If the idea of sharing your love of music with future generations as part of your career is compelling to you, you might want to consider becoming a music teacher for kids or young musicians. However, this isn’t a job that you’ll want to take on a whim, as teaching these skills and abilities to young students can be challenging yet very rewarding. So to help you prepare for this, here are three things you should know about becoming a music teacher for young kids.
Not All Kids Will Want To Be There
While some of the kids you might teach as a youth music teacher will be very excited about what they’re doing and want to learn everything you have to teach them, this definitely won’t be every student that you have.
For many kids, learning a musical instrument is something their parents want for them. So when they’re at lessons with you, they’re only there because their parents are making them. While they still can become great musicians and learn a lot from you, knowing that there might be some challenging and frustrating students and lessons will help you have a realistic view of this career and your daily responsibilities.
Keep Things Short And Interesting
Depending on the age of your students, you’ll need to be very conscious of how long your music lessons are and what you’re teaching in each lesson.
At the very beginning of your lessons, you’ll likely have to start at the very beginning for each instrument that you’re teaching, like how to put on a guitar strap or what each part of the instrument is called. You’ll then be able to move on to teaching how to play the instrument. Keep in mind, however, that lessons for young kids will have to be relatively short, as they won’t have a long attention span unless the lesson is particularly interesting to them.
Realize That You Are A Teacher
While you might like the idea of becoming a music teacher because you’ll get to think about music all day, you’ll want to keep in mind that a music teacher is still a teacher. That being said, you’ll still have to do everything that a teacher of any kind of subject has to do, like being flexible, patient, encouraging, and offering leadership and discipline. It might even be helpful for you to learn about teaching in general to help you become a better music teacher once you have all of the musical skills down pat.
If you’re thinking about becoming a music teacher that focuses on teaching young kids about music and playing instruments, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you prepare for this future career path.
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