Within The Musician

📝 Episode Summary:

In this solo episode, Monica reflects on how 25 years of teaching music has reshaped her philosophy—especially when it comes to students who don’t practice between lessons. Instead of shaming or scolding, she shares how she’s created an environment that inspires growth, even when life gets in the way.

You’ll hear how she uses gamification, seasonal events, and imaginative experiences (like musical elves from the North Pole!) to keep students engaged. From evolving her practice rewards program to designing lessons that work within a student’s lifestyle, Monica walks you through how she balances flexibility with meaningful progress.

Whether you’re a teacher navigating similar challenges, or a parent wondering what to expect in a music lesson, this episode offers insight, encouragement, and some creative ideas to keep the music alive.

🎙 Episode 1 – Creating Value in Private Lessons

Welcome to Season 2 of Within the Musician! After a long pause since Season 1 (which launched during the pandemic), I’m excited to return with a fresh perspective—and a mix of solo episodes and interviews exploring what it really means to live and work within the identity of a musician.

In this short solo episode, I’m diving into one of the most common questions music teachers ask each other: How do you structure your studio to avoid burnout, protect your time, and still offer value to students?

I walk you through how I set up my lesson calendar using a flat-rate monthly tuition system—and why it’s been a game changer for both my students and my own sustainability as a creative professional. This includes:

• My full-year calendar layout (45 lessons + 10+ events)
• Why I don’t offer traditional makeups—and what I do instead
• How events like recitals, open mics, and workshops serve as built-in value (and makeups!)
• Transparent pricing: how families understand what they’re paying for
• The swap list and virtual options that keep everything flexible
• A reminder that protecting your energy as a teacher helps you stay inspired and connected

If you’re a music educator trying to move away from the “makeup lesson trap” or just need a little validation for creating better work-life balance, this episode is for you.

✨ Stay tuned—up next is a short “Favorite Things” episode where I’ll share some of the tools, books, and ideas that are currently bringing joy and ease to my teaching studio.

Importance of music for young and old minds!
Today Stephan Betz and I  are going to talk about the intricacy of the brain, and how music can affect the development. How music can actually help students experiencing challenges in academics. We’ll talk about why it might be easier to start as an earlier student, but also how it can really benefit starting as an adult. We are also going to talk about what music therapy is, how it’s helpful and who it’s helpful too.

About Stephan Betz:  he is a A board-certified music therapist as well as an award-winning composer in jazz musician. He plays many instruments, with over 36 years of experience. He also has a PhD in community education. He is also one of the teaching artist at Contra Costa music guild, A collective of teachers we started early in the pandemic.

To learn more about Stephan Betz and schedule a trial lesson with him visit: www.contracostamusicguild.com 

On tooday I am going to talk about

• My personal journey of improvisation 
• What improvisation really is anyway. 
• Why I like introducing it into my teaching
• Why and how I think it is beneficial to classical musicians
• And we will go over some excersise to get started as a musician or ways to start it as a teacher- and even on zoom!!!!

Feel free to reach out with any questions or feedback. I can be reached at www.bayareaflutist.com or [email protected] 

On today's episode I am talking with Lea Pearson is the author of Body Mapping for Flutists: What Every Flute Teacher Needs to Know About the Body and numerous articles in professional magazines. Those publications and her years of successful pain-relief outcomes with musicians have gained her international acclaim. She is a sought-after trainer and speaker and has presented and taught workshops at more than 40 universities, military bases, conferences, and conventions throughout the world.

Today we are going to talk about:

• What Body mapping really is. 
• How to problem solve when a student is expressing pain
• How to teach this more effectively online
• And about Lea’s new program the transformational teacher.

To learn more about Lea go to
Website: www.musicminuspain.com
Teacher circle link: https://musicminuspain.kartra.com/page/IRl31
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lea.pearson1

 On this episode Suz Pulinski and I  talk about the mindset needed to move forward in 2021. Suz is  they creator of the Rockstar planner book, She is an expert in her field - bringing home the importance of planning and strategizing in a really effective way. On today’s show we will talk about how she started on this path to empower musicians. We will also  talk about how to set goals and maintain them- again without the burnout. 

Follow Suz, the Rockstar advocate here: 
Instigram @rockstaradvo
Webiste www.therockstaradvocate.com

In this episode Josh Boyd gives great insight into what it is like being a band director during covid. He talks about virutal and inperson learning, and how to navigate between the two. I loved his insight into building community within your band programs! Definetly check out his podcast 'Directing Bands' below!

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5aNBzNBNNXh3H3eH9p7IBU
Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/directing-band/id1524501038
Instigram @directingtheband Twitter: JoshRBoyd 

As always feel free to contact me with any feedback: [email protected]
Instigram: @monicawilliamsflutist 

On this episode I have two private instructors: Stephen Evans and Irina Fatykhova. Private music instructors have a very unique position. Our instruction is completely individualized. As creative instructors we teach the whole musician. Often our job is to find out how a students week went, what challenges did they have that week? What breakthroughs did they have that week? How did they enjoy or connect to the music? And how can I help you strategies so this next week is better. Well, with so much going on- it was impossible for me to avoid these conversations with some students. We chat about how private music instruction is helpful during these stressful economic, political and covid crisis. 

To learn more about Stephan Evans and me Monica Williams go to www.contracostamusicguild.com and To learn more about Irina go to www.iplaymusic.school