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Anderson Music Studio is seeking a piano, cello, and/or violin teacher to join the faculty at our studio in west suburban Riverside.

We are an established violin school of almost 40 students, but we are seeking the right teacher to help expand our programming into cello and piano. We can guarantee that you’d start with at least a few students, but we are looking for a teacher who is open to doing community outreach and working collaboratively with the director to develop a program aligned with the school’s values.

This position will begin with a six month contract with an option to be hired long-term based on performance. Our teachers enjoy the benefits of a well-established program; you can just show up and teach – no need to handle the scheduling, marketing, or parent education.

We are predominantly a Suzuki school but do offer traditional style lessons by request. Willingness to teach both methodologies is a plus. We have a strong preference for educators with music education degrees, Suzuki training through at least book 1, and a minimum of two years of teaching experience.

Teachers are hired as independent contractors but receive ongoing support from our studio director in a collaborative environment. The average shift is 4 hours, usually from 3-7 PM. As an independent contractor, you are able to set your own hours. Pay is an hourly rate commensurate with experience and training, with the option to earn a set salary after a minimum of 6 months.

Job requirements include:

• Teaching private lessons and group classes
• Constructing and implementing clear plans for student growth
• Maintaining a consistent and reliable schedule
• Communicating and collaborating with the director, caregivers, and other teachers
• Attending studio recitals and occasional community events

To apply, please send a resume to Nissa at info@andersonmusic.studio. If you’d like to expedite the interview process, please also send a performance video as well as a teaching excerpt of at least 10 minutes.

The most asked question in regards to starting lessons is “Suzuki vs. Traditional – what’s the difference?” While both Suzuki and traditional approaches, when utilized by a nurturing and caring teacher, ultimately yield the same results, there are some key differences. Let’s explore.

#1: Caregiver Involvement

In the Suzuki method, the caregiver is involved during 100% of private lessons, group classes, and home practice. The caregiver’s concurrent learning, dutiful notetaking, and commitment to the routine of practice is part of what makes Suzuki work. Caregivers are always welcome and encouraged to attend traditional lessons (our director’s mom attended her lessons until she was 19 just because she enjoyed it!) but it is not a requirement.

#2 Learning By Ear

Traditional students begin to learn to read music immediately alongside learning to play the instrument. Students learn the placement of pitches on their instruments through quick exercises and short melodies that work on note reading fluency.

In Suzuki lessons, students learn to play their songs by ear first. Students listen to a reference recording daily to help internalize the melody. The Suzuki method sometimes gets a reputation that it’s students don’t know how to read music – this isn’t true. A good Suzuki teacher will introduce note reading when the student’s technique has established a steady foundation.

#3 Starting Young

One of the key definitions of Suzuki vs. Traditional is that the Suzuki method allows students to begin learning their instrument as young as three years old. If you’ve seen a prodigious toddler shredding Vivaldi on their instrument, they are likely a Suzuki student.

This is partially because of the caregiver’s involvement but also because learning by ear is a more organic process for a young child than learning to read the standard music notation system.

Learning to play an instrument and read notation at the same time requires some developed mental multitasking. This means that traditional methods are often better suited to a slightly older child. As a general rule, a student can begin traditional lessons around the age of eight (although we’ve made exceptions for particularly mature students as young as six).

#4 Group Classes

Music is a social activity. Understanding that students learn from their peers, Dr. Suzuki included group classes as an essential part of the Suzuki curriculum. Group classes are required along with weekly private lessons.

Traditional lessons can be an excellent complement to a student’s school instrumental ensemble. However, group classes are not part of the traditional private study curriculum.

#5 Repertoire & Review

Knowledge is not skill. Knowledge plus ten thousand times is skill

-Shinichi Suzuki

Another special element of Suzuki is its common repertoire. Dr. Suzuki carefully selected the repertoire to teach new skills in a certain order. Because of this, students all learn the same songs in the same order. Each song teaches specific skills that often return in later songs. Suzuki students must review their “passed” songs in order to keep all their skills sharp.

Traditional students often learn through short written exercises, scales, and arpeggios. These exercises teach foundational skills, but traditional students don’t review their repertoire as often as Suzuki students.

Ultimately, Suzuki and traditional lessons will both allow your student to develop into a musician. Choosing the right method for you often comes down to personal choices and family routines. To learn more about what might work best for you, schedule a free call with our director today!

Want to know why your child should take Suzuki violin lessons at Anderson Music in Riverside, Illinois? Here’s five reasons why:

Family Bonding

The Suzuki Method not only encourages the caregiver to participate, it’s required. What other activity do you send your children to that requires you to participate? We can’t think of any.

This presents a unique opportunity for families to grow together over several years. Families who have graduated from the Suzuki method report that it allowed them the ability to work together as a family in new and different ways. Though it wasn’t always easy, they overwhelmingly felt that they wouldn’t trade the relationship that Suzuki allowed them to develop for anything.

Whether your toddler is still at home, your kindergartener is heading to school for the first time, or you’d like an opportunity to spend more time with your pre-teen, the Suzuki method allows weekly opportunities for one-on-one bonding time for caregiver and child.

Comprehensive caregiver support

We’ve heard it a hundred times: “I started to learn an instrument as a kid but I never practiced. My parents didn’t want to pay for it if I didn’t practice, so I quit. I regret not sticking with it.”

You can’t tell someone you’re a musician, let alone a music teacher, without hearing some iteration of that story.

We know that learning violin can be challenging. We also know most parents that come to our studio aren’t musicians themselves, let alone violinists specifically. At Anderson Music, it is OUR responsibility to show you how to be the best support system you can be for your young musician.

Suzuki families go through orientation before even beginning private lessons. Like ground school for pilots or student teaching for educators, we run you through the basics before we let you get in on the action. We also hold regular talks, host meet-ups, and, coordinate practice buddies, and conference one-on-one with caregivers twice per year.

Even Traditional families receive a lesson start-up guide upon enrolling and are always welcome to join Suzuki programming for a low additional fee.

We want your child to take violin lessons long-term, and we make sure we give you the tools to make that happen.

Personalized instruction

Every child is different and we are prepared to help each student learn in their own unique way. Whether your child is high-energy, strictly motivated by games, or even nonverbal, our faculty knows how to adjust the method to meet the student where they’re at.

Every student in our program learns the same fundamental concepts, but we’ve never really taught the same lesson twice – everyone is different.

Community

Anderson Music is a community-minded studio. On a micro level, we are always working to connect our studio parents to each other. Many of our students have become friends outside of the studio and have practice play dates often, and we even go on studio field trips to see the CSO and the Grant Park Symphony.

Keeping it local is important to us. We partner with local businesses like Back to Nature and Brookfield Academy for Mini Musicians to bring enrichment programming to our students. We co-host Open Mic Fridays for kids at Sips & Sweets. Our students perform at community events throughout the year, and we decorate a Christmas Tree at the Brookfield Zoo every year.

We are also focused on giving back. We plant one tree per student every month through One Tree Planted and we hold supply drives for Ronald McDonald House during the holidays. When you join Anderson Music, you join a group of families engaged in supporting their local community.

FUN

Our students have FUN learning. Laughter echoing through our hallways is a regular occurrence.

Our teachers use tons of strategies and rewards to encourage joy in students’ learning. From weekly stickers and coloring charts to studio-wide practice challenges four times a year, we are always working to keep our students engaged and enjoying the learning process.

What are you waiting for? Schedule a consultation today!

What’s new in music in Riverside, IL? Keep reading!

Spring Recital – May 1st

Our students put on a wonderful performance at our spring recital on May 1st. It has been amazing to watch students growth since our February recital. They did an amazing job – click here to watch a clip of our music in Riverside, IL.

Parent Meet Up – May 13th

We held our first ever parent meet-up, which we’ve affectionally called a “Wine & Whine”, on Friday, May 13th at Imperial Oak Brewing in Brookfield, IL. It was a pleasure to chat with parents, commiserate over practice troubles, and even share hope for the future. Our next meet up will be Wednesday, June 22nd from 7-9 PM at Imperial Oak. Join us!

Congratulations to Ms. Grace!

Ms. Grace completes her post graduate certificate in performance at DePaul this week. We are so proud of her hard work! Click here to watch her degree recital

Looking Ahead

Quick Stats from Spring

Stay tuned for our summer recap in August. Until then, happy practicing!