The following is part of a presentation shared recently by Janna Williamson, a music teacher in Illinois, with a group of pedagogy students. I was able to read her notes from the meeting and thought what she had to share was excellent. She has given me permission to post from her notes here, so I […]
Studio Ideas
CD Recording Made Easy
If you have a Yamaha Clavinova in your studio, you can practically set up your own recording studio! (If you don’t have a Clavinova, check out this post for instructions on how to set up recording with your acoustic instrument.) I just recently found out how to connect the Clavinova into my computer so that […]
Dealing With Parental Misconceptions
One of the frustrations Independent Music Teachers often deal with is requests from parents that seem unreasonable and outside of what is allowed in our studio policy. The importance of communicating openly and clearly with parents became clear to me in a recent situation I encountered. A student showed up at my studio for her […]
Deductions, Expenses, Receipts
It’s getting closer to Tax Day. As an Independent Music Teacher/Business Owner, be sure you’re taking advantage of all tax deductions available! Check out this list of 25 Common Business Deductions and Expenses to make sure you’re not missing anything. Do you ever have trouble keeping track of all those business-related receipts throughout the year? […]
Piano Teachers Policy Site and Great Idea Exchange
If you’ve never visited it before, I highly recommend checking out the Piano Teachers Policy Site and Great Idea Exchange. It is a collection of studio policies and ideas from music teachers all over the world. The exchange that led to the creation of this site was an invaluable resource to me when I was […]
White Board Messages
Every music teacher needs a white board. My students love writing messages on my white board. Here’s one that showed up today: “I want stay in your lessons till a’m 35 years old” This particular white board is one I picked up at a local teacher supply store. It’s magnetic, 24×36″ and has a grid […]













