Back to School for the Piano Studio

I have always loved "Back to School." There's just something about rows and rows of brand new pencils, notebooks, and black pens that make me happy, even if I'm not attending school at the moment. That enthusiasm carries over in to my piano studio, as well, as I try to make the new school year exciting for my piano students. It's also a good time to review my policies and procedures, evaluate my teaching skills, and set new goals. Here's my plan to make 'Back to School" great in the piano studio.

Have a little fun. When I first started teaching, I spent a lot of time listening as my studied buried his or her nose in the piano lesson book. I was bored! And if I was bored, I bet my students were, too. I think I listened to those primer piano songs until I was singing the blues. So the first order of business is to have a little fun. That's where "Bach to school" comes in.

Bach to school is just a way to introduce Bach to my students while having fun. I found a funny picture of Bach as a chicken (http://www.musicbulletinboards.net/boards/welcomebach.htm) which I plan to print out and hang around the studio. I think the piano students will get a good laugh about that. We'll talk about Bach trivia, and each student will get a Bach piece to study for the month. Oh, and they'll get some prizes and gifts too. Everyone loves prizes.

I'm also going to be playing some games, like note reading bean bags, to get wiggly students off the bench for a bit. They love it and it reinforces note reading without the added stress of having to play the note. You can pick up a giant vinyl floor music staff at www.musictreasures.com . They are inexpensive and fun.

Get 10 new students. I'd really like to grow my studio this year. I think adding ten new students is an attainable goal. Maybe you only have room for two, or maybe you want twenty. Either way, the best students come by word of mouth. So I came up with a fun referral program. Anyone who refers a student that starts lessons gets a fifteen dollar iTunes card. It's simple, inexpensive and most students love it. I have heard other studios say that they give an entire month of free lessons to any new student. Most of the prospective students love lessons so much that they stick around for many more.

Shift to a yearly tuition. I used to just do 'pay as you go' or 'pay by the month.' But now that I have mouths to feed and a mortgage to pay, I prefer to have a bit more of a solid budget. So I am moving to a 'budget piano plan." Basically, I take the cost of all the lessons for a year, divide it by twelve months, and that's the monthly payment. The important thing is to factor in any vacations, holidays, and additional time off that you want and subtract that many lessons from your yearly lesson total. It's nice for the parents because the payment is the same every month. It also makes bookkeeping much, much easier.

Improve myself. I want to make sure that I don't pass my weaknesses on to my students. So I'm planning on learning a piece of music that is challenging for me. I really want to find something fun and exciting that I can show to my students.

Recitals. I haven't held recitals in a long time. So this year, I plan to start. We'll have two formal recitals a year, and three 'performance parties.' A performance party is really a teaching recital. The students play their pieces for each other, get practice playing in front of each other, and get practice enjoying another person's music. It should be a lot of fun and great experience for the students.

Above all, my goal for the new school year is to enjoy each and every student. I want to remember that each lesson is not just about learning notes or counting beats, but about investing in a person. I hope I can be a positive influence in each one of my student's lives.