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 my thoughts on why here.

I’ve shared my “why” for offering trial lessons, and promised a follow-up post about how.

How I structure Trial Lessons:

The actual details of what these lessons look like vary widely between students. I will adjust and tailor the lesson based on the age, personality, comfort-level,and previous musical experience. Of course no music lesson can be a one-size-fits-all program, but there are principles I use to make sure I am communicating both my expectations for students, and my strengths as a teacher.

It’s vital that I am prepared for the trial lesson, I do this through a phone call with the parent beforehand. I make sure to ask a few key questions (for information gathering, yes, but also to begin building a rapport with the parent.)

1. Tell me about [child’s name], what are their interests, hobbies, etc? (I usually ask follow-up questions so I can get as clear a picture of the child as is possible in this format.)
2. Why have they decided to begin violin lessons? (Or why did they originally if they are a transfer student? With transfer students, it’s also important to gauge why they are making a change and if the previous teacher is aware of this intent.)
3. How is music already a part of the family’s life? What musical experience do the parents have? What do they listen to at home? (These questions come from a genuine interest in the student and the family as people, and the answers are fascinating and very helpful to me as we move forward with the teaching relationship.)

Once I’ve gathered information about the student and the family then I can start making some loose plans for the lesson. (I almost never follow these exactly, I often go with the flow of the lesson but having a loose framework is helpful. And it usually helps me seem more organized/competent. So that’s a plus.)

Transfer Students

With transfer students, I always begin by discussing the reason for a trial lesson with the student. It’s important to me that they know that this is not an audition—I am not evaluating their performance to decide whether or not they deserve to be in my studio. (I may not say this exactly, depending on the age of the child.) I let them know that this is merely a chance for them to experience what a lesson with me is like and for us to get to know each other a little bit.

I ask the student to describe the things they’ve been working on (what pieces, etude books, scales, etc.) then I ask them to play their FAVORITE piece, whatever that happens to be. 

As they play, I identify something I can help them with that will make them sound better, not in a month, but RIGHT AWAY. Something that will make an obvious difference in their playing today. (This can be difficult sometimes, it gets easier the more I do it.)

Then I use a repetition game to work on the skill/technique. I have a lot of these games in my back pocket, and we’ve shared many of them on the blog over the years. Here’s a few.

If I have time, I’ll play some music mind games with the student. These are always popular with kids, and are often the big draw for my students these days.

I make sure to save time for questions/conversation after our lesson game. This is the time when I share my expectations for students in my studio (practice, attendance, etc.)

Beginner Students

The trial lesson may seem to be a better fit for transfer students, but I have a lot of success with trial lessons for beginners, too.

I communicate a similar sentiment to the student at the beginning—the purpose of this lesson is for you to see what lessons are like and for us to get to know each other. It’s a low pressure thing.

I then give them a pretty standard first violin lesson—making sure that each lesson segment is easily digestible and will be replicable for them when they get home.

1. Bow hand games/songs. For younger students, we may not get past making bunnies at this lesson. Older students will move a little quicker and we may begin building bow hands on a dowel or marker.
2. Twinkle Rhythms. We copycat clapping or stomping rhythms. (I use the Wee Violin songs to introduce these rhythms. They’re perfect for this.) Older beginners may start arm washing the rhythms.
3. Music theory games. As I mentioned above, I’m obsessed with music mind games, and kids seem to love it too. 

I save ten minutes for a discussion of my studio policies and expectations, and usually, students and parents leave with a smile. 

I really lean into games and fun in these lessons, because I want to show off my strengths as a teacher. Yes, I have all the technical knowledge and I’m a good violinist, but I think that my attitude and capacity for fun are the big attraction for my students. Or I hope they are, so that’s what I lean into for free trial lessons.

What about you, teacher friends? How do you structure your trial lessons? What do you hope your prospective students will take away from an initial meeting? Let me know in the comments!