This is not the time of year I typically think of growing a garden. It’s been a warm, gray winter here in Cleveland, Ohio, and even when the sun does peak through my natural gardening abilities are so lacking it doesn’t bring to my mind any desire to dig a plot in the backyard.

But there’s a simple saying I heard recently that applies to a whole lot more than growing a garden in the back yard. In fact, it has been in the forefront of my planning for the new year…

And as the new year has come and gone, rather quietly for those of us in Cleveland as the coronavirus has spiked, it is important to realize that what I focus on will indeed grow. Whether in my own personal life, whether in my piano studio, or even in the people and relationships I choose to focus on in the coming year.

At the beginning of each calendar year I take time to think through my studio goals for the year ahead. All of them fall under the umbrella of “teaching music with the desire to make my students better humans and members of society.”

But this overarching goal of teaching contains micro-goals that I find helpful to rotate through as posted and public studio goals each year.

This year we have 3 – and this centers my teaching and gives my studio families something to hang onto in the day to day work of practicing an instrument. My desire isn’t to offer my studio goals to you this year. One of them is an outright experiment that – if successful – you’ll hear about and have the opportunity to join in later.

But I do want you to be thinking about what you are growing in your studio garden. Here are some questions to get you started:

~ What are the strong and weak areas of my teaching? How can my studio goals boost the weak areas?

~ How can I encourage my student’s self-confidence and encourage them as a they grow as a person, and not just as a musician.

~ Are there any small areas I need to change in my teaching in order to help my students accomplish the bigger goals?

~ Are my goals wide enough to include all students and specific enough to be able to track?

Whether you walked into this new year with your goals set, your studio cleaned and your life on track, or whether you feel like you were behind before it even began, I encourage you to take a some time NOW to evaluate where your studio is headed. You might be surprised what can happen in a year when your studio can come together to work in the same direction 🙂