New Harmony: Thoughtful Conversations for Music Teachers

Perfectionism. We have been friends for far too long. Procrastination. Fear. Uncertainty. All can point to a root of perfectionism. Today, we are continuing our miniseries on mindset for music teachers and talking about perfectionism.  A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at www.musicstudiostartup.com/newharmony005A. The New Harmony podcast is part of the Music Studio Startup Podcast Network.  

Today we have a very special episode on the topic of Grit & Grace. Today's guest is not only well versed in maintaining a healthy mindset, he also has experience in helping people balance gritty hard work as well as giving themselves the grace of meaningful rest.    In addition to a lifelong career as a pastor. Jim Elmore is also the husband of our podcast host, Amy Elmore. Let's tune into their reflection and discussion and what it means to balance grit & grace.   A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at www.musicstudiostartup.com/newharmony004B. The New Harmony podcast is part of the Music Studio Startup Podcast Network.

I think what gets hard is that, as music teachers, we know the benefits and value of both working and resting, but when we are doing one, we are feeling guilty about not doing the other.  Some of us might say, "But I love my work!" I fall into that camp a lot, but I still have so many times when the work I love feels overwhelming and the inspiration and creativity needed for the work is hard to find. I often recognize that I need to take a break, but what I know in my head is hard to take action on. When I am working I feel guilty for not resting and when I am resting I feel like I should be working.  Listen in, as we discuss the topic of Grit & Grace.  Grit implies more than just hard work. It's the getting up after being knocked down, the fortitude when you are getting weary, the determination to overcome obstacles that get in the way of a goal or desire. Grace is free and unmerited. That means it doesn't come after hard work or because we deserve it. It's a beautiful thing when a free gift of grace is given. Grace is something we don't have to withhold from ourselves until we do all the work, or all the right things. It's needed for salvation. For the saving of our sanity, our creativity, our physical and mental wellbeing.    A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at www.musicstudiostartup.com/newharmony004A. The New Harmony podcast is part of the Music Studio Startup Podcast Network.

Today we are continuing our discussion on the topic of feeling burnt out. We invited someone who worked alongside Amy in her previous job as a therapist. Darla Morfin is a licensed Marriage Family Therapist who has been serving clients of all ages since 1996. She is an expert on the psychology of feeling burn out and what a lot of music teachers will experience during busy studio seasons.  In this episode we will cover: stress, overwhelm, burnout and how they are different danger of multitasking what are the stress chemicals your body can produce distinguishing short term stress from long term stress what are positive coping skills to prevent chronic stress & depression why should you try deep breathing discussion on fight, flight, or freeze benefits of therapy what music teachers should know when dealing with stress   A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at musicstudiostartup.com/newharmony003B.   The New Harmony podcast is part of the Music Studio Startup Podcast Network.  

This week's topic is on burnout and overwhelm. The signs and symptoms, results, the long-lasting effects, and hopefully some ideas towards the cure for you.  As teachers who work with people daily, constant conflicts that might arise with students or studio families can lead to emotional fatigue. The uncertainty of not knowing to address them won't help matters. Instead, we will share 3 ways to tackle burnout and stress that comes with being a music teacher.  A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at musicstudiostartup.com/newharmony003A.  The New Harmony podcast is part of the Music Studio Startup Podcast Network.

Today we are continuing our discussion on how to handle challenging conversations with your student's parents with Sonia Poon. Sonia is a music studio owner in Canada. She has been a music studio owner since 2001. She will be sharing her insights on how to manage the communication and relationship between students, teachers, and the students' parents. In this episode, we will be tackling the three big topics that often come up in your interactions with your students' parents: scheduling of students, price and cancellation policies, and the students' progress.  A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at musicstudiostartup.com/newharmony002B. The New Harmony podcast is part of the Music Studio Startup Podcast Network.

I often feel we are not in the music-teaching business, but in the people business. Sometimes it can feel like people are harder to learn than the instrument itself. But often it's the people who will make or break our business. One of the first steps in feeling confident in our business is having a plan on how to relate to the people. It's usually easy when all is well. But what do we do when we feel a conflict arising? This week we're talking about four strategies to handling the most common challenging conversations music teachers face. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at musicstudiostartup.com/newharmony002A. The New Harmony podcast is part of the Music Studio Startup Podcast Network.

Welcome to the New Harmony podcast - part of the Music Studio Startup Podcast Network - and your connection to/source of thoughtful conversations with music teachers striving to live in wellness and balance as business owners. Today we're continuing to explore the topic of goal-setting, but I'm taking it into the real world through a conversation with Andrea Miller, a piano teacher and host of the Music Studio Startup podcast as we do a check-in on our goals for the year. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at musicstudiostartup.com/newharmony001B.  

Welcome to the New Harmony podcast - part of the Music Studio Startup Podcast Network - and your connection to/source of thoughtful conversations with music teachers striving to live in wellness and balance as business owners. This week we're talking about goal-setting and what it looks like to do that in real life in a healthy and helpful way. You'll hear my own insights on the topic and I'll share tips on how to implement a healthy goal-setting practice. A full transcript and resources from this episode can be found at MusicStudioStartup.com.