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Program Development

10 May

Summertime Advertising

by cconrad
in Marketing, Performance, Program Development, Teaching
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farmers marketYou’ve finished your last lessons of the school year, thrown together a final recital and are ready to take a breather from all things studio-related. Rest and rejuvenation are important for studio owners, but don’t put your studio work on the shelf for too long — summer is a great time for advertisement and provides many opportunities to get your studio name into the community.

Here are just a few reasons the summer is a good time to advertise:

  • Parents have completed many activities from the previous school year and are beginning to think about what extra-curriculars they wish to enroll their child in for the fall.
  • As students move, graduate or decide to pursue another activity — you may lose some of your currently enrolled students at the end of the school year and need to replace their spots to maintain your current income.
  • Getting your name into the community during the summer helps current families along with your community see you as an active studio owner.
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01 May

For your reading pleasure…

by csmusic
in Program Development
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By Alyssa Cowell Today’s blog is meant as an introduction to a rather clever author with a complete lack of reverence for the subject of music history. If you’ve ever considered reading about the great composers but fear you don’t have the attention span for Grout’s History of Western Music (if the amount of times I fell asleep while reading this venerated tome in college is...

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30 Apr

First Piano Adventure – Book Review – WOW!

by michellep
in Program Development, Teaching
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Ok- I am a BIG fan of Nancy and Randall Faber’s piano method books already, so when I saw they came up with a series for kiddies under 6, I was so excited. I’ve had students in this age group for a few years, and I have always used LITTLE MOZARTS by Alfred’s. It was OK. But just OK. That is a tough age group to teach if you don’t have the right equipment, and I’m pretty stoked that I finally do.

The Faber’s have taken their talent for composition and have created a series that includes a CD of top-quality productions of all the songs in the book. It sounds like a good Children’s music CD you would buy anywhere, but it just so happens to be a learning supplement. This is brilliant. We all know children learn music by singing and listening, so of course it makes sense to make a great CD of music to help them learn. (Why didn’t I think of this??) And the songs are good. Witty and cute, and true to the Faber’s nature, catchy. Unlike some books, the songs are actually enjoyable to play and hear. By playing along with the recordings, the young students become stronger at rhythm and sight reading. I have been using these books with 2 students now, and I am in LOVE.

The lesson book also comes with a writing book. They work in sync with each other, and I find it best to teach the lesson first, then immediately do the writing assignment. It really helps the kids get the concepts down. I can usually get through 2-3 lessons in one 45 minute class.

Because of these books, I no longer dread teaching pre-school age lessons. I totally recommend them.

If you want to see a video of someone playing along to the CD, go here.

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23 Apr

Time For Your Recital Interview!

by csmusic
in Performance, Policies and Procedures, Program Development, Staff Management, teacher resourses
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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...

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08 Apr

Planning a Summer Camp Part 2: Putting Together a Plan

by cconrad
in Finances, Hiring Staff, Marketing, Program Development, teacher resourses, Teaching
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summercampThis year I will be offering my third summer camp at my studio. The past two years, my camps have been small. I’ve only opened camp up to current students already taking from my studio — more as an encouragement to keep them learning during the summer months. I would see six students at a time in my group studio at my house, offering 1.5 hour camps throughout the day for students.

This year, I’m going full throttle, offering a half day camp for the entire community. I’m renting a venue, hiring helpers and advertising. I’m nervous, but I’m also super excited. Here are some things I’ve had to spend the last few months thinking through in order to plan my summer camp:

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