Letter No. 20 [establishing your music studio: studio policy]
Dear Friend,
In this second letter about establishing your music studio, I want to talk about writing your studio policy.
The first time I created a studio policy was in college for a pedagogy class. I’ve since altered it as my studio and teaching experience have grown, but the core of it hasn’t changed, thanks to my pedagogy professor, Dr. Yu-Jane Yang, and the strong foundation she gave us.
If core beliefs are the heart of your studio, your studio policy is the mind. It shares with parents and students the functional aspects of how you run your studio, and sets up clear expectations and guidelines.
Here are 7 things to consider when writing your own studio policy:
Lesson Length, Type, and Cost
do you only want to teach 30 minute lessons, or 45 minute-1 hour lessons as well? If you’re starting out, and particularly with beginner and younger students, I recommend 30 minutes. Younger students in particularly will have a difficult time staying attentive for longer periods of time.
Do you only want to teach private lessons? You could also teach a monthly group lesson, a theory class every week/two weeks/month, or a summer program.
How much you charge for lessons should depend on a few factors: what is the cost of living where you are? What is the demand/supply for music lessons? How much training and experience do you have?
Teaching Schedule
Semester schedule: I’ve synced my start and end dates to the school system calendar in my area. Additional considerations are holidays you want to take off. For spring semester specifically, there are a lot of holidays that fall on Mondays, so I don’t teach on Mondays for that reason.
Weekly schedule: will you be teaching every day, or a couple days a week? Will you go Monday-Friday, or be available on weekends as well? And will you be teaching in the afternoons/evenings, mornings, or both? Decide beforehand which days and times you prefer and then fill your time slots accordingly. Remember that kids in public school won’t be free until the afternoons, while kids who are homeschooled should be more flexible.
Performances and Festivals
I have a recital scheduled at the end of each semester (and I send out those dates when the semester starts). I find it motivates students and myself to have an end goal and performance to work towards, as well as a reward for our hard work throughout the semester.
There are also many festival and competition opportunities. Joining Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) is a great way to find these opportunities (as well as stay connected to others in the teaching community and grow as a teacher and musician yourself).
Practice Guidelines
As I teach piano, the weight of keys is important to me and how I teach technique, so I require my students to have a real piano (that’s relatively in tune!) or a weighted, full-length digital keyboard.
Also for piano, I recommend students keeping their nails short, as this affects finger strength and shape.
I ask students to practice 5 days a week for 20-30 minutes. You can create practice charts for you students to fill out that involve prizes and recognition to award diligent practice.
Parents must play an active role in their children’s music education. A child won’t always be motivated to practice—in fact, they probably won’t be most of the time, even if they like playing piano. Having a parent on board with your practice guidelines ensures the student is practicing in a more effective, efficient way and progressing at home throughout the week.
Book Policy
For my studio, I choose and purchase the method books I think will be right for each student. I’ve studied different method books and have my favorites—ones which I think teach students in the clearest, most well-rounded and fun ways.
I purchase the books (you should be able to get a teacher’s discount at most music stores) and get reimbursed by parents no later than a week after we start using them.
Missed Lessons/Late Payment Fees
A studio policy is also a safety net. If you’ve outlined your (reasonable) expectations and guidelines, and parents or students aren’t meeting them, you can refer back to your studio policy and navigate what to do from there.
For missed lessons, I require that I’m notified at least 24 hours in advance unless it’s a family or medical emergency. Otherwise, the parent still has to pay for the lesson.
And for lesson payments, I have two options (once or month or twice a month), but require parents to choose one at the beginning of the semester and stick with it. With every week the payment is overdue, I add an extra fee to the tuition payment.
These things considered, life happens, and I’m willing to be flexible. That being said, I’m also running a business, so if someone is consistently late with tuition payments or missing lessons, I’ll definitely have a chat with them. My studio might not be the right fit for them, or their child’s schedule might already be too busy to add piano lessons to. That’s why setting up these guidelines up front, and conducting an interview before committing to lessons, will set everyone up for success and clear communication.
Termination of Lessons
“Termination” sounds a bit extreme, but you should clarify how students should leave your studio
I ask parents to notify me two weeks in advance to leaving, and on the flip side of that, remind parents that I withhold the right to end lessons with any student if they’re not respecting the guidelines I’ve put in place.
If you consider these 7 aspects, you’ll have a solid foundation for writing your own studio policy, and as your studio grows and you gain teaching experience, you’ll change and tweak things along the way, so don’t feel like you policies have to be set in stone.
