The Happier Music Teacher

When I first started teaching music privately full time almost 15 years ago, I was not happy. I was actually a reliable combination of frantic, enthusiastic, and frustrated. Coffee would be spilled on clothing at some point during the lesson day and my tolerance for students and their behavior would regularly be maxed out. It felt like no one understood how hard my job was and no one took their practice seriously.

I’m different now. I still spill coffee on my clothing here and there (watch it happen today😵‍💫) but mostly I’m happy in my work, fairly grounded in my approach, and very happy to see and work with my students regardless of their level of preparation that week. Most of them are fairly motived and I get the sense that all of them are happy to see me, too.

If you’re a private music teacher who struggles to show up in a consistently positive way for your students, trust me, I get it. I’m actually going to do a bit of happy teacher series here and over on my YouTube and Instagram where I share some things that have helped me become happier in my musical job. Maybe this will help you a little too✨