You haven't heard from me in a while because I have been on my own sabbatical, creating a how-to-learn-the-piano video method. Well...that was the intention. Truth be told, I'm disheartened and only about 1/3 of where I wanted to be at this point in time. You see, when you work on a team, it's not all about you and your goals. You don't necessarily set the pace. I took the entire summer off from teaching, which cost around $15,000, plus about $4,000 in start-up costs, and counting. I'm not upset, but I had hoped there would be something more to "show" for my entire summer off.
Rewind back to January 2018. I signed up for an online Yoga coupon where this studio in California has instructional videos. You pay an annual membership and viola! You have access to 10 min classes, 15 min classes, 30 min, etc...different levels and it's all online, from the convenience of your own home. My partner asked me what that could look like for piano lessons, and the wheels started spinning! I wasn't confident in my ability to get this off the ground by myself, so asked two people with whom I thought I would work well with.
Step 1: In order to have original content and materials for a video course, you need to create the written material. Wow. That has been a learning process! I am reminded that RPM's and priorities are different. We are over a month behind where I had set out to be, and my clock is/has run out to create the videos during my sabbatical. Unfortunately, this is as far as the book got this summer. There is no launch date, and it's unclear to me what to do with the book at this point. It won't serve as a resource for teachers because we're too late in getting it out there. The brilliance in my opinion, is on the level with The Music Tree. If you know anything about that method, you know that you need some training to be able to use it well. Where does this training come from? Who does it? I would say in a video, but that hasn't gotten off the ground. I need to turn my attitude around, don't I?!
I love the idea of the project, as it's been over 10 years in the making, but maybe it's time for me to pivot? Book 1 will get finished, so maybe that's the checkmark I need for myself. My original idea was to be able to monetize a book for an older beginner that wanted to learn how to play popular music. I was motivated by the possibilities of what I could write, and then use in my own lessons. I'm also motivated to offer high quality lesson instruction at a fraction of the price, once I make it replicable. There are so many people who can't afford private piano lessons, which makes this a possible solution to that challenge. Growing up, my parents couldn't have afforded me as the piano teacher...I want to be able to give back to people.
There are still some great things that have happened this summer, and most importantly, I have almost co-written a Level 1 Pop-based piano method book!
The question I face now is do I want to continue on this path and get back to my original idea of a video piano method. With the frustration of the book being incredibly high, I'm in evaluation mode. It's wise to go back to the original motivations and reflect, which is where I am today. If I continue, am I getting myself closer to where I want to go? What does a pivot look like at this point in the journey? Will it serve me short term? Long term?
And so we keep going...I'm still in a funk about this, clearly. In a short period of time, I am confident I am going to come back around with you and have a great report for you. Until then...growth growth growth!