How a Piano Teacher in the Middle of Nowhere Built a Six-Figure Income
Vanessa Munns lives in a rural town of 150 people called Beacon, in Western Australia. She drives 300km a day to teach. She lost everything - twice! And she has built a six-figure income from piano teaching.
Vanessa moved from Canberra years ago when she married a farmer, never imagining that the outback would become the place where she built one of the most remarkable piano teaching careers we’ve ever seen.
She has rebuilt her studio from scratch twice after drought wiped out her student base and navigated the pandemic, having just had private lessons in state schools banned overnight.
We interviewed her on the podcast because, against all odds, Vanessa just didn’t give in. She kept going. And her story is truly inspiring.
When Piano Teachers Rebuild After Adversity
Vanessa's journey to where she is now was not a straight line.
When she first moved to Beacon, people quickly worked out she could play piano and she started taking private students. She built her studio up. And then drought hit - and it was gone almost overnight.
She rebuilt again in a neighbouring town. Went through it all again. And then just before COVID, the state government announced that private music teachers would no longer be allowed to teach in public schools.
"My world got turned upside down."
She had been building something good. And it was taken away again. But here is the thing about Vanessa. After she takes a hit, she doesn’t stay down.
She threw herself into our Jungle Music program - a group music program for younger children. And after the whirlwind of COVID settled, she started exploring group piano.
More and more, she says, she is heading down that group path.
The Group Piano Teacher Mindset
If there is one thread that runs through Vanessa's story, it’s her mindset.
She always finds a way to make things work. She has an idea, commits to it, and figures out the details later.
“I'll find a way.”
When the state government banned private lessons in schools, she found another way. When drought took her students, she rebuilt. When she could not see how group piano could possibly work in a rural setting, she signed up for Group Piano University anyway and worked it out as she went.
She also has one of the most practical approaches to putting learning into action that we have heard.
"I like to put things into practice straight away. Until you actually do it, you don't understand the reasons why, you don't see the results, you don't get those tangible things."
When You’re Ready, Opportunity Knocks
One of the most jaw-dropping moments in this conversation is the story of the Catholic school.
They rang Vanessa. She did not approach them. They rang her, asked her to come and teach, and asked what they needed to buy for her to do it.
Within four weeks she was in. Fifty students in one day, every week! Teaching from 8.40am through to 6pm.
"Take the bull by the horns and go for the ride."
And then a second school, about 50km away, approached her to do classroom music. She quoted $150 an hour. They said yes. At the end of the year she told them half an hour sessions were not enough - they needed 45 minutes. They agreed. When a new principal arrived, her first question was: Can you do a third session?
And then the question Vanessa was not expecting.
"What are your dreams and wishes for a fully functioning music program in our school?"
They wanted a five-year plan. They funded everything on her must-have list immediately - around $5,500 worth of equipment - and put in for a grant to cover the wish list items too.
It was a dream come true.
What Groups Did for Her Students
Vanessa is clear about the difference she sees between her private students and her group students.
"The biggest difference [in private students and group students] is the confidence in playing together and the confidence of singing together. The energy levels are much higher. You're not having to do all that emotional lifting."
She teaches a girl with dyslexia-type challenges, ADHD, and more. Her parents had been nervous about whether piano was even possible for her. Vanessa advocated strongly that music was exactly what she needed.
In one of Vanessa's sessions, after months of aural work in the classroom music program, she asked the girl to sing back some notes. She sang do-re-mi perfectly.
And then she looked at Vanessa and said: "I've remembered that. I'm terrible at remembering - but I can do it."
Her face lit up.
"That's what music is about."
There is also the boy who was combative and disengaged in classroom music - wouldn't participate in anything. Vanessa brought in an electric bass one day and handed it to him.
The change was instantaneous.
Teaching Tool for Groups
One of Vanessa’s practical teaching gems is filming her own teaching.
She has done it from early in her journey - and she is clear about why it works.
When you are in the middle of teaching a group, you cannot see everything. You are focused on the child in front of you, or the activity you are running, and things happen in your peripheral vision that you simply miss.
When you watch it back, you see everything.
"I can pick up nuances that when you're in the middle of teaching, you don't necessarily pick up on."
But it also serves another purpose for her rural students - many of whose parents are not in the room during lessons. The videos become her communication channel. Parents see what real progress looks like, not just what they assume progress looks like.
And for the students, recording a performance video - even a casual one for parents - builds something invaluable - confidence to perform.
A Six-Figure Income From a Town of 150 People
She is earning a six-figure income teaching piano and music in outback Australia. If she taught a full 52 weeks a year, she estimates it would be over $200,000. She does not teach 52 weeks a year because she doesn’t want to.
She takes holidays when her boys come home from boarding school. She has used the income to keep them in private education - even during a year when her farm did not put in a crop.
"The income that I'm producing is paying for my kids' boarding fees, paying for everyday living expenses. And that's probably going to be happening until hopefully we get more rain and put a crop in."
The piano income is supporting the family. That is not something she ever imagined when she first sat down with a handful of private students in a small country town.
When I asked Vanessa to sum up Group Piano University in one word, she did not hesitate.
“Illuminating. It's about giving you those light bulb moments where you can see where the next three steps are without having to go down bit by bit. You go - oh, that will work. And then that will work. And then that will work."
If you are a piano teacher reading this who is wondering whether group piano could work for your situation - wherever you are, whatever your circumstances - Vanessa's says:
"Just say yes and do it. It comes down to what you want to achieve in your studio. Get the skills. They will set you up not only for group lessons but improve the rest of your teaching beyond a doubt. It's not going to set you back. You're just going to learn so much."
If it works for Vanessa, it can work for you.
Listen to Episode 20
On your favourite channel:
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Want to see what group piano actually looks like first? 🎉
Our free Group Piano Breakthrough Series is the perfect place to start.
Part 1 shows Paul teaching a real group in action
Part 2 covers the logistics - how much to charge, how to work groups into your schedule
Part 3 outlines the four foundations to long-term success with groups.
Ready to start your group piano journey?
Our last live Group Piano University cohort for the year starts October 4.
