By Julia Kossuth As my personal studio of students has expanded and changed, I've had the wonderful opportunity to change and hone my teaching style to match each student's level and goals. Although I'm personally a music reader and not as strong an improviser, that certainly doesn't describe all students. One thing I've enjoyed exploring with my students is learning to play chords with a written melody....
Read MoreBy Julia Kossuth As the fall semester approaches, I and the rest of the Studio of Sarah Strout have been considering how to change up our motivational system in the wake of so many new students. Past systems of everyone receiving a prize is simply no longer practical. And more importantly, it would be a disservice to our students if the goal of lessons was merely...
Read MoreThe only money I spend on marketing my studio each year is for new business cards. For less than $50, I can spread the word about my services far and wide, and also allow others to easily do the same. I have found business cards to be way more effective than print ads, online ads, fliers, and just about every other marketing method out there. I...
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Since the very beginning, my studio’s target population has been school-aged children and teens. We offer voice, piano, and guitar lessons as well as music therapy, and have been very fortunate to fill every available time slot and maintain a sizable waiting list.
But as I’ve mentioned before, I always like to set challenges for myself and for my business. I have found that summer is a good time to try new things, so this month my studio launched two early childhood music classes.
It’s always a bit scary to go out on a limb, especially when that means marketing to a brand new demographic — babies and toddlers. We kept our marketing plan quite simple, advertising via social media and email only (no print ads or fliers).
By Julia Kossuth Often in playing the piano, it is so easy to drift into less-than-healthy habits of playing and posture. Especially with my older students, I try to help them think through and mentally engage with what their body is doing while they play beyond just getting the music learned. The first thing I remind my students to do is to make sure their bench is...
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