Erin Wood
Erin Wood maintains a private studio and teaches at the University of Kansas and Benedictine College.

Recruiting new students involves both promoting yourself as a teacher and promoting the harp as a viable instrument choice. Harp teachers are at a disadvantage because most public schools do not offer harp as an option, so many kids have no exposure to the harp or consider it a possibility. I have performed at preschools and grade schools in my area. Kids always enjoy learning about the harp and seeing one up close. Hopefully it will be so memorable that they will go home and tell their parents they want to play the harp.

Try to reach out to the homeschool community and offer to perform a recital or demonstration; homeschool students are great for filling up those daytime hours. If you don’t have time to perform, be sure to contact the local school orchestra teachers and give them your information. Most teachers and music stores have a list of private teachers that they recommend, and can put your info into the hands of students who are looking for a teacher.

I also take advantage of online directories for teachers such as the listings maintained by various businesses and organizations. It is free to list your harp studio with Google My Business, and doing so will make your contact info easily accessible to those who are searching. I always offer the first lesson free along with a week of free harp rental. I think if people get their hands on a harp they will fall in love with it!

Your students are a great form of advertisement. You can offer them a credit toward their lessons for referrals. Perform with them in various locations including the public library, coffee shops, farmers markets, retirement homes, and churches. One Christmas, my students and I performed holiday music at the grocery store. The store gave each student a big chocolate bar. They loved it, and so did the shoppers who were surprised to hear harps near the checkout lines!

Almost every time I perform, someone comes up to me and says, “I always wanted to play the harp!” I always tell them, “It’s not too late!” I fell in love with the harp when I heard a harpist play at the public library. Who knows—maybe your next student is waiting to meet you in aisle nine!

—Erin Wood

Jaymee Haefner
Jaymee Haefner serves as the Treasurer for the World Harp Congress (WHC) and National Harp Associations Liaison for the WHC Review in addition to her work at UNT, in Denton, Texas

Ever since I joined the faculty at the University of North Texas in 2006, this is a question that I ponder (almost endlessly) because part of my job is not only to find students who play the harp, but to find students who have a dedicated passion for the instrument and the high level of skill and creativity which is required to make the harp into their career.

I’ve found that professional networking has been the most important part of finding students, because students who are looking for undergraduate, masters, or doctoral programs tend to ask their current teachers for suggestions before exploring school options. By remaining active with the local, national, and international harp societies, performing and presenting at gatherings and conferences, and by serving on boards and committees, these professional connections can be strengthened, with the potential for giving and receiving teaching references.

I believe it’s also important to pass students along to colleagues when the time is right for the students to move on, and most likely, this will be reciprocated.

Equally important is creating the opportunity for guest-teaching within the studio, whether it is local teachers giving a joint masterclass, or well-known harpists who visit for a performance and masterclass. This type of visit allows other professionals to meet your students, and when they receive an inquiry about which harp teachers live in a particular area, they will have first-hand knowledge of your studio. Likewise, I believe it’s important to teach masterclasses outside of one’s home area.

Above all, I believe that one must remember that the size of studios can fluctuate for many reasons, and to not despair when the numbers might drop, because they are sure to rise again.

—Jaymee Haefner

Carolyn Lund
—Carolyn Lund is the Artistic Director of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble, a non-profit organization providing free harp instruction to 75 at-risk students in the Atlanta Public School system.

More important than just finding students is finding good students—the ones who will practice, are reliable, and will respect your teaching. In order to find good students I would suggest getting a recommendation from a local school music teacher.

Introduce yourself to the elementary chorus teacher or the middle school band teacher. If you’re unsure how to introduce yourself, call the school and ask when there will be a student concert to attend. You could break the ice by telling the teacher how much you enjoyed their concert. You might offer to give a presentation about the harp during their class time. Bring brochures or business cards to send home with the students. Make sure to have printed somewhere that you are accepting “serious students only” and that you require beginning students to practice 30 minutes each day (or whatever you see fit). Being clear about your standards from the start can save a lot of stress down the road.

In addition to building relationships with local school teachers, I admit that most of my lesson inquiries come either through the internet or via word of mouth. Make sure your website is professional in appearance and updated often. Advertise on Craigslist and websites such as takelessons.com. Share photos and videos of your students’ triumphs. Several years ago I posted a video on YouTube of some of my students playing a pop song, and I received at least 10 inquiries from that video alone—one of which was last month! You never know who you may be able to reach, but it just may be your next superstar student. •

—Carolyn Lund