Your First Interactions with a Student

A Student Booked a Lesson with You

Congrats on the booking.
Here's what we recommend doing next: Send the student (and potentially a parent/guardian if applicable) a quick note introducing yourself. This immediately sets a great first impression of encouragement, commitment, and professionalism. It's possible you would like to further discuss the student's level and goals in the first lesson - that's fine, but doing an initial, "thanks for scheduling time with me, looking forward to it" kind of message pre-lesson will be appreciated by pretty much anybody. You could also ask a few key questions of the student so that you know what to expect going into your lesson. Here are some standard questions:

• What is the skill level of the student?

• What is the student hoping to get out of this lesson or future ones? Does s/he already have any tangible goals?

What to incorporate in your first lesson

• Ask questions and listen to responses to find out what the student’s interests and aspirations are.

• Help the student use these aspirations to develop a set of concrete goals. This will help:

  • the student stay interested and excited about music lessons and increase retention

  • you as a teacher develop a starting place to set some benchmarks as well as the methodology or curriculum you want to use.

• Make sure you leave knowing when your next lesson will be - if possible, set up the time for a recurring class right there and then.

You've Had Your First Lesson

Congrats - you had your first lesson. Now it's time to follow-up with that student.  Both parents and students will enjoy hearing a nice note from you. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but it will help build a relationship with the student and will lead to retention (which is what you, the student, and Lessonface want). Some items to ensure that you include:

• A thank you

• Expectations for practice

• Any accompanying materials that you said you would share (please be mindful of copyright laws when sharing materials)

• Reinforcement of goals

• Confirming or asking when the next lesson will be

You'll find the right frequency and rhythm that makes sense given your style and relationship with each individual student.  As a rule of thumb, it makes sense to send a quick follow-up after each lesson, with a reiteration of what they should be practicing over the week.

After a few lessons

Students will remain invested, engaged, and satisfied if they are able to see progress. Therefore, it’s vital over time to help students know that they have passed key benchmarks. Some ideas of when it’s a good idea to give praise:

• When the student has met one of your agreed-upon goals

• When the student has mastered a certain technique or skill

• When the student is able to play a challenging piece

• When the student has a major performance

• When the student meets a certain goal for time spent practicing

• When a student has demonstrated commitment by attending a set number of classes (perhaps every 5 or 10 lessons)