Tag: piano teaching

Conferences

NCKP 2011 | (8) Why Didn’t I Think of That? by Dennis Alexander

Joy Morin

Why Didn’t I Think of That? by Dennis Alexander.  Th @ 11:15am.

This session covered a variety of commonly asked questions from teachers that Mr. Alexander has received over the years.  There is a lot of good information here for teachers!

Q: Is it dangerous to play new pieces for beginners?  Won’t they learn the piece by ear instead of learning how to read?

A:  No.  It’s good to learn to play by ear!  We just need to expect reading to occur too.  Modeling (whether from a CD or from the teacher) helps students not come back each week with mistakes learned.  Continue reading “NCKP 2011 | (8) Why Didn’t I Think of That? by Dennis Alexander” →

Conferences

NCKP 2011 | (5) Got Money? by Kathleen Theisen and Kristin K. Yost

Joy Morin

Next up during the pre-conference seminar called “Students and Young Professionals,” we heard a dynamic session about writing a business plan for your studio business!

Got Money? How to Write a Business Plan that Gets You Thousands! by Kathleen Theisen & Kristin K. Yost.  W @ 5:15pm.

Kathleen and Kristin stressed the importance of running your studio like a business — because it is a business!  You are the CEO of your business and need to act like one.

To think like a business, start by writing down what is important to you.  People who are successful have passion, focus, and goals — these are all traits which musicians usually have, so we are fortunate!

Then think about finding a niche.  What are you known for?  What do you want to be remembered for?

To determine your salary, you need to think long-term by the year.  Know what to charge, and never charge by the month or lesson.

Then Kathleen and Kristin talked at length about writing a business plan.  Even if you never have to use the business plan to get a loan from the bank, it’s important and beneficial to have written down your plan and have thought things through in such terms and in such detail.

Running a successful business is very much about having an entrepreneurial spirit: be fabulous in what you do, give, and be a great colleague.

Conferences

NCKP 2011 | (4) Community Music Schools, by Melissa Falb

Joy Morin

In continuation of my notes from the pre-conference track “Students & Young Professionals:”

Community Music Schools: Finding Your Niche in a Vibrant Arts Community, by Melissa Falb. W @ 4:30pm.

Melissa Falb is a piano instructor and Director of Group Instruction at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis.  After graduation, students with an interest in private teaching have two options: opening a private studio, or working at a community music school (CMS).  Melissa today discussed the many benefits of working at a CMS.

Sometimes people think CMS’s are just for elite, child prodigies or only for classical music study.  The reality is that most CMS’s teach many genres and offer a variety of programs for many ages and levels (including rock, jazz, early childhood music classes, music therapy classes, etc.).

There are two common models for CMS’s:

  1. A prep department – a CMS affiliated with a college or university.
  2. A non-profit (501c3).

Melissa then talked about her experience with the MacPhail Center for Music.  McPhail was begun in 1907 and currently has 170 teaching artists and over 8400 students.  They have a large, beautiful building.   Continue reading “NCKP 2011 | (4) Community Music Schools, by Melissa Falb” →

Technology

NCKP 2011 | (3) Viable Video, by Pete Jutras

Joy Morin

Here’s some notes from another session during the pre-conference seminar track “Student & Young Professionals:”

Viable Video: Basic Principles of an Effective Portfolio, by Pete Jutras.  W @ 4:00pm

Dr. Jutras divided his session into two sections: Content & Technique.

1. CONTENT

Some tips:

  • The quality of the teaching shown in the video trumps all.  Video editing does NOT mask: a lack of planning, poor communication, failure to diagnose problems, or poor sequencing of pieces.
  • When applying for a job, the kind of teaching videos taken for college pedagogy classes are generally not sufficient.  Those are equivalent to a “rough draft” or a “practice session,” while the video submitted to a job should be a well-polished video — the equivalent to a “recital performance.”  Practice teaching in front of the camera for many weeks before you start collecting for the real thing.  Then showcase your best moments.
  • When possible, tailor your video portfolio specifically to the job description and to your personal strengths as a teacher.  Continue reading “NCKP 2011 | (3) Viable Video, by Pete Jutras” →
Conferences, Professional Development

NCKP 2011 | (2) Developing from Student to Professional (Panel Discussion)

Joy Morin

After attending the mass Keynote Address, I headed to the sessions for the pre-conference track called, “Students and Young Professionals.”  It began with a panel discussion moderated by Martha Hilley.

Developing from Student to Professional: A Practical Overview, moderated by Martha Hilley.

The were 4 contributors, who each spoke on a topic.

1. Practical Networking: I know why, when, and where — now tell me how, by Courtney Crappell.

Dr. Crappell discussed practical networking.  The key to successful networking is to be genuinely interested in other people!  We sometimes tend to be self-centered, especially in places with new people like conferences.

Another key to successful networking is in the preparation.  This requires some thought in advance: how do you want to market yourself?  Create an elevator pitch that talkes about your goal as a piano teacher.  It should be something short but intriguing that could start a conversation.  An elevator speech contains a problem, solution, and a personal role.

Presentation is also important, but perhaps even more so is the follow-through.  Make sure you have business cards with you at all times so you can easily exchange information with others.  As you meet new people, you can even write things on their business cards afterwards to help you remember who’s who.  And send people an email after you meet them.  You never know what kind of opportunities may arise in the future just from having some connections with other people.  Networking is important!  Continue reading “NCKP 2011 | (2) Developing from Student to Professional (Panel Discussion)” →

Conferences, Professional Development

NCKP 2011 | (1) Keynote: The Future of Pedagogy, by Pete Jutras

Joy Morin

The 2011 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy opened with a keynote speech during the Pre-Conference Seminar.  It was such an inspiring speech!

The Future of Pedagogy: Training the Teachers of Tomorrow, by Pete Jutras (W @ 2:30pm)

Pete Jutras began his speech with an diagram showing a pyramid that represented music makers.  The most educated and successful teachers/musicians are those at the top of the pyramid.  The amateur music makings are all those that create the wide base of the pyramid.

Problems:

  • Concert attendance is down.
  • Recording sales are down.
  • Acoustic piano sales are down.

We need to worry about these issues, because even those of us at the top of the pyramid will be affected.  The very value of music is at stake here.  And so, Dr. Jutras gave us a call to action: we need to think about how we can increase the value of music!  Continue reading “NCKP 2011 | (1) Keynote: The Future of Pedagogy, by Pete Jutras” →

Conferences

NCKP 2011 Loot!

Joy Morin

Well, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP) was amazing as expected!  I had a wonderful time with my friend and my cousin with whom I shared a hotel room.  And I met some new teachers, including a couple of people I knew only from online (such as Wendy Stevens).  It was such an inspiring place to go and get new ideas for piano teaching.  I’ll be blogging about the sessions I attending all week long, so stay tuned!

I know many of you have attended conferences such as this before, but if any of you haven’t, I strongly encourage you to try one!  It’s definitely worth the expense.  Next March, the 2012 National Conference held by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) in going to take place in New York City!  Just think, if you set aside about $75 or $100 each month from now until then, you’d have enough to attend!  And if you happen to have friends or family in NYC, you wouldn’t even have any hotel expenses.  If anyone wants to know more about attending a conference, please send me an email and I’d be happy to chat.  🙂

Anyway, I wanted to share with you a photo of all the FREE loot I took home from the NCKP:

When I added up the value of these books, it totaled to over $200!  That certainly covers the expense of my shared hotel room and gas money, which pleases me very much!  Plus, I get some great new resources to try in my studio!

Teacher Feature

Announcing a New Series: Teacher Feature!

Joy Morin

I love reading interviews.  It’s great to hear the perspectives of different musicians on playing, teaching, and other topics.  After the great success of a few interview posts in the past (remember Andrea Dow, and the cousins Keri & Carolyn?), I began to realize that great interviews aren’t just for the big magazines and the great musicians.  Why not interview ordinary piano teachers like you and I?  We have so much to learn from each other, and we have valuable perspectives to share!

And thus, an idea for a new series was born: Teacher Features!  As needed, random Color In My Piano readers will be asked if they would be willing to be interviewed for this series.  The questions are non-intensive and (hopefully) fun to answer.  🙂  I hope to post around 2 Teacher Features each month.

If you are dying to be interviewed so you can share your thoughts to the world, please send me an email!  Otherwise, stay tuned to read our first Teacher Feature interview coming on MONDAY!  🙂

Happy weekend!

improving as a teacher, Studio Business

Forum Q&A | When to Say “No” to a Potential Student

Joy Morin

For our previous Forum Q&A, I asked about the legal side of being a business – becoming a Sole Proprietorship or an LLC, dealing with taxes, etc.  My previous private teaching has mostly been as an employee of the university’s Community Music School.  I find all the legal stuff for getting set up on your own to be so complicated!  I am thankful for all the infomation online, books in the library, and the advice I’ve been getting from other teachers.

I’m still sorting this all out, but I did decide to be a Sole Proprietor.  Becoming an LLC does have the benefit of protecting your personal assets in the event that someone should sue the business for some reason (they can go after your business assets but not your personal assets).  But setting up an LLC is more complicated and costly than a Sole Proprietorship.  Of course, as a piano teacher, the chances of getting sued are relatively low.  If you do want some protection, extra liability protection can often add something on to your current homeowner’s insurance policy for this purpose.  Oh, and another thing I learned — be sure to check with your city to see if they require a zoning permit for running a home business and having a sign outside for your studio.  Don’t I sound smart?!  I’m learning so much these days!  😉

Regarding taxes — I decided to hire a CPA to handle my taxes for my first year or two, or until I can learn how to manage it all on my own.  I feel good about my decision.  Keeping track of my income and expenses shouldn’t be too complicated, but estimating quarterly taxes is complicated for me since I don’t really have anything to refer to from previous years.  My CPA should be able to help me get up-and-running.  🙂

Anyway — I received a question yesterday from a reader that is perfect for this week’s Forum Q&A.  Here goes:

How do you know when to say “no” to a potential student?  What do you look for when you interview an interested student?  What kinds of questions do you ask to sift out whether you are going to accept the student?  And what do you do when you realize you’ve made a mistake with a student you said “yes” to?  

In all honesty, I kind of wish I had this problem!  Right now, I am saying “yes” to anybody who comes through my door.  Such is the life of a recently-relocated piano teacher.  🙂

Advice, anyone, for this reader?

Photo Credit: Valerie Everett | CC 2.0

Professional Development, Studio Business, Technology

Studio Marketing: Communicating Value Through Your Website

Joy Morin

Have you ever visited a website and been completely overwhelmed with the amount of information, ads, links, and CLUTTER?  Have also you ever visited a website and been impressed by the graphics and the ease with which you could find information?  This post is going to offer some tips for organizing and effectively communicating value through your studio website.

Studio Websites: A Necessity

Having a website is an important part of studio marketing.  In a world where the internet is now the first place parents turn for business information rather than the phonebook, teachers need to maintain an online presence.  The good news is, it’s a pretty affordable and easy way to market yourself as a piano teacher (see the resources section below) — definitely more affordable than an ad in the Yellow Pages!  Continue reading “Studio Marketing: Communicating Value Through Your Website” →