I spoke of my latest project (the tattoo song), and how meaningful it was to me. It couldn’t have come at a better time, too. I was so relieved for the extra income, and I have ample amounts of time that I could spend on it. My practice time suffered slightly, but it just meant I was doing 2 hours a day instead of 3 for a couple of weeks. No big deal!
Just over a year ago, I moved to Barrie. This was after living and being a piano teacher in Brampton for 16 years. Between my home studio and the music school I taught at, I was booked full with students 6 days a week. Moving to a new city meant I basically had to start from scratch with my student base. Luckily, a few of my private students from Brampton opted for online piano and theory lessons in order to continue studying with me. I knew it would be a bit of a difficult transition, but I also knew that my studio would indefinitely build up on its own.
However, I did not account for a pandemic! It has made it nearly impossible for me to get new students. Last year I was teaching piano at a Montessori school; this year’s pandemic has made that impossible. Those students made up more than half of my local student base.
Luckily there was CERB. The only problem is that I didn’t qualify every month. The months that I didn’t qualify, I made about $100 over the maximum income allowed for the month. Now I don’t know about anyone else, but I do know that $1,100 is not enough to cover my monthly bills! Then came CRB, which I don’t qualify for because of my move last year. So things are financially quite scary right now.
Sometimes I wonder, how do I manage? Well, I keep focused and use this time to practice, practice, practice! I am exercising every day, reading more, and broadening the range of artists I am listening to. I allow myself some tv time (Netflix is my go to, to give my brain a rest, relax, and forget about the rest of life for a little while). I built a website, interviewed a favourite teacher of mine, and am writing a blog (that very few people read lol). But I won’t stop writing this blog, because it’s something to do! Something productive, that gives me a sense of accomplishment.
My hope is to have 5 solid days of teaching piano in Barrie each week. Until that happens, I’ll just keep working away and hoping for the best! It’s really all we can do right now. I just keep thinking, ‘this too shall pass.’