Finding Students and Setting Rates
We have arrived at the last installment of the Beginner Voice Teacher Series. It has been exciting to reflect on and share what I’ve learned in the last 7 years of teaching. I hope you have found encouragement and feel more confident to get started in your teaching career.
I’ve left the most challenging part of independent teaching for last.
Finding students in the early stages of your studio can be challenging, and sometimes disheartening. My hope with this post is to help you limit the challenge with a few ways you can jump-start the process of increasing your numbers.
Finding Students
The hardest part of independent teaching is finding students. It takes time, patience, and persistence. There really isn’t a wrong way to find students, but here are 4 to get you started.
Tell people you are taking students
This is the easiest one! Talk to your friends, families, and colleagues. Get your established network working for you, you’d be surprised how many people you know either want lessons for themselves or know someone who is interested.
Announce on Social Media
This goes beyond people you know and extends into the world through social media. If you don’t already have one, create a professional page or account where you can share your teaching philosophy and let people get to know you as a teacher. This can get people funneled to your website where the real magic is!
Reach out to local schools and theaters
If you’re interested in teaching younger students, do some googling to look up choirs in your area. You can find choir director email addresses on the school websites. Let them know you are taking students and would love to work with any students they have who are interested. To up the ante, you can offer to teach a class or a masterclass during their class time! It’s an excellent way for the teacher to get to know you.
If adult students are more your demographic, you can do a similar search for local community choirs!
Offer trial lessons
When you are initially looking for students, it may be worth offering discounted or free trial lessons. This gets people in the door and hooked! Once they have had an initial taste of what learning from you looks like and it’s a good fit, they are more likely to continue with you.
Bonus: Track where you get most of your students and do more of that method.
Setting Rates
Setting rates is another part of teaching the beginner teachers shy away from. Many new teachers undervalue themselves out of a fear that they aren’t worth it. You are worth it!
Start by asking other teachers in your area what they are charging, which can give you a baseline average for your area. But, if you really want to get into the nitty gritty, I highly recommend a tool created by Kelly Riordan at Outside the Bachs. She has created a robust tool to help you decide the best rate for you based on your location and experience.
Check out more from Kelly and her team here! ⬇️
Thanks so much for joining me on this journey! I hope you feel more empowered as you build your career as a voice teacher.
Go forth and teach!
Meet the Author
Jennifer Burks is a professional voice teacher and soprano with over 17 years of formal training and degrees in Vocal Performance from the University of Arkansas and Vocal Pedagogy from New England Conservatory of Music (NEC). She is an active performer and has won prestigious vocal competitions such as the 2022 Rhode Island Civic Chorale. Beyond her studio, Jennifer is an active member of NATS, PAVA, and The Voice Foundation and is the incoming Auditions Chair of the New England Chapter of NATS. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, sailing, and cherishing every musical moment.
