Types of Online Music Lessons That Sell
1. One-on-One Instrument Lessons
The bread and butter. Private instrument instruction over video works for piano, guitar, bass, ukulele, voice, drums, strings, and wind instruments. You demonstrate, the student plays, you give feedback in real time. The session is recorded so the student can review your demonstrations during practice.
A typical 30-minute lesson: 5 minutes for warm-up and checking on last week's practice, 15-20 minutes working on the current piece or technique, and 5-10 minutes introducing new material with practice goals.
2. Music Theory Sessions
Theory lessons are arguably better online than in person. Screen sharing lets you pull up notation software, ear training tools, chord diagrams, and score analysis side by side. These attract high school and college students prepping for AP exams, self-taught musicians who want to understand what they're playing, songwriters looking to expand beyond four chords, and producers who want to write better melodies.
3. Songwriting Coaching
A premium service most music teachers overlook. The student shares a work in progress before the session, and you workshop revisions together in real time. Independent artists, hobbyist musicians, content creators, and worship leaders all book these sessions. Because songwriting coaching is creative consulting (not scale practice), it commands higher prices.
4. Production and DAW Tutorials
If you know Logic, Ableton, Pro Tools, or FL Studio, there's a market of bedroom producers who will pay to learn from someone who actually knows what they're doing. Screen sharing your DAW while walking through mixing, arrangement, or plugin techniques is a natural fit for video calls.
5. Group Workshops
Group sessions let you teach more students at once. Beginner guitar groups, songwriting circles, ensemble coaching, and theory bootcamps all work well. If you charge $30 per person for a 60-minute group with 6 students, that's $180/hour compared to $80-100 for a private lesson.
How to Price Your Online Music Lessons
Here are realistic ranges based on what online music teachers are charging right now.
Per-Session Pricing
| Lesson Type | 30 Minutes | 60 Minutes |
|---|
| Beginner instrument (new teacher) | $40-60 | $65-100 |
| Intermediate instrument (experienced) | $60-90 | $100-150 |
| Advanced/conservatory-level | $80-150 | $150-250 |
| Music theory | $50-80 | $80-130 |
| Songwriting coaching | $60-100 | $100-175 |
| Production/DAW tutorials | $60-100 | $100-175 |
Factors that push your price higher: specialized instrument (jazz piano, classical voice, orchestral percussion), performance credits, conservatory degree, strong online presence, and session recordings included.
Factors that keep prices lower: teaching beginners (larger market, more competition), common instruments, and no social proof yet.
Package Pricing
Most music students take lessons weekly. Packages encourage commitment and give you predictable income.
| Package | Sessions | Discount | Example |
|---|
| Monthly (4 lessons) | 4 | 10-15% | 4 x $75 = $300 becomes $260 |
| Semester (16 lessons) | 16 | 15-20% | 16 x $75 = $1,200 becomes $1,000 |
| Intensive (8 in 4 weeks) | 8 | 10% | 8 x $75 = $600 becomes $540 |
A student who paid for 16 lessons upfront shows up more consistently than one who books week to week.
The Math on a Full Online Studio
20 students per week at $75 per 30-minute lesson:
- Weekly: $1,500
- Monthly: $6,000
- Annual: $72,000
Add two group workshops per month at $180 each and you're near $76,000 working 15-20 hours of teaching time per week. No commute, no studio rent.
Tech Setup: Look and Sound Professional
Audio quality matters more for music lessons than almost any other type of video session. A life coach can get away with a laptop mic. You cannot.
Audio (Most Important)
Built-in laptop microphones compress audio, add noise, and can't handle the dynamic range of a live instrument. Most video platforms also apply noise suppression that actively fights against musical sound.
Your options:
- USB condenser mic ($100-200): Audio-Technica AT2020, Rode NT-USB Mini, or Blue Yeti. Position it between you and your instrument.
- Audio interface + XLR mic ($200-400 total): Focusrite Scarlett Solo or Audient iD4 with a condenser mic for more control.
Critical: Disable noise suppression in your video call settings. AI noise reduction is designed for speech and will destroy your instrument's tone. Record yourself playing for 30 seconds and play it back. If it sounds thin or choppy, noise suppression is on.
Camera and Framing
Your student needs to see your hands, fingers, embouchure, or bowing technique clearly. Camera angle varies by instrument:
- Piano: Side or overhead angle showing both hands. A phone on a stand as a second camera works well.
- Guitar/ukulele: Waist up, angled to show fretting hand.
- Voice: Standard face-on. Show posture, jaw, and breathing.
- Drums: Overhead or front-facing wide angle.
- Strings: Side angle showing bowing arm and fingering hand.
Face a window or ring light. A 1080p webcam ($50-80) or your phone on a tripod is plenty.
Your Teaching Space
Quiet room, minimal echo (carpet, curtains, and bookshelves help), clean background (your instrument collection makes a great backdrop), and stable internet (wired ethernet if possible, minimum 10 Mbps upload).
Platform Choice
You need scheduling, payments, and video in one place. Cobbling together Zoom + Venmo + Google Calendar creates friction for students and extra admin for you.
Talkspresso combines all three. Create your lesson offerings, set your availability and pricing, and share your booking page. Students pick a time, pay, and join the video call from one link. Every session is recorded automatically, so students can rewatch your demonstrations during practice. That recorded lesson library becomes a major selling point, and you can even turn standout lessons into digital products for students who prefer self-paced learning.
Building Your Student Base
The music teachers filling their online schedules aren't just great players. They're great at putting their teaching on display where students can find them.
YouTube: The Long Game
YouTube is the number one platform for music education content. Students search "how to play [song] on guitar" or "music theory for beginners" millions of times per month.
Content that brings students:
- Song tutorials. Get searched constantly. End with: "Want personalized feedback? Book a lesson, link in description."
- Technique breakdowns. "3 Ways to Improve Your Barre Chords" or "Breathing Exercises for Singers."
- Practice routines. Students who follow your free routine are primed to book paid lessons.
YouTube videos rank in Google and keep working for years. A tutorial you upload today could bring students to your booking page in 2028.
TikTok and Instagram Reels: The Fast Lane
Short-form video is where music content goes viral. A 30-second clip of you playing something impressive, funny, or educational can reach millions.
Content that works:
- Before/after student progress (with permission)
- "Most people play this wrong" corrections
- Duets and stitches reacting to other musicians
- One technique in 30 seconds
- Day-in-the-life teaching clips
You don't need millions of views. A video that gets 10,000 views and sends 50 people to your page, where 3-5 book a lesson, is a great week.
Instagram Carousels and Stories
Carousels let you go deeper: "5 Chord Progressions Every Songwriter Should Know" (one per slide), "Beginner Piano Mistakes" (mistake on one slide, fix on the next), or practice schedules.
Stories are where followers become students. Use polls and Q&A to surface problems you solve. Post "spots open this week" announcements with your booking link. Share student testimonials and progress clips.
Bio setup across all platforms: "[Instrument] teacher. Online lessons available. Book below." Link directly to your booking page.
Word of Mouth and Referrals
Online students refer other online students. After a great lesson: "If you know anyone else learning [instrument], I'd love to work with them." Offer a referral discount and post student wins publicly (with permission).
Getting Your First 10 Students
Week 1: Create your booking page on Talkspresso with 2-3 lesson types. Test your audio and video setup. Update your social media bios with your booking link.
Week 2: Post 2-3 short videos showing your teaching style. Upload one longer YouTube tutorial with a CTA. Tell your existing network: email, text, or DM 20 people who know you teach music.
Week 3: Respond to every comment and DM. Offer an intro rate for your first 5 students: "$50 for a 30-minute trial lesson (normally $75)." Post a testimonial from your first sessions.
Week 4: Ask happy students for referrals and testimonials. Create content from common questions. Let your intro rate expire and move to regular pricing.
10 students at $75/week is $750/week, roughly $3,000/month. That's a solid foundation to build on.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Undercharging because "it's just online." Online lessons save students time and travel. They get a recording of every session. In many ways, online is more valuable than in-person.
Ignoring audio quality. Students will tolerate average video. They will not tolerate bad audio. Invest in a microphone before anything else.
Teaching the same way you teach in person. Use screen sharing for theory. Use close-up camera angles for technique. Send practice tracks via chat. Leverage the format.
Not recording lessons. If you're not recording, you're leaving one of your biggest selling points on the table. Students who can rewatch their lessons practice more effectively and stick with you longer.
Waiting until you're "ready." If you can teach in person, you can teach online. Your first few sessions will be a little clunky. You'll improve fast.
Start Teaching Online This Week
You already have the skills and the knowledge. The only thing between you and a full online studio is the system to make it happen.
- Set up your booking page with your lesson types and pricing
- Test your audio and camera setup
- Post one piece of content showing your teaching
- Share your booking link with your network
- Teach your first online lesson and ask for a testimonial
The students are out there, searching for exactly what you teach. Give them a way to find you and book.
Explore the full feature set on Talkspresso for Consultants, or read our platform comparison for paid video calls.
Start teaching online with Talkspresso (free to set up) →
