Let’s just get this out in the open: I am not a very organized person!

I have never been good at keeping track of student records. I have realized that I am very right-brained, and anyone who knows me well knows that organization (not to mention laundry…) is not one of my strong points! (Who’s with me?)

But when you run a piano studio, it’s not all about the music and the creative aspects of the piano…(darn)…you also actually need to run a business and keep track of things. Today I want to share my system I have finally come up with that works so well for me. Not only does this help me keep track of when students pay me and such, but has turned into a super simple and effective way to lesson plan!

I have learned that by doing at least a small amount of lesson planning for each lesson, lessons go smoother and are more effective, I stay more organized and on top of what my students are learning and what they need to learn next, and I save lots of time trying to remember what happened at a student’s previous lesson.

Here’s what I do:

I have a spreadsheet for my studio with a page for each student. I keep mine on the computer in Excel, but you could just as easily print it out and keep it in a binder (in fact I have included a free printable for you to use! You’re welcome.)

On this spreadsheet I keep track of:

• Student name
• Lesson day/time
• How many lessons they have had so far during the semester
• Which lessons they attended, or the dates of missed or cancelled lessons
• Tuition paid (how much, when and which lessons they have paid for)
• Lesson notes (this is my super simple lesson planning method. Each day after a student leaves or after I am done teaching for the evening, I sit down at the computer for about ten minutes and jot down notes from the lesson – what we went over, how they did on their practicing, things they struggled with, things they excelled at, things I want to remember, etc. This only takes a few minutes but is such an easy thing to refer back to the next week before they come to lessons again.)
• Materials needed (Here I keep track of materials they need soon – new books, flashcards, etc. I also jot down things I want to print out for them or teaching materials needed the next week. I can glance quickly at this column and see what I need to prepare or order for each student for their next lesson.)

So here you go…a free printable for use in your studio if you, like me, have been on the search for a quick and easy way to keep track of things and to plan for lessons. You can also find this on the Printables & Downloads page.

Student Notes and Records

How do you lesson plan in your studio? How do you keep track of student records?

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