Your own Children

I read a great article about your own children in piano here. It really made me think about our recent adventures that my daughter and I have had. She and I have been trying to have piano lessons every week. I even went to the extent of setting an alarm on my phone once a week. Despite my best intentions, we had a piano lesson about once a month, and usually there was an episode of tears involved. I get perplexed when no fun is involved, and my daughter is a perfectionist that expects to get things perfect from the beginning. The two of us don't see eye-to-eye very well. Then about 3 months ago, I worked out an arrangement with another piano teacher friend of mine. I teach her daughter and she teaches mine! She is much more disciplined and expects more from her students. I am more into my students having fun and enjoying the process. I think our differences really compliment each other, and both of our daughters are reaping the benefits.

My daughter is 8 and her teacher believed she could learn all of her scales and other requirements in 2 months for an upcoming "Piano Achievement Days" at our local music store. Not only did she succeed, but she earned a medallion for exceptional performance!! I was so proud of her accomplishment and the high expectations that her teacher had for her. Even though there were tears in our practicing sessions, the deadline motivated both of us to overcome the bumps. Now she does enjoy her medallion and her memorized pieces. I think it is great to have another perspective, sounding board, and mentor for your children.

Does anyone have good suggestions for how they help their children practice? I'd love some feedback on that subject. We are still narrowing down a routine:)

Expanding your knowledge base

Lately, I have been trying to expand my knowledge of music. The library is a great FREE resource. I found some great audio books on CD called "How to listen to and understand great Music." There are 8 volumes with 8 CDs in each. I have just finished the first volume. I listen to them while cleaning or doing dishes. It's been a great thing to start for me. I enjoy learning as much as I can as conveniently as possible. I have also made some kits after expanding my knowledge on different musical aspects.
So if you want to expand and create supplements, I'd love to hear what subject you choose and how you incorporate it into lessons!

Marketing

I think the best way to market is to network. Find out who the piano teachers are, and if they have a waiting list, ask for referrals. I now have 6 students! Some came from flyers, friends, craigslist, and the referrals I was talking about.
It's interesting to be in a new phase. I now have 4 adult students and 2 children. I love teaching each age group. They are very different and rewarding in their own ways. If you want to target a group, you can specify it on flyers.
How do you market?

Supplements

I like to add something to the summer months to keep my students guessing...Last year I had to recycle my ideas.

One year I researched some famous composers and found a picture, some interesting facts and a song of theirs. That Christmas I made CD's with all the songs they heard over the summer. I learned some things I didn't think was appropriate to share, but it sure was great. I would like to put it all together and offer it as a kit for those that would like to use it for their students. February was the time that I started researching for the summer.

Another year I did a unit on American music styles. Blues, Jazz, Country, Tejana, Folk, etc. And I found a lot of the very first recorded songs on playlist.com! It was really cool! I wanted to have the students get a feel for the style of music that they loved and find out how it started. I don't know if they thought it was as cool as I did, but it was fun for them to listen to the songs. I found most of the information from this unit out of one book from the library. I'll have to look it up!

If you have any ideas for some fun supplemental units, please share!!

Practice, Practice, Practice

Hey there, I want to deliver what I promised. My mother was a piano teacher and I had the opportunity to observe the progress of more than 30 students at a time.
One in particular stands out among all the rest. Her name was Shauna. She would practice faithfully every day for 30 minutes. She started almost a year after me. She was my age, and I thought that I had a "head start," but I did not consistently practice everyday. Because she did, she excelled at everything, and even got to the point that my mom told her it was time to find a new teacher because she taught her everything she knew! Most of the others did alright, but none were as consistent as Shauna. I think there are different techniques you can teach, but the main thing is being consistent! One way I like to keep track is by that calendar with recorded times every week, another way would be to check off the progress of the songs they know well.
So have your students figure out the best time for them to practice everyday. I like to have them "demonstrate" their practice routines with me, like I wasn't there. It's very enlightening to find out how they view your words of wisdom.

I think another thing that is very motivating, is finding out what "their piece" is. My mom told my brother that he could quit piano when he learned a Chopin Nocturne that was a demo on the keyboard. When he could play that like the demo, then he could quit. And her technique worked. He is an amazing pianist today thanks to the goal that was placed before him. Now that he knows not only the nocturne, but many other impressive pieces, he doesn't want to quit! My daughter wants to learn "heart and soul" by the end of this year, and she has already learned the top hand! Goals are motivating. It would be great to see what song your student wants to learn, whether it be a classical sonatina, or the latest pop sensation on the radio. When they get to play what they WANT to play, they practice because they know the end result is going to be enjoyable! So figure out with your student what their "goal" is for the year, or when they finally can "quit" piano. You can get the parents in on the fun too, by giving you insights to the type of music they listen to, or the songs they love to play over and over and over again. Give them the freedom to explore...If they don't know what to explore, then you can help guide them to many different types of music to find out what their "song" is. My song surprised even me! It was a contemporary rain forest song!

Advertising

The first thing I did was tell everyone that I teach piano. I told my church, school associates, neighbors, etc. Then, I have been posting flyers anywhere there are community bulletins (the library, the arts building, rec center, and at a group get together.) I also put an ad in the paper, but no calls from that. I posted an ad on craigslist and got a call from that avenue. In looking for a flyer, I found a great resource with a readymade template to use. This blog is called "Color in my piano" and she has great templates for a variety of different forms a piano teacher could use. I know I will be visiting this one more often!
In the past, I know the best way to advertise for students is word of mouth...the hard part in moving to somewhere new is getting that first student. From that point on, it seems to take on a life of it's own. As long as you love what you do, success will come to you! Students feel that you care and you are good at teaching them, their parents will see that and refer you to other people looking!
Has anyone tried different ways to advertise that brought them great success?

Start - Up

OK, I will probably only post one or two times a week, but I wanted to start today off with what I call my "Studio Policy." Since I am in the process of rebuilding my business due to a move, I thought this would be a good place to start on the blog.
My policy starts with tuition and lessons: I state how much I charge per month and my policy on missed lessons. They still have to pay the full month amount if they do not call ahead. I also give them a chance to set up make-up lessons. I also include a $5.00 start up fee for the binder, spiral, and copies of sheets.
The next section is on purchasing music. I supply it because I know the books to get and can get them at a discount at certain stores. They are also encouraged to purchase a metronome, but I do not supply those.
Then comes the schedule: I split up the year into 3 sections, Jan - May, June-August, and Sept-December. I encourage lessons year-round, and have recitals in May and December.
Practicing is the next section: I encourage parents to work with their children on setting up a practice schedule, and I suggest an amount of time and days to practice
The last section is my motivating method: I use a piano box full of treats or little prizes. I never spend more that $1.00 on the items. After a set time allowance, they are able to "pick out of the box." I also tell the parents to give suggestions if they have ideas that will motivate their indivual child.
I also give my students a binder with tabs for
"Calendar" - this is where I keep track of how many minutes the kids practice, or they can also!, and I write in it upcoming events, or if there is a make-up lesson, etc.
"Songs" - is for copies of songs, or papers that can be put in one spot
"Reference" - is for sheets that have note names, symbol sheets, a hand posture sheet, and other things that they can refer to.
"Supplements" - is for other music info. I like to do an extra supplemental music unit in the summer where they can learn things like composers, genres, etc.
"Lesson" is the last section where I keep extra paper if they forget their spiral (which happens more often than I'd like to admit).
I also include a spiral for the notes on what the child should focus their practicing on for each piece.

So there is the "Start Up" in a nutshell. I'd love some comments and suggestions on some of the things you do with your studios! What do you do for the first lesson? etc.