It’s that time of year when Newbie Natalies are heading into your piano studio for their very first lesson. As piano teachers we have “first lessons” all the time.. but for your new piano students, this “first lesson” is the only one they’ll ever have! Marking this as a special occasion is improtant for so many reasons. Today we’re sharing some ideas that will help you to make that first piano lesson experience one that your little Newbie Natalies will never forget! Read on to become the most talked-about piano teacher in your town…
Welcome! Piano Lessons Are Special!
Marking a first piano lesson as a very special occasion is a great way to get parents involved from the get-go. Involved parents mean your piano students will be more successful at home, will progress faster, will have the materials and instrument they need and are therefore more likely to become a long-term student at your studio.
With just a few small gestures you can make a first piano lesson feel exciting, special and celebration-worthy! Here’s some ideas…
Roll Out The “Red Carpet”
Treat your new students like celebrities and set up your studio to welcome them in style. You want your piano studio to be as welcoming as possible for both your new and your returning clientele. Make your front entrance an extension of your fantastically fun piano studio! Create garden markers with your students’ names on them and place them along your pathway, write welcome messages in chalk or post a welcome poster on your front door with their name on it. You’ll banish any nerves they may feel as they will feel immediately as though they belong.
Create a Welcome Wall
Dedicate a wall of your waiting area to your new students. As they register, create their very own individual welcome poster for the wall. Post these on your waiting area wall under a sign that says “Our New Piano Friends!“. You create an immediate sense of belonging by doing this… and you also showcase just how many new students are starting with you! Remember marketing to your current clientele is so important. We have free “welcome posters” in our WunderKeys Facebook group that you can print and use.
Mark The Occasion With A Photo!
Everyone wants to document big occasions these days with a photo for social media – and you can “up the cute factor” by using one of our free, printable photo props! Find the set with “my first lesson” here. Pop it in a frame, give it to your student to hold and snap a photo which you can then email to Mom or Dad for social sharing later (always have written permission for any photos you take first).
Piano Lesson Goodie Bag
Aend your Newbie Natalies home with a Piano Lesson Goodie Bag as a way of saying, “It was nice to meet you!”. You can decide what you’d like to include. My studio goodie bags look like this:
1. A “magic glove” winter glove (from your local dollar store or wal-mart) with their finger numbers in glitter glue on each finger. They use this during the week to play their finger number games from my First Lesson Fun Pack.
2. My studio magnet (contact information and my logo) for their fridge.
3. A small candy treat (or if you aren’t into food rewards a small container of bubbles).
4. A piano-themed pencil.
5. A pack of fun “first lesson” printables that reinforce what they learned in their first lesson (you can find lots on WunderKeys.com or you can collect games from PianoGameClub.com and send home a copy of a game!)
Follow up In Style
Pre-make follow up cards for your new students and pop them in the mail the day after their first lesson with you. Make them colorful and fun, and hand-write a message letting your new student know that you enjoyed meeting them. Tell them one specific thing that they did particularly well, and express your excitement for seeing them the following week. Kids never get mail; they’ll be thrilled. I include a little pack of stickers for good measure. We have free, printable follow-up postcards in our WunderKeys facebook group too!
Newbie Natalies Are Like “Walking Wallets” 😉
All kidding aside, your Newbie Natalies do hold a lot of power. Piano lessons are something new in her life… people will ask them how her lesson went. Do you want a blahsee answer from her in return, or do you want her family to rave endlessly about your personal touch? The word-of-mouth machine is your most valuable marketing tool. With a bit of ingenuity and effort, that first lesson can be the springboard to a stellar reputation in your community, and a fast-track to all of the benefits this brings.
First Lesson Fun… Guaranteed
You can pretty much guarantee a successful and fun first lesson if you are using our WunderKeys method books! With their story-based approach, colorful design and cut-and-play theory games your newbie students will leave their lesson with mile-wide smiles clutching a piano book they won’t want to put down! Find out just how much you can love a Primer Method Book here.
Dorla says
This post is brilliant!
Leanne says
Love the ideas! I think we should create a follow-up post where others can link to printables they’ve created using these ideas 🙂
Kim Wright says
Do you mind sharing what is in your First Lesson Fun Pack?
Trevor says
Hi Kim – this is actually one of our upcoming resources we plan on releasing in the near future. We’ll let you know when it’s all set and ready to launch!
Abigail says
Hi Trevor, I was searching for your post about the fun pack for teaching a first lesson, but couldn’t find it. What did you name that post? Could you direct me to it?
Thanks!
Andrea says
Hi Abigali – we actually haven’t released this package yet – it was in the works as a future product but with PianoBookClub and PianoGameClub we’re so swamped that we haven’t yet had a chance 🙂
Jennifer says
Gear ideas!
Joy Morin says
There are some really great ideas in this post — thanks!
Miriam Higginson says
This post is from 2012…you mentioned having an upcoming release about a First Lesson Fun Pack. Could you give us a link to that?
Andrea says
Hi Miriam – Other projects got in the way and we released our practice book, hosted International Week of the Piano Geek and published the composing book first (and now the theory book this coming week). It’s still on our “radar” and we hope to get to it soon!
Corrie Anne says
Hey there are some ideas here: http://88pianokeys.me/page/3/?cat=32800
Bec says
What delightful ideas! I love them – thank you!!
Corrie Anne says
Thanks — love the red carpet idea!! Excited for all my new students this year!
Kelsey says
I love all of these ideas. Did you ever end up developing the First Lesson Pack? I didn’t see it in the store.
Ciaran Walker says
These ideas are great! Thanks Andrea- I’ve just been surfing through your posts for the past two hours!!! 🙂
Jacqueline says
Hi Andrea! These are amazing ideas, thank you so much! Would be so interested in what you would include in that First Lesson Package!! Going out the purchase the white gloves this week….what an ingenious and different approach. Thanks again!
Cara says
Love these ideas! Do you offer a piano lesson “Fun Pack” for sale? I’d love to buy it if you do. . .