From Side Hustle to Teaching Full-Time with Groups - Lorraine Busuttil's Story from a Tiny Island
BLOG - She was told you can't make a proper job out of teaching piano. Now, she has almost 80 students.
For a long time, Lorraine listened to a voice that told her piano teaching wasn't a real career.
She taught on the side. She kept her day job and did what seemed “sensible”.
And then she found group piano teaching - and her life changed in the best way.
Lorraine lives on Malta, a tiny island in the Mediterranean with a population of just 600,000 people. She completed Group Piano University, and on the 1st of May this year she handed in her notice at her day job, and went 100% all in on teaching groups.
Four months later she grew to almost 80 students, with four new classes starting in October and plans for a dedicated music school space of her own.
Her story is fabulous!
Lorraine Learned in Shared Piano Lessons - Different from Group Piano Lessons
Lorraine didn't just teach piano before she found group piano. She learned piano in a group before she taught it.
But it wasn’t anything like the kind of groups she now runs.
She calls it a shared lesson. Back then, it meant an hour was divided between multiple students, each getting a few minutes of the teacher's attention while the others sat with headphones on, essentially practicing by themselves. That is not what the Piano Teaching Success method is all about!
As a little one, she received about five minutes of actual teaching per lesson.
This is exactly why group piano gets a bad name. Because most teachers - and most parents - have experienced this version of group learning. Shared time, divided attention, minimal progress. It feels like a compromise. Because it is.
Real group piano is completely different.
Everyone is learning at the same time. The group moves forward and progresses together. Students motivate each other, listen to each other, and develop musical skills that private lessons and shared lessons simply cannot build.
Lorraine knows both. And she will never go back to the “shared” model.
Group Piano Teaching is a Real Career
For years, Lorraine taught piano on the side while holding down a day job.
She wanted more. But there was a voice - someone close to her - that said piano teaching wasn't a real job. You can't make a proper living from it. Keep the day job.
So she did that for years.
Until she found Group Piano University. Until she saw what group piano could actually look like. Until she realised that the model she had been teaching - one student at a time, squeezed around her day job - was never going to get her to where she wanted to be.
And on the 1st of May this year, she stopped listening to that voice.
She handed in her notice and then went 100% in on teaching groups.
"In May, I realised how stressed I was. I was so stressed."
Four months later, she had grown from 50 students to almost 80.
Bring Parents in the Room when Teaching Groups
Lorraine talks about having parents in the classroom. At first, it terrified her.
"The first time, it was terrifying. It's like having someone watching you. You're teaching their kids. It's worse than an examiner in that sense."
But something inside her changed. She started to see what having parents in the room actually did - not just for the students, but for the whole ecosystem of her studio.
Parents who sit in a lesson understand why practice is daily. They understand what their child is working toward. They become partners in the learning, not just people who drop off and pick up.
"Now I encourage parents to come in. Because I can see the benefit of it. I can see how they can help their children more at home."
One family sent mum one week and dad the next - alternating so that both parents had that quality time with their child. They’re the families we love!
And the parents who resist coming in? They are, in Lorraine's experience, a small minority. Most of them are waiting outside anyway, so they might as well come in and be part of it.
The Space Challenge on a Tiny Island
Lorraine's story isn't all smooth sailing - and she’s refreshingly honest about that.
Malta is a tiny island. Land is scarce. Rent is eye-watering. And Lorraine is currently renting a space where the landlord may one day decide to redevelop - leaving her without a studio.
She nearly found the perfect space once before, but a neighbouring music teacher blocked it because she didn't want the competition.
Lorraine is now on the lookout. She and her husband have been discussing the possibility of buying their own space - even something small that could be converted - so that she is never at the mercy of a landlord's decision again. It’s also an investment into her future.
Gillian is very clear about what she thinks Lorraine should do.
"Every one of my school owners who has gone and bought their premises, they are all so very pleased they did. It becomes their superannuation fund down the track."
The security of owning your space - particularly when you have built a studio of 80 students - changes everything. You also avoid rent increases and uncertainty.
It’s something we encourage our GPU graduates to think about.
Four Months of Going Full-Time Teaching Groups
Lorraine went full-time on the 1st of May 2026.
By October - just months later - she had grown from 50 students to almost 80, added four new classes.
She did this while navigating a space she doesn't fully control. While educating parents in a place where nobody teaches quite like she does. While figuring out a curriculum she was running for the first time.
She did it with Imperfect Action - to borrow the phrase from last week's episode. She started before everything was perfect. She kept moving forward. She solved problems as they came up.
And she built something real.
It’s really inspiring.
If You’re a Piano Teacher Wondering About Group Piano
If you are a piano teacher reading this who teaches on the side and wonders whether it could ever be more - Lorraine's story is your answer.
It wasn’t the easy path - but it was the right path.
The moment she stopped waiting and started building, each next step just fell into place.
The voice that told her piano teaching wasn't a real job? She doesn’t listen to that voice anymore. And if something has been holding you back from teaching groups - a voice that says it can’t work - don’t listen to it.
Instead, listen to the voice that is curious and confident and tells you that something better is possible. We know it’s possible!
We love stories like Lorraine’s because we hope it makes you realise you can design your own life around group piano - and it’s incredible rewarding.
Listen to Episode 19
🎧 Episode 19 - From Side Hustle to Teaching Full-Time with Groups
Listen/Watch on:
Spotify | Apple | YouTube Video | YouTube Audio | iHeart | Amazon | Goodpods | Pocket Casts
Want to see what group piano actually looks like first? 🎉
Our free Group Piano Breakthrough Series is the perfect place to start.
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Ready to go full-time with groups?
Our last live Group Piano University cohort for the year starts October 4. We don’t know when we will be doing this again.
