Introduction: My studio's work stands out above others because this is all I do and I am highly qualified as a music teacher. I do not supplement any other career's income with evening music lessons. Many other teachers in my area work full time at a different career--finances, real estate, marketing, etc--and use music lessons as a side income. I obsess over my studio and am 100% devoted to it and my students.
Matt and I are also professional musicians, which means, we are constantly looking for performance opportunities and are always at the top of our musical game. We practice at least an hour every day and are always working to become the most competitive performers out there. Luckily, any performance opportunities we have are weekend gigs and do not interfere with lessons. And we love taking these experiences into the lesson room the next week. I always love finding performance opportunities for my students as well and on any given week, I am preparing at least one student for an upcoming audition.
Lastly, Matt and I are both highly trained in music performance and pedagogy. There are many teachers near me who do not have degrees in music, have never performed professionally, and are generally unqualified to provide lessons to people searching for lessons. They are people who took piano lessons as a kid or really like playing guitar in their spare time and think they can make an extra buck by "teaching" a few private students. I disagree wholeheartedly with these people providing lessons and have had many students start lessons with me after having this type of teacher. I am always infuriated at how little the students were taught and how much money their families paid for this type of subpar lessons. Even if I am not a fit for you, please find a teacher who is qualified in their field. Qualifications matter so much more than price tags and if you are looking for lessons, find a highly qualified teacher and each lesson with a qualified instructor will be worth a few months' worth of lessons taught by unqualified "music teachers".
