How To Start Teaching ?

[aljk2008]

Hey guys,

So I've been considering this idea for quite a while now and I think I would really benefit from hearing some opinions.

What I'm trying to do is find a way to teach aspiring musicians/singers/producers basic and advanced foundations on singing, songwriting, arranging, composition, production, mixing, etc.

The problem is that I am just not sure how many people would even be interested in this kind of thing and what would be the next step to putting this together. The age group I am thinking of going for would be somewhere between 12 and 18 years old. I might change this in the future. I am especially looking into starting an actual school for this... kinda like the way they have dance, art and drama classes.

What do you guys think of this idea and do you think people would be interested ? How much do you think they would spend on this ?

Thanks for reading and let me know!

[whomper]

Originally Posted by aljk2008

Hey guys,

So I've been considering this idea for quite a while now and I think I would really benefit from hearing some opinions.

What I'm trying to do is find a way to teach aspiring musicians/singers/producers basic and advanced foundations on singing, songwriting, arranging, composition, production, mixing, etc.

The problem is that I am just not sure how many people would even be interested in this kind of thing and what would be the next step to putting this together. The age group I am thinking of going for would be somewhere between 12 and 18 years old. I might change this in the future. I am especially looking into starting an actual school for this... kinda like the way they have dance, art and drama classes.

What do you guys think of this idea and do you think people would be interested ? How much do you think they would spend on this ?

Thanks for reading and let me know!

lots of tutors for music around
some schools do it too
bigger the city the more you find
small enough town you might only find one tutor - or none
but often several part time ones lurking but not advertising and who will take many of the few students there may be

not sure if 12-18 woudl work well
most are kids that parents enrol 5-12
or adults that want to elarn (or relearn) 25-65+
teens might work if you taught drums or electric guitar

some tutors do vocals but most concentrate on instruments
you will be competing against school music programs
as well as cc and university courses
as well as private schools

depending on what you offer you could do okay as a tutor
and grow it into a school
but wht you say you want to do
does not imho seem to have a market

as i see it
composition - no interest outside a university class
mixing - production - not enough interest locally
and community colleges may offer this cheap
songwriting arranging - not enough interest locally
vocal - little interest - mostly adults
piano - enough interest for kiddies in most places
other instruments - potentially yes - trumpet, violin, flute
but drums?? or electric guitar?? probably not

so what are you an EXPERT in that people will pay you ?
you wont know the interest until you advertise that service
and see what response you get

[aljk2008]

but wht you say you want to do
does not imho seem to have a market

Well, I wouldn't say that there's no market for it. It hasn't been done before - yes... but if you look at the trend nowadays ... Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Camp Rock, etc... that's the new cool thing and everyone wants to be a singer, and they all think they can sing, play and perform.

Beside all of that, I was thinking that there really isn't any course or school that teaches you what it actually takes to make an album from beginning to end. There's guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, singing lessons, etc like you said... but there's not a course that puts all that together into what it takes to make records.

With that said, I'm sure there are some parents out there that would like to put their kids into this sort of course that will let them learn the foundation of making songs, recording, performing, etc. Basically let the kids step into a day in the life of a rockstar. At the end of the course they'll have a whole song done by themselves and get to know if this career is right for them. Plus in time I am thinking the school will evolve to have a lot of connections in the business.

[whomper]

Originally Posted by aljk2008

Well, I wouldn't say that there's no market for it. It hasn't been done before - yes... but if you look at the trend nowadays ... Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Camp Rock, etc... that's the new cool thing and everyone wants to be a singer, and they all think they can sing, play and perform.

Beside all of that, I was thinking that there really isn't any course or school that teaches you what it actually takes to make an album from beginning to end. There's guitar lessons, piano lessons, drum lessons, singing lessons, etc like you said... but there's not a course that puts all that together into what it takes to make records.

With that said, I'm sure there are some parents out there that would like to put their kids into this sort of course that will let them learn the foundation of making songs, recording, performing, etc. Basically let the kids step into a day in the life of a rockstar. At the end of the course they'll have a whole song done by themselves and get to know if this career is right for them. Plus in time I am thinking the school will evolve to have a lot of connections in the business.

go for it
you wont know unless you try

but
if there were a market
somebody would be doing it already

not that many people want to make records
except for all the heavy punk acid slacker rock bands
and they dont have any money to pay for lessons
if they did they would buy gear

not many little kids want to LEARN to sing
especially if it means work
and parents saying learn piano or else

just cause somebody wants to be something
doesnt mean they will really shell out money
and EFFORT TO LEARN that something

i dont see a market for what you want
a few large trade schools do the recording mixing production etc
not enough people in one local area to support it


singing career is different from a recording and producing career

go for it
you might find somebody that will pay to do it
but i would not invest in your venture

[richiebee]

We have a couple of "rock schools" here in a very small city. They're very popular. I say do it, but I wouldn't think you'd be able to do it all on your own.

[fortyseven]

Originally Posted by whomper

you wont know unless you try

Market research, dude.

[whomper]

Originally Posted by fortyseven

Market research, dude.

exactly

until he tries he wont know

no other way to research the brand new never been done school in some small town when there is no data about competition

[TonyB]

I've been pondering starting a small teaching school in my small town. I get asked quite frequently for music lessons and recording lessons.

Not sure about recording lessons in a small town, but I know there is a market for music lessons in my small town (the local schools cut music programs).

However, as was stated, I couldn't do it on my own. While I'm qualified to teach guitar lessons (classical, jazz, rock, country, etc), I'll need to have a staff of qualified pianists, drum instructors, etc.

[aljk2008]

Originally Posted by whomper

exactly

until he tries he wont know

no other way to research the brand new never been done school in some small town when there is no data about competition

Yeah, I'll definitely start with some research. I'll have to do that for a few different cities (here in Canada and a few other cities in Europe) as I am still not sure what the perfect location would be.

Also as TonyB is saying, I'll need a qualified staff too.

Thanks for the help, guys!

[whomper]

Originally Posted by aljk2008

Yeah, I'll definitely start with some research. I'll have to do that for a few different cities (here in Canada and a few other cities in Europe) as I am still not sure what the perfect location would be.

Also as TonyB is saying, I'll need a qualified staff too.

Thanks for the help, guys!

if you plan to start a real school
not just a home town diy effort then
you will need a lot more than taht

you will need a lot of capital
a good biz plan
invest in equipment and space
pay a bunch for marketing to get students
yada yada

the better the location
the more competition there will already be there

think too big and you run into AES and the other schools
that will compete directly with you
and have the name to beat you

you need to figure out how to price it to make a profit
after you pay rent taxes insurance staff equipment etc

i think you are going to find that this si a truly dumb idea
but go for it if that is what you really want to do

at least do the planning and research
so you can be sure that either i am right
or that you can definitely be successful

but dont just open a school and hope that everything else will somehow fall into place