Forte was built around the idea that music students would progress faster and enjoy learning more if they could be matched with a teacher who is a truly great fit for them. That’s why we ask students five questions before we show them teacher profiles:
- How old are you?
- What is your skill level on your instrument?
- What is your understanding of music theory and reading sheet music?
- What is your aspiration level?
- What genres do you want to learn?
When a new student searches for teachers on Forte, they only see teachers who are a good “fit” in terms of these five questions. We base this on the preferences you indicate in your teacher profile.
Many teachers have asked us how they can increase the likelihood that their profile will appear in student searches. The answer is to specialize in a particular kind of student. Some teachers only want to teach young beginners who are learning solely for their own enjoyment. Other teachers only want advanced students who aspire to attend a prestigious conservatory. Some teachers only want to teach classical repertoire. Others love to teach jazz, pop, or country music. Teachers who specialize in a particular kind of student are far more likely to show up in that kind of student’s search results.
Many of you have assumed that expressing an equal interest in all kinds of students would increase your visibility and have, therefore, set your profiles accordingly. For example, you may have given an equal weight to every age category, like this:
Setting your preferences in this manner does not help Forte decide which students should see your profile. If an adult student is searching for a teacher, we are far more likely to show that student a teacher who has indicated a specialization in adult learners, like this:
The same is true for all five questions in your profile. The more strongly you weigh one particular answer to each question, the more likely it is that this type of student will see your profile.
Our advice is: Choose a specialization and make it obvious to us via the answers in your profile. That way, when that type of student joins Forte looking for a teacher, we’ll be able to tell them why you are a perfect fit.