How I Put My Studio on Autopilot (The Virtual Studio, pt. 2)
Friend, have you ever wished that your studio would run without you for a few weeks?
Maternity leave, an upcoming move, a sick family member who requires your care, a restorative break, or...you fill in the blank.
I recently found myself in this position.
Jeremy and I decided to spend some serious time in Southern Europe. Before committing to a longer period of time, we knew it would be a good idea to spend some time traveling around the area we wanted to explore.
The challenge?
We were leaving right at the start of the new studio year - for several months.
It would be impossible to teach lessons as usual, given how frequently we would be moving around.
And I didn’t want to leave my students without lessons for several months - particularly when we’d just had a long summer break.
Then I realized that I could build a virtual studio on my studio website - one that could run without my constant presence.
A virtual studio could include lesson videos, downloadable music, specific instructions, even a studio-wide practice chart - all for students to log into and use at home.
It turned out to be a more powerful tool than I could’ve imagined, so I’m going to share how I created a virtual studio using a student portal on my website.
A student portal is a password-protected page on your studio website that can make your life SO much easier - and the possibilities are nearly endless - as you’ll see.
My Virtual Studio Requirements
I started with what a virtual studio needed to give to my students:
Ease of use (with maybe a little help from a parent)
A range of levels that would offer both challenge and success
A well-rounded range of skill focuses
A sense of community that would provide fun and practice accountability
Once I had my goals outlined, I was ready to plan the content I would need.
How I Planned Studio Content
First, I created an outline of what my students would achieve. Goals would accommodate more independent learning than usual.
Second, I chose three large categories of focus (rote, reading, & creative play) with smaller focuses within those three.
To make sure our pace felt manageable, I would change the content of the virtual studio every two weeks instead of weekly.
Once I had that outline, I was able to choose content for each two-week session.
How I Built a Virtual Studio
Once the planning was done, I was ready to build the virtual studio.
I recorded the rote learning videos and audio tracks (to be used as duet parts).
I gathered the printable music we would use. With earlier levels, I created instruction sheets with simple steps to approaching a new piece.
I built the virtual studio. I used our student portal. This is a page on my website that is password-protected and may be logged into only by student families.
Has the Virtual Studio Been Successful?
The Successes:
→ My students have become stronger through their independent learning and made more progress than I thought possible. The quality of their work has also surprised me.
→ The rote videos have offered self-paced learning. This has particularly been a game-changer for students who needed more repetition in instruction than we usually had in lessons.
→ In creating videos, I learned to streamline my instruction. I had to think through the most efficient way to teach each piece.
This has made videos more repeatable and leaves room for a student to work through the process for themselves. And it has made me a better teacher.
→ The shared practice charts have been very effective in keeping students engaged and committed.
The Challenges:
→ Our virtual studio has required my studio parents to be actively involved.
My studio parents are used to a high level of engagement, but their willingness to be even more involved during this season made it successful.
→ The virtual studio was not the same success for my adult students.
While they’ve enjoyed past experiences with video learning, the lack of weekly connection in lessons showed. It will be great to get back to online lessons with them.
→ Our virtual studio has required consistent time from me.
In addition to the time I spent planning, creating content, building the virtual studio, and keeping it updated, I’ve spent a lot of time communicating with students and parents.
This was not a complete break from teaching.
But it allowed me to do work on a very flexible schedule, and it was a great fit for my needs.
My Must-Have Tools for a Virtual Studio
Here are the tools that I used to set up a successful virtual studio.
Music:
→ Daniel McFarlane’s Supersonics Pro
Daniel’s pro membership allowed me to create accounts for each of my students and then assign them pieces within their account.
Each piece is printable, and students can also access an editable score that they can mark up right there online - bright colors and everything. There are also recorded tracks available and other fun learning tools.
→ Philip Johnston’s Chopsticks Infinity
Philip Johnston’s Chopsticks Infinity book is exactly what it sounds like: a gazillion variations on the theme of Chopsticks, in a wide range of levels. I created rote videos of a bunch of different variations in 4 different levels.
→ Dorla Aparicio’s Piano Pyramid (multi-level group piano music)
Dorla is one of the biggest names in group piano teaching, and for good reason. Her philosophy is centered around having kids of different musical levels playing together in the same group.
Dorla’s approach is brilliant - and, in fact, her Piano Pyramid Academy is about to open. If you’re interested in learning to teach group piano - without the worry of grouping students by level - this is absolutely the course you want.
We will finish out our virtual studio season with a big, welcome-back group class online, and we will all play an arrangement by Dorla that they are currently learning.
Games + Resources:
→ Digital badge boards
Leila Viss introduced the piano pedagogy world to digital badge boards - and showed us how to make them - and my life will never be the same.
I created a practice chart for our virtual studio season, and it allowed everyone to see how much they were practicing (and in relation to everyone else).
→ Jennifer Foxx’s digital games
If a student completed their goal in our studio practice chart, every two weeks they would receive a prize via email: a cute PDF with a QR code inside.
The code gave them online access to play one of Jennifer Foxx’s digital games. They were perfect for the levels and needs of my students.
I loved these digital games because they reinforced what we were working on in practice - while feeling like a reward. Jennifer has created a wide variety of games for different topics and levels, so it was easy to find what my students needed.
I struggle with finding prizes that don’t need to be mailed (particularly important once we’re living abroad) AND that have educational value. A digital music game is perfect for this.
→ Another source for digital games is Julie Duda, a teacher who also offers a wide range of resources for teachers. Her digital game themes are popular (think sports and unicorns) and she tests all of her resources on her students, so they’re a big hit.
Final Notes:
There were three things that made my virtual studio a big success:
A regular investment of my time
Engaged, committed studio parents
A student portal on my website
One of the most powerful tools on your studio website is a virtual studio. With a password-protected portal to share with families, you can:
-Share music
-Publish studio news and events
-Post student videos and photos without privacy concerns
-Link tuition payment options
-Post your studio policy
-Offer a lesson swap list
The possibilities are nearly endless.
Thanks for coming along this journey with me, friend.
Do you have a question about virtual studios?
I’d love to hear it! Comment below and I’ll respond.
