Don't Make These 3 Mistakes when Creating a Piano Practice Incentive
Practice. One of THE largest pain points for piano teachers. How DO we get our students to practice? The answer that many of us end up with are practice incentive programs. Over the past 10+ years of teaching piano, I've learned that there are GOOD practice incentive programs, and NOT SO GOOD practice incentive programs—which one is yours?
The purpose of a practice incentive program is simple: motivate students to practice what we assign in lessons.
Where it gets tricky, is choosing an incentive program that works well for ALL of your students regardless of age and skill level.
After doing a quick Pinterest search of practice incentive programs, it is easy to see that many creative minds have crafted endless cute ideas to solve this universal problem of practice. Some are themed, some change annually. Several involve some variation of "music money" (which we do in our studio) where students earn fake money to purchase small treats or prizes. There are SO many good ideas already out there!
After a decade of trying different incentive programs, I've learned that although there is no RIGHT or WRONG incentive program, there are what I would consider "mistakes" that I have personally made in my own incentive program development:
It Cost Too Much
This is a mistake that I am currently kicking myself for! I fell in love with the idea of music money (I use this free coin printable!) because I thought, “How great would it be to teach my students financial management AND to practice at the same time?” What two wonderful life skills!
My music money has different colors that correspond to its value. My lowest coin starts at 1-point (pink), and progresses all the way up to the ultimate gold 50-point coin. My students LOVE working towards the gold!
I then divide up my reward bins into 3 sections--small candies that cost 25-points, king-size candies that cost 50-points, and small toys that cost 75-points. Students are also given a 4th option: a $10 gift card of their choosing if they earn 300 points (to motivate those teenage students)!
Maybe you can already see the struggle I was setting myself up for, but I did not see at the time that funding these prizes was going to drive up my overhead expenses exponentially.
At one point, my studio was at 60+ students! So my reward bins were depleted EVERY MONTH...So I fell victim to a vicious cycle of stocking up on candy and toys for 60+ students every. single. month. (Not to mention that many students would save up for the gift card...)
It’s Too High-Maintenance
This leads really well into my next mistake: making my practice incentive program too high maintenance.
As I mentioned under the last section, I am making monthly shopping runs just to try to keep up with stocking my rewards bins.
I know you probably already know this, but let's say this as a friendly reminder for me to save later: we are busy piano teachers! We make lesson plans, create schedules, prep lesson & game materials, correspond with parents on a daily basis, manage billing/invoicing, the list could go on & on!
Creating a practice incentive program that requires a substantial amount of our time to plan and prepare is just not going to be sustainable.
I also know enough about myself that I personally can’t handle consistently coming up with new themes or ideas several times per year. If this sounds like you, then maybe steer away from the annually changing themed incentive programs. That's another reason why I LOVE the music money--you can keep students motivated by changing up the rewards, but the general idea of music money never changes! The coins are also reusable from year to year, and I store them in colored envelopes.
It’s Not Motivating Enough
As I already mentioned, this is the trickiest part of it all: choosing an incentive program that works well for ALL of your students regardless of age and skill level.
That means happy face stickers just aren't going to cut it for your teenage boy students. If the reward your student gets for practicing doesn't actually get them excited, they aren't going to put in the work you are hoping for.
There is a fine balance in an incentive program between prizes that are motivating but also low-COST and low-MAINTENANCE.
The good news is I have found a reward that gets ALL my students excited, whether they are 4 years old or 18 years old: FOOD!!!
As I make the transition out of gift cards and small toys, I will be replacing my rewards with all sorts of fun treats that can easily be purchased in bulk: Rice Krispie treats, mini Oreo packets, fruit snacks (surprisingly, these are always the first to go when compared side-by-side with candy), even gum!
Piano practice incentive programs really are a WONDERFUL way to encourage students to practice and work towards something they are enthusiastic about. If you can check these boxes of mistakes to avoid, you're well on your way to a sustainable, fun incentive system!
Want more help on the practice front?
If you’ve implemented incentive programs before, & you find that your students STILL aren’t practicing, it might actually be because your students don’t know HOW to practice well (so they avoid it!). I found this especially true once I started teaching my group lesson students how to practice—I saw at-home practice SKYROCKET!
If you want to explore how group lessons can teach students HOW to practice, then JOIN ME for a free virtual masterclass ((that I ONLY teach twice per year!))
Hi, I’m Jess!
For years, I was working late hours, during nap times, etc.…I did it ALL to squeeze in as many possible students in order to increase my income.
But, it didn’t leave me any time for myself, or my family. And even with all the hours I was working, our budget still felt tight.
In 2023, I decide that group lessons could be the solution I desperately needed. So I converted 100% of my studio to groups, DOUBLED my income, and cut my schedule in HALF.
In The Group Conversion Collective: 1:1 to Group in 60 Days, you will learn the EXACT strategies to transition to group lessons in the SIMPLEST way possible, so you can finally double your income, cut your teaching schedule in half, & give your students an experience worth referring their family & friends to!
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Hope to see you there! :)
