Simpedia

Laurie Richards, Nebraska

Here are a few things I have done when trying to mesh two groups:

1. Have the student(s) who are further ahead come every only every other week for a month to give the others a chance to lessen the gap
2. Work with the student(s) who have to catch up – have them join the other students where they are (if this is feasible), and work out a plan to catch up on the other songs over time – maybe one extra song every week. Of course this depends on how big the gap is, and on the students’ commitment level.
3. Enlist the help of the students who are further ahead in the program – have them help teach songs they already know to the students who are catching up, as part of the lesson. It is such a good review of the tools we teach them when they have to describe it to someone else. And a great opportunity for you to review the tools if they haven’t quite gotten it.
4. Some combination of the above

I like Elaine’s idea of having them play duets to help them get comfortable with one another. The main thing is to be really clear with the parents how you plan to get everyone to the same point.

Also, I think you need to be firm in your stance if your intention is to do away with private lessons. Explain why groups are a better learning environment, that your intention is to provide the optimal environment for your students (or whatever your reasons are), but with no apologies. If they know you are waiting for them to be ready, I think you are effectively sacrificing some of your territory.

Nicola C., Australia

In my previous studio, I would always get a good response from advertisements and as a result I was able to start almost everyone in a group from the beginning.

Unfortunately, in my new location, this has not been the case. I have started almost everyone in private lessons as my enrollments have been coming one at a time. I’ve felt that I need to start somewhere and have not wanted to ask them to wait for the next enrollment as there would be no guarantee as to when that would be.  What I have done however, is to offer each student the shared lesson rate on the understanding that –

1. I will be trying to place them with a partner/group as soon as possible
2. If they get too far ahead (that this isn’t going to be possible), then they will need to pay the private lesson rate eg at the start of the next term

I also get their assistance in growing my numbers by saying that they can guarantee the shared lesson rate if they are able to recruit any family or friends to join with them in their lesson, before they get too far along.

I have been able to catch some students up to each other by asking some to take school holidays off lessons, whilst I continue to teach the others, or to teach two lessons per week. It is a tricky business though !

One advantage that I have found with this approach is that I am better able to match abilities and personalities. One potential problem is that it is easy for the student to feel disadvantaged once they are no longer the centre of attention. For this reason, I have made sure that I teach individuals as I would in a group situation eg the majority of the learning occurs on the practice pad, small doses on the piano and emphasis on the importance of the video.