Staff Management

By Alyssa Cowell We offer formal vocal training at The Catoctin School of Music. Many times students sign up for voice lessons expecting to learn a new song every week, or practice singing songs that they hear on YouTube or Spotify. This is not the purpose of voice lessons. Formal vocal training is all about evaluating a student’s current vocal technique and teaching them to change...

Read More

By Patrick Fritz At The Catoctin School of Music, we have a fairly large guitar studio. This means that recitals have to be well organized and run very smoothly to fit all of the students into a given timeframe. The combination of performance nerves and logistical concerns has the potential to make for a stressful experience for students, faculty, and parents. To alleviate some of the...

Read More

By Meridith Johnson As teachers, studio owners and managers and people on planet earth, it seems like there is a constant to-do list.  Seasons change, jobs change, people move and our live seem to be in a constant flux. Our studio has gown greatly in the number of students we’ve had, and we’ve expanded our capacity at our studio to reach to providing in-home lessons.  We have...

Read More

What if you injured your hand and couldn’t play your instrument? What if you developed a chronic illness? What if you were diagnosed with cancer and needed months’ long treatment? These are questions no one wants to face. Especially, small businesses or those who work for themselves. Health insurance is expensive and disability insurance even more so. After all, we think we are invincible. Things like...

Read More

Recently I was at a doctor’s appointment and was asked what I do for a living. I told my doctor I taught piano. He was very interested and asked many questions, which is typically the response I get whenever I share about my profession. However, as I later reflected on the conversation, I thought that perhaps I could have been more savvy. I often get too wordy and perhaps go into details that are unnecessary and time-consuming.

The experience prompted me to brush up on my “elevator conversation.” An elevator talk is a powerful, compelling, but concise explanation of what you do (or if you are looking for a job, what you want to be doing). Additionally, it can be crafted for different audiences or events, such as interviews or conferences. Its title refers to the length of an elevator ride, meaning that it lasts for about 20 – 30 seconds. Within that time, one should be be able to give the “big picture” about their business that is memorable and clear, sparking curiosity. The goal is for the person with whom you’re speaking to say, “tell me more!”