How are we one month into 2022 already?

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ve seen me working through the process of creating my own music studio business planner and prioritizing what I want this year to look like. Each year for a studio is different - Sometimes in ways we can anticipate like when we know we might be moving, expanding our family or changing our teaching focus. Other times in ways we can’t control, like many of us continue to experience with the COVID-19 pandemic.

After much deliberation, here’s the priorities top of mind for my violin studio in 2022!

Improved Parent and Caregiver Communication
Finding THE Home Music Studio For Us
In Person Performance Opportunities
Rebuilding Studio Community

Improved Parent and Caregiver Communication

One of the things I found most helpful from 2021 was starting a virtual parent meeting at the beginning of the school year! I’ve put off starting a full studio parent for years, instead relying on the relationships between studio families who have lessons before or after each student and studio newsletters to share information. What I underestimated was the value parents got out of these separate meetings!

The set up that seems to have worked well so far is to offer two meeting times for studio families to choose from - I try to make one on the weekend and one on a week day to accommodate general family busy-ness. My main goal in these meetings are to go over studio events and open the floor for parents to share struggles or triumphs they’ve been seeing at home lately. I’ve been so grateful for the ideas my studio families have shared with me about lessons or with other families about ways to improve music making at home! It was especially gratifying to hear from other parents that it helped to hear how their child wasn’t the only one struggling with music not being fun all the time or having issues in practice time.

I recently held the first session for the year with my studio families, planning on a half hour to cover all the topics above. Following the meeting, I saved another 30 minutes for anyone who wanted to meet individually and chat about their child or share anything I should be aware of. This worked really well for us and I would recommend testing the waters in your own studio!

Finding THE Home Music Studio For Us

There are many things to consider when looking into the kind of music studio you want to run. Some teachers prefer a separate office space they rent in their town. Others like to rent space at a church. Some teachers enjoy teaching out of their homes. I have always dreamt of finding the right balance between a home and studio, where lessons could be held in a designated music space but we could still maintain enough separation where my family felt they could still LIVE there.

There’s several things that go into this decision:

Space - How does sound travel, whether from lessons to the living space or vice versa? Is this going to be an area that encourages learning, creativity, comfort and trust?
Location - Is the home in an easy to find location? Bonus points if it’s central to good schools or neighborhoods with children.
Finances - What can you afford? What would it save you on rental costs? Will it incur other costs for you (Insurance, furnishing, etc.)

While I’m not going to make a decision out of desperation, this is a high priority for me

this year. It feels like the right time to make this happen. So keep your fingers crossed for me as I am doing the home search!

In Person Performance Opportunities

This is a big one for me this year. If you’ve been around you know I love to throw a blow out recital once a year. I have always seen my annual studio recitals as a big party, celebrating my students and another year’s hard work. My first studio recital was in August 2013 and over the years it grew to needing two separate recitals for solo performers, with a joint reception where we’d perform our Suzuki play down. Ending with everyone playing Twinkle together was always SO much fun.

I still remember the joy I had at our last recital, when a studio parent shared how much they looked forward to these events because of how much they enjoyed seeing students year after year. All the growth and improvement that happens week to week can be hard for those of us in the trenches to see. These recitals had become a time when other people who get to see us perform more infrequently can enjoy our music and point out just how far we’ve come. It is so special and sadly something we’ve been missing out on for the last two years.

My plans for this year are to take a page from a couple other studios (Mostly Chloe Massey and Christine Goodner, who I’m always thankful to watch and see work in their studios!). My plan is to hold smaller outdoor recitals in May, where groups of 6 - 10 students will perform for their families and studio mates. One online recital will also be arranged for any families who are uncomfortable with an in person event or heaven forbid, fall sick at the recital time. While it won’t be quite the same, I hope it will help us get closer to our old routine and give us more of a sense of community.

Other opportunities I’m looking at include performing at our local nursing homes, preparing to play outside and play LOUD so they can hear us. I’d like to find ways for my students to perform in our downtown areas of Hagerstown and Shepherdstown as well. Reconnecting with other musicians and remembering the fun we can have while making music together will be an important part of the process coming out of the pandemic and I am optimistic about how that will come through this year!

Rebuilding Studio Community

Along with the in person performance opportunities, I’m planning a studio picture day and studio field trips to help us build up our studio community again. I really think my students need to see others going through the same struggles and triumphs learning music. I held my first studio picture day in 2021 and it was a lot of fun, with parents really seeming to enjoy receiving their child’s pictures in particular. Given the right space, I’m also hoping to introduce a couple group classes as we get further into the year as well. Again, all of these are smaller scale but still in person operations with the hope of lower COVID rates and promise of vaccines for even younger children like my daughter.

How about you?

These are my starting points for this year. I was so lucky to have many opportunities for professional development through Suzuki teacher training, masterclasses and my own private lessons last year. For 2022 these feel like the best next steps for me and my students.

What are you feeling in your studio? How do you see your studio fitting around your life in 2022? I would love to hear from you! Reach me on Instagram or Facebook @shawstrings or by email at renee@shawstrings.co.

Priorities For My Music Studio in 2022