How to Build a Virtual Music Studio (The Virtual Studio, pt. 3)
How’s your new year planning going, friend?
Do you have new resources to try that will make your life easier this year? (I’m asking because I’ve got a big one to share with you.)
Last fall, I discovered a tool that revolutionized my teaching life.
For two months at the very beginning of the studio year, I was unable to teach online lessons (see this post about my piano teacher nomad adventures).
I did not want to abandon my students at the start of their piano year, so I created a solution: a virtual studio.
It worked! My students practiced, made progress, accepted challenges, and played fun duets with their families until I returned to teaching. Our virtual studio allowed me to help my students continue playing the piano - without my presence.
A virtual studio is a flexible tool that can help you eliminate make-up lessons, offer bonus material to students, take a vacation, and so much more. A virtual studio offers huge potential to free up your time and allow students to make progress on their own, for brief periods of time.
Here’s a breakdown of what a virtual studio is (and what it’s NOT) and how it can make your life easier.
What a Virtual Studio IS:
A virtual studio is a password-protected page on your website that houses lesson material for your students to access on their own.
This can include a variety of materials such as:
Printable sheet music
Instructional videos (rote or otherwise)
Audio tracks
Downloadable PDFs (with instructions, games, etc)
Printable theory pages
Links to outside resources
Practice charts (I like sharing these in Google Docs so students can edit them)
A Practice Hall of Fame
Event information or studio calendars
A virtual studio can be as simple as printable theory worksheets that you don’t have time to cover in a lesson.
Or your virtual studio could contain enough content to fully support your studio with lesson material for a week - or several.
How Can a Virtual Studio Make Your Life Easier?
A virtual studio offers huge flexibility in sharing learning material with students. A few ideas:
1. Unexpected time off (a family illness, etc.):
Look through your digital music library and add a piece for each level you teach. Include brief instructions, if that seems helpful for your students.
Add a link to an online theory game, a music history video on YouTube, or a listening assignment.
In less than an hour, you have a simple virtual studio that will give your students a fresh challenge - while giving you time away on short notice.
2. Make-up lessons:
Set up your virtual studio with a lesson’s worth of material for each level you teach. When a student cancels a lesson, give them the password to your virtual studio and encourage them to enjoy their fun week of practice.
3. Self-guided summer camp:
Record a set of videos on any topic you want to teach (pop songs, the 12-bar blues, fun rote songs, or anything else). Add a collaborative group chart to help students track their progress (digital badge boards are fantastic for this) and host a final group celebration (in-person or online) at the end of the program.
You can also set up your virtual studio to support your studio for longer periods of time, such as maternity leave or while your family makes a big move. I shared my two-month virtual studio experience over here.
What a Virtual Studio Is NOT:
A virtual studio can’t replace lessons long-term.
A virtual studio does not replace YOU.
Toward the end of my own two-month virtual studio period, my students’ motivation took a dive. It was clear that two months was the most I could ask of their independent progress, and we were all excited to get back to weekly lessons.
Our students thrive when they have our attention, expertise, and direct engagement with them.
A virtual studio can be a wonderful support for your students - but it can never replace you.
How to Set Up Your Own Virtual Studio:
To begin, you’ll need a studio website. You’ll also want to understand how to add videos, links, and other content to your website.
Then:
1. Add a new page to your website that is password-protected. I like to use a single, studio-wide password to keep things simple for everyone.
2. Arrange your content in a way that makes it easy for students to find what they need. Will you organize it by level? By assignment? By practice order?
3. Save your work and TEST EVERYTHING! You don’t want to receive frustrated emails from parents as soon as you launch. The experience needs to be easy and fun for your students from the very beginning.
4. Share virtual studio details in an email that’s titled clearly so it’s easy for parents to find down the road.
Thank you for reading, friend, and I hope that your virtual studio brings a new freedom and excitement to your studio - and personal life - this year.
