Thank-you notes: This is a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many business owners neglect to write thank-you notes–especially when they get really busy. Take the time to show your students that you genuinely appreciate their business.  After an initial lesson with a new student, or after semester recitals, send a note thanking them for their time and hard work.  They’ll remember your thoughtfulness!

Postcard mailings: Send out monthly mailings that make good refrigerator fodder, such as “Quote of the Month,” “Music Game of the Month” or useful advice on such topics as time-management, practicing tips or anything else that interests your students and parents. Avoid being too promotional here. Just provide the kind of information that customers will want to hang on their frig. The added benefit to you is that whenever guests visit your customers’ homes, they’ll see your name, potentially leading to conversations about your business.

E-mail Newsletters: Think of your e-mail newsletter as a press release that you send to your students and parents. Providing them with updates via e-mail at least once a month will convey a sense of positive momentum. This keeps students in the loop and, over time, gets them excited to be involved with you and motivates them to pass on referrals.

Getting together over coffee or lunch: Try to spend face time outside of the studio with your customers. Ask about their family, hobbies, personal goals and so forth. When you show customers that you really care about them on a personal level, they’re yours for life.

Birthdays, Holidays and other special occasions: These occasions are very important to your customers and their families and friends. Be among the few who actually remember a student’s special days, and that customer will never forget you!  Update your student’s birthdays through MTH’s student account.  You can also choose to view this month’s birthdays on your MTH home page.  Send an e-card through Hallmark.com or give them a small musical gift to show your thoughtfulness.

Follow up on well-being: For example, if you find that a student or family member has been sick, call periodically just to find out how they’re recovering.

Pass referrals: One of the most powerful ways to encourage loyalty in customers is to pass them referrals. When you get a chance, scroll through your student database and think through people you know who might add value to your students and their families.

Entertaining at your home: Throw a party for your students. You’ll be amazed at how much rapport and goodwill you can build with people when you get them in your home environment. Your guests will also find value in your party as a networking opportunity for them.

Feedback/ Surveys: Demonstrate that you care about the quality of your studio. Call customers or send an online survey to ask them questions like:

• Are you pleased with the service you received?
• What did you like most about working with us?
• What would you like to see improved?

Without this invaluable information, you’ll have a hard time improving your services. Besides, when you ask students for feedback and implement their comments, they feel a sense of ownership in what you’re doing and thus become more loyal to your studio and teaching.

What are some ways you build student loyalty?  Please share your ideas!

Personal Data

Detailed information on each student is essential. Gather this data at the interview or online via the “Register” website feature on MTH, rather than at the first lesson.  Parents and students will appreciate your not taking teaching time for administrative details.

You will need the student’s name, address, and phone number. Other items you might wish to note:

• Student’s nickname
• Birthday
• Date of studio enrollment and age at enrollment
• School name, school grade, time school begins and ends (update times annually)
• Parents’ full names/daytime phone numbers/occupations/ married or separated
• Emergency contact person and phone number
• Names and ages of siblings
• Whether anyone else in the family plays a musical instrument, which one, at what level
• Music ensembles participating in (choirs, orchestras, etc.)
• Name of last teacher, or information on previous instrument instruction

MTH is an excellent student database, and I include much of this information in my studio accounts.  However, I do keep a manila file with this information for each student just to have a hard copy.

Devise a student audition process and an audition sheet. (Or take notes on the reverse of the student data sheet.)  Include this sheet in your student file.

Repertoire Data

Another type of data you’ll need is the student’s repertoire. Such a reference tool will be wonderfully convenient when the student transfers from your studio or applies to summer music camps, for scholarships, to college, etc. Again, database software will make this record-keeping task easy, and data can be sorted any way you wish. If you don’t want to do it by computer, I use an Excel spreadsheet to organize repertoire learned by year.

Typically, a high school student will study and perform 3-6 pieces a semester in my studio.  I divide the Excel columns into year and term studied, name of piece, composer, whether the piece was memorized, performed for recital or competition, and any comments I have from their performance on this piece.

For method materials, listing the titles of the vocalizes they have learned from the many etude books (Vaccai, Marcchesi, etc.)

I print a copy of each Excel file for a hard copy in each student’s file.

Other Student Data

Depending on your program, you also may have music essays written by the student, competition/evaluation/adjudication reports, etc. to file away. If you write a letter of recommendation for a student, save a copy and put it in the student’s file, too. Also include a copy of transfer materials you write on the student and those you receive from the previous teacher.

When the student leaves, cull their file. You may need to keep no more than the transfer materials you prepared when they left your tutelage.

As we near the end of the spring term, this is a good chance to organize what each student has done, update their file, and plan for the coming summer or fall with new goals, new repertoire, and possible audition plans for the following summer or fall.

Happy spring cleaning!

Fit your business goals to the site. Are you looking to improve networking? Or do you want to drive more traffic to your business or website? Once you determine what you really want from an online network, it’s easier to pick one that will help you accomplish your goals — rather than just signing up because you think you need to jump on the online social network bandwagon.

For example, sites such as LinkedIn focus on networking for professionals. Say you are an active performer and want to network with other people who might be in need of your services. In this case a social network with a professional bent likely will best serve your needs. But if you own a music studio and just want to gain exposure with potential students, a network such as MySpace might be a better fit.

Do your homework. Carefully consider what each site has to offer before signing up. Does it form professional relationships or personal relationships? Are there any costs involved for advanced features? What features does it offer that sets it apart from other sites? For example, you can search for people on LinkedIn based on the “six degrees of separation” concept — when you view someone’s profile, a chart shows you the degrees of separation between you and the person’s profile. Ryze, meanwhile, allows you to join specific networks related to your industry, interests and location.

If one of your main goals is to increase exposure with potential customers, investigate what your current customer base is doing. Informally ask them about the online social networks they currently use, or include such questions in a survey. And be sure to check out how your competition is marketing online. If they aren’t doing anything, you may have identified an opportunity to set your music business apart.

Look for established networks. There are tons of choices when it comes to choosing a business-to-business network. When you stick to an established network, you can spend time building your business rather than searching for the latest networks to join. Plus, sticking to just a few networks allows you to be a more active participant and to effectively build strong working relationships.

Proceed with caution. Monitoring social networks can be time-consuming. And there is the possibility of decreased productivity. Remember that this is a networking and advertising tool.  Limit your time on these networks by creating a daily appointment and time limit to update and read posts.  You don’t have to read every single post- just skim- and create engaging yet short posts to keep clients checking up on your site.  Time is money, so remember that your 3 hour Facebook session could be costing you valuable working time in other areas.

Thomson’s main premise for using libretti as source material is that the language of the libretto is filled with literary, poetic and old-fashioned vocabulary devices.  The current language learning paradigm found in university language courses aims to teach the student vocabulary and grammar to survive and thrive in that particular modern country.   Basic themes include food, travel, and paying for a bus ticket.  While practical information for the average Italian learner, music students would be hard-pressed to find an opera entitled Dovè la mia valigia? with which to apply this knowledge.

Operatic Italian is well organized and direct, introducing each libretto example with it’s corresponding musical score, IPA translation, English word-for-word translation, and marked accents for atypical words.  Thomson’s goals for the student are to 1) recognize parts of speech 2) understand verb tenses and their functions 3) develop an understanding of grammar peculiarities found in literature.  Chapter topics of particular interest to the music student include pronunciation and developing an Italian accent, understanding what is lost in translation from Italian to English, what to appreciate in libretti, and Dante’s influence on Italian literature (opera libretti included).

Operatic Italian would make a fantastic textbook for a conservatory or university where opera students are required to develop a working knowledge of this language.  This text also would serve as a fantastic source for seasoned musicians or opera-lovers to deepen their understanding of the language from a literary standpoint, and bridge the gap from their rudimentary knowledge of Italian to a fuller understanding of the richness and depth found in classic Italian literature.

It can be tempting to write a bio that you think prospective students or even your colleagues want to read.  Some voice teachers I met rank their past performing career as paramount in their bios, without much mention of their current career as teacher.  For some of these teachers, it has been 15 or 20 years since their performing career, and you wonder where the information about their teaching is hidden.   And, like Prof. Daniels and Boston University, you may take what little information there is on your career, and put it in an obscure if not totally truthful light.

As teachers who are always peddling their business to prospective students, it is important to write a bio that is honest, which fully discloses your qualifications as well as your accolades in the field of teaching.  Here are a few tips on how to write a compelling, yet truthful biography.

1. Your professional bio should be a few paragraphs, and should not exceed one page.  A short amount of information, left justified, is easier for the reader to digest and skim.
2. Always write your bio in third person.  Refer to yourself by your name and “he/she” as appropriate.  For example, “Ms. Smith is an active member of the Minnesota NATS organization.”
3. Not only do prospective students want to know what you do, but also whom you work with—because they might want to work with you!  A professional bio should include a sentence or two about your business niche, as well as the types of students you may teach.  Here you may also mention famous students you have worked with (over a longer period of time than one lesson), or the awards and honors your students have received recently.
4. Make sure you include a list of awards you have received.  It is a good thing to advertize your talents and the organizations that recognize you for them, but again, keep this clear and honest.
5. Include names of organizations, clubs or associations to which you belong.  These connections might lead to a connection with a potential student.
6. Include any professional certifications or designations you hold.  Write out their names in full for clarification.
7. Have you written any articles, books, or blogs?  Self-published or not, your works add to your level of professionalism and credibility.
8. Were you or your business featured on or mentioned in a newspaper article?  Have you been a guest on any media show?  Include this information, as this adds to your credibility and presence.
9. After you have written your bio, edit, edit, and edit again!  You may need to do a dozen revisions before you get it right.  Eliminate extra words, use descriptive words, keep the sentences short yet varied in length, and have a variety of friends read it.  Ask if the information is clear, if the bio was easy to digest, and if the information is not misleading.  Make sure to revise your bio regularly to keep it up-to-date and refreshed.

1. Get your books in order. While this should go without saying, you’d be surprised by the number of business owners who wait until the very last second to start pulling their financial life together.  Make sure al business expenses have been made and entered into your accounting system as well as final invoices sent out.  Check to be sure all details surrounding payroll (if there multiple teachers in your studio) and your tax and other important papers are organized heading into next year.
2. Don’t forget Uncle Sam. If your business pays quarterly tax estimates, remember that your last payment for 2009 is due by January 15, 2010.  If you don’t pay estimates, you might want to start keeping an eye on your taxes just so there are no big surprises come April.  Doing so could minimize your tax liability by knowing whether or not to purchase deductible business expenses or make large charitable contributions.
3. Review your finances. You’re already cleaning up the books; examine your balance sheet, income and cash flow statements to get an idea of the overall health of your business.  If you want to dig a little deeper, check your business’s total debt ratio and profit margin.  All of this will help you in setting goals and planning for next year.  The more accurate your numbers are, the better you’ll be able to plan for the upcoming year.
4. Client, customer and employee appreciation. Don’t let the year end without showing your appreciation to your best clients and customers.  Mail or personally deliver holiday cards and gifts to those who have helped your business in some way this year.  It doesn’t have to be a lavish gift basket or expensive wine, just something you know they’ll appreciate and remember getting from you as a way to say “thanks.”  And if there are other music teachers in your studio team, don’t forget to thank them as well.  Whether it’s a year-end bonus or a holiday party/dinner to say thank you, make sure your employees know that everything they have done throughout the year did not go unnoticed.
5. Assess equipment and services. Make sure your office equipment, supplies and services like phone and Internet are still meeting your needs.  Do you need to replace your copier or get a faster Internet service for music downloads?  What is the condition of your studio instruments?  Do you need a piano tuning after the holidays?  Determine what needs upgrading, whether it’s musical instruments or computer software, and list out their approximate costs to decide which issues will be addressed before 2010, or after the new year.
6. Check and update all company information. Be sure you have current addresses, phone numbers and emergency contact information from every one of your employees (for multiple teacher studios).  People move and phone numbers change all the time, and often you don’t find out the information you have is wrong until something unexpected happens.  Plus, that information will come in handy in January to make sure 1099s find their way to the right people.
7. Check and update marketing information. If your phone, fax, email and address information correct on everything form your letterhead and directory ads to your website?  If not, you’re making awfully difficult for potential students to locate you.  Test all the links on your website, and make sure any contact or help emails are being delivered to the right people.
8. Plan for next year. It’s hard to get where you want to go if you don’t know how you’re going to get there.  Analyze your business’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and then set goals and develop a business or strategic plan for the coming year.  Establish some milestones to reach along the way to help your achieve and realize these goals.  Make sure all your teachers understand where you business is headed and what they can do to help you reach these goals.

If this was your first year in business, this checklist may take longer for you than others.  Ideally, you’d have time to do this every quarter so December doesn’t completely overwhelm you.  But if you can take care of this general list, plus anything specifically related to your business before the New Year starts, you’ll be able to get 2010 off on the right foot rather than cleaning up last year’s messes.

Many of my high school students are interested in musical theater and beg to sing excerpts from the latest hit on Broadway; some of my other students have a favorite opera or operetta aria that they have longed to learn. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the semantics and technique of the music while learning a piece, and sometimes the final performance of that piece lacks the drama needed to truly liberate the performer and communicate with the audience.  I have found that infusing my teaching with drama games and exercises gives my students, both young and old, tools to find freedom in the communication with the audience and connection with the character they are playing.

Here are some excellent drama games for your voice studio’s next studio class, workshop or group class. Each exercise is geared toward a different goal, such as group cohesion, warm-up, or improvisation.  Before beginning very extroversive activities, make sure the class is familiar with each other and has developed a small level or trust between each other.

NAME GAME

Game Type: Group Cohesion

Age Range: 10+

Number of Participants: Unlimited

Materials: None

Explanation: A game for the first day of class, so that everyone learns each others’ names.

How to Play: The participants sit or stand in a circle. The leader says, “We are having a party, and everyone has to bring something for the party that begins with the same first letter as their name. My name is JANINE, and I am bringing a bag of JELLYBEANS.” The person to the leader’s right says his name and item, and then repeats the leader’s name and item: “My name is ERIK, I am going to bring EGG SALAD. This is JANINE, who is bringing JELLYBEANS.” Each person in turn introduces himself, announces their item, and repeats the name and item of everyone who preceded them. This means that the last person has to remember everyone in the group, or at least try. The leader should encourage others to help out when participants get stuck on someone’s name or item, with verbal or pantomimed clues.

ANYTHING FABRIC

Game Type: Warm-up

Age Range: 5+

Number of Participants: 5-20

Materials: A piece of fabric, about a yard square, solid color or pattern

Explanation: This game stimulates imagination by encouraging multiple answers for the same question.

How to Play: Participants stand in a circle. The leader shows the fabric to the participants, saying “What could this piece of fabric be? We’re going to pass it around the circle and each of you will show us something that it could become.” The leader demonstrates, turning the fabric into something (for suggestions, see list below) and stating what it is. The fabric is passed from person to person, with each participant sharing an idea. If an idea is repeated, such as “a hat”, the leader asks the participant to be more specific (a turban, a bonnet), thereby making the participant come up with their own idea. If the number of participants is small enough, the fabric can travel around the circle twice. A variation on this game is to limit the ideas to a category such as clothing, or things that are the color of the fabric.

Notes: Here are some of the answers to the question, although the possibilities are endless.

• A Superman cape
• A Diaper
• A Magic carpet
• A Flag
• A Picnic blanket
• A Dog’s leash
• A Toga
• A Leg cast
• A Wig

Whether you teach out of you home studio, community conservatory, or in an after school music program, your teaching environment can become a germ magnet this flu and cold season. Here are some tips for maintaining a sanitized studio to keep your students and yourself as healthy as possible.

Perhaps the most important way teachers can reduce the spread of germs in the studio environment is through cleaning. Most public schools or conservatories have a custodial staff that will sweep or vacuum the room and do other general maintenance activities, but cleaning for health reasons should take place throughout the teaching day.

A bottle of diluted cleaning or disinfectant solution, such as Clorox spray with bleach, and paper towels are simple tools to keep available. Use the solution to spray down music stands and pianos between lessons or when students have left for a while. Wipe dry with a paper towel. Clorox also offers a convenient disinfectant wipe, which is buy-two-get-one-free here.

Keep a can of disinfectant spray available for smaller items. Doorknobs, staplers, pencil sharpeners and other frequently used handles can quickly become a source for multiplying germs.

Keep a large bottle of hand sanitizer available at the piano. Encourage students to use it after sneezing or blowing their nose, even if they sneeze into a tissue or the crook of their arm. Remind them to use an amount the size of a quarter; seems like a lot, but encourages them to spread it over the back of the hands and between fingers.

Keep a box of tissues at the piano. Encourages students to sneeze into a disposable tissue instead of over the music stand, piano and other public surfaces.

Here is a cleaning checklist for sanitizing the studio daily and weekly:

5-Minute Checklist:

• Wipe down piano keyboard
• Wipe down music stands
• Wipe light switch
• Wipe doorknobs and entrance

10-Minute checklist:

• Wipe down computer keyboards
• Wipe plastic covered books frequently used
• Wipe metronome
• Wipe all surfaces of piano and near music stand

Weekly Checklist:

• Vacuum/ mop studio flooring
• Dust surfaces
• Sanitize soft surfaces (carpeting, curtains, upholstery) with spray disinfectant
• Wash toys
• Wipe down phone receivers

Keep your students aware of your illness policy.  If students are showing symptoms of flu or cold, don’t let them infect you or the studio.  Remind parents in your upcoming studio newsletter of your policy, and when to cancel a lesson due to illness.

Hopefully these tips will keep you and your students healthy and proactive about your well being throughout the year. Here’s to a clean studio!

With recession drawing to a slow close, many small business owners and individual contractors withvariable incomes are asking “How can I get better control of my business finances so that a future recession doesn’t unhinge my income?” Here are some great tips to help you control your business’ income and expenditures, and ways to plan for looming expenses in the future.

Concept 1: Baseline income

Many small business owners or individual contractors have an income that comes in monthly and fluctuates slightly from month to month. Though they never know the exact amount that will come home each month ahead of time, they have a pretty good rough idea of the amount based upon income averages for the month before, the quarter before, or even the year before. This average becomes their “baseline income” number. That is the very rough idea of what money they have to work with for the month, in order for a budget to be drafted and every dollar is accounted for.

Concept 2: Baseline need expenses

Do you have regular monthly expenses for your business? Advertising in the Yellow Pages, renting rehearsal space, copy costs, Music Teacher’s Helper service fees? Make a list of these regular expenses, noting that they will occur every month. This is just the basic number you need to run your business each month.

Concept 3: Flex Savings

The Flex Savings includes categories that are long-term expenses. You may buy music every quarter, refill your copier/ printer every two months, pay for a pianist for two recitals a year, and your taxes are always due quarterly. What do these costs amount to? Divide the total of all of these categories by 12. This is your monthly payment to your Flex Savings Account.

Concept 4: Hills and Valleys Fund

If you are self-employed, you should always have separate accounts for your business and your personal finances. All of your business related income should go into your business checking account, and your baseline need expenses and monthly Flex Savings payments come out of this business checking account.

To establish a Hills and Valleys Fund for your business, determine what the minimum business expenses are, and the amount of the minimum paycheck you need. Multiply the total of your expenses and paycheck by 3-6. This is the goal amount for your Hills and Valleys Fund. Should you become seriously ill and unable to work, should you have a very slow quarter, this fund keeps a paycheck coming in, and makes sure your business’ bills are paid during tough times.

Some business owners build a Hills and Valleys Fund over 12-24 months, depending on how many months of an emergency fund they need. Establish a monthly amount you are willing to contribute based on your income, expenses, and personal paycheck.

Safe places to store your Hills and Valleys Fund include money market accounts, CD’s, or a high interest online savings account such as HSBC Direct or ING.

Basic Business Accounts:

· Business ONLY checking account

· Flex Savings Account (accessible from your checking)

· Hills and Valleys Savings Account (savings account, money market, CD)

So there you have it! Budgeting can be done even when you don’t know what’s coming in each month. Once you have your first budget worked out, you can and should be tweaking it each month as you figure out what works for you.

Do you currently employ any of these tips in your business? What do you do differently in order to feel confident with your cash flow? Let us know!

I’m always on the lookout for new vocalizes to use with my beginning to intermediate voice students, but little did I know that a valuable resource was right under my nose! While singing with the St. Olaf Choir I was introduced to a wonderful vocalize book entitled Sing Legato by Dr. Kenneth Jennings,

conductor of the St. Olaf Choir. Sing Legato was written to develop good vocal production, breath control, dynamic contrast, flexibility and interval training.

Typically for my intermediate to advanced students, I will assign either the Vaccai or Marchesi vocal methods. However, for younger students who have less experience with etudes, and Italian for that matter, Sing Legato teaches a student musical ideas through catchy melodies that are easy to learn in just a few minutes. This book was originally written for choir, but because many of the exercises deal solely with vocal articulation, the soloist can also use it. The first half of the book involves musical terms (legato, crescendo, tone, etc.) set to a written etude that highlights each element. The second half of the book goes through various exercises, which train interval recognition and intonation. Exercises covered include:

• Sing Legato
• Staccato Is Short
• Marcato Is Strong
• Rich Tone
• Sing A Little Louder
• Sigh the Tone
• Flexibility
• Whole Step, Half Step
• The Third Comes in Two Sizes
• Fourths and Fifths Go Up and Down
• Gliding Along (Sixths)
• Seconds and Sevenths
• The Octave Leap

A separate accompaniment book is available for the teacher to support the singer, keep things interesting, and expand the vocal range with smooth transpositions. For under $4, this small book teaches great exercises for voice students of all ages and voice ranges, and is a wonderful resource in any voice studio!