Review

Philip Johnston
The Dynamic Studio: How to keep students, dazzle parents and build the music studio everyone wants to get into:

Charleston, SC, United States
Publisher: Philip Johnston
Date of Publication: 2023
URL: http://www.InsideMusicTeaching.com
Language: English

Paper bound text book. 288 pages.

Primary Genre: Study Material - book

This book challenges the traditional studio template. Johnston proposes that the usual methods of teaching private lessons, i.e. weekly assignment-go home and practice-hear it the next week, have become stale and ineffective with today’s student. Millennials have a different learning style than previous generations, and most would agree that traditional methods have become less and less effective. The author proposes not a method, but a fountain of ideas designed to refresh and rethink the teaching studio. Topics range from changing the structure and schedule of a lesson, to adding extra value to your studio by including extra sessions on special topics, to rethinking rewards and motivation. The section on creating structures that allow student autonomy in the lesson, keeping students engaged and taking the initiative in the learning process, I found quite useful. Johnston also includes a good summary of possibilities for using technology in the studio. The overall goal is to improve the quality of learning and have better engagement and studio retention. Though most of the ideas are aimed at private studio teaching, the concepts can be carried into a college teaching studio as well. All teachers will find a few concepts or ideas in this text that will help get better results and reinvigorate teaching. 

-Timothy Howe
University of Missouri