Ever since switching to a digital calendar and mostly digital organization in my studio years ago, I always looked wistfully at the beautiful calendar planners that start populating shelves this time of year. Well, last year I came across one that I just couldn’t resist and decided to try something different – instead of using the weekly pages according to days, I assigned each student to one of them and used that space to jot down quick notes either before, during, or after their lesson for reference prior to the next lesson. It was the perfect place to make note of comments they made during their lesson about pieces they wanted to learn, and it also proved to be a handy way to record various tidbits that I was able to refer to in preparation for our Year-End Evaluations (you know, those things that you think, “I’ll have to remember to tell their parent this when they come for the evaluation,” but then when the time comes, that nugget of insight is nowhere to be found?!).
Anyway, this year I scoured all of our local stores and scrolled dozens of sites on-line, but just couldn’t find a layout that suited my needs, so I decided to try my hand at designing and creating one exactly how I wanted it. And so you have the 2023-2024 Inspirational Studio Planner, custom-designed for music teachers!
Each of the monthly pages has a music or teaching-related quote (sometimes humorous, too!)…
…and the weekly pages are intentionally left unlabeled (other than the dates for that week) so that you can use them in the way that best serves your purposes – days of the week, specific students or classes, focus areas, etc.
At the back is a section of lined paper to take notes during conferences, workshops, and webinars. This keeps the whole year’s events and learning and focus all in one place!
I’m super excited to give this new studio planner a try this year and wanted to share it with anyone else who might have run into the same issues and want to give it a try with me! Let me know what you think and if you have ideas for other pages you would want included in a studio planner. I’m sure I’ll keep tweaking it for future years and would be happy to incorporate other ideas and suggestions!
Karen Lewis says
I am providing background music in instrumental music, primarily Caribbean style. I am looking for someone who plays guitar, Caribbean drums. marimba etc. who would like to join me.