If you’re a private music teacher, you might already be thinking about what holiday you’ll be taking this summer, and which lessons you might be offering to students during the summer break. But taking time off as a music teacher is not easy.
It’s a conundrum, isn’t it?
The Summer Conundrum for Private Music Teachers
Even after nearly 25 years as a private music teacher, I sometimes wonder what the best option is. These questions go through my mind – perhaps they go through yours too?
- Are my students going to be OK without me around?
- Can I really step away when my teaching business is just me?
- What if everyone gives up when I’m away?
But here’s what I’ve learnt over the years: rest is essential.
Taking Time Off as a Music Teacher Is Not Optional – It’s Essential
We need time away from the routine in order to come back refreshed – with new ideas, with enthusiasm, and with the energy to give our best to our students. As much as we love teaching, we can’t pour from an empty cup.
We have to build rest into our teaching studios. Not just for ourselves, but for our students too.
Holidays aren’t always about going away. Some of our most restful breaks are spent pottering around at home, doing things gently, at our own pace. But whether we travel far or stay close to home, taking a break can feel surprisingly hard, especially when the success of your teaching studio rests on you alone.
However anxious I sometimes feel about stepping away, I’ve come to embrace it as a necessity. Every time I do, I return with renewed enthusiasm, often with fresh ideas for lessons, new repertoire, or a clearer sense of purpose.
Your Teaching Studio Is a Business (and Businesses Need Boundaries)
As private music teachers, we spend a lot of time nurturing our students. But what about ourselves? How often do we come at the bottom of the pile? How often do we forget to nurture our own creativity and enjoyment of music?
We hold space each week for our students, but how often do we hold space for ourselves?
And here’s the other important truth: taking a break isn’t something we earn by ticking everything off our to-do list (if you want to explore this concept further, I highly recommend Oliver Burkeman’s book Meditations for Mortals: A Four Week Guide to Doing What Counts). It needs to be built into our business. Yes, your teaching studio is a business, and sustainable businesses include rest, boundaries, and holiday as essential components, not optional extras.
Five Gentle Prompts for Taking Time Off as a Music Teacher
If you’re unsure how to approach your own summer rest, here are five prompts to guide your thinking:
- What kind of rest do you most need right now – physical, emotional, creative, or all three? Consider how your break, whether long or short, could help meet that need.
- What boundaries do you need to put in place to truly rest? Think about communications, expectations from students and parents, and protecting time off without guilt.
- Could your students benefit from rest too? A break can refresh their motivation and make space for informal music-making or simply breathing room.
- What brings you joy, the kind you rarely make time for during term time? A gentle walk, playing music just for yourself, quiet time with a book – how might you make space for these?
- How could rest become a more intentional part of your teaching year? Not just summer, but throughout the year; think about how term structures and rhythms might better support you. It might be too late for this summer, but think ahead to next year.
A Final Encouragement: You Deserve to Rest
Whether you’re planning a holiday or just hoping to press pause for a while, I hope this offers you some reassurance and a gentle nudge.
Taking time off as a music teacher isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity, and your students benefit most when you return refreshed, inspired, and reconnected with the joy of music.
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