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As a present day band director and former BIG (70) studio private teacher... I do have some things to pass along.

First of all, be willing to do some sectional work for free. This gets you in front of the kids so they can see if they like you (and you them) and it lets the Director know that you are going to work and are willing to help him/her.

Second, be early - never no-show - always be prepared. I cannot tell you how many #!$@% undergrads from the local university I have hired to come to my school for lessons that I have had to fire within a month for just being unprofessional kids.

Third, and maybe most importantly, find out what the Director and the kids are looking for in your lessons. Are they all-region, all-state bound? Do they just want to improve the section? Are lessons required for band participation? If you know these things on the front end, you will better know how to approach the inevitable, unmotivated, unprepared student.

As for prices, different areas of the country will bear different pay structures. Talk this over with other teachers and the Director. I do recommend getting paid for the month, in advance. Then when Johnny no-shows and does not call... you can get paid for practicing during his time slot. BTW, I do not charge my private students, but if they show up unprepared, I fire them.

Hope this helps,
Carroll

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The previous posts were great and totally correct. Here's some additional perspective:

Some of the teachers around here won't even return calls from the Symphony guys. Many circular file letters and flyers. Forget email!

Call the main office and ask who the band director is; ask when his/her prep. period is. Show up (with two cups of coffee?) five minutes before the prep. period and introduce yourself at the end of class.

I do a fair about of eduactional outreach for the community music school I teach at and would guess that the response rate from directors that don't know me or the school I teach at to be well under 10%.

One of my colleagues once said, "It's like selling insurance. You just keep calling and scheduling appointments and eventually you'll get students."

'hope this all helps. I think I accidentally turned this red somehow. . .