Introduce Yourself

[Meredith Pizzi]

Hi, Everyone! Welcome to all of our New Sprouting Melodies Providers!

Please begin by introducing yourself here to the group. Please tell everyone how long you’ve been an MT-BC, when you did your Sprouting Melodies Training and what you’re up to!

Let the conversations and the connections begin!

[Anonymous]

Hello, my name is Erika Svolos and I am a music therapist in northern New Jersey. I became a music therapist, in 1999, after graduating from Marywood University and completing my internship at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. I have been practicing, as a music therapist, in various locations in New Jersey for the past 14 years. I have primarily provided music therapy services for children and adolescents with various intellectual and developmental disabilities and psychiatric disorders. Over the years I have worked in in-patient psychiatric facilities, private and public schools, and private therapy clinics. In June of 2013, I completed the Sprouting Melodies and now opening my own business here in New Jersey. I hope to start seeing Sprouting Melodies groups, music therapy clients, and private music students in January of 2014 after I give birth to my first child. I am very excited at the new venture and I am so glad to be offering Sprouting Melodies and to be apart of this great community!

I look forward to talking and learning with all of you!

[Christine Heaps]

Hello SM Community!
My name is Christine Heaps. I’ve been an MT-BC since 2005. In the last couple of years, I have been mostly teaching piano. Last Spring, I attended the first live SM training and loved it! It’s taken me a year, but I am finally ready to start adding SM classes to my business. I am so excited! My first Demo class is tomorrow (March 24, 2014)!

[Anonymous]

Hi Christine!

I hope your Demo class went well. Look forward to hearing how your SM classes are going!

Erika

[Christine Heaps]

Hi Erika!
My first demo class went well, but I didn’t get any signups. It was for a mom’s group who didn’t want to commit for six weeks and thought the price was too high. I think they were right about the price, so I have adjusted it a little bit. I do have one class going at local kids play place/gym, but only one family has signed up. I’m going to try to schedule two more demo classes at two different places in the next couple of weeks:) Did you (or anyone else) have difficulty getting the classes started? Any tips?

It has been so much fun getting to finally “do” what I’ve been learning about! I have also really enjoyed seeing the moms and babies interact.

[Christine Heaps]

Hi Erika!
My first demo class went well, but I didn’t get any signups. It was for a mom’s group who didn’t want to commit for six weeks and thought the price was too high. I think they were right about the price, so I have adjusted it a little bit. I do have one class going at local kids play place/gym, but only one family has signed up. I’m going to try to schedule two more demo classes at two different places in the next couple of weeks:) Did you (or anyone else) have difficulty getting the classes started? Any tips?

It has been so much fun getting to finally “do” what I’ve been learning about! I have also really enjoyed seeing the moms and babies interact.

[Anonymous]

Hi Christine,

Sorry it took me so long to respond! It has been a slow road for me as well. Most of my sessions have been very small since I started in February. I find that word of mouth has been my biggest advocate and recently I connected with the Macaroni Kid in my area. They are a tremendous resource if you can find the one in your area. They are an online newsletter and family resource and they seem to run by area in my state (NJ). I am actually bartering with their editor. I get free advertising and promotion and she gets free music classes for her kids. It’s a true win win!

I also had to adjust my price. I dropped about eight dollars a session. I did some checking in my area a second time and found most of the music classes in my area were a bit lower than when I originally priced them out. It seemed to have worked for me because I am not seeing the “oh that’s the price” from most people now. Before it seemed like 9 out of 10 families were turned off by the price which made me go back and check the family classes in the area.

How are things going for you now? Have you continued to offer some demos? I actually have done two and will do a third for the fall. My hope is that as I grow I can fade those out.

Look forward to hearing how your progress is going.

[Sarah jane Mason]

Hello! I’m Sarah jane, MT-BC, had a private practice part-time for about 6 years, and looking to expand my service offerings with SM, and starting demo classes next week. It’s been slow moving in this blue collar town of Buffalo, NY as I try to earn “what I’m worth”. There’s a music together program in town that charges about what I am when the discounts I am advertising are reflected. Even with a “$15 off your 1st session” I’m not getting many replies. OH! And I set up google forms for my registration on my website. DO NOT USE GOOGLE FORMS! They don’t show up on iphones (not sure about other mobile devices). So I ran a social media ad campaign and finally someone told me about it not showing up on their iphone. Yes, I should have tested all methods first. I’m not sure how many registrations I missed for my demo class but analytics on my website showed over 30 people going to the page and some going back to it to try again within a minute. In this day and age unfortunately it’s all in the blink of an eye and if you miss the chance you do. Seems like I might have with a few families. The issue is now resolved and I am working on setting up online registration and payment through my website now.

Speaking of registration…. I am researching options for registration on my site and the ability to take credit card payments. Does anyone have low cost, reliable suggestions for both?

Question for Meredith and Beth… Does Sprouting Melodies see in its future more provider tools on their website in this area? For example Kindermusik has pages like this: http://www.kindermusik.com/kids-music-classes/class-details/-10928/yyyy/ and also offers registration for a specific demo class on their website. My understanding is that those are provided at no charge to the teacher as well. What is on the horizon for additional provider services? As I am pricing out registration costs it seems that at $39 a month that might be included as feature for providers.

Fingers crossed for next week’s demos. I am optimistic that the long term will be successful!
Sj

[Brandy Jenkins]

Hi! I realized that I never introduced myself. I took the training in the Spring of 2014 and am just now ready to dive into actual classes. I live in Oklahoma, but from Texas (I just can’t stand the thought of anyone confusing me with an Okie..:wink wink @ Christina:).

[Anonymous]

Welcome Brandy! Great to have you here!

[Christine Heaps]

Hi Brandy!
I totally considered you an Okie, but I stand corrected now;) I second what Erika said! P.S. There is nothing wrong with being an “Okie”:)

[Laura Micheli]

Hello Sprouting Melodies Providers!

I am sorry I haven’t introduced myself before! I’m Laura Micheli, MA, MT-BC and I work for Roman Music Therapy Services. I have been a Music Therapist and Sprouting Melodies provider for 4 years. I currently lead SM 1, 2, 3, and 4 and have lead Family Sprouts classes in the past. I am currently working on developing SM 5!!! I love Sprouting Melodies!

[Christine Heaps]

Hi Laura! What is Sprouting Melodies 5?

[Elyse Suhay]

Hello everyone! I’m Elyse Suhay, MT-BC, and I have been a music therapist since October of 2013. I took the online SM training in January of 2014, and it only took me a year and a half to make it over to the forum 🙂 Now that I’m here, I hope to make it a part of my routine so that I can get as well as share great ways to make SM better for participants.

[Christine Heaps]

HI Elyse! I am glad you joined the forum! Better late than never:) Welcome to the Sprouting Melodies Provider Community!!

[Kristina Rio]

Hi Everyone! My name is Kristina Rio. I currently work at Roman Music Therapy Services(RMTS) in Melrose Massachusetts with Meredith Pizzi as a music therapist, Sprouting Melodies Coordinator, Sprouting Melodies Provider, and practicum/internship supervisor. I work with a diverse clientele from birth to end of life in various populations. I have been a Sprouting Melodies Provider for three and a half years. I participated in the live training in NY with Beth and Meredith in June of 2012, and completed the online training in November of 2012 after I became a board certified music therapist. I currently facilitate a Sprouting Melodies 3, 2, and Family Sprouts group at our center in Melrose, and a Family Sprouts group at the Newbury Library in Newbury, MA once a month.

[Christine Heaps]

Hi Kristina!
Welcome to the forum! It is so nice to “meet” you! I would love to hear more about your Family Sprouts class as I am hoping to begin one soon. What songs/activities do you use? Any tips for including different ages would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Marcie Hernandez, MT-BC]

Hi everyone! My name is Marcie and I’m a music therapist in Burlington, VT. I work for a private practice here, Music Blooms Music Therapy, and we’re excited to be launching our first Sprouting Melodies classes this fall!

I’m leading a free demo class this Friday and another one next Tuesday to promote our classes. If anyone has any tips on best ways to spread the word, feel free to share! So far, we’ve been posting about it on our Facebook page, passing out flyers, and reaching out to other early childhood professionals in the community. I also have been leading my own “children’s music” time in one of the local libraries, which has allowed me to connect with many families. I think that our biggest hurdle will be sticking to our price point for the class. There are many free and/or cheap music groups for kids in our community. BUT I’m really hoping that the demo classes will show families the real difference of what we’re offering. If anyone has any other strategies on how to best get that message of quality out into the community, please share your thoughts.

It’s great to “meet” all of you! Thank you for your time!

[Christine Heaps]

Hi Marcie!
It is so good to “meet” you, too! You can check out the SMP Call Recordings Page. You will find some calls specifically for marketing and growing your program! You will also find some conversations in the forum on marketing. Let us know if you have any more questions. Good luck!

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