How to Become a Music Historian
Music historians, also known as musicologists, study music in all its forms, including artists, genres, periods, artifacts and the music of various cultures and peoples. Musicologists often work as teachers, university professors, museum curators, expert lecturers or musicians. Becoming a music historian requires a great love of and interest in music, excellent research, writing and communication skills, and many years of education.
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Instructions
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Figure out what you want to do as a music historian. You may want to be a high school or college educator, an author or work in a museum. What you want to do will determine the amount of education you'll need. In most cases, you will benefit most from having a master's degree in your field, but for some careers, such as being a professor or lecturer, having a doctoral degree is best.
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Obtain bachelor's and master's degrees in music history or musicology. Schools that have well-regarded undergraduate and graduate music history degree programs include the University of Michigan, the University of Florida, Michigan State University and Indiana University.
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Build a library of books related to your field and subscribe to music history journals, such as the “Journal of Music History Pedagogy” and “Popular Music History.” The more resources you have at your disposal, the better able you'll be to do your job. Shop at used bookstores or library sales to find titles at deeply discounted prices.
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Join an organization for professional music historians, such as the Society for Ethnomusicology and the American Musicological Society. You can typically join such associations while you're still a student. Being a member of a group for music historians can give you access to continuing education opportunities, job leads and networking events.
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Learn to read music, even if you do not play any instruments. Having this skill will help you better research scores and pieces from different time periods, and you can better understand the composition, style, structure and meaning of the music you study. It is best to learn from someone who is a musician, producer or private music teacher. Ask such a professional in your area what she would charge to teach you how to read music -- most music teachers are willing to do so if their schedule allows.
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