Incorporating Group Classes into the Private Studio

Group piano lessons can offer many benefits to students. However, not all private teachers have the space to offer group instruction on an ongoing basis.

But did you know that you can reap many of the benefits of group piano lessons without a large piano lab with multiple pianos?

Read on as I share my experiences incorporating group lessons into my private studio!

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My very first teaching job was at a large studio that offered both group and private piano lessons. It was here, teaching groups of up to 8 students at a time in a digital piano lab, that I saw firsthand the benefits of teaching piano in groups:

• The sense of community that making music with a group of peers offers to students.
• The regular performance opportunities available to students in group classes.
• The opportunity to play regularly in an ensemble with other musicians.
• The additional instruction time that a one hour group class offered, compared to our shorter private lessons.

When I started my own private studio, I was determined to find a way to continue to offer my students the benefits of group instruction, even though I didn't have room for the digital piano lab set-up that my first teaching job offered.

My solution: small, regular group classes that my private students could sign up to attend whenever they missed a lesson or just wanted extra instruction time! These small classes fit comfortably into my one-piano private studio and helped to build a sense of community among my students.


My Group Class Formula for the Private Teacher
Over the years, I developed a formula that worked for me to keep my group classes organized and to help every student feel included. I divided each one hour group class into 4 parts:

1. An Icebreaker Activity
Since my group classes were likely to contain different students each time, I always started each class with an icebreaker activity that gave the students a chance to work together and to get to know one another. 

Here are a few of my favorite icebreakers:

• Name that tune: Cut out the first line from several familiar tunes and have each student draw one to play for the class to guess. A fun activity and a sneaky way to get students sight-reading! (2 of the name that tune activities I created for my group classes are available on my Free Stuff page, under "Ear Training and Sight-Reading Worksheets.)
• Music charades: Each student is given a musical vocabulary word to act out (by charades or by playing an example on the piano) for the class to guess.
• Animal improvs: Each student draws a card with the name of an animal. Students take turns improvising a short phrase or series of sounds at the piano that they feel represents their animal, while the class guesses which animal they hear.
• My story-based improv activities (found HERE under "Improv, Composition, and Theory Worksheets") also work great for group classes! Just assign one line of the story to each student and narrate as the students improvise.

2. A Music History Activity or Music Theory Game
Once the ice was broken, the fun could begin! Each class featured a music history activity or theory game that we could do together to review concepts that students were learning in their lessons.

A few of my favorite activities:

• The Classics for Kids website has printable activity sheets HERE that work great for classes with younger students. Read the biography, then have students listen to a piece by the composer while they do the coloring activity on the second page. 
• Do an active listening activity using the FREE printable worksheet and listening map videos that I shared in my blog post HERE.
• Create a game of music Jeopardy using the free templates on the JeopardyLabs website HERE. You can also browse the Jeopardy games created by other users if you like!
• Music Bingo is always a winner! I like to create my own cards so that I can customize them to the concepts that my students have learned. (As a bonus, you can save the cards to use over and over in future classes!)
• Karen Garrett has generously shared tons of free online quizzes and games that work great for small group classes on her website Music Tech Teacher HERE.

3. Performance Time!
Each student was asked to prepare 2 or 3 pieces to perform for the class. These could be polished pieces or works in progress--anything that the student felt comfortable performing for the group. 

These informal performances served 2 purposes: 1) They helped students practice their performance skills in a casual setting, and 2) They served as a reminder to students of proper recital etiquette, including taking a bow (for the performer) and listening politely and applauding the performance (for the audience).

4. Ensemble Practice
Each group class ended with an ensemble activity. Duets or trios work great for this purpose--just be sure to rotate students so that every student gets a chance to play each part of the ensemble.

For even more fun, have a few basic percussion instruments, like egg shakers or rhythm sticks, available for the students who aren't playing the piano as the students rotate parts.


Lessons I Learned Along the Way
Over time, I developed a feel for how to organize and pace my group classes, as well as a repertoire of fun activities that I used again and again with my students. Here are few lessons I learned along the way:
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• Know how many students will fit comfortably in your space so you can plan accordingly. I limited my groups to no more than 5 students at a time so that the space didn't feel cramped.
• Good planning is essential. You'll want to have a variety of activities and ensemble pieces in your teaching toolbox that work for multiple ages and levels of students. (I have shared many of the lesson plans and materials I used in my classes on my blog HERE and on my "Free Stuff" page!) I found that planning classes around a holiday or theme made lesson planning easier and more exciting for the students, too! 
• Keep a group class activity binder organized by theme and level. This way you can re-use activities that work well for your students and find what you need for an upcoming class quickly.
• Keep track of which students attend each class. Often I found that since I had different students signing up for each class, I could use the same activities for multiple classes, which saved time on lesson planning! There were also certain activities (like Music Bingo) that became student favorites and could be played over and over since they used concepts that my students always needed to review.
• Don't be afraid to mix ages and levels in your classes. I found that the older students served as great role models for the younger students in my classes! Just be careful to plan your activities so that the least advanced students in each group can still participate in some way. For example, your beginners might tap rhythm sticks to the beat while your intermediate students play an ensemble piece.

What do you think? Do you offer group classes in your studio? I would love to hear your experiences in the comments!