| | Email 2 of 3: The Blueprint for a Successful Group Program |
|
On Monday, you had the opportunity to watch an interview with a master group teacher, Greg Genter.
If you didn’t get a chance to watch that interview, you can do so by visiting my Facebook page.
I’ve fielded a LOT of emails since that time. I participated in comments across several teacher groups where that interview was shared.
There was a theme to these comments:
“Daniel, the results you are getting might be well and good… but you and Greg have been teaching group for over a decade! That doesn’t necessarily help me!”
I heard you.
Which is why I’m excited to share with you what I have for today.
In today’s email, I want to show you:
- The simple logistical blueprint for setting up your group lesson studio
- Introduce you to a teacher who worked with me and had GREAT success with this blueprint
- How one teacher increased his income by 15% while decreasing his teaching hours by 60% (that is not a typo)
- Your overall plan for setting up a group studio (click the link at the end of this email to read about this plan)
This email will take about 4 minutes to read.
|
|
| The Blueprint for Setting Up Your Group Lesson Studio |
|
This is my blueprint for setting up your group studio. This is taken directly from my Successful Group Lessons training program. Space constrains me from going into all of the details, but these are the basic facts.
I’m leaving nothing out! Do these things right, and you are well on your way to success.
Step 1: Space
You do not need a commercial location or especially large room for your group studio.
I run my lesson program in a 10’ x 11’ room…. Out of my home!
You can also run programs in a commercial space, rented space, a church, a community center… you are only limited by your imagination.
I have helped over a dozen studios convert to group in the past year. The possibilities are endless.
Secure your space and you are ready to move to the next step.
|
|
Step 2: Equipment
What will you need?
Here’s a short shopping list that you will need for setting up your group studio.
+ Digital instruments (pianos, guitars, etc…. basically, any electronic version of an instrument)
+ Headphones
+ Stands
+ Benches (for pianos)
Yes, I’m going to go ahead and confirm that you will primarily have children working with headphones on.
This gives them an opportunity to focus in on the music you are having them learn each lesson.
There will be time for group interaction, games, and performance… but the bulk of the time (in my system) is spent actually learning music.
Children do not tire of this format. I keep them moving through different activities… I have students as young as 5 who do just fine for that hour.
My 4 year old son actually just began this summer and he is moving through the material remarkably fast in my 1 hour groups!
Step 3: Scheduling
How do you schedule a group program?
This is actually quite simple.
Many of the local private schools get out at 3pm. The farthest school in my local district is about 10 minutes away.
Therefore, I set my first group time to 3:20p!
The group lasts for an hour, which means that they are getting out at 4:20p.
This is perfect… because the local PUBLIC schools get out at 4pm.
I leave five minutes between my groups for transition time for children.
Thus, my 2nd group of the night gets going at 4:25p.
In all, I see 4 groups per night for a total of 20 children per day… or more because I see homeschool groups on Tuesdays and Fridays during the daytime.
It’s a packed schedule, but my working days are typically never longer than five hours… and I have breaks in between groups!
|
|
Step 4: Logistics
My groups run in a smooth and orderly fashion.
Groups run for an hour… though I’ve known other teachers to adapt my system for longer groups. Personally, I run special two hour “summer camp” versions of this format every year.
The basic outline of the group is:
- Students come and begin warming up for the first few minutes
- I evaluate old material and have students either pass the piece or make revisions
- I teach new material and have them completely learn the new material (especially for children in the first 3 levels of their series)
- I will intersperse the evaluation and learning with individual or group games and activities.
- I begin wrapping up with 5 minutes to go… making sure all assignments are written down in notebooks and that everyone knows what they’re doing for the week
There are many nuggets of wisdom that I’ve picked over the years about keeping kids engaged, classroom control, overseeing a safe dropoff / pickup procedure, etc.
Again, space constrains me… But this is the basic outline of how a group works.
My entire thesis behind group is that if children learn music with you… they are much more likely to practice at home. Thus, my focus in group is helping kids become proficient at their songs.
Because of this, I have produced a small army of kids who can sight-read perfectly by the end of their first book. There are no exceptions to this generalization.
This format is effective… it’s why I love it, and think that I have the best job in the world!
|
|
| Case Study of a Successful Group Teacher |
| Last December, I invited a dozen teachers to work with me on setting up this blueprint in their studio.
This was the origin of my Successful Group Lessons training program.
One of these teachers was Jon Sanford – a young studio owner teaching just north of Cincinnati, Ohio.
In this short case study, I reveal explain the overall plan that allowed Jon to convert his studio to the group format in just over a month.
He did this with 100% parent agreement… and lost no students.
Even better… he increased his income by 15% while cutting his teaching time by 60%!!!!!!!
If that interests you at all, I would strongly recommend clicking the link below and reading further:
Jon’s Story: Converting to a Group Piano Studio
Enjoy! Email me back and let me know what you think.
|
| Best,
Daniel
PS> I have one more email to send you! I will send this to you on Friday of this week… be on the lookout!
|
|
|
