Playtime
Piano Instruction was born in April of 1997 as an outgrowth
of founders Scott and Harlene Mc Gowan's private piano
teaching. A 1988 graduate of the University of Delaware
with a Psychology degree, Scott had worked with children
(and adults) with developmental disabilities for five
and a half years.
In May of 1993, Scott decided to combine his love of
music, 7 years of private piano lessons and 5 years
of experience working with children into a new career.
He
began teaching private piano and keyboard lessons in-home.
Not only would this save on start-up capital but he
believed the convenience of in-home lessons would appeal
to the increasingly busy family lifestyle of the 1990s.
Scott's schedule began to fill up very quickly as a
result of flyering and placing ads on public bulletin
boards combined with his innovative approach. He stopped
flyering and reinvested part of his income into line
and display ads in a few local papers. In less than
a year, his teaching schedule was full from 3-9pm Mondays
through Fridays.
He stopped advertising but continued to receive numerous
referrals from the families he taught. They enjoyed
the convenience of his in-home instruction but also
appreciated Scott's ability to really connect with their
children, his way of making learning fun and his interest
in bringing them the kind of music they wanted to be
able to play.
In response to this situation he and his wife, Harlene
produced a 2 hour instructional video entitled "Discover
the Magic Keys to Piano Playing" which was released
in May of 1995 and successfully marketed to hundreds
of public libraries nationwide. But the article which
appeared in the Baltimore
Sun in August of that year only created a
new influx of calls for private piano students.
As a result, Harlene returned to piano teaching after
spending 12 years of working in the "rat race" of advertising/public
relations. With coursework in education, an English
degree, certification as a Hypnotherapist and nearly
10 years of classical piano training, Harlene shared
the same philosophy of teaching and love of music and
children as Scott.
Shortly after filling up her schedule, Harlene also
continued to receive referrals from her private students
and what developed was a combined student waiting list
for Scott and Harlene. At this point, the McGowans decided
to expand their business by hiring additional instructors
and training them to do in-home piano/keyboard lessons
using their individualized approach. An advertising
campaign was launched and a
second article appeared in several local Times newspapers.
Within 3 years over 300 students were being taught by
more than 30 Playtime Instructors throughout the Baltimore
Metropolitan area.
Our original Playtime Piano office in Baltimore has
continued to accept new students in the Greater Baltimore
Metropolitan Area into the new millennium. In 2002,
we began offering franchise
opportunities.
We currently have franchises operating in other parts
of Maryland as well as in Ohio and New Jersey. The locations
link on our homepage will continue to give a complete
list as we continue our expansion.
In addition, an original Playtime Prequel
to learning music ("The Magical Mystery of How Music
Came to Be") is now available through all PLAYTIME PIANO
CORPS. sites and is automatically issued to all new
registrants of Playtime Piano Instruction. A series
of original lesson books is also planned that will include
a number of easily recognizable songs. These books will
be designed to address all different learning styles.
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