This article pertains to the technician who notices a fall-off in business over a period of time. It is a topic that needs to be investigated with particular attention to why business may slow and possible remedies. It is important to consider the role of the music teacher in investigating this topic
Very often an initial burst of enthusiasm occurs when someone purchases a new piano. The technician makes an initial visit and wants to come back at regular intervals thereafter. Lessons may often begin at this time if the piano owner is a first-time buyer. This is where the teacher comes into play. The teacher may have a good or bad effect on the students interest in playing, which is going to affect the business of the technician directly.
If we as technicians talk to teachers we are likely to encounter many different ideas and notions about teaching. It is a topic in itself for a future article. I can relate my own experiences with teachers I have interviewed. As someone with a lot of playing experience and some teaching experience myself I have come to accept that a good teacher has to be a good musician. Otherwise not much music is going to be taught or learned and the fire of enthusiasm for music won’t be there.
I don’t think it is incorrect to say that for a long time there have been too many hacks masquerading as teachers with little or no inclination toward music. We encounter this view time and again. There’s no good reason why it should not be so, but still it is so. Teaching private piano lessons as a way of making a living offers the opportunity for one to set one’s own schedule, charge according to what imagines “the market will bear”, and with a full schedule there is the possibility to make a really decent living The danger in taking on too many students is the possibility that not enough attention may be given to each one of them individually. We know that many good teachers keep their students and there is a waiting list for students to get lessons with them. Still, our own experience tells us that there is some fall-off for repeat business servicing pianos. Inquiry often reveals that people lose interest in playing and see no reason to spend money on something they’re not using. Sometimes it goes back to bad teaching. We can leave poor quality instruments out of the discussion for the time being. If a student is motivated and plays a poor instrument we can certainly make recommendations that they try to upgrade it, and where there is a will there is usually a way. Our main concern should be with the good instruments that go unserviced because the owner has lost the motivation to play. Very often the experience of not having a good teacher is the reason..
Motivation and inspiration are two things that every teacher must aspire to offer every student. If a music teacher is not musical its hard to imagine from where the inspiration is likely to come. For some there is still the motivation for competitiveness. For this reason many teachers encourage their students to actively participante in contests. These may be beneficial for students who merely want to do their best and have some reinforcement from their peers, but competition for its own sake is not likely to have a good psychological effect. In fact, we know from our own experience that many students may be turned off by it and the enthusiasm to study music might be squelched before it comes to fruition. I think its important for technicians and music teachers to consider that music might be undertaken as study for its own sake and not merely for the many other reasons that have been offered by education experts and behavioral psychologists, for example.
The enthusiasm for music is something that technicians should consider in dealing with music teachers and clients alike. It has already been pointed out that many if not most technicians have spent some years studying music themselves, so the key factor of empathy is there. As a practical matter for doing business and thriving at it we should all manifest that verve for music making in dealing with out clients. The fundamental psychology involved in seeing that our clients continue to make music has a direct effect on our business. It is therefore useful to ask clients if they are taking lessons or studying music on their own and try to find out how important it is to them. The proverbial leading of the horse to water is the first step. The thirst to drink the water is crucial as it equates with the interest in music study.