If you want to attract more students, there’s an essential question you'll need to answer first—What's your offer? I'm asking because all too often, we think we’re being clear and compelling in how we promote our studios or programs. But the marketing language most...
Too many musicians fly by the seat of their pants when invited to teach masterclasses. And because Masterclass teaching skills are rarely taught and most musicians never get any constructive feedback, they never get a chance to improve their skills. Until now. Here's...
When becoming "Professor So-and-so" is the dream, and you apply and apply and apply for jobs you're actually qualified for, but aren't getting interviews — and you're becoming demoralized because of this — what do you do? This isn't a riddle. I've heard MANY musicians...
I admit it: Transitions are not my thing. Whether it's the end of a big project, a friend moving away, or the end of a season and the start of the next, I resist and resent the loss of the way things were. Of course that only makes things more difficult. And if you're...
Here's an outline of my best advice for musicians who want more students . . . 1. Make it easy for your ideal students to find you If someone is looking for a teacher and they've heard about you, they're going to look you up online. Make sure they find more than your...
As a follow up to the secrets #1 and 2 divulged in this previous post, here are cover letters secrets "part deux" on how structure and research factor in to your job search. Quick review: effective cover letters introduce you and your résumé or CV to a specific...
It's the start of the new year—is your teaching studio full? Have you recruited the kind of motivated and focused students you love to teach? Find out how to recruit more students: For inspiration, here's a story from Mike Johnston (of Mikelessons.com), on how he...
MONDAY BYTES — March 7, 2016 It's a common complaint: Frank was experiencing teaching as draining and exhausting, leaving him with not enough energy and inspiration to focus on his own performance projects. What did we do about it? With Frank and other clients it has...
Giving advice to folks who are preparing for college level music teaching jobs often includes tips on how to teach the demonstration lesson or public master class. I've found this is a "mystery" area for many musicians, because although they've been on the receiving...
MONDAY BYTES - June 11, 2012 Check out this terrific book, “Draw it With Your Eyes Closed” (here’s the NYT review). It's a compiled set of 89 MFA-level art assignments from an impressive array of artists and art instructors who submitted their most challenging,...
