Keeping students engaged and excited about lessons and practicing is one of the challenges teachers face in retention for lessons. If the student isn’t having fun, they won’t want to practice; lessons become challenging because you, the teacher, have to reteach the previous lesson, and you can’t accomplish what needs to be done in the lesson and the student doesn’t make the progress they are hoping for. To help combat this cycle, here are 5 secrets to Skyrocket your Student Retention.

1) Give A Little: Have a fun studio atmosphere. Be a little less formal than the teachers were a couple of decades ago. Play music online for them. Have them bring in the music they want to do. Talk about their favorite music and see if you can find sheet music just for that as a “fun song”.

2) I Am Not Above Bribery. Candy is sometimes the best incentivizer. I like to have a bowl of candy in eyeshot of the students during their lesson and allow them to pick from AFTER their lesson. They only get the candy at the end. And you better believe they are thinking about what candy they want to pick from the bowl for most of the lesson.

3) Make Practicing and Assignments Fun. Have fun activities for them to work towards. Create a sticker chart where students can earn prizes for practicing or completing assignments in their theory workbook or other outside assignments.

4) Embrace Holidays. Use holidays to decorate your studio space, and special candy or themed activities year after year so students know what to expect and look forward to each year.

5) Get The Whole Studio Together! Offer group classes, or performance classes where students can practice performing for other’s in a safe space, but also allows them to meet other students in the studio. Never hurts to have a short pizza or ice cream party afterward too!