Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlie Peterson.
Hi Charlie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I relocated to Austin from Chicago at the beginning of 2026 to build a new career in the world of music teaching. I’ve always been a musician and graduated college with a music industry degree, and then began teaching students about 3 years ago. I love educating in music almost as much as I like music itself, and I believe music is an art you can see shine through other individuals through it’s engagement process. I’ve taught over 40 students in my teaching career and am very excited to begin my own business here in Austin. I also want to emphasize that music is about the feeling it gives you, and everything else is just a map that leads you there.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I definitely wasn’t prepared for the struggles that starting a new business brought, and began to realize it was going to take alot more work and marketing than I realized. I’m super confident in my abilities as a teacher, but now my goal is trying my best to have those abilities on display for those who want to learn. I want to make connections within the community because my work is so community-based, and that definitely takes a little time being the transplant that I am. All great things take time though and I want to build a life here!
We’ve been impressed with Charlie’s Piano Academy, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business, Charlie’s Piano Academy, offers local music lessons in the comfort of our customers own homes. We focus on teaching music as a language and a passion, and believe the enjoyment of the process should be essential to your learning career. Often times students lose their original passion for music based on certain teaching styles that remove the passion and only focus on skill, and this is exactly what we don’t want. Music is a vast world to explore and there is not one way to approach it, so accommodating individual learning styles is a key component in why I think this business can be successful. As I’ve stated as well, we provide this service in the comfort of our client’s homes so they don’t have to worry about commuting anywhere; We provide weekly lessons – 30 minutes or 1 hour each.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Luckily, I’m confident in the future of this business because I believe students will always desire having a real teacher present to learn the complex world of music, and it’s not just information you have to learn – it’s an approach, an experience, a complex web of possibilities all working together at once to create the performance. As fear of AI replacement looms above the world of careers, in music it’s important to remember that music & art becomes real when it is engaged with by humans, and its value comes in the interaction itself.
Pricing:
- $160/month (Four 30-min lessons)
- $240/month (Four 1-hour lessons)
- $35 – Trial Lesson
Contact Info:
- Website: https://charliespianoacademy.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Charlie-Peterson-100067646779494/
