Over the years, you begin to learn some tricks to make life a little easier in the studio. It takes a while to figure out your best method and what you need to keep things maintained so that you spend as little time doing things administratively as possible so you can focus your efforts on the lessons and your students.
Some things will really help you to keep things running smoother. If you haven’t built up your studio yet, then this is a great resource for looking at what you may need to help get you going.
If you already have a studio up and running already, check out this list and see if there are any ways to make things a little better for you.
I want you to know that I will only list those items that are my favorite. These are things that I use on a constant basis. I am so thankful for these little things because of instead of wasting time, I know where to find things and it is easy to get there!
8 Cube Home Organizer
This is my favorite piece of furniture, besides my piano of course. 🙂 I set this 8 cube organizer horizontally on its side and its is a perfect height for my favorite Casio electric piano. Just stick a stool to sit on right next to it. Granted, it does get in the way of your knees if you are going to be sitting at it for extended uses of time. But for the purposes of the piano studio, it is a perfect fit for my needs!
You can put your lesson books here for easy access (see file organizers listed below for more info on this!). I put pencil boxes into the fabric cube bins. The pencil boxes are for pencils/pens, coloring utensils, tape & glue, scissors, and sticky notes.
The bins are also a nice location for hiding away my little thank you gifts. My thank you gifts are any odds and ends items that I want to throw into the box to bring out for any time I want to express appreciation for some hard work I have seen. I like to think of them as a thank you instead of a bribe because I only give it to them at times when I see hard work already done, not as a way to do the hard work.
Storage Cabinets
My second favorite piece of furniture for the piano studio is something like these storage cabinets. The cube organizer is great for your quick grab items and for putting one of my electric pianos on that I can leave out at all times. But you may need a little more storage space for some of your other items. Items that you will need and use, just not as constantly.
These storage cabinets are convenient because you can get as many as you need and as many as will fit into your space. I enjoy the organization benefit of having multiple lockers to store things in and keep it organized in that manner.
File Holder Organizer Boxes
These file holder organizer boxes are amazing little gems. They can keep things organized from your method books, to recital books and music, to games, flashcards, theory worksheets…just about everything you need!
What I love about these is that you can access them easily. Clear totes can become a pain because you have to open them up to get your stuff out and you have to open it up again to put it away. That’s fine and dandy, but I am a quick and grab type of girl and I need to be able to put it away as quickly as I grab it — or it doesn’t get put away.
Grab as many of these as you need (I also love that versatility of using as many or as little as you need/want) and then label it accordingly. You can use these in the cube organizer or your storage cabinets. They work well for both!
Other ideas to use with these:
- Games can go in a manila envelope, labeled, then organized into a bin
- Loose music can be set into bins, or hole punched, put into a binder, then set into a bin.
These have great reviews and seem to last okay even though they are cardboard but if you are wanting something really sturdy try these plastic storage bins here that are similar.
Transparent Flags Sticky Notes
These little transparent flag sticky notes are definitely one of my go-to items for every lesson. I use these for marking the spots in the music that my students need to work on. Sometimes students get home and forget what you told them to do. Having these fluorescent markers, you can easily flag the places right within the music for them to work on. That way, every time they pull out their music, it is all right there.
The students also love to be able to pull of the flags when they were able to move beyond those points. It’s pretty satisfying “cleaning” off your music.
Hanging Pocket Organizer
I like this hanging pocket organizer to hang inside a door and be used for my flashcards. Once again, a grab-and-go technique. I love how they are clear and easy to spot.
Just looking at an organizer pocket full of flashcards and grab-and-go items also helps me to get my creative juices flowing as I plan out my next lessons and think through what my students need to work on.
Piano Student Binders
One of the most important things you will do in your studio, is keep your piano students organized as well! This link will lead you to a good price on binders. You will always want an extra on hand to grab in case you need to replace a students binder from a lot of good use and it’s all worn out. Or in case you have new students in your studio.
I keep piano student binders as a portfolio for my students (for them to show off what they can do) as well as keep it a resource they can draw upon for years to come.
Check out more on why I am so passionate about piano student binders here in my article on The Sure-Fire Way to Keep Your Piano Students Organized.
Charging Station Dock
This charging station dock is a life saver! Saves you sanity as you will need a place to dock all your devices and keep all those pesky cords out of the way. I find myself using electronics in my lessons more and more. So having something like this handy in my studio is amazing for keeping things organized and tidy!
Lightweight Backpack
If you are a traveling piano teacher, you will need a good, sturdy (yet stylish) backpack to carry your gear in. This medium sized backpack fits the bill! Big enough to carry your binders, but comfortable and sturdy, you will use this on a daily basis. Lots of colors to choose from, too!
Whiteboard and Magnetic Markers
I can’t imagine a studio without a whiteboard. I just don’t think its possible to have students without something to write on, like a whiteboard! The last thing you want is to be scrambling around looking for something to write on. Now, I don’t need anything big or fancy, but something decently sized that doesn’t take up my whole wall. That’s why this whiteboard is the one I recommend. Don’t forget to pick up your dry erase markers too. These dry erase markers are magnetic which is perfect for this whiteboard and you never have to wonder where your markers are!
Learn Your Tricks for Organizing
The trick to organizing your studio is to look at the places you really need to figure out. Then study it, try out different things, and come up with the best solution for your studio! Keep trying around, checking out new ideas until you land upon the solution that works best for you.
I would love to hear any feedback or additional things you have used in your studio to help make your studios run a little more smooth!
