If the idea of adding group piano classes feels overwhelming, teaching small group piano lessons may be just the thing you’re looking for to grow your piano lesson studio!
In this post, I’ll discuss what small group piano lessons look like, the advantages and disadvantages, and how to get started offering this service in your piano studio.
What Small Group Piano Lessons Are NOT
Small group piano lessons are not group piano classes.
In other words, we’re not talking about a big classroom with a keyboard lab setup. You don’t need a big rented space. You don’t need to invest ten thousand dollars in equipment. And you don’t need to be a classroom teacher.
When I say small group piano lessons, I’m referring to a piano lesson that invites 3 or 4 maximum piano students to learn together at a weekly lesson.
If you already have multiple keyboards and a little bit of space, you may already have what you need to start a small group piano lesson group!
(More on setup later in this post.)
Advantages of Teaching Small Group Piano Lessons
I love teaching small groups of 3-4 students! I’ve been offering this lesson setup for a few years and have seen students and parents really love this type of piano lessons.
Here are some of the major advantages of teaching small group piano lessons:
- You, as the teacher, receive a higher per hour income…by a lot!
- Parents pay a lower tuition amount.
- You can reach more students within those limited after-school teaching hours.
- There are endless possibilities for fun activities.
- A little friendly peer pressure can encourage students’ growth and practice habits.
- Whereas taking piano lessons can often be an isolating experience, small group participants can grow with friends and often these bonds last for years.
- Your beginner small group piano lessons can serve as a customer funnel helping you place students onto the most appropriate long-term learning path for them.
Disadvantages of Teaching Small Group Piano Lessons
Teaching small groups is different from teaching private lessons. There’s no denying it. Some of the differences are welcome changes (as listed above), but some differences may be seen as disadvantages.
Here are some of the disadvantages I have observed teaching small group piano lessons:
- You do need more equipment as you’ll want a keyboard for each student.
- Being prepared to run a smooth small group lesson filled with seamless activity shifts, predetermined assignments, and games ready to go can take extra prep time before the lesson begins.
- You’ll need to have some basic classroom management skills.
- With more than one student moving at slightly different paces, you’ll cover less material in every class making the piano learning journey a bit slower.
What Do Small Group Piano Lessons Look Like?
I have a home studio where my living room/dining room area has been converted into a studio space with four digital pianos along with a desk and open space for play or activities.
If I am hosting three students in a small group lesson, they will all join me at the same time for a 40-minute weekly lesson.
Students arrive with their books (all the same books) and head to their piano and wait for instructions.
Ahead of time, I plan out our lesson time usually consisting of 2-3 activities to keep things interesting.
Every few lessons, I’ll plan a one-on-one rotation lesson so I can meet with each student individually for a portion of the lesson. While I meet with one student, the other students rotate between stations. Stations can be playing a note-naming game on the iPad, completing a theory worksheet, running through flashcards, or practicing with headphones.
How Do I Get Started Teaching Small Group Piano Lessons?
Before jumping into offering a weekly small group lesson option, I would try these ideas first to see how the students do in this setting and also how you enjoy teaching multiple students.
Host a One Time Piano Student Get-together
Try out your group activity planning skills with a one time student get-together at your studio.
Invite a handful of current students who are similar in age and level. Offer this opportunity as a free studio party or a paid class.
Here are some ideas to get you thinking about a theme for your get-together:
- Holiday party
- Theory work day (activities based on a specific theory concept such as bass clef note names)
- Recital run-through (focus on students performing for each other)
- Listening party (make it an interactive music history lesson)
- Summer Piano Friends (market this as a way for piano students to get to know same-age students over the summer)
- Game day (but theory-based music games, of course)
By offering a get-together, students will begin to get to know their future potential partners a little bit more. Parents will get used to the idea of learning in a group setting. And you’ll get an idea of how to prep activities and how to manage a group of students.
Monthly Theory Class
Another way to try out a small group setting is to offer a monthly theory group class.
In this scenario, students will continue with their weekly private lessons, but add on a monthly group lesson where they will gather with other similar aged students to work on theory worksheets, activities, games, listening tests, and even learning brand new theory concepts.
Partner Lessons
Teaching a pair of students is a great way to get started! In fact, I have a whole blog post and video all about partner lessons including a six-week sample lesson plan, method book recommendations, and much more.
Check out this page for much more info about Partner Lessons.
Ready to Offer a Weekly Small Group Lesson?
When you’ve tried some of the temporary group options or taught partner lessons and you feel like you’re ready to go all in, here’s where I would start.
Current Students
If you found that you have three students that would match perfectly with each other, try offering those three families small group lessons over the summer. Because summer is the shortest semester, it’s an easier sell to families who are accustomed to private lessons.
For this to be most successful, the students will be similar in age and either in the same book or a similar book from the same level.
New Students
If you don’t feel like you have quite the perfect pairing amongst your current students, do not worry. In many ways, it is easier to begin group lessons with brand new beginners anyways!
Market this new type of lessons to prospective students wherever you normally advertise lesson openings. This could be your website, neighborhood groups, social media, local connections, etc. If you want more ideas for finding new students, check out this post and video.
Once inquiries come in, communicate to parents that you are forming a new group of beginners. Keep them in the loop with frequent updates. And hopefully you’ll receive three inquiries of families that have a similar aged child ready to start lessons!
If you can coordinate a day and time that works for everyone, you’re in business.
How Much Should I Charge for Small Group Piano Lessons?
This is a personal decision, of course, but here’s a formula to get you started.
Take your current private lesson tuition rate.
Reduce it by 20-30%.
That is your small group per student tuition rate.
If you go too high on your tuition, you may find that there are other local group lessons that look way less expensive than your group class. That’s totally okay! But you may then need to sell your services as a small group setting and hype up your qualifications and amazing lesson experience with good reviews.
If you go too low on your small group tuition, you run the risk of attracting students who aren’t really interested in sticking with piano for the long run. And you may not be able to switch them to private lessons later on if the tuition if really different.
So, go with what works for you, your studio, and your locale. But don’t stray too far from the 20-30% rule.
What Piano Method Books Should I Use for Small Group Piano Lessons?
The needs of small group piano students and the flow of the lesson vary a little bit from partner lessons or private lessons.
Because of this, I find that certain method books lend themselves to a small group setting better than others.
My Piano Method Book Recommendations
Here are my top picks for small group piano lesson method books:
- Wunderkeys Primer or Elementary book for the main lesson book
- Piano Skill Set Writing Book as the theory book
- Piano Skill Set Technique as the technique book
Click any of those titles to find more information.
Shop for These Piano Method Books
Or to Shop These Books on Amazon…
- Shop Wunderkeys on Amazon
- Shop Piano Skill Set on Amazon
Other Method Options
And keep an open mind with method books! Experiment with different books and different combinations.
Sometimes you can use your favorite method book series and just drop a supplemental book to keep assignments a little simpler in a group setting.
What Setup Do I Need for Small Group Piano Lessons?
I strongly suggest a full-length (88-key) weighted digital keyboard for every student.
I would not recommend saving money by going with a smaller keyboard or trying to get away with not having a keyboard for every student (unless you’re teaching preschoolers).
However, you can get a quality, 88-key digital keyboard that is lightweight, simple to use, and arrives in days from Amazon! And it’s not that big of an investment.
Here’s what I use for small group piano lessons:
YAMAHA 143B DIGITAL KEYBOARD with stand, bench, and upgraded pedal.
And do not cheap out on the stand! Trust me. You’ll regret a wobbly little X-stand!
I recommend building a package with these products:
- Yamaha 143B Digital Keyboard
- Yamaha Stand (designed specifically for the 143B keyboard…very important!)
- Yamaha Bench
- Yamaha FC4A Pedal (the 143B comes with a footswitch…definitely upgrade!)
When you hop on Amazon, you’ll be bombarded with other brands that are cheaper. I highly recommend sticking to Yamaha for this type of setup. After 20 years of teaching, every time I try to save a few bucks going with something else I end up regretting it. And I have never had a Yamaha digital keyboard let me down.
And if you’re planning out your space thinking, “Where am I going to put these new keyboards?” Here are the dimensions of the Yamaha 143B Digital Keyboard:
10.55” x 52.21”
Yeah, they’re pretty compact!
Try Partner Lessons
As I mentioned earlier, before diving into teaching small group piano lessons, you might want to give partner lessons a try! Out of all the types of lessons I teach, I think partner lessons might just be my favorite.
3 Responses
Oh, My, Goodness! This blog covers so thoroughly so many ways to do small groups. You describe so many details needed to get started, to do things well and provide you also provide follow links! Your expertise is incredibly valuable. I love the dynamics
and motivation that having more than one student learning together at the same time creates. I have two acoustic pianos which we do use frequently to practice ensemble playing. However, you have opened the door to so many other options. I am definitely going to try some of these for this coming summer lessons, first as a trial, and then perhaps to incorporate for my full academic year plan. Thank you, so much, Phoenix!
Thank you! I’m so glad it was helpful. I would love an update on how your trial lessons go this summer!