Biggest Myth: Students learn better in private lessons. There are many reasons I gave up teaching private lessons but the reason I’ve stayed with group lessons for 20 years now is because I have seen that lessons in small groups clearly result in better growth and development. This completely busts the myth that private lessons…
What is the upfront cost of teaching in small groups? There are 2 upfront costs when you begin teaching in small groups. The biggest one is not a financial burden but a very different approach to preparing to teach your piano lessons. Let me explain. When I used to teach private lessons, I never kept…
Can you teach piano lessons during school hours? Once my small group classes incorporated more of my after-school wait list for piano lessons, I went and found Home and Charter schools to teach for during the day. This was a hard system to figure out 20 years ago but it is super simple now. 20 years…
How Piano Teachers Can Beat the Clock A new competition for Piano Lessons has begun but not between teachers or students, it’s a race against the clock. Have you heard about new laws passed that require school classes to begin later thereby shortening the after-school hours for activities? This reduces the average piano teacher’s work…
How to Help the Shy One in Class Saraya is one of the quiet girls in my Tuesday 4:00pm class. She’s naturally shy but she’s got a lot going on. When I challenge her, she always rises to the occasion. The last months of school she got quite buried in her AP classes and exams,…
Watching them bring the joy to class… Today was a really fun day in piano class. One of our beginners has been working on accidentals. I suggested he try the opening song from Harry Potter called Hedwig’s theme and his eyes almost popped. He loves Harry Potter. He’d been talking the week before about jumping…
How to help your students become independent learners. I was handicapping my students When I only taught private lessons, I found joy in seeing my students develop and do a good job of playing their music. But I also found something that detoured my students from reaching their full potential. It was me. I was…
How to Convert Your Studio From Private to Small Group Classes 20 students for 12 It typically takes 20 students to fill 12 class spots. I know, that math doesn’t add up, but it takes far more than 12 students to make up 4 classes. It’s a challenge to learn what is the ideal class. …
Teachers who switch to small group lessons fall in love with teaching all over again We’ve all been there. Sitting for 30 or 45 minutes ahead with a student who hasn’t practiced is a hard way to feel motivated to teach. It totally bites. I remember one week in particular, facing a whole week of…
Some students are great at reading notes Some show their strengths in feeling or playing rhythm. Others see patterns everywhere and get excited when they search for new ones. Even a student with personal discipline in practicing lifts those around them. A whole class can learn from the strengths of others and even from weaknesses…