As we say good-bye to winter and transition through spring heading toward summer, my business focus changes too. A percentage of my students will drop for the summer. Some, unfortunately, will not return in the fall. Those that do return will be upset with themselves because they will forget and need to relearn some of the lessons. For many of these students it will take until October to return to May's skills.
Other students will continue taking lessons through the summer, thankfully. They will, of course, miss more lessons than normal due to trips, vacations, and other last minute opportunities. Their progress will be slower but there will be progress. During this time I find it necessary to be more flexible and offer make-up lessons as often as I can. This will include online lessons and other possibilities.
With the recent option of online lessons, geography is much less of an issue. The biggest problem is time and desire on the part of the student. Occasionally the availability of wifi can be a problem too. Last year a young student and his family were going to be on vacation for three weeks. The only wifi available to them was at the local laundromat. So guitar lessons were packaged with washers and dryers and all of the accompanying background sounds. I suspect that stories like this are going to become more common with time.
I'm currently making some videos of some of the most common lessons so if students cannot fit in online time with me they can download or stream some lessons anyway. It's a great way to continue to make some progress without having a specific time obligation.
Every profession has its challenges and summer lessons are mine. Some private teachers charge a lot more for lessons during the academic year and then take the summer (or most of it) off. I've never done that because it prices some families out of the market. But with the advances made in computers and the internet I may have some additional opportunities to include more people and still keep the price low.
There are all kinds of studies that show the importance of a music education, but the most important thing to remember is that it's fun. Whether you're sitting home alone and quietly playing for your own amusement or if you're strumming and singing with friends. It's just plain fun and everyone should have the chance to get in on it.