Advertising for Piano Students

March 15, 2010 Jennifer Boster

I’ve LOVED what everybody else has written so far – what awesome ideas! My thoughts on how to increase your studio size will mostly be a reiteration of what’s already been stated. I especially love this post because, as I’ll be moving to a new area soon myself, I need all the tips I can get!

A few ideas:

1. Like Jonathan suggested, give a lecture-recital (or just a recital) in the area. Put ads for it in the newspaper, in schools, etc – get the word out!

2. Join a local music association. Find out who the leaders of such organizations are in your area, CALL them and become acquainted – introduce yourself and don’t be shy about your accomplishments and what YOU have to offer as a teacher! Then let them know that you’d be interested in contributing to your community by becoming actively involved in their organization, and is there anything you can do at this point to help? (I think this is one of the most effective ones, since you’ll then become acquainted with other teachers who can refer other students to you).

3. Fliers in all the previously-posted locations 😉

4. I read about this one and I’m going to try it when we move: Bake piano-shaped cookies (I already have the cookie-cutter for it!) and visit the local schools in your area – introduce yourself (and give cookies to) the principal, as well as the music teachers in those schools. Alright now, this might be a lot of cookie-baking, but maybe it’ll be worth a shot! I’m excited to try it!

5. As stated before, the *most effective* way to gain more students is by having your current students refer you to others! In one of my undergraduate piano studio teaching classes, I remember our teacher told us a very effective method he uses to motivate student referrals: He tells his students “If you refer at least one student to me, then the first month that the new student starts lessons, YOU get free lessons that month!” Saving money is ALWAYS a motivator for parents, he explains, and you won’t be LOSING money the first month you’re teaching that new student, but you’ll DOUBLE your money the next month (since now you have one more student in your studio). I hope I explained that clearly enough!

Getting the word out

March 14, 2010 Jennifer Boster

2 Comments

Uncategorized

Jenny Bay’s post on this subject has a really great list of ways to find students, so I thought I’d just share my experience in moving to a new state in August.

First, my misconceptions about finding students. I had two groups in mind that I was sure would jump to join my studio: people at church (the first people I met here), and my immediate neighbors once we moved the piano out. Most people at church already had piano teachers so it took a bit of time for students who hadn’t started any lessons before to come to me. As far as my neighbors, I think their children are just too young, at least right now. 🙂

On moving to our new city priority number one was to get permission. We live in student housing and they have certain rules about working in your apartment. Since we didn’t have the piano yet I would be teaching in a common area, and therefore couldn’t charge. This actually worked out really well. I’ve heard of people who offer a first free lesson or couple of lessons, but I did this out of necessity. I gained the trust of my first few students because I followed the rules. Those students have brought me referrals, but more on that later.

The students came to me after I put fliers up at all the bus stops. Our community has a lot of international students, so it would have been good for me to put an e-mail address on the flier for anyone who was nervous about speaking English on the phone to a stranger. I got my first five students with these fliers.

Since then I’ve gathered a total of 11 students: 2 students directly from other students, and four more who heard that I teach piano. Like Jenny Bay said, word of mouth is really the best way to find students–the parents are already more comfortable with you because they’ve heard good things from their friends and they can support each other as piano student parents, an under-appreciated but worthwhile pursuit.

wanted: piano students

March 12, 2010 Jennifer Boster

5 Comments

Uncategorized

Oh the joys of advertising for students.

Obviously, we all know that this is an important step when setting up your studio. For a young teacher starting out (or any teacher looking to expand their studio, for that matter) it can be a daunting task. I seriously would love to get to the point where students come to me with little to no effort on my part, and to where I actually have a waiting list. That would be the life. Unfortunately I have moved around quite a bit during my years of teaching, so I have never actually gotten to that point yet.

I have had quite a few students in my teaching career, so I obviously had to acquire them somehow. Here are some ways I have found students in the past:

1. teaching unsuspecting younger siblings & cousins as some of my first “guinea pigs”

2. mailing little brochures to people with young children in my neighborhood

3. delivering fliers to every. single. door. within a five mile radius of my house with the help of my [amazing] mom and her minivan (probably got 1, 2 students tops from this method – plus a lot of exercise)

4. putting business cards and fliers in random places, such as a car wash (got one student from the car wash. awesome.)

5. putting fliers in music stores (this method actually works pretty well)

6. advertising on craigslist or some other online classifieds website (this method guarantees you will receive plenty of spam email from folks in other countries who are sending their children to America on holiday and they would like you to teach them for x number of hours per day for x number of months and they would like to know how to wire the money directly to your bank account. score!)

And, the absolute best method, in my opinion:

7. WORD OF MOUTH

So, I guess what I’m getting at is this: feel free to tape fliers to hundreds of doors and advertise online to your heart’s content (and you may have to use some of these methods when you’re just starting out), but my advice would be to get to know other teachers in your area and let them know you’re looking for students. Be the best teacher you know how to be, so your students will refer others to you.

I’d love to hear what others have to say on this topic, as I am currently searching for more students myself. I could use a little inspiration in that department 🙂

I am a teacher.

March 12, 2010 Jennifer Boster

Off

Uncategorized

As part of our contributors’ bios, we asked them to tell us why teaching is a joy to them. Here is what Bonnie Jack says about being a teacher, and what she loves about it. You can also read this on her bio, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss it!

I started teaching piano 15 years ago, when I was 15 years old. I was excited about new books and notepads, studio policies and spring recitals. But I was inexperienced, and not a great teacher. Not a single one of my original students loved to practice, and not a single one progressed very far under my tutelage. And yet, I will never forget the moment, many years later, when my own nephew introduced me at his wedding–not as his aunt, but as his piano teacher. My teaching technique may have been weak, but I still left a mark in the lives of those students.

I’ve come a long way since then. I’ve had some great mentors, and I’ve faced a lot of my own fears and inadequacies. As I’ve progressed, I’ve learned to love what I do more and more. I love watching students grow. I love sharing in their accomplishments, whether it is winning a tennis match or memorizing a new piece of music. I love watching a student’s face light up when he begins to understand. I love teasing a teenager about her first date. I love hearing a student say, “I love this piece!” I love watching a student do something he couldn’t do a week ago, or maybe a year ago. I love figuring out new and better ways of presenting concepts so they make more sense. I love inspiring kids to work hard, and I love seeing the smiles on their faces when they realize how much progress they’ve made.

When I first became a mom almost two years ago, I wondered if I would enjoy going back to teaching. I feared I would resent the time I spent with my students, since it was time I couldn’t spend with my own child. I learned two important things when I started teaching again. First, these students are also my children. I am a partner with their parents in the effort to raise exceptional human beings. And the second thing I realized is that this is who I am. I am, and will always be, a teacher. Nothing will ever change that.

Looking ahead to this week’s topic!

March 10, 2010 Jennifer Boster

1 Comment

Uncategorized

Thanks for a fun first week on The Teaching Studio! We are super excited about the great comments we’ve received and the excitement about the site that we’ve seen from so many pianists and teachers, and that we already have some followers!

We have loved talking about the joy of teaching and hope that if you have any thoughts on this topic in the future that you will still feel free to comment on these posts and share why teaching is a joy to you (because sometimes we seriously need a little inspiration, am I right?). We will be keeping a list of links *here* to all our topics we discuss, and we hope that, with our posts along with wonderful posts from our contributors and comments from our readers, it will become a nice little database of teaching inspiration and ideas.

And speaking of the joy of teaching, here are our poll results for this week (thanks to all who participated!)

What about teaching is a JOY to you?

(isn’t it sometimes so (sad but) true that the most joy you find is when the lesson is over??)

And now, looking ahead to this week’s topic:

Setting Up Your Studio: Finding Students.

Be thinking about any comments and ideas you might have to share! This topic could include things such as advertising for students (how to get your name out there to actually get students), conducting interviews/auditions with prospective students, how to make yourself as a teacher and your studio appealing to prospective students, when to be picky about which students to let into your studio, specific things you do in your studio when you get new students, etc. We can’t wait to hear your comments!

What do YOU want to discuss?

March 8, 2010 Jennifer Boster

3 Comments

Uncategorized

Hello, everybody! Jenny Bay and I are wondering: What do YOU hope to get out of this blog? What specific topics do you want to discuss? We want this to be like a forum, so if you have questions…we wanna hear ’em!

Even though we already have a list of topics created, we always have room for more and we know we didn’t come up with EVERYTHING CONCEIVABLE…so tell us what you want to talk about, and we’ll be sure to include it in our discussions!

Thanks, everybody! We are SO EXCITED to be starting this blog and to have such wonderful participants! We seriously can’t wait to hear all about the suggestions and experience YOU have to offer as an experienced musician and teacher!

Contributor Bio: Bonnie Jack

March 5, 2010 Jennifer Boster

Off

Uncategorized

Let’s get to know our next wonderful contributor, Bonnie Jack! Wow we are getting so excited to hear what our amazing contributors have to share.

name:
Bonnie Hopper Jack

she is from:
Kaysville, Utah

she is:
a detail-oriented, list-driven, project-loving people-person

she attended:
Brigham Young University, B.A. in Music, 2000 (studied with Robin Hancock); M.M. in Piano Performance, 2006 (studied with Scott Holden)

currently:
lives in Spanish Fork, Utah, with her husband and little boy; teaches 14 awesome piano students at the Art City Music Academy

her studio:
she has been teaching piano since 1995, and has been a teacher at the Art City Music Academy since 1999

she loves:
reading, writing, songwriting, scrapbooking, blogging, teaching, diminished 7th chords, and the circle of 5ths

what she says about the joy of teaching:
I started teaching piano 15 years ago, when I was 15 years old. I was excited about new books and notepads, studio policies and spring recitals. But I was inexperienced, and not a great teacher. Not a single one of my original students loved to practice, and not a single one progressed very far under my tutelage. And yet, I will never forget the moment, many years later, when my own nephew introduced me at his wedding–not as his aunt, but as his piano teacher. My teaching technique may have been weak, but I still left a mark in the lives of those students.

I’ve come a long way since then. I’ve had some great mentors, and I’ve faced a lot of my own fears and inadequacies. As I’ve progressed, I’ve learned to love what I do more and more. I love watching students grow. I love sharing in their accomplishments, whether it is winning a tennis match or memorizing a new piece of music. I love watching a student’s face light up when he begins to understand. I love teasing a teenager about her first date. I love hearing a student say, “I love this piece!” I love watching a student do something he couldn’t do a week ago, or maybe a year ago. I love figuring out new and better ways of presenting concepts so they make more sense. I love inspiring kids to work hard, and I love seeing the smiles on their faces when they realize how much progress they’ve made.

When I first became a mom almost two years ago, I wondered if I would enjoy going back to teaching. I feared I would resent the time I spent with my students, since it was time I couldn’t spend with my own child. I learned two important things when I started teaching again. First, these students are also my children. I am a partner with their parents in the effort to raise exceptional human beings. And the second thing I realized is that this is who I am. I am, and will always be, a teacher. Nothing will ever change that.

read more:
russellandbonniejack.blogspot.com

her posts:
click here to read all of Bonnie’s articles on this blog!

Contributor Bio: Jen Swendsen

March 5, 2010 Jennifer Boster

Off

Uncategorized

A big welcome to our next fabulous contributor, Jen Swendsen. We shall see if we can keep all the Jen’s straight! 🙂 Here is a little about her:

name:
Jen Swendsen

she is from:
Houston, TX

she is:
a planner, a hard worker, lazy, your friend

she attended:
BYU, where she studied with Scott Holden and received a bachelor’s in piano performance and pedagogy

currently:
teaching piano and taking care of her two little girls

her studio:
includes students of all ages, abilities, and commitment levels!

she loves:
exercise, cooking, baking, reading, performing

she recently:
learned she will be relocating to somewhere in Texas this summer

read more:
on her family blog at thurber55.blogspot.com

her posts:
click here to read all of Jen’s articles on this blog!

inspiring our students through joy

March 5, 2010 Jennifer Boster

Off

Uncategorized

I know I already posted about joy in teaching, but I just had to add this. 🙂

When I think of the word “joy” in the context of teaching, I think of my dear piano teacher, Bonnie Winterton. She is definitely one person who has truly inspired me in my life. She always exemplified joy and love in her teaching, and through her positive example inspired me (and I’m sure countless others) to become a teacher. When I went to her as an awkward, somewhat unsure of myself thirteen-year-old to audition for her studio, she said to me, “I teach teachers.” And the way she said the word “teachers” made it sound like the noblest, most important career you could ever have. I think that really made an impression on me.

Her joy and love for teaching has everything to do with her love for her students, and I believe that this is something that truly instilled us with confidence. Whenever I performed at a much-prepared-for recital or concert or audition, no matter how I played she would always come up to me afterwards, look me in the eye with a big smile and say, “Be happy!”

To me, this is the kind of teaching I want to strive for; teaching that is full of joy and positivity, that instills in my students not only a love and appreciation for the music (and for teaching, if they choose to teach one day), but a confidence that will change their lives for the better.

Bonnie & I during my senior year of high school

Contributor Bio: Jenny Jones

March 5, 2010 Jennifer Boster

Off

Uncategorized

We are very excited about our contributors, who will be posting along with us on this blog and sharing their great insights and wonderful personalities! Here is our first little get-to-know-you. Welcome to our blog, Jenny! (*Jenny, I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed this lovely picture from your facebook page!)

name:
Jenny Jones

she is from:
Ft. Collins, CO. Right now we live in Madison, WI!

she is:
fond of baking, but not cooking; right-handed and mostly left-brained; a Trekkie!

she attended:
BYU and will be starting a master’s at UW-Madison in the fall

currently:
teaching, babysitting, primary-ing

her studio:
have taught since high school but enjoying post-pedagogy-classes-teaching in my own studio

she loves:
Brad 🙂

she recently:
drank a banana milkshake and ran a 10k

read more:
not a piano blog, but just a life blog: brad-jenny.blogspot.com

her posts:
click here to read all of Jenny’s articles on this blog!