The Music Teaching Career
Music teaching can be a rewarding career for those who enjoy being music performers and audience members. Successful music teachers communicate well, enjoy social interaction and children, and employ good organizational and planning techniques.
Other People Are Reading
-
Types of Teaching
-
Music teaching occurs in a variety of educational settings with specialized benefits and challenges. According to the National Association of Music Education, the largest number of positions is available in elementary and secondary schools. Here, directors, teachers, and supervisors work full-time, frequently have extended summer and winter holiday vacations, and enjoy relatively high job security. However, these music teachers often face strict curriculum guidelines and large class sizes.
Higher education music teachers and conductors teach at the college and university levels, instructing undergraduate and postgraduate students. These teachers are similar to grade school teachers in terms of schedules and restrictions, but usually also have higher salaries and greater opportunities for research and specialization.
Community music teachers are those who direct and conduct church groups, community music groups, or recreational programs. These teachers can work full- or part-time, but often work unconventional hours like weekends and evenings, when community members are most available.
Studio music teachers usually teach performance, and they can work from home or an outside studio. They often set their own hours and schedules, and thus can work both full- or part-time. Often, they own their business, enjoying self-designated curriculums and workloads. However, being self-employed has its challenges, as studio teachers are responsible for advertising their services, finding students and setting profitable rates.
Subjects for Instruction and Specialization
-
Music teachers instruct students on a variety of subjects related to the performance and enjoyment of music. These include:
Theory: the study of reading musical notation and analyzing its forms.
History: the study of musical genres, composers, and instrument evolution.
Performance: the mechanics of cultivating techniques in singing or instrument performance.
Conducting: the direction of a music ensemble, the selection and creative deconstruction of performance material, and the overseeing and direction of rehearsals and performances.
Composition: the study of techniques for writing and scoring instrumental and vocal music and text.
Ethnomusicology: the sociology of musical cultures and music's social roles and implications around the world.
Music Education: the didactic strategies, psychological theory, and educational value of teaching music. -
Education and Training
-
Studio teachers are not technically required to have any formal education, but to be successful you must have a mastery of your instrument. Most studio teachers receive at least a Bachelor of Arts degree in music. Community music teachers attend college for a B.A. in music or music ministry. Elementary and secondary school teachers must earn a B.A. in music or music education, along with meeting regional guidelines for certification. Higher education music teachers usually receive a B.A. in music or music education, and then go to graduate school for a Masters or a Doctorate of Philosophy Degree in Music, writing a thesis or dissertation on a specialized area of their choice.
Job Security and Demand
-
According to the American Association for Employment in Education, there is a significant shortage of music teachers in about 30% of the United States. The most severe shortage is in the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah, as well as Arizona and New Mexico. For the country as a whole, there is an average supply of music educators that is well-proportioned to the demand for those teachers. These figures suggest that music teachers have a consistent level of demand and can find employment opportunities throughout the United States.
Salary Comparisons
-
While teacher's salaries are subject to regional variations and individual qualifications, there are some generalized rates of income for different kinds of music teachers. Also remember that studio and community music teachers can work part-time hours. According to Salary.com, the national averages for full-time music teachers are as follows:
Elementary and Secondary School Teachers: $41,000 to $60,000/year, with private school teachers earning less than public school teachers.
Higher Education Music Teachers: $48,000 to $122,000, with associate professors earning less than tenured professors.
Religious Educator/Community Music Teacher: $32,000 to $65,000/year.
Studio Music Teachers: $32,000 to $63,000/year.
-
