Guitar Teaching in Germany
Published: 1995 Author: Marco Schmidt
1. Guitar teachers’ education
IN GERMANY, guitar teachers’ education always takes place in music academies or conservatoires. Music academies (Musikhochschulen) are always financed directly by the central Government. Conservatoires are financed by the cities – so they have less money. There is a music academy in almost every big town in Germany, as in Hamburg, Hannover, Bremen, Dortmund, Detmold, Berlin, Münster, Essen, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Köln, Frankfurt, München, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Nürnberg, Würzburg and others. There are relatively few conservatoires. In all the academies the musical education is quite similar. You join as a student of the relevant instrumental/vocal teachers’ course. The instrumental teachers’ course lasts 3–4 years, in 6–8 terms. Some academies have two different courses: (a) ‘instrumental/vocal teacher’ course, (b) ‘common music’ teacher course. Graduates of both of these courses will teach at music schools but not in normal schools. The subject ‘Music’ in normal schools is separate and a university qualification is required.
Besides studying the guitar the student of (a) and (b) above has many different lectures in history, theory, psychology, practice of teaching, etc. The balance of these subjects differs very much from academy to academy. Normally the education is very conservative and theoretical, not involving the real life of teaching. The ‘common music teacher’ is more specialised in working with very young children, giving them their first contact with music. The education of these students is more realistic and better connected to the work in music schools. Normally, academy time ends with the guitar teacher diploma. Some academies give a diploma which is the same level of qualification as for engineering or business studies. Other academies only require a final examination. In reality both give you the same kind of opportunities in the employment market.
2. Employment possibilities
- music schools run by cities
- music schools run by societies
- music schools run by music shops/sales companies
- self-employed teaching (i.e. ‘private teacher’)
In Germany we have many music schools. Many of them are run and organised by cities. Each German city of about 50,000 inhabitants or over normally has a music school that is run directly by the city itself. That means that taxes that people pay flow directly back to them in the form of a cultural offer made by the city where they live. These city music schools are normally members of Germany’s music school organisation which gives advice about organisation, fees, employment of teachers, etc. However, these kinds of music schools cost a lot of money, because although the users have to pay for it the fees are not so high that they cover everything. About 50% has to be paid by taxes. Music schools that are run by societies are very often in little towns, which cannot afford a city music school. So private individuals found a music school society. The music school is paid partly by the fees paid by the users, partly by the society members and partly by a small subsidy from the town. These music schools are frequently not members of the German music school organisation.
In many places we have music schools run by music shops and/or sales companies (e.g. Yamaha). They normally have very high fees and use students or uneducated teachers, whom they pay very badly. They offer courses in big groups, in keyboard and electric guitar and other things very close to the popular taste. However many teachers had their first working experience in such music schools, and many don’t find better employment than this.
Some teachers try a totally self-employed way of teaching (private teacher). I don’t know anybody who is able to survive for long from this, although there is some help from the government in the form of special social insurance for artists. Of course, many employed or half-employed teachers teach privately in addition to their normal job. The reason there is so little private teaching is that people feel more inclined to trust ‘institutions’.
3. Contracts of employment
- fixed, with employee-like contract
- free, un-contracted or only with ‘bad’ contract
Guitar teachers employed by cities are not always on an employee-like contract. An employee in Germany gets half of all costs of social insurance paid by their company, etc; the other half they pay themselves. Many guitar teachers, however, are considered ‘free workers’, so they have to pay the whole amount on their own. Many teachers (I would guess 2/3 of them) work with these free contracts although they work in a city music school. They only get paid for each lesson they give, so they have no money in holiday times and no Christmas benefit. In all other music schools the salary system is like this or even worse.
4. Payment and fees
Payments and fees vary greatly so I can only give rough estimates.
A fully employed guitar teacher in a public music school has to teach between 26 and 30 lessons per week and earns around 4000 DM (c. £1835) per month total, which means having to pay insurance and taxes of about 1000 DM (£460). This payment differs with age, whether married or not, number of children etc. Partial employment is possible and frequent.
A 45-minute single lesson can cost 120 DM (£55) per month or more and at public music school this fee has to be paid 12 times a year, whether there are holidays or not. Very often pupils decide to have a 30-minute single lesson or lessons in groups. The latter is often recommended for very young pupils, i.e. from 6–8 years. They pay less of course, but so that the music school earns more. (i.e. a group of 4 at 45 DM – £21).
A single private lesson (normally 50 minutes) costs between 30 DM (£14) and 50 DM (£23). Many private teachers, however, ask for a monthly payment of between 100 DM (£46) and 120 DM (£55), 12 times a year.
5. Teaching in music schools
- schedule of week/time of lessons
- rooms and conditions of teaching
- technical aids of music school (renting instruments, etc)
- holidays
- teachers’ conferences
- organisation of music school events (students’ concerts)
In music schools many methods of teaching are possible. Traditional teaching in single lessons is already quite rare, due to the interest of the music schools in the higher income from group teaching. Many music schools offer a ‘first music education’ for children of the age of 4 years, which is a course of two years' duration and with 10–15 children in a group. In this course children come into contact with basic musical instruments, and rhythms and much singing is involved.
After this the children are invited to learn a particular instrument. All instruments can be started at this age, and piano and violin even earlier. Traditionally, guitar, recorder and accordion are more often learned in groups. Recently other instruments, including piano, are being taught in this way. The advantages and disadvantages of group teaching versus individual lessons is a great point of dispute and is at present discussed very vigorously from all points of view.
Normally pupils have one lesson a week and its length varies between 20 and 60 minutes. Very often a public music school has none or not enough of its own rooms, so the lessons take place in the rooms of normal public schools in the afternoon between 2 pm and 8 pm. Some music schools can hire out instruments, including classical guitars. Facilities such as record and cassette players and video recorders are very rarely to be found.
Whenever there are school holidays there is no teaching at music schools: this means 6 weeks in summer, 1 week in autumn, 3 weeks at Christmas and 3 weeks at Easter.
Instrumental teachers are obliged to take part in one teachers’ meeting every month and all music school events. They normally organise a students’ concert once a year.
6. Music school and social environment
- problem of classical repertoire
- new experiences with rock/pop/jazz
Of course only very few people are attracted by classical music and families that educate their children involving classical music, or simply involving singing with children, are disappearing more and more. The fact that music teachers receive an almost exclusively classical education at the academy causes big problems. This results in unconfident teaching when it is a matter of having to cope with all kinds of popular styles, like rock, pop and jazz. Experiments with these have been very successful, and a new curriculum and the teaching of popular music have to be developed in the next decade. The classical guitar teacher is still requested, but before long will have to open up to what is requested by the majority.
Copyright © 1995 by Marco Schmidt