Most piano teachers (myself included) teach in tidy little blocks of time. And this means that if we want to increase our teaching income… we generally have to increase our teaching time. But is this a hard and fast rule? Could there a better way?
Today we have a wonderful guest on the Teach Piano Today Podcast who will be telling us all about her creative approach to structuring lessons that allows her to teach three students in a single hour… without teaching group lessons. Interested?… Read on!
Smart Business Strategy Meets Smart Lesson Structure
Today’s podcast guest, Marie Harris, is a lesson-scheduling genius. Not only does her creative studio structure allow her to deliver a well-rounded student experience where theory, technique, and musicianship all receive equal attention, but it also allows her to earn a bigger income without a bigger time commitment.
Listen below as Marie shares her wildly successful lesson set up and discusses how you too could make this work. This 10-minute podcast could change the way you teach piano lessons.
Click the player below to listen, or hop over to our iTunes page to download this episode (and others!) to your iPod or smartphone.
Do You Have a Creative Approach To Lesson Structure?
If, like Marie, you teach piano lessons in a structure other than what I have referred to as the “tidy little box” approach, we’d love to hear all about it in the comments below…
Candace says
March 4, 2016 at 4:34 amThis is wonderful! I would love to hear what Marie uses on the iPad for her technique and theory time. 🙂
Andrea says
March 4, 2016 at 8:39 amIf Marie has a moment I’m sure she’d be happy to respond Candace 🙂
Marie Harris says
March 4, 2016 at 11:07 amHi Candace! My favorite Ipad apps that my students use right now are of course Piano Maestro and Simply Piano. I can’t say enough good things about them.
Alex says
March 14, 2016 at 8:39 amI LOVE PianoMaestro – so great! I’ll have to check out Simply Piano
natalie whittington says
March 4, 2016 at 5:17 amI would be interested to know about how much she pays her TAs for their time or do they receive a credit on their own lesson fees? Just curious how the numbers work out, but thanks for the great ideas!
Juanita says
March 4, 2016 at 11:59 amYes, I am also very interested in how the TA are compensated?
Marie Harris says
March 6, 2016 at 1:10 pmNatalie and Juanita, you’re not alone in your question! Without getting too detailed, I pay may teacher assistants a set amount (above minimum wage) that we’ve discussed in advance. I pay them per hour which allows them to have some real job experience while helping me create the teaching structure that I have. True, this might decrease my bottom line, but it’s really worth it when it comes to providing an environment where I can have multiple students learning within the hour.
Renee' says
March 4, 2016 at 5:48 amAndrea,
I did something very similar to what Marie does in her studio. Several years ago, while I was still home educating my two youngest children, I taught piano 3 afternoons a week. I had 24 students. I used two of my older students as “interns”. I would teach a twenty minute private lesson to one student while the intern worked with the second student on his songs or led him in a theory game. The third student had a lab time on theory or music history. We rotated every 20 minutes. Finally, we all gathered in my living room for 10 minutes for some type of music activity – it might have been a movement game, an ensemble piece, rhythm instruments or just a time to perform for one another. As Marie said, I had to be very organized. I also had detailed lesson plans for my interns. We all enjoyed our time together and the students received more than just piano education. It was a fun, well rounded music class. The interns are now juniors in high school – one is in the top choir and the other in the top band at their respective schools. My piano students that were beginners at that time are now some of my highest level students.
Andrea says
March 4, 2016 at 8:39 amThanks so much for sharing your experience Renee! Sound very similar to what Marie is doing. I really like your “extra” idea of having 10 minutes of group activity at the end! Great relationship building and it adds that social element that piano lesson sometimes lack.
Juanita says
March 4, 2016 at 11:35 amSo, did you schedule an hour and fifteen minute lesson for them?
Renee says
March 6, 2016 at 1:37 pmJuanita,
Yes, I scheduled the three students for an hour and fifteen minutes. It worked well.
Melinda says
March 4, 2016 at 6:01 amMy band professor in college told us what his son and daughter in law started doing in their large studio in Boise, ID (which they now have expanded to a lot of other things in their music school since then): a one hour rotation lesson with 3 students. I have used this effectively with both piano and flute students, but for me it works best with beginners or early levels. 3 students come for the same 1 hour slot and even if you still charge the half hour rate for each student you earn time and a half! The students then spend 20 min in private instruction, 20 minutes doing guided listening (you provide the music and prompts to either write, answer questions, or draw something to go with the piece) and 20 minutes doing an independent theory activity. When students get more advanced, they need more than 20 minutes on repertoire and now that I’ve moved to more game based theory I’d want to tweak it so students could play a theory game together. The biggest barrier, though is selling a new format to parents who prefer the traditional set up. This method is also good for kids with shorter attention spans due to age or ADD, though you do still need to monitor the independent activities at some level while teaching a lesson. Often this is appealing to families (I did this with 2 siblings and their cousin). Personally I have mixed feelings because there are pro’s and con’s. I’m just throwing this out in case it sparks inspiration with someone else or strikes a chord with anyone!
Marie Harris says
March 4, 2016 at 11:51 amHi Melinda,
Doing this with beginners is the best, isn’t it? The kids love being together and they love to move around!
When parents are looking for lessons for their children, they will often go to my website beforehand and find a concise explanation about my lesson structure. They can decide from there if they think it will be beneficial for their children. It’s nice to have it on my website so I don’t to have to explain it to everyone that calls.
Melinda says
March 4, 2016 at 1:58 pmGood idea-I had a great website, but when we moved (from a place we weren’t expecting to move from) I had to change a lot and it’s been out of commission, so I’ve got to redo it anyway. When I did this before it was before the age of everyone being able to have a website themselves!
Shannon says
April 16, 2019 at 7:26 pmHi there. Can I ask you how you structure your lessons? I’ve been thinking of switching to this way of teaching but need some guidance….
Marianthe Bezzerides says
March 4, 2016 at 7:14 amI think it’s a great idea to teach more than one student at the same time! I’m personally not organized enough to plan out lessons in a way to do it so I don’t think I could. Also I live in Los Angeles and most parents want teachers to come to their homes so the private lesson model is really all that works. I do however have multiple teachers that are working for my company right now and are able to cover different neighborhoods and accommodate different learning styles. That’s how I’m increasing my income without increasing my teaching time. However the admin is rather time consuming, especially as I continue to grow!
Barbara says
March 4, 2016 at 12:10 pmWhat a great idea. Where I am, all the teachers use that ‘little box’ system.
Jessica Wiebe says
March 4, 2016 at 3:18 pmHello, I am a teacher who has taught for 14 years, and had a few years break from teaching to be at home with my children when they were smaller. They are young teenagers now and want to reopen my studio and implement new teaching strategies. I am very interested in the way Marie runs her studio and would love to have an opportunity to speak with her in depth about the nuts and bolts of her system. Is there a way I can be in contact with her to accomplish this? Thank you , Jessica Wiebe
Morgan Weisenburger says
March 4, 2016 at 8:59 pmWhen I was a young piano student, I had a teacher who would teach two students at a time. One person would be on the computer while the other on the piano. I never liked those lessons because when I was spending my time with the teacher at the piano, we were constantly being interrupted by the other student whenever they had a question and/or problem with the computer. I only took lessons from that teacher for a few months.
Now as a teacher, I feel that when somebody contacts me to take lessons from me, that’s exactly what they want—lessons with ME. But that’s just my opinion… 🙂
Candice says
March 5, 2016 at 7:43 amHi Andrea, this is such an insightful post! I have been looking at expanding my studio while maintaining my current work hours. I would love the opportunity to connect with Marie with some questions I have.
Jill says
March 5, 2016 at 6:22 pmMy experience of lessons was very different to what is accepted these days. My teacher had 3-4 students at any one time. One or two doing theory at the table, one playing what they had practiced (having part of a lesson) and one in the next room practicing something they should have practiced! We rotated over the hour or two as students came and went. Very rare to be there on your own, especially around exam times. The teacher sat back behind the piano at the table most of the time, sipping tea and eating digestive biscuits. My finger technique as a result, was poorly lacking! Bless her 🙂
Hope says
March 5, 2016 at 8:13 pmI teach one student at a time, because I feel the one to one experience is very powerful. Many children don’t have this kind of attention from an adult. Now that I am getting known in this new area, my name is getting around, but I am only taking a limited amount of students.
I am amazed with how fast these kids are picking up everything. Most of them know their theory and their notes. I am fun loving, and I find creative ways of explaining things to my students. I am presently teaching students of former students, and that means getting these former students back into playing the piano.
I have less students so I can give extra time, consequently the kids are learning more than they would in 30 minute lessons. I try to change things around so the lessons don’t become the same thing week after week, and I am always assigning new music to keep the kids interested,
I have been a very successful piano teacher with over 40 students at one time, plus a waiting list. This fall I will be starting my 53 rd year of teaching, and I now have 16 great students, including my granddaughter.
The main thing that is enhancing my teaching is my sense of humor, plus my upbeat nature. And I am extremely contemporary, using technology, and keeping on top of all the latest things. I love my job, and it show through in the enthusiasm of my students!
And for the first time, we are having a pizza party, so the students can meet each other and play their recital pieces for one another, plus we are doing a trio for the first time. I will never stop being creative, nor will I lose my enthusiasm for music!
Kathleen says
March 8, 2016 at 9:39 amThis is a great idea that I can see works for many. I agree with Hope, however, that the one-on-one time I give my students is powerful, and that many children do not get this type of positive attention often enough. I have an added constraint–in my city, the terms of my business tax license are such that I am only allowed to teach one student at a time.
Mara Sours says
March 16, 2016 at 8:50 amI find that teaching one-on-one is good for second income, not a first income or single income… even tho my students achieve very highly in their music – regularly placing high in national and international competition events.
However I am having to transition to a medical career, eventually teaching music as a hobby (I’m very sad about this – so are my students). I welcome comments.
That being said, how do you handle students who don’t practice. I would lose 1/3 of my students if I stopped teaching those who regularly don’t practice. I lengthen their lesson time, making it a ‘practice time’.
helping them ‘progress’ in spite of it. I know that their parents both work late; they get home from Aftercare just in time to eat, do homework, bathe, and sleep.
What do you do? Only teach those whose income allows one parent to work less and make sure the child practices properly? Suggestions please.
Kyle McKenna says
March 16, 2016 at 11:46 amDo your assistants follow a curriculum for teaching technique? I’d love to hear ideas about what your assistants teach the students…
I’ve been doing a similar thing in my studio, but I’m struggling to define the role of my assistants. Since they are students themselves, I think it is really important they have some structure to follow.
Juanita says
April 10, 2016 at 6:20 pmI am very intrigued by the model and I’m contemplating using it. My next questions is how much time do you give to the more advanced students? And how does that work with the 20/20/20 schedule? Thanks for you help!
mellissa says
August 2, 2016 at 7:59 pmI am a piano teacher preparing to implement this type of program. Until finances allow I have an android tablet to use instead of an ipad. Do you have any android apps that you recommend that i could use in the meantime?
Trevor says
August 2, 2016 at 9:36 pmHi Melissa – as I’m not an android user It’s hard for me to give advice. I’d suggest asking on Facebook forums to other android user piano teachers 🙂
Jenna says
December 3, 2016 at 10:10 pmI definitely agree that the one-on-one lesson time is a unique set up for kids today, especially since parents are so busy these days! I think I would prefer to have at most two students at a time who overlap each other during a 45 minute lesson (charging 30 minutes for each) and work on duets during their time together. I always want to explore duets, and I think this would be a great way to accomplish that!
Deb says
May 26, 2017 at 4:55 pmI teach 45 minute lessons with students arriving every 30 minutes. The overlap time is used for online theory activities, duets or games.
Andrea says
May 29, 2017 at 8:44 amGreat idea Deb – love that overlap time 🙂