Relocating your piano studio can feel overwhelming, but it’s also an opportunity for growth. In this episode, Laura Harding shares her experience moving her studio after 30 years of teaching. From breaking the news to students to rebuilding in a new community, Laura offers practical tips and encouragement for teachers facing a similar transition.
Laura Harding, NCTM, based in Alexandria, Minnesota, teaches piano independently and at the University of Minnesota, Morris. She is treasurer of the Minnesota Music Teachers Association Foundation and a member of the RCM College of Examiners. Laura moved to Alexandria with her husband and two children after 25 years in the Twin Cities. Fun Fact: she just completed her 22nd year as a Minnesota State High School League dance team official.
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Transcript
Is your family considering a move in the near future? As a studio business owner, relocating is a significant undertaking. Unlike an online teacher who can simply pack up a laptop and continue working, a move often means rebuilding your entire business—a process that can feel both daunting and overwhelming.
In today’s episode, my friend Laura Harding shares her experience of relocating her piano studio after 30 years of teaching—from a bustling city to a small town. Her insights will offer inspiration and reassurance, helping you navigate what this transition might look like.
I’m Amy Chaplin, and you’re listening to episode 155 of The Piano Pantry Podcast.
Amy:
Laura, thank you so much for being on the podcast today. I’m really excited to have you on because I would call you a real life teacher friend. You’ve been to my home in Indiana to the retreat and we spent time together at conferences and stuff. So it’s a real treat having you on today.
Laura:
Yes. Thanks so much for having me, Amy.
Amy:
Would you be able to just go ahead and introduce yourself a little bit and let us know what life looks like for you right now in your teaching situation?
Laura:
Sure, yes. So I grew up in a small town in Minnesota, in West Central Minnesota. And I went off to college and I’ve actually been teaching piano now for 30 years.
That’s hard to believe, but I started teaching piano just right after I graduated from high school. And I have my undergrad from Luther in piano, and then a master’s from the University of St. Thomas in piano pedagogy. So I’ve been just teaching piano my whole life, started my own studio back in 2001.
And my husband and I lived in the Twin Cities with our kids for 25 years. And then we just recently moved a couple of hours west of the Twin Cities to a smaller community. So I’m still teaching piano here. We have a 14 year old daughter, 10 year old son. And we’ve been married for 26 years. I also have a little dog named Bella. So yeah, just balancing piano teaching life with a family as well.
Amy:
Can you give us a little look into what your studio looks like right now in this moment and maybe any other professional work that you’re doing?
Laura:
Sure. So right now, my piano studio is out of my home. And I actually have virtual students and then also in person students.
I also teach at the University of Minnesota, Morris. I’m an adjunct piano professor there. So I teach two classes of piano lab for non music majors. And I also have a small studio there as well.
And then I also just a little side thing. I judge dance competitions for the Minnesota state high school league. So that’s a fun thing I’ve been doing. And I’ve done that now for 22 years. So I guess I stick with things for a while.
Amy:
So as you already mentioned, last year, it was last year, right? Your family decided to make a move, which meant moving your studio. Now, first of all, I assume that was the first time you’ve ever had to move a studio, correct?
Laura:
Yes. I did move I guess when I was younger, just out of college, but at that time I was teaching at a studio, not in my home. So that, I don’t think that really counts.
Amy:
So can you just set the stage for us? What prompted the move? And what did that move look like?
Laura:
Sure. So my husband and I have been talking for a long time, just about moving to a smaller community as we’re getting older and getting ready for retirement. And it just seemed like the right time for a few reasons.
One, my dad has a lot of health issues and so moving meant being closer to my family and to my husband’s family. So we could spend more time with them.
And then also we just wanted to downsize. So we actually downsized our home and our belongings, an idea of preparing for retirement. So thinking about the future and the timing seemed right because our oldest daughter. Had one more year left of middle school, so we thought, let’s move before she begins high school. Just so that transition can be a little bit easier. It seemed like the right time to do it, for many reasons, really.
Amy:
So how did you handle the initial announcement with your studio? Did you set up, did you set your studio families up initially with options for moving forward, such as an option to stay with you online, or just advice on how to contact other teachers in the area? What did that look like?
Laura: So for the initial announcement, I really drug my feet. That was like one of the last things I did. I think because it was probably one of the hardest things for me. Many of my piano students have been with me for a really long time. So you just build a really strong relationship.
So our for sale sign was going up at our house within a week and I said, I decided I need to tell them now before they are surprised by this sign.
Amy:
Don’t let them find out with the sign.
Laura:
No. And so I crafted a letter but I did call quite a few families to break the news on the phone. I just felt like that was a good thing to do and not just be shocked by an email that came through. So I did call quite a few families and talked on the phone with them. And then I did send an email out to the entire studio.
And then what I ended up doing is two things. I created a Google document that had like piano teachers names and their contact info. And I ended up reaching out to those piano teachers to let them know I was moving. See if they had openings. I asked them too if they had a little tagline for their studio. So that my piano students could see a little bit more about what they were like as a teacher. So I created that document. I also listed on that document like what teachers were involved with different organizations. So if my students wanted to continue with our state associations programs or, different local programs, they could do that with a particular teacher.
And then I also created a Google form for my piano students that they could fill out and they could say, I would like to get recommendations of teachers. Or, I would like to continue lessons virtually. And then I also added a thought that they could write a review of Harding Music Studios. And that was actually, I was a little hesitant because it feels “Oh,, I’m moving, but can you tell me what was good about the studio or what, whatever,” but that actually was really great. I think it really helped me. And then I was able to use those two as I was moving.
Amy:
I love two things about that. One, I love that you made personal phone calls. That just is not something that happens anymore these days, but there’s so much more, I don’t know, just that humanity of that voice, of that conversation.
Especially, like you said, if it was some of your students that you’ve had for a really long time. It’s just a nice personal touch so that and then I agree I thought that was a great move to put a review on your form. Why not? These are the people that know you the best and when you’re looking to move forward I think even though I think sometimes as teachers were hesitant to do those things or were afraid of like I don’t want to have to ask someone to praise me. But in reality, our studio families are generally happy to do that. And especially if they know that you’re in this situation when you would need that. So smart move.
Laura:
Thank you. And yes, I think nearly everyone wrote something or they did something later. So it was just a really great thing to have.
Amy:
Oh, and even the process of writing that I think. In a way, it’s probably a good, almost closure with some of them, like a, almost like a healing process or just that step of just saying we’re closing this chapter and moving forward. Yes.
So how would you say overall your studio families handled it?
Laura:
When I called, I called quite a few, and some actually cried. Some were surprised, and then some just said, thank you so much for everything you’ve done. They were just grateful for the experience they had. Yeah. And even some said, how can I help? So I think it was a good response.
Amy:
How can I help? You could write a review for me. Ha! LOL.
Laura:
That’s right.
Amy:
Did you have any kind of a head start in actually setting up your new studio? Did you know anybody in your area that you, or, are you totally starting fresh?
Laura:
So I did a few things first of all, I should say this, I didn’t mention this before, but my brother and his family live in the new community that we moved to, and so he was able to spread word of mouth, “hey,, my sister is moving here and she teaches piano”, so that was really great to have.
I also joined a community Facebook group, it was just called Chit Chat. And it’s just random things, but a couple of people had posted I’m looking for a piano teacher. Do you have any recommendations? So that was a great way, just, to get, known in the community. There was also another piano teacher in the new community who I was in contact with, and so she knew I was moving here, and she also just helped spread the word.
And then I actually contacted the local Music Teachers Association before moving, and just said, Hey, I’m moving there! I’d love to join the organization, when’s your first meeting? And so it was a lot of just little pockets of, I’m coming, I’ll be there soon. That kind of thing.
Amy:
So time wise, and you may have stated this at the beginning so forgive me if you already said it. So did you end your studio at the end of the school year? Was it a pretty clear cut? Like it’s the end of the school year, we’re going to finish out this year, and then you moved during the summer and then you kicked off in the fall? Or what did that timeline look like?
Laura:
So I did finish in the school year. And part of that too was to allow our, my own children to finish their school year. So it was a good time to do it. I had , an end of the year recital. And then we moved. And so then I had the summer to set up and just have a little bit of breathing room as well.
Amy:
So you were probably, were you onboarding students at that time as well, and saying, okay, we’ll start lessons in August or whatever?
Laura:
Yes. So I did have one new family of two students start, actually in June, just a couple weeks after we moved, they started. It was a good way just to get in. Get started.
Amy:
How quickly did you fill your studio? Were you able to get to your desired numbers right away? Are you still working on that process now that you’re almost a year in?
Laura:
Not quite. I think it just is a lot different than what it looked like before. I call myself a hodgepodge piano teacher now. So I have lots of different things where before I just had a studio of, students and that was what I did. Now I have a studio in my home. I teach at the university.
I also just recently became an examiner for the RCM college of examiners. So that started in September. So I’ve been doing online exams that kind of fills in time and I ended up having almost half of my students from my previous location do virtual lessons. Some were a little bit slower to sign up, but yeah, I still have about half of the studio,
Amy:
Nice. So let’s talk about the physical move itself. What did it look like moving a piano? And, if you’re like most teachers, all the books, did you clean out your stash? Was it a good spring cleaning to dump things or did you just take everything with you?
Laura:
Yes. So I’ll do pianos first cause that’s the easy part. I have three pianos, so I just hired a piano mover to do that and they moved it like right after I finished teaching for that school year.
Amy:
I’m going to interrupt you real fast, the piano mover thing. So when we moved into our basement. My husband, people ask, how did you get a piano in there? And he just loves to say, easy. I wrote a check.
Laura:
Yes, exactly. Yes. Anyway, the funny thing too about the piano movers is that there’s this big, huge concert in Minneapolis it’s called the honors concert, and they actually moved my three pianos the morning of. Getting all the pianos moved for this big concert. They were the same movers. So they had a huge day.
Amy:
You have three pianos?
Laura:
We have a grand an upright, and then an electric piano for my kids to practice on when I’m teaching.
Amy:
Okay. I guess I don’t have a lot of room to speak. I have three, but I was thinking for some reason three acoustics or something, because I have a grand and then two digitals,
Laura:
oh, and then you wanted to know about all the other books. I’m hesitating on that.
Yeah, so it was a good time for spring cleaning for sure. So I just. I would say like I just tried to carve out a little bit of time and not, and give myself room to look through things and not do it all at once because it’s a big task. And so I just would look through like maybe a bookshelf of something and decide what I wanted to keep and what I could donate. So I did get rid of a lot of things, handed them off to other teachers or just donated them. And then I tried to just pack up things. That I didn’t think I would use, so they were ready to go. So yeah, it just, I guess time and patience is what it took.
Amy:
Do you remember how many boxes of books you even had?
Laura:
No idea.
Amy:
Amuse us, Laura, come on!
Laura:
Although there is one thing I wanted to mention. I found this app online that you can actually design your rooms. And so I was trying to figure out like the best place to put my grand piano in this new space. So I had this app where I just would move the grand piano around and try to imagine like where my desk would be and stuff like that. So it was fun.
Amy:
That is fun. Do you have any advice on just general logistics of any of this packing up and making the move if anyone else is about ready to go through this?
Laura:
Time and patience, maybe, would be, yeah, just taking your time and being patient with yourself. I think also, not everything’s going to be perfect. And I think, too I just kept the things that were the most crucial or important to me for teaching close to me, or they even traveled in the car with me and not with the movers, for example, so then I felt really comfortable about this is the stuff I need to teach, and it’s with me.
Amy:
You could get by with just that stuff if you had to. Was there anything that took you by surprise in the whole process?
Laura:
I think just how everything fell into place. So when we decided to move, I was, really wasn’t sure about starting a new studio. I think that was, was a little bit stressful. Because I had such an established studio before. I just was thinking about how long will it take? How will I get out into the community? That kind of thing, but things just really fell into place.
And also the position at the university opened up after we decided to move. So that again was another thing that just fell into place. And then I think it just feels chaotic and unknown, but just, you have to have a lot of courage, I think, with moving.
Amy:
So the university position was unexpected, basically, like you weren’t really seeking it out and you just, you saw that it was an available position and, oh, this, maybe this is the next right thing for me.
Laura:
Yeah. Yep, exactly.
Amy:
Now, if you had to do this all over again, is there anything that you would do differently?
Laura:
Again, I think just trust the process. Maybe tell my families a little sooner. Although I think it ended up working out, how it did. I just really took my time on that one. I maybe could have done it a couple weeks earlier. I don’t know anything else.
Some things that have really helped is just to get out into the community. Or you just have to, too, I think, be really forward sometimes. So if we’re out somewhere and they, Oh, what do you do? And I say, my piano teacher, here’s my card and not to not be afraid to do that.
Amy:
Laura, is there anything else that we haven’t talked about today that you think would be valuable for our listeners to hear?
Laura:
So there’s one other thing that I just ended up doing, and I’m surprised I did this, but, so there’s a local community theater, and someone asked me if I would consider playing the piano for it, and I said yes. And I surprised myself because teaching is more of my thing than performing, and, but I thought, this is a really great opportunity because It’ll give me something to practice and to work at, and it’s a community theater, so it’s just, again, another avenue to get out there, another marketing opportunity. And that actually came from giving the piano player at church my card. So
Amy:
there you go. All that networking stuff, right? So yeah, so it’s getting yourself known in the community, even if it’s not something that you do long term. But you’re getting to know people in the area. And also I think just having that fresh start, I’m sure feels like it’s a new chapter and that’s the time that sometimes you just feel motivated to try new things and see what’s the season of life going to bring.
Laura:
And the other thing too, is that I ended up, so I’m in a lot of different committees and they meet virtually. So I’m still able to like connect. with friends that I had in our previous location through Zoom meetings committee meetings as well.
Amy:
Laura, it’s been so nice hearing a little bit of your story. I followed along with you just, on social media and stuff and seeing that process. So it was nice to hear from you directly on how things turned out. It sounds like you’ve built your studio really quickly and I think you have a lot of great points for teachers to consider that might be having to make a move themselves. Thank you so much for being on today.
Laura:
Yes, thanks so much for having me, Amy.
After Laura and I wrapped up our call, she sent me a quick message to share something she had forgotten to mention. As part of her move, she had a new studio logo designed that summer and also made a shift in lesson offerings—transitioning from 30-, 40-, and 50-minute lessons to 30-, 45-, and 60-minute sessions. It was the perfect time for both changes, and they aligned naturally with her studio’s evolution.
I’m so glad she followed up—such a great point!
Before we go, a quick reminder: I’m launching a new teacher chat in my Patreon community on the first Wednesday of April 2025! We’ll be exploring ways to incorporate more audiation-based instruction into our teaching, using Faber’s Piano Adventures Level 1 lesson book as a starting point.
Even if you don’t use that particular book, I’m confident the discussion will give you practical tools to apply to any piece your students are learning. Join today for just $7 at PianoPantry.com/patreon.
Also, mark your calendars! The annual Piano Pantry Digital Organization Retreat is happening May 28–31, and I’m currently accepting interest submissions. Visit PianoPantry.com/retreat for details. Plus, I’m offering a special discount for teacher friends who attend together! Grab a colleague—whether near or far—and enjoy this small-group retreat. Just mention it when submitting your interest, and I’ll send you a code for $20 off per person.
Thanks for being here—wishing you a fantastic week ahead!
