Customer Reviews

The Private Music Instruction Manual: A Guide for the Independent Music Educator

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I've never posted a review on here before but I was motivated to do so after spending $35 on a book that is complete and utter fluff. There is no detailed information provided - one of the more extreme examples is on how to place a classified ad for advertising your business - where the author instructs you to find somewhere to place it and then make sure you write a good one. SERIOUSLY. Ok - how? Some examples? Some detail? Isn't that what I spent $35 for? YOU tell me.

Another example is where she says to check area demographics before opening the studio and says that there are many helpful sites on the internet for that. OK - which ones? URL addresses? How can they be used? None of that info is provided.

There are paragraphs where I felt she was just rephrasing the same sentence several times just to fill the page rather than provide any workable information. I'm making up my own example here but you'll get the idea: "You should make sure you pick a good location. Picking a good location is important. If you don't pick a good location, you may not get business. You need business. That is why picking a good location is important." I wanted to pull my hair out after several pages of this.

Given the amount of money I spent on this, I can't just say ok I've been burned it happens whatever and have someone else waste money on this. The book is clearly a cash grab with no substance. I don't like slamming people on public forums either but this book deserves it. Run from this.

If you are a musician of any sort, you'll probably teach private lessons at some point in your career. FINALLY, there is a text that gives thorough information about becoming a successful music educator in an independent setting. THE PRIVATE MUSIC INSTRUCTION MANUAL is a must for anyone running a private music studio. With a focus on professionalism, Osborn gives insightful suggestions for marketing plans, studio policies and lesson dynamics. Much needed explanantions of fiscal and legal issues that come with running a small business are also included. My wife has been teaching voice for 10 years and has highly recommended this book to all of her colleagues.

The Private Music Instruction Manual is an invaluable
guide for any musician who is, or desires to be,
an independent music educator. Along with specific
plans for the physical setting and organization of a
private teaching situation, this book is full of
information which will challenge you to consider how to
provide the best possible music education for your
prospective or current students. Rebecca Osborn's guide
includes detailed information necessary for adherence to
tax laws (the often confusing aspect of private
business which we would like to ignore!). As a private
music teacher of almost 10 years, I gleaned a number of
ideas for improving and growing my business from
this easy-to -read book. The textbook format is
especially helpful in reviewing and emphasizing main points.
The Private Music Instruction Manual enables those
of us who always think educationally to approach the
teaching of private music lessons in a businesslike
manner which will lead the way to a profitable
situation. I highly recommend this book as a
resource for music educators.

With The Private Music Instruction Manual; A Guide For The Independent Music Educator, author Rebecca Osborn draws upon her many years of experience and expertise as an adjunct college music professor and owner of three private music studies to write an informed and informative guidebook specifically for musicians and music instructors who want to teach students in a profitable private practice but are not familiar with or knowledgeable about setting up a music instruction business enterprise. Rebecca Osborne provides a wealth of invaluable, professional, effectively organized and presented instructions on establishing and maintaining a music teaching business and shows what to expect professional, personally, and financially from independent music instruction. If you want to make money teaching other how to play any kind of music instrument, then you need to give a careful (and profitable!) reading to Rebecca Osborn's The Private Music Instruction Manual!

This book is very comprehensive and covers just about everything, including a lot of important information that people may often overlook. It is useful for teachers of strings, piano, woodwinds, brass, percussion and voice. There is a great chapter on Advertising, but even though this book is recent as 2006, the internet has changed things so much that many of her suggestions are a little outdated.

I used a library copy of this book for a college class and liked it enough to purchase it for myself. It's a great resource.

It's very difficult to find information on the business side of teaching music. This is practically a step-by-step business plan. I highly recommend this book.