Studio Management
New idea: Remote Practice Management
I’ve got a question about a potentially new way to manage practicing. We think some of our prospects aren’t signing up for lessons because of the requirement that a parent be present in the lessons. Many parents today are quite busy and often say they…
Group Lessons
Hi, fellow teachers! We have about 50 students and expect to have around 80 at the end of the year. We think that we need to consolidate our private lessons and small groups to free slots for new students. We’ve drawn up some preliminary plans…
Final Lesson
Hi everyone, wondering if anyone can share some insights on how to run a final lesson. I’m thinking of two particular scenarios: when it’s the last lesson with a student who is choosing to discontinue, or, more frequently, the last lesson before a bit of…
Attrition
Our studio’s financial plan assumes specific attrition rates, but in light of our history over the past three years, our assumptions appear to be very optimistic. What attrition rates are possible with Simply Music studios that operate in medium-sized towns of around 100,000 residents? I…
Chat – Things That Work
Kerry H (USA) Hi Everyone! I thought what I’d do tonight, instead of it being a session where you guys ask lots of questions, that I just talk about a few things. If there’s anything that’s unclear as I go along, please feel free to…
Chat – Student Concerts
The following is an edited transcript of a Chatroom Session with Gordon Harvey, Simply Music’s Australian Manager. Gordon is one of our Senior Associate Teachers, and here he is discussing aspects of holding concerts for your students. Gordon H (AUS) Kerry, you asked about doing…
Practice Pads and Controlling the Events
I’m in my second month of teaching Simply Music, and I have groups of mostly 3-6 kids. I have four practice pads that I got laminated but not mounted. Initially I tried using the practice pads, but I found it frustrating, especially with the younger…
Controlling The Events Hands Together
Knowing the paramount importance of controlling the events when getting hands together for the first time in a piece how does one handle this in a group? Would it be adequate enough to do a demo with one student at the piano and then get…
What is ‘Normal Progress’
In response to the following statement: “… It just seems wiser to wait until students can process almost a song a week…. Seems the intention of Simply Music is to have students playing right away…” Here is a paradox, and there is more to this…
Thoughts about Teaching Seniors
A couple of weeks ago there was quite a bit of discussion here about teaching older students. This may have been addressed, but I had a conversation with a dear teacher last week about how strict we all seem to be about requiring that everyone…