Private teaching is a satisfying full-time career for those who feel drawn to the flexibility and artistic freedom of giving music lessons to individuals or small groups. Private teaching may also be an interesting part of the working lives of many soloists and orchestral players and of school, university or college music teachers or lecturers.

There is a mistaken belief that anyone who chooses to teach must be a 'failed' performer. Nothing could be further from the truth! In fact even top performers usually do some teaching, eager to share their success with the next generation of musicians.

However, not all musicians are good at passing on their knowledge and drawing out the best in their pupils. Dedicated and professional teachers would feel that it was nearer the truth to say that some of those who can perform may have the qualities to be a good teacher.
 

Amateur or Professional?

At present there is no law or regulation in the UK to prevent anyone working as a self-employed, private music teacher, whether they are competent to do so or not. Consequently, the range of teachers working privately extends from those who are trained and qualified musicians, to those who might have learnt an instrument for a few years in their youth.

There is a world of difference between amateur and professional private teachers. In particular, the quality of their work and the way they run their practices can vary enormously.

Professional teachers will usually have a formal qualification in music such as a teacher's or performer's degree or diploma from a recognised music college or awarding body. Such teachers will be specialists in their instruments (this includes singing and voice production), and they will have good performing skills.

On the other hand, amateur teachers might be self-taught or they might have passed graded examinations at some stage, but this is no guarantee that they are competent and knowledgeable performers.  

A professional teacher will have a broadly-based practical knowledge of musicianship and repertoire. They will plan lessons appropriate to each pupil's needs and abilities, with realistic goals for achievement as the pupil progresses. In addition to individual lessons, teachers will make sure that pupils are given opportunities to play with and to listen to others. If they are interested in teaching beginners, they will have the knowledge and skill necessary to give pupils a good foundation on which to build.

Unfortunately, many amateur teachers with limited musical abilities think they will be all right if they limit themselves to teaching only beginners and young children. However, it requires a lot of expertise to take beginner pupils through those vital first steps, thoroughly and without harm. It is disheartening for pupils when they move on to a more advanced teacher, to find they almost have to start all over again in order to unlearn bad habits, to correct poor posture and to re-train muscles. In some cases, damage to voices or muscles may even be irreversible.
 

Professional Recognition

In the absence of legal controls over setting up a private practice, how can a person who wants to make a career in private teaching show that he or she is a professional?

Membership of the ISM, the professional association for all types of musicians, is the first step to establishing the professional status of a private teacher. This is further confirmed through a process of self-regulation within the Private Teachers Section, which leads to the approval of a PTS member's application to be listed in the ISM Register of Professional Private Music Teachers. This is a national register (it also lists teachers working overseas) which is published annually and widely circulated, mostly to libraries and music shops, so that members of the public can use it. It is also available on the ISM’s website where entries are updated weekly (www.ism.org).
 

How to be Listed in the ISM Register of Professional Private Music Teachers

In order to be listed in the Register, ISM members must have taught privately for a minimum of four hours a week for at least one year and they must have a recognised diploma or other relevant qualification in every instrument in which they wish to offer tuition. Even instruments taken as second or third studies at music college do not automatically qualify. Only in exceptional cases is teaching experience accepted as an alternative to a formal qualification. Passes in graded examinations, school music examinations and diplomas from colleges not recognised by the Department for Education and Skills (or an overseas equivalent) are not accepted as evidence of professional training.

In addition, members are asked for information about the way they conduct business dealings with pupils or parents, their teaching facilities and any specialisation within their chosen instrument or subject area. They must agree to abide by the ISM Codes of Ethics and Practice for Private Teachers. Finally, they have to obtain a confidential reference from at least one colleague in the ISM, to testify to their musical and teaching abilities.

Their applications for listing in the Register are accepted or rejected on the basis of all this information. The screening process is strict considering that the person concerned will already have been admitted to the ISM but it means that the public can have confidence that private teachers listed in the register know how to do their job. Once accepted, private teachers must pass a Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure check before they can be admitted to the Register.
 

Fees and Professional Responsibilities

If you hope to earn a living as a professional private music teacher, your fee will reflect your training, qualifications and experience. Private teachers are self-employed, so in addition to providing an income, your fees need to cover the overhead costs of running a private teaching practice. Such overheads include instrument repairs and maintenance, various insurances, accounting fees, music, books, stationery, telephone, studio heating, lighting and maintenance, and subscriptions to professional associations and periodicals. For information and guidance on fees for private teaching, see ISM Information Sheet O2/13 or the ISM website (www.ism.org).

In return, you have a responsibility to give value for the fees you charge, by providing top quality tuition, by maintaining high standards of musicianship, professional conduct and management of your practice and by continuous development of your educational and pastoral roles in order to foster the individual musical talents and interests of your pupils.

From time to time, the ISM organizes seminars and conferences for instrumental and vocal teachers, open to ISM Full members, non-members and students. Details are published in the ISM Music Journal and on the website.

For qualified teachers wishing to extend their skills, the Music Teaching in Professional Practice (MTPP), a distance-learning programme run by the University of Reading in partnership with the ISM, offers a postgraduate diploma which can lead to an MA. For details, see the University of Reading's website.

So that pupils and parents know from the start what the teacher requires of them and what they can expect of the teacher, members are advised to use the ISM Agreement for private tuition. This is a simple contract form, which sets out a teacher's terms and conditions and confirms the arrangements for lessons, while the ISM Codes of Ethics and Practice for Private Teachers set standards for professional conduct.
 

Thinking Ahead

A professional training is the best resource for self-confidence, job satisfaction and enthusiastic pupils. The Music Education Yearbook, published annually by Rhinegold, gives a useful summary of courses offered by music colleges, colleges of further and higher education and universities. See also the Routes into Teaching Music guide which can be viewed, downloaded or ordered from http://publications.teachernet.gov.uk/default.aspx?

If you really feel a calling to teach and have not trained as a musician, you are urged to consider obtaining a recognised, professional qualification to equip you to undertake the responsibility of your pupils' music education.

There is no need to wait until you have qualified before you start making professional contacts. You can join the ISM as a Student member if you are undergoing a full-time musical training and if you are studying part-time, e.g. for an external diploma, you can join as an Associate Member.

Once you have qualified, you can become a Full member with access to the complete range of membership benefits, including public liability insurance, a 24-hour legal helpline, individual professional, legal and tax advice and, the opportunity to join the Private Teachers Section with a view to becoming listed in the Register of Professional Private Music Teachers.
 

ISM Information Sheets relating to this advice:

Generally available:
01/1 ISM Private Teachers Section Code of Ethics
01/2 ISM Private Teachers Section Code of Practice
02/13 Private Tuition: Fees

Available to Full Members only:
M2/3 Using the ISM’s Private Teaching Agreements

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