Top Five: Top 5 Ways to Refresh Your Studio from the Inside Out

MTNA Business Network

MTNA Business Digest, Volume 3, Issue 4

July 2024

If the content of your studio stays the same year after year, it will feel stale to your students no matter what your marketing or website says. Time to mix it up and keep students wondering what will be exciting and different this year!

In this issue’s Spotlight article, “Studio Refresh! Essential Business Topics to Revisit Annually,” teachers are challenged to refresh their business practices (including marketing, policies, tuition and communications) to remain vibrant and relevant. Equally important is what happens inside the studio, day in and day out. MTNA Business Network members offer the following top five ideas:

1. Rejuvenation. Invigorate an existing event with a new twist. Keep students wondering what exciting surprise will happen this year! Any event can feel refreshed if there is a different venue, theme, incentive program or format. For recital ideas, check out this issue’s Resource Gems segment, “Refresh and Invigorate Your Recitals! ”

2. A New Event. Adding a new event—exam/festival, performance class, ensemble concert, master class with a guest artist—can jump start your studio’s energy level. If your studio has always participated in the local festival, consider a state syllabus event or a national exam.

A recent innovation in studio programming is the Silent Film Celebration. Silent Film Celebration is a performance opportunity for students of all levels, instruments and abilities. Students accompany short silent film comedies from the 1920s with live music. Whether presented as a recital or a community fundraiser, Silent Film Celebration provides a fun and enjoyable experience for both performers and audience members alike.

3. Beyond the Walls. Integrate your studio with an outreach or advocacy project that supports your local community. The studio could participate in a group project, such as a Relay for Life team. Or everyone could march together in a local parade. Another option is to connect an existing event with a charitable cause; for example, each family brings canned food to the recital to support a local food bank. Or a studio-wide practice-a-thon could be combined with pledges to support a local charity.

4. Stop! Does every offering in your studio still serve its purpose? Curate or prune your offerings to be more focused. What worked decades ago may not align with students’ needs today. Ask yourself, “Is it stale, overused—or just plain outdated?” If yes, let it go!

5. Content. A high-quality product—what/how we teach and the resulting engaging and inspiring lessons—can always be elevated. Seek a new professional development activity this year. Revamp or expand your curriculum with a new theory approach, fresh repertoire or a new method.

Surprise and delight your students with a dynamic studio this year!

The MTNA Business Network is a team of successful teachers and business owners dedicated to sharing and promoting best practices for the business of teaching.