Playtime Piano

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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 joined Scott in piano teaching in 1996, 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. In 1997, 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. We offered franchise opportunites for a brief period of time in the early 2000s. A franchise was granted in 2002, which continues to serve the Howard County, Maryland area. Another franchise was granted in 2003 which continues to serve the Greater Cincinnat Ohio area. All 3 of our locations will continue to accept new students for many years to come...

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