Piano Studio Names: How to Pick the Perfect Name For Your Business

Researching piano studio names for your new business?  It can feel overwhelming.

“Don’t get stuck on this step,” they say.  But it feels like a big decision!  Perhaps you were hoping the perfect piano studio name would just come to you in a vision.  And now you can’t move forward with setting up your business without a proper name.

I’m here to help!  In this post, we’ll break down what actually makes a great piano studio name.  We’ll talk through some brainstorming exercises.  And we’ll follow a sure-fire formula to come up with the perfect name.

What Makes a Great Business Name?

Before we brainstorm piano studio names, let’s extract four characteristics that make a truly great business name.

Business Name Characteristic #1: Simple [Easy to Remember/Spell]

Simple

Less is more when it comes to a great business name.  Think of the biggest brands out there.  Do they have 5-word brand names?  In most cases, it’s just one word!

When thinking up piano studio names, we probably can’t get away with a one-word business title (more on that in the next section), but we can keep it as succinct as possible.

When testing out piano studio names, use this trick.  Picture yourself filling out a paper form and having to write out your potential business name in the “email” field.  Would you be frustrated by how many letters you’d have to write in that tiny box?

Easy to Remember

The best titles–whether it be businesses, movies, books, albums, etc–are the ones that stick in your memory.

If a customer encounters your business briefly and then goes home to research you, will they easily recall the name of your business?

Easy to Spell

There’s a reason it’s Apple and not Apll.  

I remember seeing a brand on an ad.  Later, I wanted to research their product but I couldn’t find their website because I couldn’t quite remember what tricky spelling of a common word they had used for their brand.

The moral here is don’t get too cute.  Keep it simple.

Business Name Characteristic #2: Obvious and descriptive

Obvious

Sorry, you’re not Google and you can’t pick an obscure word with no obvious relation to your services!

As a small business, a potential customer should be able to immediately know what they would go to you for just by reading your business name and nothing else.

Descriptive

In addition to being obvious, pick descriptive words for your piano studio name.  What adjectives are needed to let a passer-by know if they are the right customer for your services?

Sets the Tone

These descriptive words you choose as brainstorming piano studio names will also set the tone for what type of lesson you’ll offer and what sort of vibe your customers will experience at your studio.

Consider the different vibe between these potential piano studio names:

• Carol’s Classical Academy
• Rick’s School of Rockin’ Riffs

Business Name Characteristic #3: Broad enough to allow for business growth

Broad Enough For Growth

In the above example, Rick’s School of Rockin’ Riffs implies two things.

1. Rick is either the only teacher or the head teacher
2. Rick’s school focuses on rock music
3. Likely guitar and bass lessons are the focus

If Rick wants this sort of customer and doesn’t plan on expanding or changing this is just fine.

But Rick is limited in that…

• He likely cannot sell the business or pass it on because his name is associated with it
• He may have trouble hiring a classical piano teacher or finding a variety of students based on the genre implied
• Non-guitar instrumentalists may pass him by even if he later expands to offer lessons on all instruments

Specific Enough For Clarity

However, if Rick has no intentions of growing outside of the niche his business name implies, it’s actually a potentially great business name!  It’s a catchy, descriptive business title that attracts a specific customer that Rick is targeting.

If you’re not sure of your future business plans, that okay.  You can land somewhere in the middle of broad and specific.

And if later on you end up having to change your business’ name, yes, it’s not ideal, but it can be done!  (I’ve actually rebranded my business with success.)

Business Name Characteristic #4: Unique

Make sure as you are brainstorming piano studio names, that you check to see if someone else has already thought of that name.  

Avoid the same name or a similar name to any local businesses or any medium to large businesses worldwide.

Piano Studio Names Brainstorm Exercises

Now the fun part!  If you already have some words, phrases, or full piano studio names floating around in your head, go ahead and jot them down before you lose them.

If you’re still drawing a blank, no worries.  We’re about to generate a lot of ideas for your business.

Print the Free Brainstorm Worksheet

I’ve created a brainstorming worksheet with all of the categories we’re about to talk about.  

If you’d like, download that here from my Resources page.

Or grab your phone, tablet, or a piece of paper–whatever you prefer. Your choice!

Step #1: Consider All Local Words

First, we’ll jot down every word that comes to mind to describe your locale.  

Think about the part of the world you live in.

The country you live in.

You live in a state (or province or region).  You likely have a county.

And you live in a city, town, or village.

Write down every single word that comes to mind to describe where you live.

• City name
• Neighborhood name
• Nicknames
• Descriptive words used
• Claims to fame
• Landmarks
• Unique characteristics
• Distinctive “personality traits” of your region
• Inside abbreviations (outsiders wouldn’t necessarily understand)

Just avoid anything that could be considered trademarked or copyrighted.

Step #2: Consider All Personal Words

Next, what are some words to describe YOU?

You have a name, of course.  But we’ll try to go beyond that.

If you are going to be your entire brand, using your name or something distinctive just to you is a great way to associate your business with its greatest asset–you!

Write down every single word that comes to mind to describe you.

• Names
• Nicknames
• Characteristics
• Personality traits
• What are you known for?
• What do you look like?
• What’s your specialty?
• How would your friends describe you?
• Are you famous locally for anything?
• What is unique about you?

Remember that you don’t have to use any of these words in the locale or personal categories.  But the more words you write now, the more momentum you’ll produce in the brainstorming process.  Don’t judge.  And don’t overthink it.  Just write!

Step #3: Consider All Music Words

And here we go!  Let’s make it musical.

Start general with words like “music” and “piano.”  Then expand.  Research if you need to.

Write down every single word that comes to mind related to music.  Some example categories include:

• Instruments or instrument parts
• Genres, styles, or types of songs
• Musical components (such as chorus, triad, song, beat, scale, etc)
• Musical terms
• Sound-related words 

Remember we want it to be memorable, pronounceable, and spellable.

Step #4: Consider All Descriptive Words

This may just be the most important brainstorming category of them all!

Jot down any additional music words that further describe your studio (example: riffs, jazz, etc).

Add any nouns that define the type of location you will be (example: academy, studio, etc).

Also think of any creative non-music words that fit well (example: songbird, creative, blue, lab, etc).

Write down any descriptive words that come to mind.

• Music words that hint at your style or services
• Nouns that describe your business location or experience
• Non-music words that just fit well

I would recommend sleeping on your brainstorming project at this point.  You are likely to have a flood of more words come to mind as you go about the rest of your day.  Keep your brainstorm sheet handy for when inspiration arises.

Step #5: Put It Together For Possible Piano Studio Names

When you feel like you have an extensive list of words to choose from, it’s time to try out some combinations.

String together two, three, or four words to form possible piano studio names at the bottom of your sheets.

Keep combining and writing until you have at least 12 possible combinations (but I recommend writing until you run out of combos).

Step #6: Narrow Down to a List of 3 Possible Piano Studio Names

1. From your list of 12 or more combinations, cross off the ones you wouldn’t use.
2. Keep crossing off “rejects” until you’re left with three piano studio names you would consider using.
3. Now it’s time to do some research on these three possible piano studio names.

Piano Studio Names: Are the Best Ones Taken?

One of the characteristics of a great business name from the beginning of this post is:

A great business name is unique.

In order to ensure you have a unique piano studio name, we’re going to do some research.

Google Search

The easiest way to find out if your piano studio names are unique, is to simply type your business name idea into Google search.

What comes up?  Are there immediate and obvious results for a same- or similarly-named business?

• If you find another business with your business name idea already established, you’ll likely want to eliminate that idea or think of a variation.
• If you don’t see any obvious and immediate results on the Google search results page, keep scrolling through the first two pages of results.  See if a smaller business appears.  Do some further research to see if your potential customers would be confused by the two similarly-named businesses.  And, of course, avoid any exact matches for legal reasons.

URL Search

If your business name idea passes the Google search test, try typing it into a browser search bar as a URL.

So, if your business name idea is Big Apple Music Studio, you’ll type:

bigapplemusicstudio.com

into the browser search bar.

What comes up?

• If you land on someone else’s website, I’m sorry, your idea is taken along with your potential perfect URL (website address).
• If you land on a page that says the URL is owned.  You also may want to reconsider your idea or come up with a variation so you’re not forced to use a .net or other compromise URL address.
• What you’re hoping for is something like this (see screenshot).  This page indicates the URL has not been claimed by anyone yet.  Whoo-hoo!  That means it’s available for you to claim!

Social Media Search

And one final test for your potential piano studio names: a social media search.

It’s possible that there may be a small business with your desired business name just down the block and they don’t yet have a website that pops up on Google or matches the URL you searched.  (I know, it’s unlikely, but it’s possible.)

Just to be extra sure, let’s type your business name idea into a few major social media platforms.

1. Try searching on Facebook
2. Try searching on Instagram
3. Try searching on LinkedIn

Make a Final Pick

Hopefully, by this point in the elimination process you are finding some clarity.  It’s time to make a final decision!

Down to One Choice

If the research phase eliminated everything but one business name idea, then you might have your final answer!  

Still Have 2-3 Choices

If you didn’t eliminate any ideas in the last round, or you only eliminated one idea, congratulations, my friend.  You have unique ideas!

Do you have a gut feeling about one of them?  Do you need more time?  

You’re in a good place.  You have options. 

No Choices

If you eliminated all of your choices in the research phase above, that’s okay.  Remember you still have your crossed off ideas on your brainstorm sheet.  Could you “un-cross” one of those ideas and research it?

If none of your ideas are feeling right, just set this whole matter aside for a few hours, or even a few days.  Now that your brain has momentum on this topic, you may just have a burst of inspiration when you least expect it.

What’s Next?

Did you finalize your piano studio name?  If so, I would love to hear about it in the comments.  Even if you’re not ready to share the name of your business with the world just yet, you can comment: “I did it!”

So what’s next?  A very fun, creative step, that’s what’s next!  We’re going to take that shiny, new business title of yours and turn it into a logo!

Join me as we design your simple, but effective (and did I mention FREE) logo on the next blog post and video.

And if you haven’t yet signed up for my 30-Day Challenge: Start Your Studio, get on board! Picking a name for your new business is one of twelve steps you’ll want to complete before you teach that first lesson.