TTTV034: Building a piano community that students love with Laura Kahar

by Tim Topham in Group Teaching on March 12, 2016. 5 Comments

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TTTV034: Building a piano community that students love with Laura Kahar

Piano can be a lonely activity. The opportunities for ensemble and group playing tend to be less common than with other instruments, and it can leave students feeling…all alone. This is why building a sense of community within the piano studio is so important. Piano can be fun and social too!

That’s where the piano community comes in!

Laura Kahar runs a thriving piano studio in Sydney. Alongside regular private lessons, students also attend eight group lessons a year. These group classes are organised by age, and give students an opportunity to play for each other and learn as a team. Challenges and competitions are also run between students in each group, encouraging effective practice and progress.

Laura Kahar

The consistent group lessons throughout the year allow Laura’s students to see they’re not alone in their musical journey. Laura believes that being part of a wider community not only makes piano learning more fun, but can also help with teen retention rates. Teenagers are social creatures, and when piano means hanging out with friends, they’re more likely to keep taking lessons.

You won’t want to miss this podcast with Laura today, not only does she have fantastic ideas, but her positivity is positively infectious!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How Laura fosters a sense of community in her studio
Studio wide incentive and challenge ideas
How to organise and schedule groups
How Laura stays ahead of the planning required for group lessons
Some of the activities Laura uses in her group classes
How a sense of competition drives students forward
Why themes make everything more fun and easier to plan
How to make your older students “piano mentors” for your youngest students

Today’s Sponsor

How would you like to access step-by-step instructions and resources for running group classes? Are you ready to try adding some group teaching to your studio or trying a summer camp this year? How cool would it be to hear first-hand from people already ‘in the trenches’ and grab all their best ideas?!

It this sounds cool, then you MUST check out the latest webinar series from Tracy Selle andSara Campbell called Group Teaching 101.

All podcast viewers get 10% off access during March, so don’t miss out.

Click here to find out more and get your code.

Items mentioned in this podcast:

Laura’s Favourite Links for Inspiration:

Thank you for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, and I’m grateful that you’ve chosen mine.

Being a full-time teacher myself, I know how busy teachers are and how much time, effort and passion we put into our students. Sometimes, the last thing we want to do in our time off is listen to more piano teaching stuff! So, well done for using this time for self-improvement.

Whether you’re at the gym, on the bike or in the car, I know that you and your students will get lots out of what you learn in the long run. Just make sure you try out some of the ideas before they get lost in the business of your next lessons.

If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons on the left of the page.

Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes. Reviews are extremely helpful when it comes to show’s ranking and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally.

Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live.

How do you build your piano community?

Are group lessons part of your studio package? Do your students know each other? Did today’s podcast inspire you to finally give group lessons a try?

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5 Comments

Allison Eckardt Merrill says:

05/21/2016 at 5:32 am

So curious….how do you manage to teach that many students? Do you teach during the day as well?

Reply
- Laura Kahar says:
  
  05/21/2016 at 9:09 pm
  
  Hi Allison,
  I teach before school and after school on weekdays, and a full day (7.30am to 6.00pm with 2x 30mins break so I can express milk..o and eat!) on Saturdays. On Thursdays I have a few pre school students and siblings who are home schooled who come for lessons during the day. I survive and keep my energy levels up with daily yoga and meditation. Hope this helps.
  Laura
  
  Reply
Laura Kahar says:

03/14/2016 at 10:52 pm

TIM TOPHAM!!! You’re awesome. What you’re doing is awesome.
Thank you SO MUCH for the opportunity – SO SO MUCH FUN!!!
How fortunate are we (educators) to have this amazing website of yours.
You’re the best! THANK YOU!!!

Reply
Paul Myatt (ForteMusic) says:

03/14/2016 at 8:49 am

Gday Laura – great interview. What an inspirational teacher you are, congratulations! I loved hearing you speak about how you interview the parents and engage them in their child’s piano learning experience. Also the group experience of making friends while learning – so important for a successful music learning experience I believe.

You’re going to have a great bunch of minions work for you in the future! I’m just up the road at Dee Why if you’d like to have a coffee sometime – cheers Paul

Reply
- Laura Kahar says:
  
  03/14/2016 at 10:52 pm
  
  @paulmyatt:disqus Paul!! THANK YOU!! Means a lot coming from the ‘group classes’ guru! Haha yes my magical minions – they are the inspiration 🙂
  
  Reply