I recently wrote a blog post about my stance on whether or not to offer a free trial lesson to prospective students. After about fifteen years of experimenting and trying things, I’m resting (for now) on the side of offering a free trial lesson to new beginners and transferring students alike. You can read about […]
Student Retention and Parent Satisfaction
For Music Teachers: Why Offer a Free Trial Lesson?
Why I offer free trial lessons to prospective students and why you might want to, too. Free trial lessons are a somewhat controversial topic in the music teaching world. Many teachers believe offering a free lesson devalues our work and encourages prospective students to exploit these offerings. This may or may not be true. But […]
Will AI Change Music Teaching?
I was obsessed with birds as a kid. I had two pet cockatiels, June and Sydney, that I adored. I watched the movie Polly over and over again. I had a bird book and a pair of binoculars. My dad and I would sit by the window and try to identify the birds that came […]
Communicating with New Suzuki Parents…
Starting a new student is an exciting, fun, and a little bit scary process. It’s wonderful to get to know a new student and family, and watch their joy and wonder over the beginning violin steps. Especially with young students, this time is just magical. It’s also scary! There’s a lot of pressure to get […]
Why I Totally Changed Suzuki Parent Education in My Studio…
And How Automation Keeps Me Sane… In recent years, I have begun to realize how much power I have to create the culture and community in my Suzuki violin studio. Any “issues” or “frustrations” I have had with parents or students, if I look hard enough, I can trace back to my own actions. And, […]
Suzuki Parents and Suzuki Teachers: Finding The Courage to Communicate
A few weeks ago, I published a blog post titled “Help! My Suzuki Teacher Won’t Let Me Move to the Next Piece.” In it, I detailed why Suzuki teachers may not move students through the repertoire as fast as the students (and their parents) would like. We want our students to be prepared for the […]