NAMM U - Lessons

At The 2018 NAMM Show, Jonathan Shue, education director for Dusty Strings Music Store & School, revealed how offering private lessons and group classes can become a key revenue generator for a business. He also shared his expertise on how to do them right. Here are highlights from the NAMM U session. (And watch the video to see the full presentation.) According to Shue, there are several reasons to offer group classes. They generate more private lessons, which can create more long-term students. These students become long-term customers, who promote your store and lessons st

If you face an ongoing struggle with your music lesson program, it can be turned around with a few key strategies. At 2017 Summer NAMM, Melissa Loggins of Music Authority looked at how to keep students engaged, so they stick with your program. It starts with marketing and recruiting (both students and teachers), and ends with a thriving lessons operation built on customer and student satisfaction, commitment and loyalty. As a retail business owner and voice and piano instructor, Loggins also manages Music Authority’s growing lessons program, which averages 525 students weekly. It

Music retailers are increasingly using video as part of their online marketing toolbox. Among them, Billy Cuthrell of Progressive Music Center started shooting video music lessons and distributing them to students before YouTube, Facebook and Instagram even existed. Fast-forward to 2017 Summer NAMM, where Cuthrell and his company’s social media manager Barrett Certoma shared their know-how on using new video technology to get more people and students in the store. Here are their best ideas. (Watch the video for the full session.) Get Video-Inclusive Smartphones now give you vide

At 2017 Summer NAMM, Carol Cook of The Music Room shared her lesson program do’s and don’ts—picked up during her 23 years in business. During this session, she stressed that running a retail store with a vibrant music lesson program requires clear rules and communication with prospective students, trained staff and staying open to new ideas. Here’s Cook’s list. (Watch the full session video and the Q&A at the end for more details.) Do: Schedule registration appointments. When you sign up new students, do so with registration appointments. Have them come in and sit down with yo

Music lesson programs can seem like a no-brainer—get new students, keep them. But at The 2017 NAMM Show, music lessons expert Pete Gamber showed that it takes more than wishful thinking to build a successful lesson program. During this NAMM U session, Gamber, a teacher and former retailer, shared his lessons learned and how to avoid mistakes with a program. Here are highlights from the presentation. (Watch the video for the full session.) Know your lesson room potential. It’s not enough to say you want to have 500 students. You’ll need a formula to figure out the potential of your

The kids of Generation Z, also known as Post-Millennials and born in the mid-1990s to early 2000s, bring a whole new set of challenges to music teachers and parents. Gen Z students learn differently because of their exposure to technology. These kids have never known a world without smartphones and social media, and they prefer to communicate through digital devices using a few words, a single picture, an emoji or a snap. They expect to find whatever information they want quickly and may become frustrated and impatient if they can’t find a solution to a problem. Still, music canno

In 1989, Paul Myatt bought a music school and retail operation, which has since grown to more than 12 locations and 4,000 students weekly throughout Australia. And at The 2017 NAMM Show, he shared seven simple promotional ideas to help music retailers grow their own lesson programs. In his early days with the business, Forte School of Music, Myatt found that 95 percent of the people calling his store were women. They came from middle-income families, were genuinely interested in their children’s education and had heard that music lessons were important to kids’ development. “I bel

Your student has practiced all year, and she’s up next. She’s waiting in the wings, while the student ahead of her finishes a Beethoven piano piece. Her heart’s racing, and her hands are shaking. You’ve prepared her to play the recital piece, but have you prepared her to perform? We believe that learning to perform is an important part of studying music. Not every music student studies to be a performer, but performances count and make your students quick thinkers and better musicians. Confidence, adaptability and know-how are skills students can use in music and the outside world

When someone walks in your store or calls to ask about music lessons, chances are they’ve already given it some thought—and are ready to take the next step. At least that’s how Carol Cook of The Music Room sees it. At The 2017 NAMM Show, Cook shared how she and her team work with potential students to get them signed up for lessons. She also discussed ideas for strengthening lesson programs. “We’re always changing and trying to make ourselves better in this arena,” Cook said. Here are her seven steps for creating or enhancing a successful lesson program: 1. Interview the customer.

Wentworth Music is a testament to the power of word-of-mouth advertising. At The 2017 NAMM Show, Noel Wentworth shared how he grew his lesson program from 90 to more than 900 students during the past 13 years. His secret? The power of storytelling. “If word-of-mouth is king, then a good story or experience is your No. 1 asset,” he said. Wentworth added that his company has made its music school the go-to place for lessons—in a city of approximately 200,000—by starting with a simple question: What did you wish for when you first picked up an instrument? One of the most popular answ

The times they are a-changin’. As with the Bob Dylan song, the music lessons business isn’t what it was even five years ago. At 2016 Summer NAMM, Menzie Pittman of Contemporary Music Center, NAMM’s 2016 Dealer of the Year, shared strategies for music retailers to keep up with the times to build thriving lesson programs. “We have to consciously adjust with how things are changing,” he said. Here are highlights. (Watch the video for the full session.) Increased competition for potential music students. Pittman shared these trends and advised retailers with lesson programs to take no

Today, music schools are trending, and private lessons are usually the driving force. But parents and kids are changing. A new generation is used to being over-scheduled, and the private lessons format might not be for them. If you have a lessons operation, it’s important to consider offering a diverse program that appeals to different kinds of students.​ You can start with a basic private lesson program and build from there. Creative classes and solutions for busy parents and kids enable more people to take advantage of music education. By diversifying your lesson program and off