3 Ways to Bring Group Workshops into Your Studio

Have you considered adding group workshops to your studio but you’re not sure when or how often? Or how to structure them?

Group workshops can be a fantastic asset for your music teaching studio. They provide an opportunity for your students to get together, socialise, learn through games and make music together.

But it’s tricky to know where to start if you’ve never done them before. Let me walk you through 3 simple options so you can choose the one that’s the best fit for you.

Option 1: Performance Prep Group Workshops

This is the simplest choice of all and where I recommend most teachers start. In fact, this is the first type of group workshop I tried in my studio.

Performance prep group workshops should be done about 2-4 weeks before a recital or other upcoming performance.

Set a date and bring your students together to play for each other and discuss performance etiquette.

After the performances, add some games and maybe a group improvisation activity and hey presto! You have a very easily planned and executed group workshop.

Quick tip on this one: You may not want to bring all your students together in one go. I find groups of about 10 students to be best for performance practice workshops.

Option 2: Monthly Group Workshops

Maybe you want group workshops to become a much bigger part of your studio. Many teachers do groups each month or each term.

There are 2 main ways to set this up:

• Instead of regular lessons that week
• As well as regular lessons that week

Neither is right or wrong. But consider the scheduling when you make this decision. 

If you do group workshops instead of regular lessons for a week each month, parents will expect it to fit their schedule. This can be done by keeping students on the same day that they normally have lessons…or by a lot of juggling of day/time requests!

On the other hand, if you opt to have a workshop as well as regular lessons you’re going to need to think about when it will be.

For me, it means giving up my Sunday off four times a year, which I’m ok with but it’s certainly something to consider. When would you hold the workshop? How would this fit in with your work/life balance?

Option 3: Holiday Group Workshops/Camps

Another popular time for holding group workshops is during or just before school holidays and breaks. This could be a single hour-long workshop or a camp held over several days.

The benefit of this is that it can bring in extra income while still allowing you to take some time off. It’s also often more convenient for families who want to travel when school is on a break.

If you’re going to add these types of group workshops think about how you will handle payment. Will it be the same price as regular tuition? Will it be optional or rolled into the fees?

What type of group workshops do you do?

Do you host any workshops in your studio? When and what kind do you do?