A musicologist is a scholar who studies music from various perspectives, like music’s history, theory, cultural significance, and social context.

What Does a Musicologist Do?

Musicologist Jeremy Smith, Professor of Musicology at the University of Colorado – Boulder, spends a lot of his time researching and teaching about music.

“It could be historical or critical — thinking about whether something was aesthetically good or not — it could even be scientific, studying acoustical theories and things,” he said.

“[It’s] almost anything that relates to the study of music. Most tend to be historical. They like to grab a certain period in history and study it carefully, but others are more involved in contemporary music. I am a historian.”

Smith teaches two classes during the school year, and he tries to schedule them close together so he has some days where he’s not teaching at all. He uses that non-teaching time to research.

“Even though [the classes] meet at regular hours, the schedule is different every time, so it might be different from semester to semester,” he said.

Here are the main responsibilities of a musicologist in higher education:

• Sit on committees
• Design curricula
• Teach classes
• Meet with students
• Make sure the department functions properly
• Collaborate with other music department instructors
• Travel as part of their research (Smith got into Renaissance music because he traveled to England and progressive rock because he traveled to Scotland)

A Day In the Life of a Musicologist

A typical day for a musicologist includes:

• Researching music (the history or theory)
• Planning lectures
• Teaching classes
• Meeting with students
• Grading projects
• Writing about the history or theory of music

On average, musicologists earn approximately $80,594 per year. The salary can range from $38,760 to $327,265 depending on where they work and the type of position they hold¹.

How Do Musicologists Make Money?

How musicologists earn income will depend on their job title and duties.

The two most common ways you can make money as a musicologist are 1) earning a salary in a tenure-track position at a school or university and 2) getting paid per class to be a musicology instructor.

Smith got tenure at the University of Colorado – Boulder.

“My situation, I think, is basically in the middle,” he said. “It’s not an exciting salary but it’s definitely enough.”

But he said getting paid per class can work if you have another job somewhere else.

“If you’re a professional musician and also manage to teach during the day, that can be rewarding,” he said.

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Professors of musicology hold regular class and office hours every week. So as long as school and universities offer musicology classes, there will be a need for musicology teachers.

“With teaching, it’s quite nice to really put yourself on a firm schedule,” he said.

“Like ‘on Mondays, I’m going to teach the class, then get lunch, and relax.’ So, for my teaching purposes, I try to get myself into a discipline.”

While most of his job fits within the typical 9-to-5 workday, he does sometimes work weekends.

“I love my work to the point where I’m happy to spend more time on it,” he said.

“This [schedule] can be scary in the way you don’t know when you’re going to be productive and how productive you’re going to be. …There’s the Jekyll and Hyde with teaching and research, in that one part of me likes to be very disciplined and one likes to experiment. I get a lot out of both.”

There can be travel involved because musicologists sometimes need to research music in cultures from other countries, which requires they visit those countries.

Here are the most common careers you can have when pursuing musicology…

Professor of Musicology

You could follow the path that Smith took and land a tenure position as a university professor teaching musicology.

“What I did was very straightforward,” he said. “I wanted to be on tenure-track so I was looking for full-time employment and I got that. It took a while and it wasn’t easy but I did get on a tenure-track.”

This path can start while still in graduate school by serving as a teaching assistant. After graduation, you can get a position as an adjunct professor, lecturer, or assistant professor.

Music Librarian/Archivist

As a musicologist, you have the knowledge to manage music collections in libraries or archives, preserving scores, recordings, and related materials.

Music Critic/Journalist

Because a musicologist specializes in the history of music, you would be able to write in-depth music reviews and articles for magazines, newspapers, or online platforms.

Here are the skills you’ll need to succeed as a musicologist, regardless of your career path…

Writing

The main skill you need, according to Smith, is writing. You have to at least have an interest in it.

“Many people are excellent musicians who don’t enjoy sitting down and writing and there’s so much of that in musicology,” he said. “You really have to have the interest.”

Reading

An interest in reading and writing almost always go together. And you will be doing a lot of research, so you have to love reading and learning from what you read.

Contemplation

Smith said you need to be reflective.

“A musicologist needs to want to think about things and not just take them as they come but sit and contemplate some things,” he said. “The process of allowing yourself to think is an advantage in musicology.”

Public Speaking/Teaching

Especially as a professor, you will be in front of classes giving lectures. So you have to be comfortable with that.

“People are going to be looking at you and learning from you and you need to have a way to put yourself in the limelight,” Smith said.

Going to school for musicology is the main way you start your career as a musicologist.

Musicologist Degree

If you want to teach in academia, you’ll need a master’s degree or doctorate in music or musicology. Smith said “your Ph.D. in music does help prepare you for what your career will do.”

Musicology degrees at the undergraduate level are rare, so Smith recommends studying music, history, or art for your bachelor’s degree.

He said “musicology is something you can pick up in graduate school.”

Smith recommends checking out the American Musicological Society (AMS), which has a national society and chapters across the country.

“They have everything from job postings to bulletin boards, with people discussing what it’s like to be [in the field],” he said. “There’s a lot of career advice and opportunities for young people to come sample what musicologists do…”