Music teachers, or music instructors, teach music to students in public and private schools at the K-12 level.

What Does a Music Teacher Do?

Whether in public or private schools, music teachers are an important part of the education and music ecosystems. They have the opportunity to mold future musicians and music educators.

Here are the main responsibilities of a music teacher:

• Teach music to a classroom of kids
• Plan lessons
• Help conduct rehearsals for school performances
• Organize performances
• Evaluate student progress
• Maintain instruments and equipment
• Collaborate with teachers, the principal, and parents

Ashleigh Spatz, a music teacher and award-winning educator, said she also teaches other subjects, like art, physical education, Spanish, and she’s the lead teacher for all of the elementary music teachers in her district.

Music teachers are certified to teach other subjects too, so it’s common for them to take on other teaching responsibilities.

A Day In the Life of a Music Teacher

Kevin Brawley is a public school music teacher, children’s choir director, and private guitar teacher.

And he said a typical day for him looks like this:

• Arrive an hour early to school to prep and set out materials/instruments.
• Greet the kids while playing guitar as they come off the bus
• Teach morning classes (K-2nd)
• Teach afternoon classes (3rd-5th)
• At the end of the day, make sure the kids walk home with the correct parent
• Stay about 30 minutes after dismissal to review lessons, improve them, make adjustments for the next day
• Lead an after-school elective choir one day a week (4th-5th)

The average salary for a music teacher is about $71,409 but it can range from $58,000 to $105,000 per year¹.

How Do Music Teachers Make Money?

If a music teacher is working for a public or private school, they are almost always an employee of that school.

There are situations where you could be hired as a freelance music teacher, but that’s more likely to be a part-time position.

Even full-time, employed music teachers supplement their income by teaching privately outside of their school responsibilities.

They may work in a private studio, a music store, or teach out of their home. Some Teachers also pursue part-time careers as performers, playing at weddings, bar mitzvahs, parties, nightclubs, and industry events.

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As long as schools need music teachers, this career will be in demand.

Career Opportunities

Demand for public school music teachers will be influenced by education budgets. Unfortunately, many school districts lack the funds they need for music, but there are consistent opportunities in districts that prioritize arts programs.

In this setting, you would benefit from a stable salary, benefits, and the chance to reach a diverse student population.

Opportunities in private schools are often tied to the institution’s financial resources, which is tied to the wealth of the surrounding area. If the school has an emphasis on arts education, that could result in smaller class sizes.

These positions will offer higher pay but there will be fewer job openings.

Teaching private one-on-one lessons offers flexibility and the potential for a lucrative income, particularly in areas with strong demand for music education.

Work-Life Balance

Brawley said that, with his teaching responsibilities plus being a choir director, he works at least 47.5 hours a week.

He, Hancock, and Spatz said they try to leave work at work. But work can often go past regular school hours.

“Teachers are salaried employees, which means you work until the job is adequately done,” Spatz said. “This can become a tricky issue with work/life balance as most music teachers are extremely passionate about their career and will pour everything into their job.”

To become a music teacher, it will help you to have a background or a degree in music, even thought it’s not always necessary. However, you will need to get your music teaching certificate, the process and requires of which differ among the states.

Here are the main paths you can take if you want to be a music teacher…

Public School Setting

On top of applying for public school music teacher positions, you could substitute teach at schools in your area. This will give you a chance to get to know the teachers and staff and show them you’re a trustworthy and hardworking person.

Private School Setting

There are fewer music teacher positions at private schools because the pay is typically higher than in public schools. So to go the private school route, you may need to network your way into a role.

Private Lessons

This path requires self-promotion, building a client base, and managing a less predictable income stream. This would usually be a self-employed position, whether in the client’s home, in your home studio, or at a local music school or music shop.

Here are the main skills you’ll need to succeed as a music teacher…

Musical Talent

First and foremost, music teachers must have superior musical skills. This means being accomplished on at least one instrument, sometimes more.

It’s important to know and understand how all the instruments work and be able to teach basic performance skills.

Singing

You don’t have to be an amazing singer, but you should be able to carry a tune. You’ll have to teach singing, so you need to be able to sing at least basic parts.

Sight-Reading Music

You will be expected to teach students how to read and write sheet music. So your knowledge and experience with sheet music needs to be solid.

Music Theory Knowledge

Music theory is at the heart of what you will be teaching, and you can’t teach something if you don’t first know it. So you have to know at least basic music theory.

Patience

You must be a skilled performer. But you also need to be a patient, inspiring teacher.

It’s important to have people skills and the ability to work with kids, teens, and young adults.

In most states, certification is required to teach in public schools, while private schools may not require state certification.

Music teachers may also teach in public schools as substitute teachers without being certified.

Music Teacher Degree

If you feel it’s best to earn a degree to further your music teaching career, your best options would be to study music education and/or music performance.

These university programs are designed to prepare you to get the required certification to start teaching. Since the certification process is at the state level, it makes sense to attend school in the state where you intend to teach.

You can also take elective courses in songwriting, guitar, piano, and other realted areas to help broaden your knowledge so you can better help your students.

After or during college, it would be a good idea to get an internship or an apprenticeship with a music teacher. This will give you a chance to apply all the methods and teaching techniques they’ve been learning in the real-world classroom.

There are a huge variety of professional organizations and associations dedicated to teaching music, many of which have collegiate chapters so students can get immersed in the world of music education early.

Here are a few to check out:

• The American Choral Directors Association
• The NAFME (previously MENC)
• The Music Teachers National Association
• The College Music Society
• National Association of Teachers of Singing
• American String Teachers Association
• International Association for Jazz Education
• International Society for Music Education