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Making Music and Having a Blast! is full of chapters for studio reading. Save time re-inventing the wheel and talking during the lesson by giving your students Blast! home reading assignments!
for concrete solutions to your everyday problems and ideas to get more satisfaction from the
best job in the world!
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It's not worth it unless it's fun!
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Greetings!
Does your music room look like a sterile doctor's office? Or worse, is it littered with piles of books and last night's Roquefort sandwich? Restaurants and stores know the value of an inviting venue, and you should, too.
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First impressions matter to parents and students when they come for the initial interview; make your music room a pleasant oasis.
Today I'm going to share pictures and ideas from my music studio and that of my fellow flute teacher, Katherine Isbill.
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| Create a lively, fun studio | | |
A focal point of my studio is a bulletin board filled with students' pictures and events. Students are thus introduced to their new "flute family" at their first flute lesson and get excited about being part of a special club.
 | | Melissa holding the famous squawking rubber chickens |
 | | Need I say more? |
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Change it up
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Keep things changing with new
composer pictures and facts, inspirational sayings, cute pictures, and
cartoons on the music stand or piano.
 | | Fun facts about Brahms |
"Don't practice it until you get it right;
practice it until you can't get it wrong."
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Create a Studio Mascot
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 | | Pooh Bear (seen here with Selina who included these pictures in her yearbook) dresses for all occasions. |
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| Remember to keep the parents happy too | | |
Provide a comfortable place for parents to wait. During Seattle's drizzly winters, I sometimes bring in flowers and lightly scented candles.
Keeping parents happy will help keep them coming.
 | | Studio sign |
 | | Katherine's coffee table with candles and reading material |
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And now for the cutest part of my studio:
Introducing our new Black Lab puppy, Abby the Flute Dog.
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Flute Flash
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 Marking breaths in the music should be one of the first things your students should do in their practice sessions. Well thought-out breaths mean well thought-out phrases and also tone and pitch that doesn't suffer at phrase ends.
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| Mailbox | | 
Hi Bonnie, Your books are definitely a source of information for me. Just this week, I was revising my studio policy and thought to look up what Bonnie wrote about them. Your information was complete and well presented. I used some to add new thoughts to the policy. I absolutely love your "stuff" and get motivated and energized all over again from reading your ideas. Thanks for always for always being motivating and energizing simply by being YOU! Warmly and with smiles... Julie Howe, NCTM Past President, EMTA Chapter |
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