Studio Management

Siblings in a shared lesson with 2 others, just finishing Foundation One (12 lessons) Big brother learning faster than average, and faster than his sister. Mom says they are having trouble at home because they are playing the same material, he wants to go faster…

• Last updated 6 days ago
• 30 day notice, claiming territory, discontinuation, discontinuation notice, discontinuation policy, discontinuing, discontinuing lessons, Laurie Richards, lesson requirements, Long Term Relationship, long term relationships, long-term relationship conversation, LTR, no notice ending lessons, notice, quitting, quitting lessons, reclaiming territory, regaining lost territory ideas, request vs requirement, requirement, requirement based studio, requirement versus request, requirement-based, requirements, requirements in lessons, sticking with piano long term, students quitting, territory, want to quit

Greetings all – further to a comment I just read in Sandy Larsen’s message to the group re: Accompaniment – I noticed her reference to the age range in her class of 6 students, ages 9 through 62. This was intriguing to me, as I…

• Last updated 3 weeks ago
• age, age groups, combining different ages, different ages in group, mixed ages class, Robin Keehn, shared lessons

I’m a brand new teacher, just a month in. I’m teaching only shared lessons and have several groups of different abilities and ages. Overall, I love the energy of the group and all the different, engaging activities you can do with them. I have one…

• Last updated 2 months ago
• fatigue, fun, fun in lessons, games, group dynamics, group energy, group lesson, group lessons, group obstacles, low energy, shared lesson, shared lessons, tired, using games

twas halloween eve and all though my house ran teeny little kids, even a mouse! (sorry…..it was the best I could come up with!) they ran to the piano and played with glee each 2 songs, very strange indeed not what I taught, but each…

• Last updated 2 months ago
• concert, Halloween, ideas for recitals, music party, open stage, performance, piano parties, piano party, recital, recital ideas, recital space, recital venues

I received an inquiry from a Mom (referred by a mom of a current student) regarding lessons for her two sons, ages 6 and 8. She asked for evening times because the boys are in camp during the day. My experience with kids in camp…

• Last updated 2 months ago
• lesson scheduling, scheduling, scheduling conflict, scheduling lessons, summer, summer break, summer camps, summer lesson ideas, summer lessons, summer schedule, summer schedules, summer sessions, teaching during summer, teaching during the summer, teaching schedule

What creative ways do you use to get students to slow down? I don’t know any creative ways, I just resort to tapping a slow beat, and getting them to play along to the audio slow version. I wonder if it is a stage they…

• Last updated 2 months ago
• audio, control the events, controlling the events, CTE, events, getting student to slow down, Gordon Harvey, learning slowly, mindfulness, piano event, piano events, play along, playing along with audio, playing fast vs slow, playing slowly, playing speed, playing too fast, playing with audio tracks, practicing slowly, slow-steady-musical-even, slowing down, speed of learning, SSME, using audio recordings, using audio tracks, using the audio recordings to learn songs

I have been a judge in the St Luke’s Talent Quest for the last three years. The last two years I was judge for the finalists,but today I was judge for the finalist auditions. Well, the vocal talent is unbelievable and most were children. But…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• competitions, judging, Talent Quest

At my end of year recital, for the first time I will be playing and one of my choices is Silent Night Blues by Neil Moore and my own composition Bush Christmas. I enjoy playing and hope that feeling is felt by others. Do you…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• cheating by reading, concert, concerts, ideas for recitals, Laurie Richards, performance, reading, reading pieces, recital, recital ideas, recitals, Silent Night, Silent Night Blues, teacher performance, using sheet music, white and blue christmas

Last night I had some of my students performing at an end-of-the-school-year piano concert. Ages were 1st graders thru 9th grade. What fun! We had duets on the piano, piano and solo singers, accompanying audience sing-a-longs, original arrangements, etc. One little girl played 2 of…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• concert, concerts, ideas for recitals, performance, playing duet at recital, recital, recital ideas, recitals, teacher performance

I mentioned in another post that my students have the opportunity once a month to play at a retirement center. We go to the same one each month. I just wanted to share last week’s experience playing there. I only had about 12 students sign…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• concert, concerts, ideas for recitals, Laurie Richards, performance, recital, recital acknowledgments, recital ideas, recital introductions, recital program, recital programs, recital space, recital venues, recitals, retirement center