How to Become a Certified Music Teacher

Teaching music to children can be incredibly rewarding. Music, the universal language, can be taught to children of almost any age. However, there are objective requirements that must be met if you want to be a music teacher. These standards--educational and practical--mean that not just anyone can become a music teacher, especially in a school environment. If you do not want to go through the time and effort to meet these requirements, you can still teach music to children privately.

Things You'll Need

• Bachelor's degree in music education
• Résumé

Instructions

Instructions

1. Obtain a bachelor's degree in music education from a 4-year college. Make sure that the college you attend is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) if you want to teach in a public school environment. You can obtain this information through the college's website or by calling the college's office of admissions.

2. Receive certification specific to the state in which you want to teach. This process varies from state to state, but specific details can be found by going to XY.gov (where XY is your state's two-letter abbreviation) and performing a search on "music teacher certification."

3. Decide whether you want to teach in a public school or a private school. Generally speaking, salaries are better at public schools. However, you have more freedom to teach what you want in private schools. This is ultimately a matter of both personal preference and job availability.

4. Send your résumé and cover letter out to schools in the field of your choice. The best time to send them is toward the beginning of the calendar year, as this is when most hiring is completed.

5. Obtain your master's degree in music education to open up even more job opportunities. A NASM-certified master's degree in music education will help your job prospects.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to become a certified private teacher, private, voluntary certifications are available, such as the Music Teachers National Association certification.

• Becoming a certified music teacher is difficult work. Make sure it is what you want to do before you set your mind toward doing it.

Resources

• Indiana Music Teacher Certification Requirements (Example)
• National Association of Schools of Music
• Music Teachers National Association