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Robin Keehn, Washington

I have a fair amount of experience with every-other-week (EOW) lessons and I really don’t recommend it. I’ve tried it with adult students and with children and the outcome is the same regardless of the reasons students want the EOW lessons.

My experience is that the progress of the student will be slow and that momentum is hard to maintain. One thing specifically that I’ve found is that students indicate that they will practice consistently over those 13 days between lessons but that it doesn’t happen. There is such a long time between lessons that accountability diminishes and students wait until the last day or two before a lesson to practice. This may not happen immediately but I have never had a student who hasn’t eventually ended up here.

I decided three years ago that I would no longer give EOW lessons. I am very happy with the decision. I’ve never had a student stay more than a year in EOW lessons and I’d really prefer to have long term students who I can count on to be diligent and to progress. It would be better for someone to save up their money for a year and really be committed than to try it for six months coming EOW and quit.

Marg G., Australia

I’ve yet to see the long term result so may well end up with the same opinion as Robin.

However – at the moment I have an individual student EOW because he is week about with his parents and the Dad (sadly) refuses to be involved. This little chap has Aspergers and LOVES playing piano so his Mum brings him the week he is with her. She is an AMAZING coach and he has really picked up during the last 2 weeks in particular. He proved to be quite talented when I first started him and the first 12 months were FANTASTIC but he was with his Mum most of the time so practice was able to be consistent as were the weekly lessons. Then the custody arrangements changed and so did his playing. It has taken us 12 months to get back to him feeling good about his playing and starting to progress again. I’m sure there was a much bigger issue than EOW lessons involved in the 12 “bad” months.

He may well wain again, but for now it’s OK.  Of course having a great coach really helps and expense is not an issue.

I might add it was his Dad’s parents who bought the original keyboard for him to play on and that was what triggered lessons. That is now at Dad’s and it seems to go unplayed.

Shanta H., Minnesota

Colleen – I only have one group that comes biweekly, and it’s in a low-demand time, 3:15 PM. I would not do it if it was a primetime spot, i.e. after 4 PM. You can be efficient about it by having two biweekly groups that come in opposing weeks – That way your time is being utilized effectively.

Also, I personally think that weekly lessons are optimal for most people – otherwise they get bored in between times and you get more gaps in practicing.

That said, you need to do what works for you and your studio.

Karina S., California

Well, I agree with Robin and she had much more experience than me. That said I do have two families that I do this for. One because they travel a long distance after a poor experience with their previous teacher and they just join in with a group. The key though is the boys know each other so it works. The other family is a home school family with tons of activities who really wanted to join the studio and so far they are doing well.

I guess like everything you have to see what fits since all students are different. Listen to your gut – it is usually right!

Cheryl W., Pennsylvania

I have had students take lessons twice a month, which is a little different from every other week. However, they were private lessons and they were scheduled as the last lesson of the day so I don’t have a dead space the weeks they aren’t there.

Sue C. Australia

I have quite a number of fortnightly lessons due to my personal situation a few years ago when I had fortnightly lessons only. These are quite unique individuals who do practice and even though they go at a slower pace, they are still moving ahead.

I don’t encourage fortnightly lessons now that I am in one location and can teach weekly.

If you do take on fortnightly lessons, it is best to only do so if you have another fortnightly lesson on the opposite week so you are not left with gaps, like I am.  This year they all changed time slots and so most of mine are unmatched which leaves me with lots of gaps.

Barbara M., New Jersey

I do EOW lessons for two of my long-time students. They are both adults. I would not begin a student with EOW lessons.

Both of these students still pay for a full month of lessons, though they come EOW. The lessons they come to are longer. Because of work schedules, EOW was our only option.

Ian C., Australia

I have two students who do EOW (thanks for the acronym Robin!) – but they are working adults who have both had much prior experience (in younger years) with playing piano. They see SM lessons as their “me time”, and I for one would not want to deny them that opportunity.

I have them “week-about” at the same day/time and do 1 hour lessons for each of them, so it works for all of us – for me because I have continuity (from a business perspective), and also for the 2 students who otherwise would have trouble fitting it in to their busy schedules…

Amy Y., New Mexico

Am I understanding correctly that you are planning on putting this student in a group lesson but they will just show up every other week? That absolutely will not work, since much of what is covered in class (all the variations and arrangements, conversations about composing/improvisation, many of the learning strategies, and many other streams later on) are not on student videos and they will miss much of the learning and will be a drag on the rest of the students as you will need to repeat many things on the weeks when the student shows up. So my guess is that you will end up losing the student anyway and perhaps even the whole group.

Over time, I’m slowly learning the important lesson of just letting go of some students. I’ve done some awkward gymnastics to try to accommodate some students because I didn’t want to lose them, but in the end I think I was not able to be the teacher as I should, and they ultimately quit anyway.

Cheri S., Utah

I would definitely NOT put EOW students in a group with other weekly students. By definition, the EOW students will learn about half as quickly. How could that possibly work for them or for the other students? You could risk losing the entire class.

Also, nearly every sentence in your original post describes your own negative gut feelings about this arrangement. Go with that. The only comment you make that’s slightly in “favor” of EOW is that the family said they’d quit otherwise. Never make studio decisions based primarily on fear of losing someone.

Terry S., Arizona

I don’t currently have any EOWs but, it seems like technology can help fill the gaps. i.e., you can create a private Facebook group where you can exchange messages, practice updates, and videos of their playing. I have a private group on Vimeo.com for additional discussion/video sharing purposes. How about a video assignment during the off weeks?

Carol B., Kansas

In an attempt to be accommodating I have some EVERY OTHER WEEK students. Lesson learned. I will never do it again. I thought I could have 2 families fill the same space. Wrong.

Laurie Richards, Nebraska

As with most situations, there probably isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer to the question. Whether or not students are successful with EOW lessons depends upon many factors. I think it can work out fine for some students and some teachers, and not at all for other students and other teachers.

We have a few EOW adult classes that are doing quite well, just moving along more slowly, which is what they want anyway. I am getting ready to start a Worship Accompaniment class that will meet every other week during the day. I chose an EOW format for that class because I don’t want to add another weekly class to my schedule…and it helped several students with a sincere desire to play worship music be able to afford it.

I do charge a bit more for biweekly group lessons. We also offer private biweekly lessons at the regular monthly rate but always discourage private lessons except in special circumstances.

I think you just need to make sure your expectations are in line with your students’ expectations up front.