Anyone who has been reading here for any length of time knows that I’m a huge fan of Music Teacher’s Helper. It has streamlined my bookkeeping like I never imagined was possible! I posted my first review of it after signing up for the free trial version four years ago. Although I was hesitant to plunk down the money for a monthly plan, it didn’t take long before I was sold on the value of it! I wrote a second review after using it for a year of lessons.

Anyway…if you’ve been thinking about trying Music Teacher’s Helper, but haven’t gotten around to it, I wanted to let you know that they recently announced that they’ll be increasing their pricing on October 1st. However, anyone who signs up for a subscription will be locked into the current pricing plan forever! And of course, if you don’t like it (impossible for me to imagine!), you can cancel at any time. When I first saw that the pricing was increasing, my heart sunk because as much as I love the convenience of MTH, I did not relish the thought of having to pay a higher price (especially since I’m already on the highest priced plan!). So I am thrilled to know that I am forever locked into my current price. That’s a great company for you!

Alright…commercial over. Just thought you all might like to know before it’s too late.

I’m currently in a class called Group Piano and Technology, for my masters program.  We’re reviewing everything technology-related to teaching piano.  I know that you use Music Teacher’s Helper and I was wondering if there are any other similar programs out there that compare.  That was the only program of its kind that we discussed in the class and it would be nice to know if there’s something else out there just to “compare.”

Even before Music Teacher’s Helper was developed, I did some checking around to find a good bookkeeping software that would meet my needs. I downloaded a trial version of a software called Time Signature, but found that it didn’t fit the criteria of what I was looking for. So I continued for several years to battle the bookkeeping headache. My Dad, who is in the financial industry, even developed a custom Excel-based program that I used for a while. One of the main frustrations, though, with both of these approaches is that regardless of how meticulous I am in recording payments, handling scheduling, etc. there is no way for the studio families to access and view their records. That’s why I really love the online-based platform! in addition to the studio-wide accessibility, this also allows for constant updates and improvements without having to download and install new software.

All that said, I have been so pleased with Music Teacher’s Helper that I haven’t had any occasion to search around to see if there is anything comparable on the market. Has anyone else found another similar program for your studio bookkeeping? Feel free to leave any links or suggestions in the comments!

Remember, if you have a question you’d like to contribute to next week’s Monday Mailbag, leave it in the comments below or send me an e-mail sometime this week with Monday Mailbag in the subject line!

Blog reader Cindy Truman recently alerted me to a fabulous resource that could also be a huge time-saver! Check out this website with pre-designed school calendars that you can download, adapt, and print for use in your studio. I’ve already been manually  doing my own from scratch for so many years now that I have enough to just go into a previous file with matching days and dates and just change the year and the events. But I sure wish I had known about these sooner because it would have saved me a ton of time! Plus, I like a few of these designs better than mine anyway.

Well, I’ve finally taken the plunge and decided to start a Music Matters eNews. I’ve been thinking about it for quite a while and when I decided to switch my Sibro Publishing newsletter over to Constant Contact last month, I thought it was time to move forward with this newsletter as well!

I’m planning to include quick links to resources, special deals and promotions on various materials, plus lots of other exciting tidbits!  Just sign up using the form at the top of the right side bar to get in on the inaugural issue.

Quick Note: If you’ve ordered materials from me or corresponded with me before, there is a possibility that your e-mail address was already imported into the mailing program. If you enter it in the sign-up form, you’ll be given the option to update your profile.

A reader sent me this question: Are there any good piano pedagogy magazines you could recommend (apart from AMT)?

The only other piano pedagogy magazine I subscribe to is Clavier Companion, which was birthed from a merger between the former Clavier and Keyboard Companion magazines. It is a fabulous publication! I don’t always keep on top of reading the articles (another project for summer, huh? ), but whenever I do take some time to sit and read it, I find myself instructed and inspired.

This is probably exposing my ignorance, but I’m not even aware of any other piano pedagogy magazines that are currently available. That’s partly why I wanted to post this question. Do any of you know of other such publications? Or, really, any other magazines that might be of interest to a music educator, even if it’s not specifically piano pedagogy?

I’m wondering if you can recommend good books/resources on running a business?

There is a backlog of questions in my Monday Mailbag folder, so I’m going to incorporate some of them into posts throughout the week. I love learning and studying about business issues, so here are a few suggestions:

One of my all-time favorite books is Proverbs in the Bible. It is full of practical advice that is very relevant to business and life in general.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t by Jim Collins – read a full review on my post 2009 Year of Reading in Review.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath – this one is also included in my 2009 Year of Reading in Review. I loved this book! It is applicable to so many areas of life and is an incredible resource for anyone who wants to improve their ability to plan and implement creative ideas. I just discovered that the Heath brothers also have a blog! It’s been duly added to my feed reader, and I look forward to keeping up with it.

Business Opportunities Blog by Dane Carlson – This contains a wide variety of ideas, links, bits of information, and more. I subscribe to the feed for it and enjoy skimming each of the posts and exploring the ones that grab my attention.

The New Venture Lab website, blog, and newsletter is a great resource for those with an entrepreneurial bent. They have tons of great resources, case studies, inspirational stories, tips, and links to encourage and equip you in your business endeavors.

Another thing that has been very helpful to me over the years is to meet with others who have common interests in business, finances, and leadership development. For several years, I met weekly with a business study group, and we researched a wide variety of topics. This multiplies your learning because you have the benefit of learning from the research and experiences of others. I highly recommend this approach!

Does anyone have any other recommended books/resources on business that they’d like to share?

In preparation for summer, I just sent home a Summer Survey with each of my students last week. I started sending these home with my students several years ago when I first started offering summer piano camps and it has been so helpful! Early on in my teaching, I made the mistake of planning an elaborate piano camp without conducting a survey first and was so disappointed when many of the students were unable to come during the week I had scheduled it to take place. Now I do some preliminary planning, but wait to do the bulk of it until I know what my families’ plans are.

Feel free to download and adapt this survey for use in your studios!

Related Posts: More About Planning Piano Camps | Piano Camp Lesson Plans and Free Student Workbook

When I was adjudicating at a music festival last weekend, I was reminded of this fabulous post by Chris Foley of the Collaborative Piano Blog: 16 Ideas for First-Time Music Festival Adjudicators. The only thing I would change is to strike the “First-Time” from the title. This list is a handy checklist for new and veteran adjudicators alike!

Adjudicating is one of my favorite things to do! It’s so fun to meet other students, encourage them in their studies, listen to their playing, and offer feedback on what they did well and suggestions for improvement. Plus, I always come away inspired with new ideas to try with my students and with a reminder of the importance of being well-prepared. When you see a variety of students throughout the day, you see as much variety in the level of preparation. In the particular festival I adjudicated, students played two prepared pieces, demonstrated select scales and intervals and chords according to their level, clapped a rhythm pattern, and sight-read a short musical excerpt. That’s a lot to be prepared for, and I really think that adjudicating such festivals has helped me become a better teacher.

If you’ve never adjudicated before, I encourage you to get involved with a local music teachers association and make yourself available for such opportunities. But be sure you read Chris Foley’s list of 16 ideas before you jump in!

We already have a nice collection of studio websites, so I’ve compiled all the links received thus far and put together a page for the  Piano Teacher Website Listing. There is also a link in the right sidebar so that you can easily access the list. I’ve already come across some fabulous ideas just from looking at these websites! (Incidentally, I decided to keep this list to just studio websites since I have another category listing for Music Blogs already.)

I think I got everyone included who either left a comment or sent me an e-mail. If you are not listed, but would like to be included, just send me an e-mail and I’ll update the page to include your site.

One of my favorite things to do is visit other piano teachers’ websites. You can catch a glimpse into their studios, read how they word their policies, get creative ideas for use in your own studio, and generally feel somewhat connected to all of your colleagues in the world of music teaching. So…I was thinking it would be neat to put together a page with a listing of piano [or any instrument, really!] teachers and their websites.

If you’d be interested in including your website in this listing, just leave a comment below or send me a quick e-mail with your website link and what state/province or country you’re in. I’ll post the complete list as a page here on Music Matters Blog and also make it available as a free PDF so that you can print it off, use it in technology workshops, etc. There are still lots of teachers who are interested in setting up websites, but haven’t yet, so I think this will be a great resource to help those who want ideas of what to include on their sites. And even those of us who already have websites I’m sure will find great ideas and inspiration from others that we can incorporate into our studio sites!

[As an aside, there are quite a few parents that come across this blog when looking for piano teachers, so I think this will be a helpful way to get your studio name and website out to potential students as well!]