Introducing your studio blog

Your studio "blog" feature

One of the exciting things about running PracticeSpot is that I can add articles or resources whenever I like - I'm not limited to "filling in" areas that have been pre-created. Now you can do the same for your own studio website - through your very own "Blog".

Why creative teachers will be excited by this

"Blog" is short for "Weblog", and it allows you to post whatever information you like to your website. You can even include graphics.

It also means that instead of just filling in the categories we have created for you (eg. "contact details" or "about myself"), you can create brand new sections.

So if your studio is unusual because it teaches improvisation, then you might want to create some blog articles on improvisation. Or if you have a passion for the music of Saint Saens, you might create a blog dedicated to information about the composer.

It's up to you. Which is the whole point.

In short, the Blog means that the content for your site can absolutely explode - it's really just limited by your own imagination and time.

Suggestions

Have a recital coming up? You can use your blog to create your own articles on:

Performance anxiety
Stagecraft and deportment tips
Profiles of the performers (they could write their own)
Tuning up efficiently
Upload a graphic of a map of the concert venue, together with information about parking
Start a series of countdown articles."Three weeks to go" "Two weeks to go" etc., with updates about what students are planning to play. In other words, hyping the living daylights out of it
Run a ticket sales competition. The student who brings the most people to be in the audience wins a prize.

Need to work on your students' theory?

Articles on key concepts that are proving tricky for them, together with illustrations.
Quizzes, or an online worksheet
Summaries of must-know information - key signatures, cadence types, intervals...so they use your site as a resource

Want to help excite potential students?

Create articles devoted to your central teaching philosophies
"Where are they now" profiles of former students
More background information on you, your family or your hobbies
Create a "What to expect in this studio" article
Create articles with information about the instrument itself, and profiles of accomplished performers

Wish your students were practicing better?

Run a practice competition
Create articles with practice tips
Dedicate a blog to outlining your expectations of practicing
Create an article with a "parent's guide" to helping their kids practice well

The nice side-effect of an interesting and well developed studio Blog...

...visitors to your site will assume you're an expert.

Guess what. You are an expert. It's just that now you have a forum for being able to communicate your expertise to those who are not in your studio...yet.

And a wealth of new ways to support and excite those who are.

Music education greatly enhances students’ understanding and achievement in non-musical subjects. For example, a ten-year study, which tracked over 25,000 middle and high school students, showed that students in music classes receive higher scores on standardized tests than students with little to no musical involvement.

Ultimately, the instrument you and your child choose should depend on a number of factors. Here’s a list of questions to consider before bringing home a new music maker: Is your child excited about the instrument? Is the instrument too challenging or is it not challenging enough (for both you and your child)? Can you afford the instrument and the maintenance that comes with it?

By learning an instrument or listening to a song, individuals will naturally increase their intellectual curiosity about music and perhaps even life in general. For example, after hearing a song, a student may become curious as to how that song was made and thus desire to learn an instrument.