The Dynamic Studio: How to keep students, dazzle parents, and build the music studio everyone wants to get into Paperback – July 27, 2012

I started reading this book and very quickly I realized I needed a notebook to keep a list of ideas for my studio.The first part is philosophical...which is exactly what I needed. It is MY studio. Not my mentor's, not my competitor's, not the million other studios on the internet. It's MINE. It gave me a freedom to explore what kind of studio I wanted to be.Next, came the layout of our industry, and the "stuck-ness" that we can be in. We are teaching just the same as teachers in the 1950's! But students are very different. Get with it or else. I totally experienced this when I first began teaching...I was teaching the way I was taught. Both my students and I were miserable...flipping through pages of a lesson book and looking at the clock. I started looking at Philip's website and others on the cutting edge, and implementing their ideas. My studio doubled immediately. A woman stopped me in the grocery store because she had heard about my teaching from her friends.Finally, came chapter after chapter of good ideas. My lists are divided into: Right away, maybe later, and WOW, can you imagine? The great thing is, I CAN imagine it, thanks to this book. The ideas each have practical advice to carry them out.Super book! Can't wait to read The Practice Revolution!!

I just finished reading The Dynamic Studio and I must say that Philip has a knack for getting the creative juices flowing. His ideas, thoughts and suggestions really got me thinking about how much more fun my teaching studio can be.I like the fact that he doesn't feel like you can or even should implement everything, but rather you can pick, choose and experiment to see what works best for you. His writing style is straight forward and natural sounding with a little humor thrown in as well. If you teach music whether at home, at a music store, or your own studio it's an absolute must read.Philip also has a very nice website, insidemusicteaching.com where he offers lots of valuable, free advice as well. I've read and bought several of his books now and have become a true fan. His enthusiasm and love of music and teaching come through loud and clear. You won't be disappointed.

I am enjoying this book. I am 3/4ths of the way through it, but like the suggestions in it so far. If you feel like your studio has fallen into a rut because of too much routine, and needs fresh ideas... this is your book. It helps you change your studio from a static place to a dynamic studio that motivates students and helps with retention. It also addresses what is different about this current generation we are working with. This information agrees with what I find to be true and applicable. This book gives you all kinds of ideas to keep your students surprised, engaged, and coming back for more. It also just may help with your own burn-out,or prevent it for both the student and you.

This was written with a lot of passion - the passion of the author just leaps across the page. It's not that idealistic passion that you find in an undergraduate that is naive to the big world either - it is written with a lot of practical advice. There are so many things that made me excited to initiate in my studio. The advice was not only practical but creative - the writer does truly think outside of the box.It is written in a way that is conversational - not academic as noted by the author, this made it easy to read and certainly riveting to read. There was a big section in the book dedicated to keeping students. Whilst I do think it is sad to see people play an instrument for a certain amount of time and then quit and never play again, I am not extremely against people quitting. I quit playing the piano for a few years and returned refreshed and eager to learn. I stopped studying music half way through my undergraduate degree, took some time off and I'm returning eager and willing to learn. A student quit in my studio - to play clarinet, she returned to the piano with a lot of love for piano, she was also a better musician! I felt that the book's suggestions on how to keep students were bordering manipulation and perhaps not in the best interest in the student but the teacher.Besides this, I felt that the book was centered around teaching children. Children take up a large proportion of music studios so I am not surprised but it would have been nice to read about holding the attention and interest of teenagers and adults.Other than that I enjoyed reading this book, it gave me so many practical things to take away. I would recommend it to any teacher teaching in a music studio.

This is my first book review ever out of thousands read - this book is worth it! If you are a music teacher of any kind, this book will rock your world! Soo many great ideas about how to think forward, liven up our lessons and our teaching environments so we can compete successfully for students' time, energy and commitment. Some of our lessons look suspiciously similar to when we were students 30, 40 or even more years ago and we need to ramp them up to connect with kids today. Taking inspiration from computer games and what makes kids tick, this author has repackaged the traditional music lesson in many shapes and colors to help make our studios THE place for kids to be! A delightful, entertaining read that will leave you wondering what great idea to try first! I loved it, thank-you!

I've been a piano teacher for 45 years with my own private studio (no other jobs) for the past 15+ years, and I like to think that I am a pretty dynamic and flexible teacher with a constantly full student enrollment, but I expect more than half the ideas Mr. Johnston presented were eye-opening,thought-provoking and plain ol' exciting things to think about. I do recommend this book to a piano teacher of any number of years experience. My only complaint is that I started reading it 3 days before I resumed teaching lessons after a summer break, and my mind is having a hard time focusing on just what exactly I need to do to be ready; I am swimming in deep waters with too many ideas to carry out at once.