mind that most of what the students are paying for is your time and expertise, rather than the use of your piano - it will have very little effect on their progress after all, given that the majority of their playing will be on whatever they have at home.

On that basis, I think I would be inclined to charge the same rate for everyone - otherwise it will get very complicated (and what if you occasionally need to swap venues for a particular student?)

Pianos occasionally need overhauls - that's life, and students will accept that you have a substitute piano for a while. You could always rotate any students who are doing exams into the studio for one or two lessons, so that they have a chance to play an acoustic as well.

[Cadence]

I voted before reading the rest of your post. Bear in mind that most of what the students are paying for is your time and expertise, rather than the use of your piano - it will have very little effect on their progress after all, given that the majority of their playing will be on whatever they have at home.

I hadn't thought about this, but yes it is true - the piano they use in my lessons (or any other teacher's lessons for that matter) is only 1 hour out of a week of practice ... hmmm, something to think about.

But on the other hand, with advanced students a lot of the work done is to do with quality of tone and using your fingers and touch in different ways so as to produce a different sound, which I don't know would always be reliably demonstrated on a digital?

On that basis, I think I would be inclined to charge the same rate for everyone - otherwise it will get very complicated (and what if you occasionally need to swap venues for a particular student?)

This is also true, and I had thought about it. But I was going to reduce my prices slightly if I started teaching from home, so I may need to think about keeping them at the higher rate that I charge now at the studio.

Pianos occasionally need overhauls - that's life, and students will accept that you have a substitute piano for a while. You could always rotate any students who are doing exams into the studio for one or two lessons, so that they have a chance to play an acoustic as well.

I do know that, and I would hope that people agree with you on this SueHM, but I am worried that it won't be the case and people will just think that a digital piano = sub-standard lessons.

Its a good idea to rotate students between home and studio ... which then again makes sense with your point about charging the same rate for everone. It will be very interesting to see what others think as well - I have a feeling that some people will feel very strongly about the standard of pianos and teaching practices!

[dolce@piano]

My view:

Don't be defensive. The Royal School of Music, I'm told, has put Yamaha Clavinovas in all its practise rooms. ABRSM exams can certainly be taken on digital pianos right up to Grade 8 (see handbook). Obviously, it's not the same or as good for certain things but you don't need to apologise for it or charge lower rates because of it.

Your qualities as a teacher are paramount and are the same no matter where you teach or on what piano.

Parking, places to wait etc. are key for some but not for others - difficult to predict.

Good luck !

[skylark]

I wish I could say otherwise, but I'm afraid it would make a difference for me - that's because I use a digital at home, so if I also had to play on a digital in lessons, I would never get the opportunity to play on an acoustic. If I had an acoustic at home, I don't think I would mind having lessons on a digital though, certainly not as a beginner anyway, although I might think differently if I was an advanced student.


(I haven't done the poll because the categories don't exactly fit my situation)

[maledictis]

I voted before reading the rest of your post.

Me too and I voted that a digital would be unacceptable for reasons similar to skylark's - for a lot of people, their piano lesson is the only time they get to play on a "proper" instrument. Certainly it is a lot more important for higher grades.
If it is a temporary situation though, that is different. I wouldn't think anyone would object to using a digital while your acoustic piano was being overhauled.

[Cadence]

My view:

Don't be defensive. The Royal School of Music, I'm told, has put Yamaha Clavinovas in all its practise rooms. ABRSM exams can certainly be taken on digital pianos right up to Grade 8 (see handbook). Obviously, it's not the same or as good for certain things but you don't need to apologise for it or charge lower rates because of it.

I did not know that at all! It gives me a bit more confidence, but I am still unsure, as exactly the same amount of people voted for digital pianos being a problem as those who said that none of the options were a problem!

I hope some more people vote to give me a better idea ...

Your qualities as a teacher are paramount and are the same no matter where you teach or on what piano.

I keep telling myself this - I was worried when I first started out as a teacher that maybe my lack of experience and paper qualifications would make me undesirable, but I have already proven to myself that I must be worth it if I started off with 2 students and now have a waiting list after just 7 months, no advertising and just word of mouth recommendations.

Parking, places to wait etc. are key for some but not for others - difficult to predict.

Good luck !

I'm not so worried about parking, as I live right in central London, where not many people have a car and most of my students come straight from work in the city or from school down the road. However, based on my current students, I anticipate a small amount coming from North London after school - which would probably involve public transport, but may need use of a car for some, It's not that there's no parking, just very limited and I would have to give out parking permits when they arrived for the lesson.

I wish I could say otherwise, but I'm afraid it would make a difference for me - that's because I use a digital at home, so if I also had to play on a digital in lessons, I would never get the opportunity to play on an acoustic. If I had an acoustic at home, I don't think I would mind having lessons on a digital though, certainly not as a beginner anyway, although I might think differently if I was an advanced student.

(I haven't done the poll because the categories don't exactly fit my situation)

I understand this completely - it is one of the major things that is holding me back from saying 'just go ahead and do it'. I know that lessons are supposed to be inspiring and are supposed to be an opportunity to have as much as possible at your disposal so your teacher can demonstrate and coach you to the best of your/their ability. And I believe I would not be hindered by teaching on a digital piano (up to after grade 4, but not for students taking grade 5), but I also think everyone should have the chance to play an acoustic regularly.

May I ask why the categories don't fit your situation? Are there any aspects not there that you feel should be taken into consideration that you don't mind telling me? (I'm very interested, not accusing!) Also, if -as mentioned by SueHM - you had for example 4 lessons a month and you had 2 lessons on an digital and 2 on an acoustic in a location 5 mins away, would that be any improvement? Or would it be worse?! (I'm thinking it is good in theory, but might end up being impractical and a nuisance in practice!)

I voted before reading the rest of your post.

Me too and I voted that a digital would be unacceptable for reasons similar to skylark's - for a lot of people, their piano lesson is the only time they get to play on a "proper" instrument. Certainly it is a lot more important for higher grades.
If it is a temporary situation though, that is different. I wouldn't think anyone would object to using a digital while your acoustic piano was being overhauled.

It may be more prudent to wait until I get my piano back - then I wouldn't have this dilemma!

In the meantime though I am losing money paying rent/commission to the studio, which when I started teaching wasn't so bad, but now I have so many students, it just seems ridiculous.

aargh! Business and important decisions really stress me out!

[Alcie]

I can't really comment, as i'm not a piano student or piano teacher, so I haven't done your poll, but I just thought I'd share a quick thought... Before you start teaching at home, check your household contents insurance policy. It may be invalid if you have clients visit you at home and you will have to pay a much higher premium to get the same cover as you used to enjoy. Bear this new overhead in mind (along with other increased costs) before you re-calculate your hourly charge.

[soccermom]

I voted that I wouldn't object to a digital piano as a temporary measure but I wouldn't want my children to learn on one normally.

My younger daughter learns at a centre. The older one used to do the same (with the same teacher) but now goes to his house because we wanted to change the day of her lesson and he teaches at the centre only one day a week. I prefer the centre (20 mins nearer home) but pay the same for both lessons.

[maggiemay]

I wouldn't object to a digital piano for the lower grades or as a temporary measure.

If, when you have worked it all out, your overheads at the studio do turn out to be higher than at home, I wonder whether you could make home lessons slightly longer / studio lessons slightly shorter and keep the price the same? There are various reasons why you might find that impractical, but it does tend to be simpler if you can avoid two-tier pricing.

I think in London people don't necessarily expect parking to be easily available. If you 're on good public transport routes that's useful.

[skylark]

(I haven't done the poll because the categories don't exactly fit my situation)

May I ask why the categories don't fit your situation? Are there any aspects not there that you feel should be taken into consideration that you don't mind telling me?

The poll only lets you tick one box for each question, but more than one answer applied to me.

Re Question 1, I would be influenced by both the parking facilities and the type of piano. These factors would affect my decision, but I suspect the parking might be less of an issue in London. You asked if there was anything else... I might be influenced to a lesser degree by the presence of animals, but I could probably live with that if everything else was OK.

Question 2 - I would suggest that it might be a good idea to make the rate you charge your studio students your "normal" rate, taking into account your overheads such as premises and travel; and charge a lower rate to your home students because you don't have the same overheads. I *think* this would be the norm in the commercial world, but whether this is normal in music teaching, I don't know.

Question 3 - I couldn't have chosen between "wouldn't mind for temporary period" and "don't think acceptable". If I was already with a teacher who said "my acoustic piano's broken and I'm looking round for a new one but it will take a couple of months", then I would live with that, and probably for longer than that if I was happy with the teacher and s/he kept me updated from time to time on how much longer so that I could see an end at some point. If I was looking for a new teacher, I must admit I would probably like to know that s/he already had an acoustic rather than be told "there's a nice acoustic coming in X weeks/months but in the meantime we'll have to work on a digital", but other factors might outweigh that concern.


Just to clarify... I'm not clear whether you're renting the studio on a full-time basis or by the hour?

[skylark]

Also, if -as mentioned by SueHM - you had for example 4 lessons a week and you had 2 lessons on an digital and 2 on an acoustic in a location 5 mins away, would that be any improvement? Or would it be worse?! (I'm thinking it is good in theory, but might end up being impractical and a nuisance in practice!)

I can't imagine having 4 lessons a week - but if I did, and trying to put myself in that position, as you say it might sound a good idea in theory, but as a prospective student approaching an unknown teacher, I'm afraid it might give me the impression that it was a little bit disorganised, sorry (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)


Another anecdote re digital pianos (again not in favour, I'm afraid)... a friend of mine started having piano lessons, which were held in a church hall on an acoustic. Then one week the teacher said that the next lesson would be at his home, which turned out to be on a digital. She had a few lessons on the digital but wasn't happy - it wasn't what she wanted, she liked the "aura" of a piano and felt that digitals were "second best". Yes I know... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)


But this is only my view and one anecdote - you're never going to suit everybody and there might be a sufficient number of people who will be quite happy to be taught on a digital (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Cadence]

I can't really comment, as i'm not a piano student or piano teacher, so I haven't done your poll, but I just thought I'd share a quick thought... Before you start teaching at home, check your household contents insurance policy. It may be invalid if you have clients visit you at home and you will have to pay a much higher premium to get the same cover as you used to enjoy. Bear this new overhead in mind (along with other increased costs) before you re-calculate your hourly charge.

Thank you for the advice - I am actually already covered by a good insurance policy that caters for "home business" (including accepting lots of children and technical strangers into my home)

I have worked out that my overheads from teaching at home would work out around 50% less than the costs of teaching at the studio!

I wouldn't object to a digital piano for the lower grades or as a temporary measure.

If, when you have worked it all out, your overheads at the studio do turn out to be higher than at home, I wonder whether you could make home lessons slightly longer / studio lessons slightly shorter and keep the price the same? There are various reasons why you might find that impractical, but it does tend to be simpler if you can avoid two-tier pricing.

I think in London people don't necessarily expect parking to be easily available. If you 're on good public transport routes that's useful.

I think I am sold on the idea of keeping pricing simpler, and I will think about making lessons different lengths, but I think it may get a bit impractical afetr a while. Thanks for the idea though!

Also, if -as mentioned by SueHM - you had for example 4 lessons a week and you had 2 lessons on an digital and 2 on an acoustic in a location 5 mins away, would that be any improvement? Or would it be worse?! (I'm thinking it is good in theory, but might end up being impractical and a nuisance in practice!)

I can't imagine having 4 lessons a week - but if I did, and trying to put myself in that position, as you say it might sound a good idea in theory, but as a prospective student approaching an unknown teacher, I'm afraid it might give me the impression that it was a little bit disorganised, sorry (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

Sorry - my mistake - I meant 4 lessons per month, not per week! (I've changed it now in the previous post)

Yes, I wasn't thinking so much that it might look disorgansed, but more that a parent bringing a child would have to go to a different place each time and its just too much hassle!

You're never going to suit everybody and there might be a sufficient number of people who will be quite happy to be taught on a digital (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

True again! (you're very wise skylark!) I am very conscious that I can't suit everyone, but I think it is important to at least know what the general consensus is, so that I can make an informed decision.

At the moment, I'm getting the feeling that I will have to stall my development plans until my own piano gets returned. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[Flossie]

Have you tried talking to your students and seeing what they think? They're probably in the best position to tell you whether the changes you're thinking of would put them off. You might find that some would want to stay at the studio and some would be happy to switch to your home with the digital as a temporary measure - in which case you could maybe organise them so that some of your teaching days were at the studio and the others were at home. I don't really know much about piano lessons (having never learnt it) and am an adult student not a teacher, so it's just a suggestion. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Cadence]

Question 2 - I would suggest that it might be a good idea to make the rate you charge your studio students your "normal" rate, taking into account your overheads such as premises and travel; and charge a lower rate to your home students because you don't have the same overheads. I *think* this would be the norm in the commercial world, but whether this is normal in music teaching, I don't know.

This seems sensible to me, but I don't think it is normal in music teaching. Having said that - I really don't know! I know a coupld of teachers who operate a tiered system based on the level of the student (beginners are cheaper than middle level, who are cheaper than advanced) or based on what time they come (evening are more expensive than daytimes) - I can see why they do it, but I don't think it is very fair to be honest. What I don't know is whether they advertise all their rates clearly. I only know about 1 teacher, who advertises beginners at a lower rate than advanced students, but I only discovered recently that she charges less at certain times and on certain days - she isn't open about this.

Just to clarify... I'm not clear whether you're renting the studio on a full-time basis or by the hour?

I rent the studio by the hour and as it it right in central london, it is quite expensive! We do play on lovely Steinway or Wendl & Lung grand pianos, but I have found that they are not necessary for my beginner students and after rent, travelcards, commission, advertising, having to buy lunch, etc, I take home less than half of the money earnt from each lesson.

I've worked out that if I could teach from home, I would have 50% less costs, which makes a huge difference to my income!