still here :)
Yes, I am still here! In the past couple of weeks, I have been busy 1: packing up our entire apartment 2: cleaning our entire apartment 3: long-distance apartment hunting (oh joy) 4: advertising for students 5: piano studio planning 6: taking lots of pictures (did I mention I am sort of an amateur photographer?) 7: editing lots of pictures, and 8: trying to fit everything and everyone in that we want to do and see in Utah before moving to Texas. I would love to discuss more about memorization (and we definitely will soon!) but for now here are our poll results:
Other response:
Using “memory stations”
I love the “memory station” technique (I call it “starting places”) and find it so helpful in preparing students for recitals. Thanks to all who took the poll!
Now, since piano studio planning is on my mind, and I am sure many of you are currently preparing for fall lessons, I’d like to pose a question – and I am excited to see your comments!
If you had the chance to completely re-start your piano studio, what would you do differently?
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Here are some things I am going to do differently (since I am in the process of re-starting my studio!)
-No more make-up lessons! (within reason – of course if I need to cancel I will make it up) – students will be able to switch with each other when they need to cancel.
-I am not going to worry so much (or at all) about practice TIME, but about specific assignments completed and practiced well.
-I am going to be using theory software in my studio. Each student will receive 15 minutes of theory time on the computer at each lesson.
-I am going to use a lot of listening assignments and fun activities to help my students get to know the composers and learn about music history. I am going to have a "composer of the month" each month to learn about.
What would YOU change about your studio?
After moving, I started my private studio new. My changes:
– make-up lessons are offered only on two saturday mornings a year and only if students cannot switch
– I accept only truly interested students and stress in the interview that I keep only those who are practicing continually.
Sounds really strict, but I am quite successful with this method and enjoy the lessons with my interested students a lot!
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I hope you are settling into your new place now that you've moved, Jenny! I went through the whole long-distance-apartment-searching and starting-a-studio-all-over-again thing last year, and it was crazy. And we were only moving a few hours away!
I love your studio change ideas. This year I am going to try to be more organized with the business end of things, like tracking payments and making invoices. I plan to give musicteachershelper.com a try. =)