Sprucing up a Lesson Studio

If you ever take on the task of sprucing up a lesson studio, make sure to be patient. Studios tend to always be a work in progress. Teaching studios are incredibly fun to put together. But even when you think you have the perfect idea, trying it out can be a whole different thing.  There are three simple steps that can help turn a plain room into an inspiring studio, and remember, Amazon can be your best friend!

Ambience

The first thing is to create ambience. One of the additions that was most commented on in my studio were the acoustic panels. The red and black square foot wall panels help to make the room feel much more inviting.

Depending where you are installing them, they could be difficult to put up. I quickly realized that the acoustic panels would not stick to cement using tape, so I bought a hot glue gun to put them onto black cardboard. Then Velcroed the cardboard to the cement. That did not last either, so had to hang the panels from the floor joists with thin black sewing thread. Finally, they stayed and look great! They will be much easier to install if you have a finished room.

One thing to consider is to purchase 2-inch thick acoustic panels. I currently have the 1-inch thick version which does help, but the thicker the panel the more dampening effect it will produce. There are also corner shaped acoustic panels that look really nice. Putting a few of those up will add to the professional look.

The Lesson Studio Floor

This may sound crazy, but black yoga mats work incredibly well, especially on cement floors. I bought the Innhom gym flooring mats off Amazon. I did not know how they would turn out, but they ended up being amazing for several reasons. First, they looked great and were very comfortable to stand on during the jam sessions. They also did wonders to hide all the guitar and speaker cables. Now I don’t have to worry about people tripping over cables. Plus, keeping the cables hidden makes the place look much cleaner. As an added bonus, they made the room look bigger.

Lighting

This is probably one of the most important additions. I purchased WIFI light bulbs that can be controlled by a cell phone in order to change colors and intensity. Those are incredible! The only downfall is that the studio only had 2 light fixtures. This made the room darker when they were changed to blue or red. A student commented that the studio seemed a little dark, so it was Amazon to the rescue.

I picked up some 40 watt Hekee colored LED lights which put out an equivalent to 400 watts of lighting from an incandescent light. Those were strategically placed around the studio to splash light up on the walls. Eventually, I ended up with 5 of those and added some PAR 56 LED lights. What a huge improvement.  I think having the lighting dispersed all around the studio really gave the room a nice rock and roll feel.

Final Thought

Overall, those few additions turned an ugly cement room into an amazing teaching studio. Adding a snack table and small refrigerator made a huge difference as well, especially to the younger students. Sometimes students come straight from school and are hungry. Keeping chips and snacks around have really helped.

If you are interested in taking lessons, I would be happy to get you started on your musical journey!