That’s not a typo… I really did mean to say, let the GUITAR guide us.
Once upon a time, there was little competition for the piano teaching world. Piano lessons were THE musical activity in which parents chose to enrol their children. Piano teachers only needed to worry about competition posed by other teachers and piano teaching schools. But times have changed.
Parents today have a plethora of musical activities from which to choose, and while piano lessons continue to be popular, potential students for your piano teaching studio are frequently being lost to other instruments like the guitar or fiddle.
But don’t worry! We can stop the exodus! Let’s analyze the two main reasons why people sometimes choose guitar over piano and what we can do to win these people back:
1. A guitar is an inexpensive instrument, whereas a piano can cost thousands.
Want to win these students back to your piano teaching studio? Make sure potential clients know that digital pianos are an inexpensive, but wonderful alternative to acoustic pianos. I know, there are some diehard traditionalists out there who may cringe at the suggestion of a digital piano, but if you want to attract more students you’ll just have to accept the fact that they’re here to stay. And… why not? Sure the touch isn’t perfectly replicated to the minute detail and the sound may not be as full, but is it really worth driving students away? There are many families that can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on a musical instrument… does this mean we should deny them entry into our piano teaching schools. Absolutely not!
2. The guitar is associated with popular music, whereas the piano is associated with classical music.
Kids want to play the music they love, and traditionally guitar teachers have been more accepting of popular music than piano teachers. If piano teachers want to win potential students over, they have to do so with the promise of playing music that is relevant to the lives of kids today. I’m not telling you to toss classical music from your piano teaching repertoire. This would be a huge mistake. But do make sure that your piano lessons always offer the opportunity to explore today’s music… even if Hannah Montana makes you cringe.
If you adopt the above two suggestions and incorporate them into a marketing plan for your piano teaching studio, you will appeal to a larger number of potential clients and undoubtedly have great success.