(Note: This photo is missing a couple of my recommendations you’ll read about below.)
Thanks to reader Emily Suszko for this post suggestion!
Ever since I opened my studio, I have been building a collection of piano-themed children’s books in my lending library. I’m not sure if I got the idea from someone else or it just seemed the natural thing to do. In any case, a lending library can be a fun and valuable addition to your music studio.
Today I want to share with you 15 of my favorite books thus far so you can begin building your own library! Since it can be an expensive endeavor if you’re not careful, I’ll also share a couple of tips on how to do so without breaking the bank as well as how to track check-outs.
Why Keep A Lending Library
First of all, let’s talk about some of the benefits of keeping a lending library in your music studio.
#1 Reinforcement
Many books will support what we do in the lesson as well as teach valuable life lessons including the joy of creating at the piano, the importance of practice, the joy of music-making, and more.
#2 Added Value
Anything we can do in our music studios to take it to the next level shows potential clients they’re getting added value. It also conveys to families that we care about students in a multitude of ways outside of just their time at the piano.
#3 Ease of Access
Families may not have ever considered looking for books at the library for their children that are music-themed. Having a collection right in your studio makes it easy for them to utilize and enjoy.
It’s only every 7 years (ish) that New Year’s Eve will land on a Friday. We celebrated our “Best of December” Friday Finds before Christmas and I told you it would likely be the last unless I just ended up with some great stuff. Well, here I am with one more batch of goodies as the new year turns over!
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If you buy much of anything on Amazon, you know that sometimes the order total does not always end up being the transaction amounts that show up on your form of payment. Multiple items in an order may ship differently and don’t charge to your form of payment until they ship.
This has proven quite tricky for me as we download and categorize all of our transactions into Quicken for budgeting purposes (read more on that here). As we were struggling through the holiday transactions, Drew finally Googled something like “how to quickly find Amazon transaction amounts”.
Lo and behold!!!!
It took a few steps, but here they are:
In Amazon go to > Accounts & Lists in the top right corner
Chad Twedt doesn’t post often on his site, Cerebroom, but when he does, I always find it thought-provoking and fascinating. Check out: New MyNoise Soundscape: Piano Escape.
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Following up from #4, in my opinion, the best way I find to keep track of new content on your favorite sites (especially those that don’t post a lot like Chad’s) is to use an RSS reader. Find out more here: Managing Internet Content the Easy Way.
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Joy just launched a new product, it’s a project kit on creating a studio-wide video of The 12 Days of Christmas. The launch promo code expires on January 10.
As we wrap up one year and head into another, I’m excited to let you know about a new podcast I’m launching in January 2022.
An extension of all we do here at PianoPantry.com, The Piano Pantry Podcast will be a place where, together, we’ll live life as independent music teachers.
We’ll talk about all things teacher-life related from organizing our studios to getting dinner on the table and all that comes between. You’ll get loads of easily actionable tips on organizing and managing your studio while balancing life and home.
The plan is for the 8-15 minute podcast to publish each week. The voice is such a powerful tool, and I can’t wait to connect with you in this space!
Want a sneak peek? Check out the 60-second trailer
Happy End of 2021 everyone! Unless I just end up having a big list of goodies pile up by New Year, I plan for this to be the last Friday Finds of 2021!
Christmas Treats
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I have been connected to and following fellow teacher Daniel Light for quite some time and especially love his #thingspianostudentssay hashtag. It wasn’t until recently I discovered he has quite a lovely website and fabulous piano arrangementsincluding some Christmas ones!
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My new favorite Christmas candy – Andes Peppermint Crunch! I grabbed a bag of these randomly while at the story early in the season and they did not last long, oh my!
Peppermint + white chocolate + Andes brand = heaven to me.
I was very late to the game discovering Katie Wardrobe and her podcast, Music Tech Teacher. Ever since, however, I’ve been enjoying her email list. this month she shared a great Advent calendar with lots of goodies including this free music notation library!
A fun podcast to listen to this holiday season! Kids in Slovenia don’t have to settle for just one santa! Each santa has had his moment in the spotlight—each in a different period of Slovenia’s complicated history.
I’ve been a fan of James Clear for years – even prior to his famous book Atomic Habits. This podcast is for anyone who has an interest in the Enneagram and is hosted by Ian Morgan Cron, author of the famous book The Road Back to You
Friend and colleague Daniel Patterson of Grow Your Music Studio along with Nate Shaw of Brooklyn Music Factory has launched a new podcast for music school owners.
Do you often find yourself wondering what happened to the last 12 months.? Life can move so quickly!
While it may feel a bit cliche at times, the clear distinction in time as the end of the year approaches really does make for a wonderful opportunity for reflection.
Every year when I start this process I go into it thinking that I’ve not accomplished as much as I wanted. Making the effort to look back puts me in my place every time because there is so much we can easily forget!
Whether you’re going through blog posts like I am or scrolling through photos on your phone, take a moment to feel gratitude for what life brought in 2021. I won’t pretend life is always warm fuzzies but we made it. We’re here and life is moving forward.
Here is a 5-point countdown to some of the best from me to you here on Piano Pantry in the past year. This year I also celebrated 5 years of this blog! Wahoo!
The One-Minute Club is a great studio-wide note-naming challenge. One of my teacher friends told me the free landmark download is the prettiest they’ve ever seen! 🙂
This product was a result of wanting to give all my students well-sequenced, note-naming assignments to do at home each week that focused on small groups of notes at a time with lots of repetitions. Rather than creating these assignments manually for every student every week, I sat down and designed an entire well-sequenced set all at once.
Teachers will find it especially useful when using it in conjunction with any kind of online assignment tools such as email, Google Docs, or Tonara.
Would you love to “pick the brain” of a fellow savvy IMT on something you’re struggling with? Fresh inspiration and helpful feedback are right at your fingertips. I’m really excited to now be offering consulting sessions!
This unique and versatile Christmas book is a format like no other.
Students will walk through the process of what they hear in 8 famous Christmas tunes, learn to play from a chord chart, and create a variety of variations.
4 food-focused Posts
Food Prep and the Studio Schedule – Three of my best food prep tips for keeping your meal-time work efficient and organized so when you walk in the door late at night, you can breathe easy knowing dinner will be ready in a jiffy!
My Trader Joe’s Shopping List – Any other TJ fans out there? If so, here is my go-to list of items when I am lucky enough to make the trek to my favorite grocer!
Do you have any students who are Star Wars fans? This Star Wars-themed assignment sheet might be just what they need!
It’s been over three years since I posted a new assignment sheet in Assignment Sheet Central. With many returning to in-person lessons following the pandemic, I decided it was time to fulfill a request I had for this themed assignment sheet.
Due to copyright issues, the font and clip art are not exact Star Wars replicas, but I got it as close as I could to give it the overall feel.
Access this assignment sheet as part of the growing assignment sheet bundle!
Did you hear? Prima Music is going out of business! So sad! Prima was my go-to for quite a long time. Pop over there through the month of December for 50% off EVERYTHING while supplies last.
Are you looking to make some changes/improvements to your business?
Do you wish you could get some advice and direction for the next step in your growth as a teacher?
Would you like to work side-by-side with another teacher to improve one specific area of your studio?
I love hearing from you and working with you and am now excited to offer a new consulting service!
While I am confident and well-versed in many areas of piano pedagogy and running an independent music studio, topics of particular strength/interest include:
Studio business management (communication, payments, policies)
Studio marketing and social media
Productivity & Organization
Email management
Building rapport with the current families in your studio
Music Learning Theory application for piano
Piano methods, materials, and resources
Speaking and presenting skills (at a professional level)
What is a Consulting Session like?
(1) Purchase your 45-minute consultation session
(2) I will contact you within 24 hours to set up a time for our online session
(3) Prior to the meeting, I will send you a questionnaire so I have context about your background, teaching experience, and area(s) of inquiry
(4) During the meeting, I will focus the discussion on your area(s) of concern, including personalized advice, observations, and suggested resources
(5) After the meeting, I will send a follow-up email summarizing the ideas and suggested resources discussed during our time together
FAQ’s
Is this like coaching?
Kind of but rather than an ongoing, recurring setup, a consulting session is a great way to get a little direction and freshen up an area of your teaching/business without a big financial or time commitment.
Why individual sessions?
Taking the next step or working to improve areas of our teaching and business can feel overwhelming because our profession requires we wear many “hats.”
A single session will allow us to focus our time on one struggle you are having so implementation and growth feel achievable and productive.
Can we do more than one?
Yes, of course! If after the first meeting, you would like to work more together on the topic at hand or address another area of growth, recurring sessions will be made available at request.
Launch Discount
In celebration of the launch of these consulting services (and since it’s Black Friday!), you can get 15% off.
Use code CONSULTLAUNCH15 at checkout.
This offer expires on Saturday, December 4, 2021.
P.S. You simply have to purchase by this date. The consultation session will be booked for a later time.Â
After reading my post on organizing printed music, Natalie has been cleaning out and updating her own music files. Check out her before and after photos and get a free download of folder labels. (Natalie Weber | Music Matters Blog)
I recommend many resources and tools here on Piano Pantry to help you be more organized and productive in your personal and studio life. Find a list of those resources here: Recommended Resources.
Two of those are LastPass, my favorite password manager, and Paprika, my favorite recipe app.
Both of them have big sales going on this week.
All four versions of Paprika are on sale from now until the end of November.
Sale prices will vary by country, but the currently displayed prices on their website, the App Store, and the Play Store are indeed the correct prices.
Some of my favorite features of this app are:
You can purchase a desktop version
It has a built-in browser, so you can browse the internet directly in the app and download recipes directly from there
You can download a browser bookmarklet so you can download recipes from the browser you use on a daily basis.
Gone are the days of repeating the same password over and over or using the same one but changing one number every month, or, like my dad, writing it down on a half-dozen index cards (oh my!).
Some of my favorite features of the premium version of Last Pass are:
Get access to all devices.
Generate passwords that are secure and customizable
It’s more than just for passwords! Save:
Health Insurance Informaiton
Drivers Licenses
Credit Cards
Bank Accounts
Wi-Fi Passwords
Save and secure personal information in one location.
Get 25%
On November 23-29th, 2021, LastPass is running a 25% off sale for annual plans.
