As I prepared for another season of teaching earlier this Fall, I was trying to think of ways to foster community among my students while at the same time allowing prospective students to become familiar with my studio. I decided that one of the best ways to do this was to have workshops on various aspects of singing and music. These workshops are small with only 3-5 participants, and have been arranged in an age-appropriate environment.
Students in grades 3-5 can learn basic singing techniques during our Disney Day sing-along, and they can also learn how to sing harmony in our rounds workshop. Junior high and high school students can broaden their horizons with Broadway, and our rounds workshop is available to them as well. Starting with junior high students, we also have a workshop that explores the meanings and emotions behind the lyrics of a song. This idea of unwrapping the package of a song culminated into a six week course on Song writing. The Song writing course is available to junior high, high school and adult students. Adult students can also participate in our rounds workshop and unwrapping the package of a song.
Other than the six week course on song writing, these workshops are 45-60 minutes, so participants can learn and have fun without being overwhelmed or quickly losing interest. I’m opening registration within the next month, and the first set will begin in January. In future articles on this topic, I’ll talk about the format and plans I have for each workshop. Do you offer group lessons or workshops in your studio? Do you open them to the public? How has this worked or not worked for you? I’d love any feedback you have, so please post in the comments section below.
Great article. I haven’t held a workshop in a few years, and your article inspired me to think of doing it again. I used the workshop either as a lesson or makeup for 3-5 students.
One workshop was how to change the strings on a guitar, and each student brought a new set of strings. Another workshop was on song writing.
Thanks for the article!
You should take a look at the Da Capo Institute in Richmond. We use a community based workshop model built directly into our pedagogy via cross functional studio classes every 5 weeks.
Good article.
Best Regards,
Jeff Prillaman
One workshop was how to change the strings on a guitar, and each student brought a new set of strings. Another workshop was on song writing.
You should take a look at the Da Capo Institute in Richmond. We use a community based workshop model built directly into our pedagogy via cross functional studio classes every 5 weeks.
The workshop must hav been a big success.