Tag Archives: Summer learning

Marketing for Summer Music Camps and Classes

Early Childhood Marketing, music and movement, Musikgarten Teachers, Summer Music Classes, Uncategorised, , , ,

With the summer quickly approaching and Covid guidelines continuing to relax for in-person instruction, parents returning to work are going to be looking for opportunities for their children while school is out. Although the official first day of Summer is not until June 20th, children’s music studio owners and teachers can get the jump on filling their summer camp and class rosters early with some simple, yet effective marketing approaches they can start on right away:   

Marketing for Summer Music Camp and Class Registration

  • The Low Hanging Fruit of Existing Customers – While the old adage that “it takes five times the expense to gain a new customer than to retain an old one” varies from business to business, the effort and expense that it requires to find a new customer is considerable compared to one you currently retain. The key to taking advantage of the “low hanging fruit” that current students and families present is through consistent and frequent communication.
  • Customer Communication is the Key – Because you have provided services to existing customers in the past, you most likely have their preferred method for being reached. Furthermore, because customers voluntarily purchased from you in the past, they have in effect granted you permission to contact them again. Often called permission marketing, this concept is valuable in how your communication is recognized. It is familiar, and therefore cuts through the bombardment of marketing messages we all receive on a daily basis. Whether its by email, snail mail, text, or phone call, your communication has a much better chance of reaching a customer who recognizes you. 
  • Categorize Your Audience to Customize Messaging – The more a marketing message or offer can be customized to its particular audience, the more likely that audience is going to respond. This is most easily applied to current customers. Your correspondence with them should have a much different, more familiar feel than if you were reaching out to new prospects. Using information that you know about that audience provides a more personalized message. For example, using the name of the music student or their last completed music class lets recipients feel special. A message to a new potential customer may be more about educating them on your music studio or the benefits of early childhood music education. The more you can categorize your target audience into segments, the more you can customize the message or offer.
Musikgarten Summer Marketing
  • Offer Incentives for Music Camp Registrations – With so much already on their plates, and so many program options for parents during the summer, offering an attractive incentive is often what gets them over the finish line to make the purchase. Early bird registration is a good way to increase response early in the process, even if you don’t want to discount your price. Simply using language to show urgency such as “availability is limited and on a first come, first serve basis’” or “registration is beginning to fill up,” increases action. FOMO, or fear of missing out, is a powerful motivation. Incentives can also be used to get new music students through tactics such as referral or buddy programs. Value provided to existing customers for referring a new student, whether it’s through discounted pricing or a free camp T-shirt, will help to gain new registrations. Children love to enjoy music camp along with a friend!  
  • Reach Out in Different Ways – If there was a single, silver bullet that marketers could use to get loads of new customers, the cat would have been out of the bag a long time ago. The key with most marketing campaigns is to “rinse and repeat.” This means presenting the offer to a target audience multiple times so that they recognize and/or remember it. Frequency, or number of times a marketing message is presented to the same audience, is important for retention of the message and offer. In addition to repeating a message through the same marketing channels, another good way to gain more frequency is through cross-marketing, where the same message is presented to the same audience, but through different ways. For example, you may post a referral program on social media, and also send it out through an email blast. In addition to providing more frequency, one method may be more effective in reaching a particular prospect than another.  

Summertime presents great opportunities for children’s music studios to provide kids with a highly enjoyable and entertaining activity while giving parents a much-deserved break. Savvy studio owners and teachers know to start early by offering opportunities to register. Current or past customers are the low hanging fruit to reach out to first, because they are already familiar with your business. Social circles of those audiences can then be expanded through targeted incentives through messaging frequency within the same and across different marketing channels.

Fun Family Musical Activities for Summer Days

Early Childhood Instruments, Musikgarten Teachers, , ,

While the stay-at-home orders for most states are beginning to expire, and staged reopening of places of business are giving us a small respite from being homebound, nearly all schools across the United States remain closed for the remainder of the school year. That, coupled with the beginning of summer break, challenges parents with having to manage anxious children at home. As children’s music teachers and parents alike have known forever, music sooths and relaxes stressed out kids. We have touched in past posts about how many children’s music studio owners are providing virtual music classes online, these classes and additional activities associated with them can only take up some many hours in a day or week. Music professionals and children’s teachers will agree that just about any activity that exposes children to music is a good thing. Here are a few fun ideas for families to do at home that will expand children’s musical exposure:

  • Make a guitar out of a cereal box – Cereal is a staple food for many households with children. Whether its Lucky Charms, Rice Crispies, or Captain Crunch, many lids love to eat it all day long. Those empty boxes can be used for a fun arts and crafts activity that also teaches about music. Building a simple guitar out of a cereal box have many benefits, from tactile activity to learning to repurpose materials. No matter how good it ends up sounding, guitars can teach children about rhythm and scales.
  • Musical spoon activities – Many of us imagine an old man from Appalachia on his front porch slapping a pair of spoons between his knee and hand, but the playing of spoons has actually been around since before written history. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all played spoons and a variation of them called rattle bones or rhythm bones. While this form of concussion idiophone can be hard to master, all it takes is an old spoon and other kitchen objects to explore a variety of musical sounds. Rubbing the spoon against an old can, kitchen grater, hitting a pot, etc, provides many different sounds. Children will have fun composing arrangements of the various sounds, and possibly even writing lyrics. Just keep in mind that this is not an activity that should be encouraged while you are on a conference call working from home!
  • Draw what you hear – This activity combines several forms of art with creativity. Start with a blank sheet of paper and pencils, markers, or crayons. Select a piece of music, whether it’s a Classical instrumental or a Rock song with lyrics, ask your child to draw what they are hearing. If they are having trouble, give them some ideas or demonstrate. For example, if the music is a slow Blues song, they may use long loping lines in a darker, melancholy color. For a faster, livelier genre such as Calypso, they may choose to draw shorter, sharper angles in brighter colors. Some children may decide to draw what it literally being sung about in the lyrics. There is no right or wrong way for them to draw what they think or feel when listening to the music.
  • Fortune Teller or “Chatter Box” Game – If you are of a certain age, you may remember the folding paper game that allows you to make selections while manipulating the origami. Children will love folding and decorating the paper, and the resulting activity can be applied to a limitless amount of musical games. Write different genres of music inside the flaps, and play examples as each of them are selected. Another idea is to put common words on each flap and write a song together that includes all of the words selected after a number of rounds. Ask older children to think of their own musical game that utilizes the “chatter box.”  
  • Freeze dance – A variation of musical chairs, this one is fun and simple while burning off some energy at the same time. Play a song on an audio player and ask everyone begin to dance however they feel. When they least expect it, hit pause or yell freeze and see what funny positions everyone winds up in. Like musical chairs, you can eliminate anyone who is still moving when the music freezes, and/or see how long each can hold their positions. Let members of the family take turns in selecting the music and hitting the pause button. Add some toys, children’s instruments, or ordinary household items as props to add even more variety.      

Children’s music studio owners and teachers will tell parents that in addition to a more formal music education, just about any other exposure to music or musical activities will expand musical growth. At a time when parents are looking for fun activities for children at home, these simple suggestions can educate, entertain, and exercise at the very same time.    

How to Retain and Gain New Music Students During the Summer

Early Childhood Marketing, Early Childhood Music, Musikgarten Teachers, Piano Teachers, Summer Music Classes, Uncategorised, ,

As the school year winds down and families begin to make their summer plans, regular weekly schedules from the school year are sometimes overlooked or forgotten. This experience can be especially true for music teachers, as lessons are often considered part of school curriculum. Brain drain or “the summer slide” is often credited with a fall in cognitive activities for students over the summer.

With the potential for the attendance of regular weekly lessons or classes to fall in the Summer, studio owners should be proactive to not only maintain a steady income over those months, but also look at it as an opportunity to increase income. So, how do teachers retain music students, and even add to their class rolls during the summer?

Here are a few ideas that can help throughout the Summer Vacation:

  • Try Billing by the Semester or Year – Billing parents monthly, or by the class, is typical for music teachers and programs. But the approach often creates mental gaps in between those programs, providing parents and students an opportunity to “take a break” and miss some time, especially over the Summer. While it takes a bit more planning, semester or even full year billing can not only create a more stable cash flow for music teachers and studios, it can also provide a structured “pathway” for parents and students to continue lessons.
  • Gain New Students with Summer Advertising and Promotions – While Summer vacations and competing camps may cause a dip in current student music studio attendance, it is actually a time when many parents are looking to sign their students up. Consider an investment in advertising during the Spring and Summer using Summer themed programs. This does not have to be expensive, either! An ad in a newsletter at your local pool, Word of Mouth (WOM) using referral cards with current students, or offering a Summer Enrollment Special to get parents over the finish line. Summer themes stand out in advertising!
  • Offer an Alternative to Screen Usage – According to the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, children between the ages of two and five spend an average of 2.2 hours on screens every day. That number is undoubtedly higher during summer months, as parents again struggle with how to keep their children engaged in other activities while they are at work. Work out messaging to address this hot topic for parents. Emphasize that music lessons provide an extremely beneficial alternative to screens in all of your marketing and dialogue with parents, especially during the Summer.
  • Consider Free Group Classes with Organizations to Gain More Students – In addition to camps and music studios, many other organizations offer children’s programs during the summer. Public Libraries offer Summer programs and many churches offer Vacation Bible School or similar programs. While many teachers resist giving away any instruction for free, these programs are looking for daily activities to fill their days, and music instruction is a very popular subject. Partnering with these organizations offers exposure to a large group of potential new students once the free program is over. Approach them with a structured plan that takes some of the planning burden off of them. Keep in mind that having a good option for both secular and sacred music programs allows more flexibility with these partnerships.

While the Summer months may be a time when current music student enrollment tends to fall due to family vacations and camps, music studio teachers should also consider it an opportunity to gain new students and income through offering specialized curricula, themed programs, and alternatives to screen usage.

Lazy Summer Days

Early Childhood Music, Musikgarten Teachers, Piano Teachers, , , , ,

The water is warm at the ocean; an August breeze rustles my hair as I sit relaxing at the ocean beach and pondering the upcoming fall music season. When I started teaching early-childhood music classes in 1992, not many people knew what “early-childhood music” really was, but things have certainly changed.  It is rare to find a child these days who has not had an early-childhood music experience, either in a pre-school or in a private studio setting.  This is wonderful news!  The earlier we reach children the more opportunity we have to help them reach their full music potential.

Thanks to a myriad of articles about the long term benefits of music in a child’s life, many who previously thought music to be a nice little “extra” are now clamoring to sign their children up for class to give them an edge on their SAT’s. On the one hand it is very gratifying to have the work of early-childhood music and movement teachers validated by scientific research. Seeing the value of music education highlighted in the media is truly exciting!  On the other hand, I find it rather sad that for many people in our society, music is only valued for its ability to improve a person’s math and science skills.

Music teachers have long known about the relationship between music and spatial awareness. We know that students involved in school music programs have better attendance records. We know that being involved in a music ensemble promotes social skills. While these are all good reasons for enrolling a child in a music program, they all point to the extrinsic value of music. What about the intrinsic value of music? What about music for music’s sake?

Imagine for a moment the Inauguration Day ceremonies without the Marine Band playing “Hail to the Chief”, or your child’s first birthday without the sounds of “Happy Birthday” being sung by your family, or a Christmas Eve church service without any Christmas carols. Music is a part of our lives and is an important part of the ceremonies that mark the milestones in our lives. It’s hard to imagine a wedding, a funeral, a graduation, a party, or a parade without music. Music is an essential aspect of our humanity that stimulates the imagination and nurtures the soul. Music is a source of joy and wonder and we all have the right to fulfill our musical potential. .

Our good friend, neuroscience educator Dr. Dee Coulter, says this about music and Musikgarten: “I would suggest that Musikgarten nourishes children in three ways: Their souls are nourished by the music itself, their bodies are nourished by the graceful movement, and their minds are nourished by the rhythm.”

All children are musical beings and are born with an aptitude for music. But that aptitude diminishes if it is not nurtured in the first nine years of life. By helping our children reach their full music potential we are helping them come into their own as well-rounded human beings.

The most valuable thing you can do for a young child is to keep him singing and moving.  Dr. Edwin E. Gordon, who was the leading researcher in early-childhood music and author of the most widely used music aptitude tests, states that a child’s music aptitude is in a developmental stage from birth to age nine. While a child can certainly learn musical skills such as fingerings, breathing, note reading, etc. after age nine, how musical a person he or she is –  how well attuned his or her sense of pitch and rhythm is – is set for life by age nine. Gordon divided music aptitude into tonal and rhythm aptitude and said the most effective means of nurturing a child’s tonal and rhythm aptitude is to provide them with a rich environment of singing and moving. What does this mean in terms appropriate early-childhood music and movement activities?  I believe there are four simple activities that should be kept in mind, whether you’re choosing a music program for your own child or integrating music activities into your daily plans:

  • singing simple songs
  • echoing tonal and rhythm patterns
  • moving in continuous and flowing movement activities
  • creating steady beat activities

Musikgarten programs do this in a weekly classroom setting. Musikgarten teachers choose the finest musical instruments they can get their hands on, ideally all made of natural material. Musikgarten incorporates a selection of music and movement activities drawn from the best of our cultural heritage. It was put together by master designers to be flexible and meet the needs of all young children and teachers.

My feet push into the sand as I watch children dig and create sand castles, happily humming to themselves and I envision all the activities we do in class that are based on large muscle movement – the root of all true learning experiences. The children follow the steps of musical fluency, intricately incorporated into my program and constructed to bring the children’s whole body into each music experience. Music flows from their toes to their vocal chords, movement and sound working together. It extends out from the mind to the tips of their fingers as they reach toward a keyboard or drum to play the music that they hear in their head.

A parent comes to help build and decorate the sand castle with their child. This parent/child relationship is integral to the development of the child.  Musikgarten classes provide families with a weekly parent/child time where you can rock, sing, clap, hug, roll, laugh and learn with your child. Every activity in class is an opportunity for you and your child to share a special moment that can be reproduced at home creating lasting memories.

I could sit alone on a solitary beach, yet I choose a spot in the middle of a lively beach crowd. Music class gives you and your child a choice to connect with your local community. Rather than watching music programs on T.V. or setting your child in front of a computer screen, you can make music among friends through song and dance.  Most importantly, by bringing your child to a weekly music class you say to your child that music is wonderful, it is shared with others, it is a valuable part of your every day experiences and it is a part of your daily family life. 

Now it is time to return to my studio and leave behind this summer beach day of reflection. I hope you will teach Musikgarten or find a Musikgarten music program that will fill your lives with music!

Shore Up Your Enrollment All Summer Long!

Musikgarten Teachers, Uncategorised, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Summertime means hot, sunny days and chillin’ by pool, but for some Musikgarten studios it can also mean a not so cool dip in enrollment and attendance. Here are 11 HOT ways to keep your studio humming all summer long…

  1. Talk to parents about their summer plans so you can better anticipate your summer enrollment and plan accordingly. Ask parents if/when they’ll attend during the summer, why or why not, and when they’re away on vacation. You can create a simple, free survey using Google Forms or SurveyMonkey, and send it to parents via email.Happy children on a green meadow.
  1. Start sending emails or notes home now to remind parents that Musikgarten is just as fun in the sun! Let them know now if you’re planning an alternate summer schedule so they don’t miss a beat.
  1. Talk to parents about summer learning loss and how participating in Musikgarten provides an enriching learning experience. You already know music instruction boosts academic performance; this article recommends enriching, less-structured activities as one way to help keep kids’ minds sharp all summer. Consider this from the National Summer Learning Association: “When school closes for the summer, what do kids face? For some, it’s a world of interesting vacations, music lessons, and library trips. For others without these enriching summertime opportunities, the break can lead to serious academic consequences—and the disparity can be dramatic.”
  1. Consider adding a few extra daytime classes for parents, sitters, and summer camps looking for ways to keep little ones busy. They’ll thank you!
  1. Reach out ASAP to nearby camps and churches, YMCAs, and day care centers offering summer programs. Camp directors are always looking for local, affordable activities; they may bring you new students by the busload! If space is an issue at your studio, take your Musikgarten to the camp and be sure to supply take-home information.
  1. Offer summer specials and limited-time promotions. Consider an exclusive summertime rate for current families to encourage them to stick with your studio all season.
  2. Consider adding a flexible, drop-in class for parents and sitters battling boredom and rainy day blues – your studio can be a real sanity saver!
  1. Spring and summer means lots of family-friendly outdoor events and festivals popping up in every town. Check with your local paper, convention and visitors bureau, or city website for a calendar of upcoming events. Then contact the organizers about hosting free, interactive music activities for kids; be sure to bring flyers or cards for parents!
  1. If you have the space and resources, consider offering a half- or whole-day Musikgarten camp. Musikgarten curriculum can be one part of the daily schedule; you can fill the rest of the time with music-themed arts n’ crafts, games, activities, and even movies. Here’s a list of age-appropriate musicals and musical movies.
  1. Don’t stop marketing your Musikgarten! It can be temping to take a break, but keep up your marketing and social media efforts: a new summer student may turn into a year-round enrollee! Need new marketing ideas? Click here!

11.  Go outside! Plan aChildren playing in the parknd promote a few classes “al fresco” – have parents meet you at a local park or under a shady tree near your studio (of course, get permission if it’s not your property.) Ask families to bring picnic blankets or beach towels, and water bottles. Encourage children to listen to the music of nature, like birds singing and leaves blowing in the breeze. You can even have an impromptu summer parade!

Are you ready for summer? We are! Tell us how you keep your Musikgarten growing all summer; email us here.