Do you want to give up teaching piano?

Are you losing the zeal you once had for piano lessons?

Do you just want to fire all your piano students and quit?

You’re not alone. 

Teaching piano is not always easy, especially when administrative and “client satisfaction” issues seem to consume most of our time.

To give up teaching piano is a very real consideration. 

Before I give you 12 reasons why you shouldn’t give up teaching piano, I will make two exceptions.

First, not all musicians are given the gift of teaching. 

Maybe you’ve tried teaching piano and hated every minute of it. 

Don’t make yourself do something you don’t love if your only reason is obligation (e.g. you started teaching, so now you have to OR someone asked you to do it and now you feel like you can’t stop).

If you’ve never loved teaching piano and always dread piano lesson days, then you have full permission to stop teaching and find the thing you are passionate about. 

It’s okay to say you gave teaching piano a solid try and it wasn’t for you.

Teaching piano isn’t for everyone.

Secondly, you have put in your teaching years and are considering retiring. 

There is no shame in retiring from piano teaching.

I think you’ll know when the time is right for you to teach your last student.

If it’s that time for you, you have earned it.

You can let the next generation take over teaching piano.

But what if you DID love it… and now want to give up teaching piano?

This blog post is for those teachers who have been passionate about teaching piano and are considering giving up something they once loved because of the endless hassles that come with teaching.

For you who are overwhelmed, here are 12 reasons you should not give up teaching piano.

1) You have something uniquely special to offer

I love learning about business.

One thing I hear over and over from successful entrepreneurs is that this world is big enough for all of us and the unique talents and gifts we have to offer. 

There are students you can help that other piano teachers cannot. 

And yes, I will say it: you can offer something that quick-teaching music apps and YouTube tutorials cannot. 

Personal one-on-one tutoring in piano is undervalued and underappreciated, but you are doing it and you are worth it.

2) You are investing in others’ lives–not just musically

Remember, teaching piano is more than just music. 

Sure, there are those annoying students who show little to no respect (I affectionately and in private call them my “little monsters”).

One day, those “little monsters” will grow up.

What will they remember from lessons?

They probably won’t remember notes and theory; but the patience, laughter, games, smiles, and joy you exhibit as a teacher will impact their lives in ways you will never know.

You are influencing every student who walks in your door, even if you don’t feel like you are. And you can influence each student for good.

3) There is a reason you started teaching piano

Of all the reasons to teach piano, yours is unique and special.

What was it?

How did you feel after teaching your first lesson?

When did you first smile and say, “I love teaching piano?”

Remind yourself of that moment.

Your reason for teaching may have shifted throughout the years, and that’s okay too.

What is your reason for teaching piano today?

Write it down and read it every morning.

You have a purpose in teaching piano.

4) You never know the future of your piano students

Sometimes the piano student that gives you the most headaches grows up, matures, and becomes the next famous concert pianist or starts a thriving studio where they continue to share music with the next generation.

You find fulfillment in watching students grow.

Maybe they grow slowly, maybe they grow quickly, but all piano students are growing.

And you never know where they’ll end up.

5) You are sharing–not just teaching

Music is an art.

Piano playing is something beautiful to share.

You are not just teaching notes, rhythms, technique, and theory.

You are sharing a unique experience with your piano students.

6) You are opening a door for your piano students

I sometimes have to stop and reflect in awe that the 7-year-old who can drum out one of those repetitive Level 1 pieces would know nothing about music if I hadn’t taught them.

That is an honor and responsibility I do not take lightly. 

Opening the door of musical potential in students is a gift we as piano teachers have.

For me, it’s one of the driving forces being my passion for teaching piano.

You have the key to unlock doors of music your piano students have no idea about.

7) You are passionate about music

If you’re teaching piano, surely you’re passionate about music.

Students need to learn from someone with your passion for music. 

If you’ve lost your passion, maybe you need to find a way to get it back.

What do you love about piano?

Which pieces do you love playing?

What good memories do you have of piano?

How can you create new memories today?

8) You can keep learning

The beauty of teaching piano is that you–the teacher–are always learning.

Teaching piano helps us become better students ourselves.

Even if you are fifty, there is something you can learn from your five-year-old student.

Maybe you’ve lost that spark for learning.

Reignite it by allowing yourself to be curious again.

Find the joy in learning as you teach.

9) You are more than your scheduling woes

This is a hard one.

I know that scheduling, administration work, and communication with parents takes a huge mental chunk out of your schedule.

But your piano teaching is more than all of that.

You as a piano teacher are more than just a scheduling machine churning out lessons back-to-back.

You are a musician, an artist, an influencer.

10) You can adapt your piano lessons for this season

Maybe your discontent is just proof that you need to grow.

Try something different in piano lessons (we give you three ideas here).

There is no rule book about teaching piano lessons.

We often focus on changing things up to invigorate our students, but maybe you need to shake things up for you. 

Here are some ideas:

• Teach virtually
• Teach group classes
• Host duet recitals
• Throw a piano party where you and students just have fun
• Bring your students to a nursing home to play
• Introduce games into your lesson plans
• Learn how to improvise and teach students to improvise
• Break away from lesson books
• Teach fun music (pop, music themes, etc.)
• Have themed piano lessons
• Hire a second teacher you can oversee
• Hire out the admin tasks (virtual assistants can help here)
• Take a full week off
• Consider alternate teaching options (private piano lessons, school piano lessons, private school piano lessons, junior college piano lessons, university piano lessons, adult piano lessons)

11) You are not alone

You might feel like you’re alone in teaching, but you are not.

There are many piano teaching groups you can join (our favorite is Piano Teacher Central on Facebook; you can also join MTNA).

If you feel alone, find a way out of it.

Intentionally message a local piano teacher (or, if the competition is too heated, find a piano teacher states away to message).

12) You still have tomorrow’s excitement ahead of you

I love the song “Tomorrow” from Annie (Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin). 

The sun will come out

Tomorrow

So ya gotta hang on

‘Til tomorrow

Come what may

Maybe you did have a bad day today.

Maybe you had a string of bad teaching days. 

Today’s difficulties will not last forever.

Your students won’t always be stuck in a rut.

You’ll get that eager student who loves practicing.

You still have the excitement of tomorrow ahead of you. 

If you give up now, you will never experience tomorrow’s excitement.

How to get that piano teaching spark back

While I sincerely hope these 12 reasons motivate you to keep teaching piano, maybe you need some recharge ideas.

Ultimately, invest in yourself.

This will look different for different people.

Here are just a few ideas to get you started: 

• Read self-help books
• Read inspirational books
• Not into reading? Listen to audiobooks
• Listen to piano teaching podcasts
• Take a walk with NO music, NO podcasts, NO distractions
• Hire someone to help you with the tasks you hate
• Spend 5-10 minutes a day playing piano for yourself
• Take a week off to recharge
• Learn deep breathing techniques
• Go to bed before 10:00 p.m.
• Use calming essential oils or candles
• Curate a playlist of music you love
• Meet up with a music friend
• Practice intentional thankfulness

We brainstormed a whole list of 101 Ideas for Piano Teacher Self-Care that can help you.

Right now, I want you to get a pen and paper and write down three things you will do for yourself this week to recharge so you can be the best teacher possible for your students.

Then, block out time in your schedule to apply those three ideas! You’ve got this!

Your turn to share!

I have so many questions for you!

Pick one and reply in the comments so we can help each other out on our burnout days.

• What special value do you alone add to your piano students’ lives?
• What is your #1 reason for not quitting teaching?
• What keeps you teaching piano when you want to give up?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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More blog posts to help you as you teach piano:

• 5 WAYS TO PRACTICE GRATITUDE AS A PIANO TEACHER
• 101 IDEAS FOR PIANO TEACHER SELF-CARE

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