We have a favorite cafe in a town about 45 minutes away from our house that we frequent… regularly. The owners of this cafe have their act together; the customer service is top-notch, the food is amazing and the word-of-mouth generation is something every piano teacher would be hungry for.
As I sat there munching on my Veggie Greek Wrap, I got to thinking, “How can Piano Teachers harness some of the fab things this cafe is doing?“.
So I scanned the room searching for that “special something”, and found one really cool thing that all piano teachers should add to their piano studios… and that is a Welcome Wall.
What Are Welcome Walls And Why Are They Wonderful?
The cafe has a huge world map with a little cup of pins set to the side. Visitors grab a pin and stick it in their hometown’s location on the map. The myriad of pins spread around the globe is an incredible sight to see… and it really gives the cafe a good dose of “Wow… this is the place to be!”
Creating a welcome wall in your studio is sure to accomplish the same effect.
Parents who enter your studio will be “wowed” by the number of students you have, the frequency of new sign-ups, the uniqueness of your programming, the accomplishments of your piano students… whatever you choose to highlight. It’s a great way to clearly communicate what makes you great!
Our Top 5 Tips for Creating A Piano Studio Welcome Wall
1. Choose a high-traffic location
The Welcome Wall should be the first thing your students see as they enter your piano studio… whether it be in a hallway, a waiting area or on a main wall of your studio. Many of you teach from your homes, so a great solution is to have your Welcome Wall be a bulletin board that can be taken down on “non-teaching days” so you can re-claim some of your personal space.
2. Update it at least once a month
The Welcome Wall needs to be constantly changing… or it just becomes a part of the scenery that no one pays attention to. Choose a day each month to change your wall and then commit to making it happen. You can stay with the same theme (although changing the theme is a good way to shake things up as well) or you can simply adjust to the seasons, or to whatever it is that is taking place in your studio.
3. Highlight the one thing that makes your studio unique
We’ve talked a lot about discovering or developing a solid idea of what makes your studio stand out. This message should be communicated clearly on your welcome wall.
Perhaps you are a teacher who has a TON of students, or who makes composing a central part of your program, or who has many award-winning students. Maybe you are a teacher who uses really unique supplementary materials or who specializes in off-bench games and activities. Whatever it may be… make this the focus.
4. Pay attention to your own Welcome Wall
Your Welcome Wall can be a great part of your social media messaging (pictures of it posted to Facebook, shout-outs on Twitter, the topic of your blog posts or newsletters) and can also be something that you get your own students excited about engaging with. If you make a big deal about it, your students will too! The Welcome Wall might be a great place to introduce waiting room activities to keep those busy bodies occupied as they wait to come in for their lessons.
5. Include a “Call To Action” on the wall itself
Make your Welcome Wall work for you by being sure to include a call to action that will inspire your piano parents to spread the word (“We love adding new faces to our wall! Thanks in advance for your referrals” or “Spread the word! Your kids are composers!” etc.) It’s a tiny nudge but it works!
The Welcome Wall Brainstorm…
Looking for ideas for your own Welcome Wall? Here are a few that you may want to try. If you’d like to add to the list, please share in the comments below!
- Faces of the Studio (student photos of everyone you teach)
- Composer of the Month (photo of the chosen student, “interview” about the piece, sheet music etc)
- Student of the Month (photo of chosen student, reasons why they were chosen, an “about me” page etc.)
- Look Who Is New (post names of newly registered students)
- It’s All Fun and Games (photos of students playing games, pin up examples of the games you play etc.)
- This Month’s Amazing Music (pin up examples of the supplementary music you will be using)
- We’re Playing The Music Of ___ (for a composer theme)
- Studio-wide practice challenges and events
- Student Spot-Light (choose one student and make the wall all about him or her, rotate frequently)
- Student Art Spot (post all the cute cards, drawings, notes etc. your students give you)
- …share your ideas in the comments!
Karen says
totally love this! Thank you!
Sally Eppert says
What a great idea! Thank you!
September says
My husband gave me the great idea (although not technically a wall), to have a piano teachers scrapbook available while new students and parents are waiting for their lesson, that contains pictures of all my students, new and old, and memorabilia. I thought it is a great way to hang on to all those sweet hand made drawing and thank you notes my students have made for me throughout the years.
Andrea says
Very cute idea September and what a nice keepsake to have for years to come for the kids who stay with you a long time – I’m sure they’ll love to look back at their old drawings and notes 🙂
Elisabeth says
Would you consider posting a picture of a “welcome wall” (or several!)? I would love to try this! Thanks!
Benita says
Yes, I too would love to see some “welcome wall” examples!
Andrea says
Hi Benita – we have a Pinterest board dedicated to ideas for your piano studio walls – you can follow it here and there are some great ideas for Welcome Walls on there 🙂 https://www.pinterest.com/teachpianotoday/piano-studio-walls/
Benita says
Thanks for the link! Got some great ideas now 🙂
Zelna van Zyl says
All the “WANTED” posters of our Wild West theme against my wall are catching lots of attention. I’ve made them pose with a cowboy hat and gun. I love it!
Andrea says
So glad you’re using that incentive Zelna! If anyone is wondering what this is, you can print all the materials for it here: https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2014/09/30/practicing-piano-students-wanted-a-wild-west-themed-practice-incentive/
Tina says
I had setup a wall with all my student’s photos so they can get to know the person who is before or after their lesson. I think I need to change it up though. Like you said, it was something they loved looking at for the first month and now it has become a piece of decor on the wall. I find it tricky though as I am using a picture frame to post things. I think a bulletin board would be easiest.
Andrea says
Hi Tina – yes, whatever it takes to make it easy to change. There are lots of great bulletin board materials out there too at the teaching stores (borders, backgrounds etc.) to make it really eye-catching.
CHRIS says
I have done this for years. My “studio” is in my living room – so my welcome wall is a bulletin board that I can store away when needed. My current display is photos of all of my students at our recent “duet day” recital. I display which students have birthdays that month, and students can post recently memorized pieces.
Andrea says
Oooh the memorized pieces is a great idea Chris – I’m visioning tracing a picture of each student’s head onto poster paper and then having them place a tag with their newly-memorized piece name inside – that would be so cute!
Benita says
This was exactly on my mind this week– a welcome wall! I was stuck on some ideas of where to put it what to put on it (all questions you answered. I’m making some major changes in my growing studio this year and all your posts the last few weeks have been exactly what I needed! Thanks for all your fabulous work!
KarenB says
Love this idea! I live/teach in a small town. My students often appear in the local newspaper for sports, school projects, church activities, and sometimes even piano, so for years, I’ve posted newspaper pictures/articles on a large bulletin board as one way to show them I’m interested in their other activities, as well as piano… These are great ideas for expanding the content of my “wall”! Thanks!
Andrea says
That’s a great way to build community Karen – kids would love to see their friends in the local paper and it also accomplishes the “look who I teach!” mission 🙂 Thanks for the idea!
Karron Lee says
my forte is teaching “mature adults”. i started with a student from one of our active local senior centers, and a year later,, by word of mouth, i have 8 just from the one senior center. i would like to say teaching mature adults is so rewarding. they really want to learn and they get excited over the smallest thing. my one 74 year old lady was so excited that she earned 2 stars yesterday that she is going to put those front and center on her piano to show her husband and anyone visiting just how well she did!
Debbie says
Wonderful idea! Thank you!
Rebecca Gulbranson says
I really love this idea!! I am moving and will be having to re-establish my studio in my new location. I have lots of ideas now thx to this great post!
Andrea says
Great to hear Rebecca! Best of luck with your move 🙂
Janci says
I have had a “where are they now” theme on the bulletin board and folks seem to like that. My most advanced current student just went off to med school. A sad day for me but he plans to keep on playing the piano. Great stress relief after class or study.
I love reading the blog and seeing all the great ideas.
Andrea says
Hi Janci – that’s a fantastic idea – LOVE it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Carmen says
Thank you for the great ideas! Will definitely work on it this weekend.
Andrea says
Would love to hear what you decide to do with it Carmen 🙂
Rebecca says
I have a “Piano Stars” wall as you enter my studio. Every student gets their name on a star, with the month/year they started, when they begin lessons. There are charts on that wall tracking each student’s progress through method book levels, scale mastery, hanon exercises, arpeggios, etc.
Andrea says
Love this idea, Rebecca! Thanks for sharing 🙂