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23 Mar

Update and Innovate Your Studio!

by admin
in Performance, Program Development
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“The best way to get started is to stop talking and start doing.” – Walt Disney

Recently I attended the 2013 Music Teachers National Association annual conference, held at Disneyland Resort. Among the many highlights of the conference were master classes, concerts, young artist competitions, invigorating sessions, exhibitor showcases, and connecting with colleagues from around the nation. There was so much packed into the five-day conference that my head was spinning by day two! However, my big “take-away” was from a session given by Karen Thickstun, a nationally certified teacher of music from Indiana.

Karen presented a session on Lessons Learned from Disney. We can learn so much from Walt Disney’s entrepreneurial skills. He was an innovator in animation and theme park design. He stretched the boundaries of possibility during his lifetime. In addition to being an innovator, he paid impeccable attention to quality. He wanted only the best. For instance, when hiring musicians for the orchestra, he hired the absolute best, never skimping on quality.

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09 Feb

Motivating Your Students by Inspiring Them

by cconrad
in Marketing, Performance
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In a recent music teachers workshop, a professor from our local university’s music department gave an excellent presentation on the topic of motivating your students. I imagine this is something every studio owner struggles with, and since students who aren’t motivated have a tendency not to progress and not to enjoy what they’re doing, this can also affect student turnover.

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09 Jan

Building a Strong Parent-Base

by cconrad
in Marketing, Policies and Procedures, Program Development
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I believe that in order for my students to be successful, and in order for them to become long-term students, the most important thing I can do is have a strong and broad base of parents. The parents must be willing to invest a great deal of time into getting them to lessons and practicing with them at home. Lessons of any sort are a commitment not just on the part of the child, but on the part of a parent, too. The happier your parents are, the more likely you are to develop a long-lasting relationship with the student. Parents are integral to the success of your studio.

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21 Aug

Self-help Pedagogy: Part 3

by admin
in Performance, Program Development
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In the last of this three-part series, I will review ideas from Marienne Uszler’s book, That’s a Good Question…How to Teach by Asking Questions. To begin, start by examining your own teaching either by audio or video recording yourself, or by simply taking notes and being aware of how you interact with students by asking questions. Do you do all of the talking? Do you allow time for the student to answer? Do you listen to the student’s answer? What types of questions do you employ, closed or open?

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20 Jul

Self-help Pedagogy: Part 2

by admin
in Performance, Policies and Procedures, Program Development
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Time management is an essential component of managing a studio. In addition to managing and planning the details on the business end, many studio owners take an active role in the lesson and class planning. In this month’s blog, I will summarize points from Marienne Uszler’s book, Time Flies…How to Make the Best Use of Teaching Time.

Like last month’s blog on the use of repetition in practice (Self-help Pedagogy: Part 1), the first step is to determine how you use lesson time by video or audio recording yourself teaching a variety of different lessons. Then, review the recordings and make a timeline noting how much time was spent on each activity.

In order to plan an effective music lesson for the Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced leves, Uszler suggests that the following six elements must be present:

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