Welcome,
Thank you for your interest in teaching positions with our studio. This page will give you an idea of our philosophy of teaching and our ideas on how our studio can best meet the needs of our students and teachers.
If you are interested in joining our team of associate instructors after reading this sheet or viewing our website please mail (or PDF email) your resume with pertinent references to:
Email: lessons@gtrstudio.com -- Attention: Teaching positions
Mail:
GTR Music Studio
Attention: Teaching positions
207 S Washington, Ste. 201
Moscow ID 83843
No Phone Calls Please. Only suitable applicants will be sent an application and contacted for an interview. Resumes should be one to two pages in length single spaced.
Studio Background
GTR Music Studio is a privately owned studio that was founded in 1993. Our primary location is in Moscow and we are in residence at Atom Heart Music in Pullman.
We are the Palouse areas only independent music studio with approximately 50 + students attending weekly lessons. We cater mainly to children and teens. About 80% of our students are between 7 and 16 years old, however, we also have a strong adult student base that attend weekly lessons for many years.
We realize that most of our students will not become professional. We strive to provide a fun but educational environment with well-organized administration, quality equipment and professional facilities.
Teaching on your own or through a studio – which is the right choice for you?
There are several places you can teach music around the Moscow/Pullman area. As a music teacher you can either teach privately in your house and/or in students homes. You can teach in an established music studio or school - all have upsides and downsides.
Teaching on your own
If you teach in your home or student’s homes, the upside is you can keep all of the money you charge to the student. Your overhead costs are fairly minimal: no rent or utility costs and marketing, advertising and administrative costs.
The main downsides of teaching in your home or your student’s homes are:
• It can be hard to keep your schedule constantly full with new students.
• Getting and keeping a full schedule can be difficult and expensive if you have to run classified ads or small newspaper ads. Even if you are a good, well-liked teacher, it can take a long time for referrals and word of mouth to fill your schedule.
• If you are driving to student’s houses you also have to factor in the cost of fuel & driving time between students which limits the amount of teaching you can actually do.
The other downside of teaching on your own can be the difficulty in enforcing your attendance and payment policies. No one likes being a collection agent. It can be difficult to concentrate on your teaching while trying to keep track of who owes money and to make sure you are paid.
If you are teaching on your own, it can also be difficult to enforce your teaching policies and have your time respected. For example, if a student tells you they are going to Disney World for the next two weeks, it can be difficult to still make them pay for their lesson time. Many students will refuse to pay for those missed lessons because they will think: “I’m not getting my lesson so why should I pay?”
Chances are you can’t book another student in that lesson time for just 2 weeks, so if you don’t charge the student in Disney World, you have just lost 2 weeks of pay. If that scenario happens a couple of times per month it can greatly reduce your earnings.
Teaching at a music studio or school
Now let’s look at teaching at a music studio/school. The downside is you don’t get paid as much per student. Teaching rates that in-home teachers and music schools charge are usually pretty similar. So the pay per student to the teacher is lower because of administrative expenses.
The upside can be having a consistently full schedule of students each day. Being paid a little less per student but having 8 or 10 students will mean you earn more overall. Additionally, students are scheduled in blocks so your down time between students is less.
Another upside to teaching at a music studio is that you do not have any collections hassles. You only have to focus on the teaching. A music studio provides a professional educational environment that is stimulating to the students. It is also free from distractions found in a home such as ringing phones or doorbells, TVs and noisy family members.
Those are the general differences between teaching on your own and teaching in a music studio.
Why teach with us?
Here are reasons why music teachers choose to teach at our studio over all other choices:
1. A more regular flow of new students to keep schedules as full as possible
Over the course of the year, students can move or quit. This can leave a teacher with gaps or holes in their schedule. Most students register and start lessons in September. Most music schools only advertise in late August and September for new students.
At our studio we invest in advertising and marketing year round to keep our teacher’s schedules as full as possible. We market and advertise in newspapers, radio, direct mail, community publications and other media to constantly attract new students. We are regularly registering new students for our private music lessons even during typically slower registration months like May and June.
2. Extras are taken care of – your only responsibility is to teach
The studio director handles all of the administrative “details”. From scheduling to collecting fees or arranging recitals, these details are handled by the studio director, which means the teacher is free to focus on teaching and not get bogged down by administration.
3. Your time is respected and you are paid whether or not students show up
Teachers are paid for their registered students lesson time even if the student is absent. If an enrolled student misses classes for school trips or holidays, the teacher is still paid. The only time a student is given an extra make up lesson is if the student is sick and they can only have 2 make-up lessons per year for sickness. If a student does not pay for their lessons or has an uncollectible debt, the teacher is still paid. Our priority for our teachers is to make sure that their time is not abused and their teaching days are as productive as possible.
4. Our philosophy makes teaching at our studio a different experience.
We encourage our teachers to draw relevant connections (i.e. history and theory) to classical, contemporary, and popular music in a fun and engaging way for the student that is artistic and alive. Repertoire is drawn from music from around the world and from great composers and artists. Using A selection of standard method books and supplemental written and audio materials provides an engaging way for the student to learn and develop skills more quickly so that they not only enjoy playing, but are also enjoyable to listen to at all levels from beginner to advanced.
5. You gain valuable teaching experience with an established studio
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:
- We are looking for upbeat, cheerful people who sincerely enjoy working with children and teens as well as adults. You must have a warm nurturing personality, and the patience to work with beginning students. Teachers must be proficient on their instruments and be able to teach private lessons. The knowledge of and ability to teach various styles is a plus.
- Even though you must be proficient in your instrument and musicianship, your qualities as a teacher and as a person are equally important to us.
- A candidate for an associate teaching position at GTR Music Studio is team oriented and looking to contribute their talents to the studio as well as promote their association with it. They are willing and able to follow all studio policies regarding teaching, including dressing professionally. Additionally, the ideal candidate understands, believes in and will uphold the studio's philopsophy towards teaching.
- A candidate for an asociate teaching position at GTR Music Studio must be available to teach during our prime hours of operation.
- A candidate for an associate teaching position at GTR Music Studio must have their own reliable transportation and be available to teach during GTR Music Studio session dates.
Strong consideration wil be given to candidates that plan to be in the Moscow/Pullman community for at least one to two years.
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