How to Teach Music Online

How to Teach Music Online: A Step-by-Step Guide

With personal insight from Jane Cavanagh of The Flute Academy

Teaching an instrument online

Teaching music can be incredibly rewarding, but I remember thinking that teaching an instrument online could never be as effective as in-person lessons.

I've put together this guide to help you work out whether teaching your instrument online is going to be a good fit for you.

This what I've learnt (and I wish I'd known sooner!). Enjoy!

Real life lessons vs online lessons

As a professional flute teacher living in Sydney, Australia, I’ve taught the flute to hundreds of students of all ages and abilities in real life, and now to thousands of adult students online in The Flute Academy.

To be honest, if you’re teaching total beginners, in-person lessons are still the best. However, for students who already know the basics and need guidance to reach the next level, online teaching can be just as effective - if not more so - than in-person lessons.

And I've also come to realise that not everybody has access to a good real-life teacher. For whatever reason - cost of lessons, living in a remote area, or perhaps the student is home-bound.

Just so you know: I use the platform Kajabi for my Flute Academy courses, and I love it! If you decide to use it for your online courses, after clicking a link in this article, I'll receive a small commission from Kajabi as a thank you from them.

Online music teaching for adults

Online music teaching, especially for adult students who are self-motivated, works extremely well. At first, I wondered how on earth I’d translate my in-person teaching into a digital format. But with the right approach, it’s highly highly effective. Plus, you get to reach students all over the world, which gives you a business that is hugely scalable.

In this step-by-step guide, I’m sharing how I built my business from the ground up, along with all the tips, tricks, and lessons I’ve learned along the way. By the end of this post, you’ll have a good idea of how to get started teaching music online (and in particular, teaching your instrumental of expertise!).

Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Define Your Teaching Style and Niche

Before you start teaching music lessons online, it’s essential to define your teaching style and niche. This foundational step is crucial for attracting the right students and delivering impactful music lessons online. The most successful online music teachers are those who have a clear vision of who they want to teach and how.

Who do you want to teach, and how?

Before you even think about the technical stuff of how to build a website for example, take a step back and think about who you want to teach and how.

For example, ask yourself:

Are you targeting beginners, intermediate players, or advanced students?
Are you teaching kids, adults, or both?
Do you want to teach how to play repertoire or do you prefer to focus on technique? And if you want to teach pieces, what's your favourite style? Is it, for example, classical or baroque repertoire, folk music or current pop music?
And most importantly, do you want to pre-record your lessons, such as a step by step course format, or teach live on a platform like Zoom or Kajabi.

Defining these preferences will help you create lessons that resonate with the students you want to attract.

Defining your niche

When I started through The Flute Academy as an experienced flute teacher in Sydney, Australia, I knew I wanted to teach adult amateur flute players who wanted to reconnect with their love of playing from when they were a kid.

I also knew I wanted to create a supportive, transformative space where they could learn proper technique without feeling overwhelmed. That’s why I structured my whole business around teaching small, achievable steps that lead to significant improvements.

Defining your niche and teaching style from the start will help you stand out from the crowd and attract the right students.

Which instruments can be taught online?

Anything that has a visual element is perfect for being taught online, because you can use video to your advantage.

For example, with video, you can show a close up of your fingers on the piano, show two different video angles as you demonstrate a piece on your violin, allow your students to slow down the video as you show how fast your left hand moves while playing guitar, you can move your phone camera around your neck as you demonstrate your singing technique.

Honestly - any instrument works - ukulele, harp, trumpet, cello, ocarina, clarinet... seriously, any instrument!

Step 2: Choose a Music Lessons Online Platform

When deciding to teach music lessons online, choosing the right platform is crucial. With so many online music lesson platforms available, it can be overwhelming to decide which one is best for your needs. Some platforms are more suited for live online music lessons, while others are better for pre-recorded music teaching videos like workshops or courses.

Choosing the right platform is crucial for your online teaching success. After experimenting with Thinkific, Teachable, and Udemy, I found they each had limitations - either they didn’t allow me to offer live concerts, or they made it difficult to manage payments, manage my own website, and email marketing.

Reasons why I love using Kajabi

All-in-One Solution: Kajabi lets me do everything in one place - create courses, manage payments, send emails, and host my entire website. This saves me so much cost, and so much time (I don't need to integrate different platforms with one another, it all just works nicely together.
Easy Course Creation: I love how simple it is to upload videos, organise them into modules, and add downloadable resources. It makes creating structured, step-by-step courses easy, which is perfect for teaching complex flute techniques.
Community Feel: Kajabi’s community feature, that has had a massive overhaul in 2025 and is now downright sensational, allows my students to connect, share their progress, and cheer each other on. It’s amazing how it brings people together, sharing the common love of flute playing, from all corners of the world.

Try Kajabi for your music teaching

If you’re curious about Kajabi, want to try it before you buy, or just wondering "what is Kajabi used for?", you can try it here for 30 days for free. The free trial isn’t available if you go directly to Kajabi’s website, so be sure to use this link here.

Step 3: Create Engaging Online Music Lessons

Creating engaging online music lessons is key to student retention and success. Whether you’re teaching music lessons for kids or offering online music lessons for adults, the way you present your content matters. Online music teachers often face challenges in keeping their online students engaged enough to continue paying you to teach them!

As I mentioned above, one of the first decisions you’ll need to make is whether to teach live music lessons or create pre-recorded online music courses.

Differences in live lessons vs pre-recorded courses

Live Lessons: It's great for one on one connection, but in reality, I don't find it as good as real-life for real-time feedback. I find it draining, difficult to organise across time zones, and not as good as in-person lessons. It also isn't a scalable business model. I have however met teachers that absolutely love teaching on Zoom, so if this is you, go for it!
Pre-Recorded Courses: This turned out to be my preferred method for The Flute Academy because courses allow students to learn at their own pace, they can pause videos and watch again, and I get constant good feedback that watching a video about a specific technique with clear demonstrations is extremely helpful to them.

What has worked for me

Clear and Simple Setup: I use my iPhone 13 and a Shure microphone with good natural light. Nothing fancy, but it works beautifully.
Short, Focused Sessions: Keeping lessons shorter but more focused has worked wonders for my students. Generally between 5 and 15 minutes long.
Breaking Down Complex Techniques: I break down complex flute techniques into manageable steps. Think about what techniques of your instrument can be split up into separate parts to make your online teaching more effective.

Step 4: Market Your Online Music Lessons

Marketing is crucial when it comes to teaching music online. Even if you’re an incredible musician and teacher, students won’t come flocking to you unless they know you exist! Here’s what’s worked for me in marketing my online music teaching business.

Social Proof and Testimonials: I regularly share student success stories and testimonials on social media. I also showcase the progress my students are making, which adds credibility and inspires new students.
Email Marketing: I send regular newsletters with valuable tips, motivational stories, and behind-the-scenes glimpses into The Flute Academy. This keeps my audience engaged and builds trust over time.
Free Live Online Workshops: One of the most effective ways I attract new students is by offering free live workshops. These workshops allow potential students to experience my teaching style firsthand and see the value of learning with me.

Richard J from California (USA) says:

"A google search turned up your free video about holding the flute, and that was exactly what I needed. I saw an immediate improvement and I joined the flute academy soon after".

HOT TIP: Create value for free!

Probably the best thing I ever did was create a short course on improving flute tone and giving it away for free on YouTube. I find YouTube is great for getting your style of teaching out there in front of your ideal students for free.

Offer them something for free (like a short course or even just a bonus video - or even simpler, a PDF that you have created about how to do something on your instrument!) in exchange for their email address, and then keep in contact with them, build trust, show them how good a teacher you area, and eventually they'll buy from you!

Try out Kajabi for free

Kajabi makes building up your list of potential students easy. Personally, I use Kajabi to be able to give away my freebie on a webpage, and then share that URL on YouTube. For me, that's worked wonderfully.

Try out building a freebie in Kajabi here. You'll get a 30 day free trial, which you can't get if you go straight to Kajabi. And there's no pressure - it's a free trial! I love Kajabi, but it's better for you to discover that for yourself!!

Step 5: Build a Thriving Online Music Community

One of the most rewarding aspects of teaching music online is the sense of community you can create. Music has a unique way of bringing people together, and building a supportive, engaged community can make your online teaching experience incredibly fulfilling for everyone - your students, and for YOU, as their teacher!

In The Flute Academy, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful a community can be. Students from all over the world connect through their shared passion for music. They support each other, cheer each other on, and celebrate each other’s progress.

Brand new Kajabi community feature

In 2025, Kajabi completely overhauled the interactive community part of their platform. It's phenomenal. They're actually in the process of adding in gamification, which is excellent for motivation of your online students! Try Kajabi free for 30 days, so that you can see for yourself the new community feature.

Julie M from United Kingdom says:

"The concerts online are particularly useful and I have taken part. It is a unique way of sharing music with a whole range of people like myself. There's nothing like it 'out there'. You are truly inspirational and caring. I can't thank you enough".

Reaching Students Worldwide as an Online Music Tutor

One of the greatest advantages of becoming an online music tutor is the ability to connect with students from around the globe.

Unlike in-person teaching, online music tutors aren’t limited by geographical boundaries, allowing you to expand your reach and impact. With effective (and well thought out!) marketing strategies, you can attract students from diverse countries and cultural backgrounds, enriching the learning experience for everyone involved.

For example, at The Flute Academy, I’ve had the pleasure of teaching students in 23 different countries - Australia, USA, Scandinavia, and throughout Europe, South America, Africa and Asia. Every continent except Antarctica!!

Christina K from Mississippi (USA) says:

"The Flute Academy provides a safe place to grow in one's playing. Since joining, I have witnessed a lovely camaraderie develop among the students. It is absolutely fantastic! It makes me proud to be a small part of this amazing group of people who are led, supported, and encouraged by you, Jane. Thank you!"

How to Become an Online Music Tutor

Becoming an online music tutor is an incredible opportunity to share your passion for music while reaching a global audience, and scaling your teaching far beyond what you could do in real-life, or with Zoom teaching only.

Creating pre-recorded courses as an online music teacher allows you to reach a larger audience and gives students the flexibility to learn at their own pace. It’s a scalable teaching model that lets you design structured lessons that students can revisit anytime.

This approach is highly effective for classical musicians to teach their instrument with the precision that is needed to actually master the instrument - you know, like the thousands of hours of practice we all did for years when we were kids!

Why Teach Classical Music Lessons Online?

If you're a classically trained musician, like me, you might be hesitant about whether you can teach the nuances of your instrument effectively online. That's what I wondered anyway. Classical music lessons online give students who might not have had the benefit of learning their instrument in real life with a good classically trained teacher (like you!) and opportunity to learn solid, proper technique for their instrument.

With online classical music lessons, students can learn complex techniques from you in step by step courses, slow down your video demonstrations, and repeat the lessons as often as they want.

Breakthroughs in ability!

As a music tutor, I’ve seen firsthand how this above approach has helped my students achieve breakthroughs in technique and musicality.

Online classical music lessons, for any classical instrument, allow for a highly structured, step-by-step learning experience that is particularly effective for mastering the techniques of classical musicians.

Kajabi FAQs

If you’re considering Kajabi for your online music teaching business, you probably have a few questions. Here are some questions that other instrumental teachers have asked me:

What is Kajabi?

Kajabi is an all-in-one platform that allows you to create and sell online courses, host websites, manage email marketing, and build online communities. One of my favourite parts of Kajabi is the automations, meaning I can scale my online business without me needing to manually do a lot of things, like sending emails, giving/removing course access, awarding certificates and so on.

Kajabi vs Teachable: Which is better?

Kajabi is known for its robust community features and all-in-one solution, whereas Teachable is more focused on course creation. I obviously prefer Kajabi, which is why I've been using them for almost 10 years already!

How much is Kajabi per month?

The cost depends on the plan you choose. The kickstarter plan starts at $71 per month, but with the 30-day free trial, you can explore all the features without any commitment, which is a good way to try it out.

Kajabi course templates: Are they useful?

Absolutely! Kajabi offers a variety of course templates designed to make the process of creating online music lessons quick and easy. These templates are customisable, allowing you to tailor them depending on your own teaching style and instrument.

Kajabi new features:

Kajabi is constantly evolving. In 2025, they introduced some seriously enhanced community features and soon are offering gamification, making the learning experience more interactive and engaging for students.

Is Kajabi worth it?

In my experience, absolutely. It has streamlined my online teaching business and allowed me to scale globally. It has saved me the cost of integrated a bunch of other platforms for email, video hosting, blog hosting, payment processing, automations. It's all in Kajabi, which suits me!

If you’re curious to explore Kajabi and see how it can transform your online music teaching, try it free for 30 days here.

Ready to Start Teaching Music Online?

If you’re ready to teach music online, choosing the right tools and platform is essential. One of the best online course platforms is Kajabi.

Not only does Kajabi provide the infrastructure for creating music teaching videos and online music lessons, but it also offers fantastic community features to engage your students.

If you’re ready to start teaching music online, I highly recommend Kajabi. It has been my absolutely bread and butter when growing my income online.

It's what I've built The Flute Academy on - entirely.

Don’t forget that you can try it for 30 days free here. If you go directly to Kajabi’s website, you can't get a free trial, which is why I'm including it here for you! Have fun and see if Kajabi suits you!

Whether you’re just starting or looking to expand your online teaching business, I wish you all the best on your journey. Happy teaching!

Jane Cavanagh x

The Flute Academy