The ancient philosophers, Plato and Aristotle, endorsed music as an important aspect of a good citizen's life. In many ancient civilizations, music was considered a vital social activity. In Greece, for instance, children were taught to sing and play lyres, flutes, and harps at an early age. Today's music educators follow in this path.
TEACHING MUSIC
Did you have a teacher who inspired you to seek a path as a music educator? Often, people attribute their career goals, at least in part, to teachers who served as role models. Perhaps you can serve in this capacity for others who will become your students.
In the field of music, teaching is a career that allows individuals who are very knowledgeable about a particular instrument (including the voice) to share their appreciation and expertise with others.
School Music Teacher
The ultimate goal for all music educators is to provide children with a love for and an interest in music. To this end, they plan musical programs, encourage children to participate, coordinate musical activities with other school functions, or perhaps oversee activities in the community at large.
Music teachers, in both public and private schools, may be responsible for teaching music appreciation, history, literature, and theory to students from kindergarten through high school. In addition, educators may organize and direct school orchestras, choral groups, and other school-related music activities.
In elementary schools, music teachers may be responsible for teaching music in one school or several schools in the district, meeting with students once or several times a week. In the early grades, teachers are expected to focus on rhythm. Often they use marching and clapping to establish interest in this area. At this level, simple instruments such as recorders and rhythm instruments are used. The teacher may bring in a guitar to share music and songs with the children.
Administrative duties may include purchasing instruments, equipment, books, and sheet music. Additional responsibilities include keeping the musical equipment in shape, preparing budgets for programs, writing lesson plans and objectives, and evaluating the programs and progress of the students. Teachers are always called upon to attend meetings, serve on committees, meet with parents, work with students who have individual needs, supervise extracurricular projects, and meet other obligations dictated by the principal or the school board.
Some music teachers may entertain at functions and write their own songs and try to market them.
Independent Music Teacher/Private Instrument or Voice Teacher
Teachers who give private lessons and who are self-employed have more freedom to set up their teaching programs as they wish. They may prefer to work with one or several students at a time. Some individuals find a site from which to teach or may travel to pupils' homes or teach from their own residences.
Successful private teachers must be able to make the experience enjoyable and informative for the students, allowing them to build their skills and love for music in the process.
As a culminating activity, teachers often schedule recitals for family and friends. This provides an opportunity for the students to work toward a goal, display their musical talents and effort, and raise their self-esteem for a job well done.
Teaching may be done on a full-time basis or in conjunction with a full or part-time music position (or other occupation). Those who decide to do this kind of work need to build a clientele to make it worthwhile. Teachers charge anywhere from $15 or more per lesson.
College, University, or Conservatory Music Teacher
Assistant professors, associate professors, and professors serve as music educators in colleges, universities, or conservatories. They may be responsible for teaching general music, music theory, music history, or instrumental and/or vocal performance. Other possibilities include conducting choruses or orchestras and publishing articles relating to the field.
Educators employed by community colleges usually teach approximately eighteen hours per week while those at four-year colleges or universities usually teach approximately nine to twelve hours per week. Added to that are the typical responsibilities of all teachers: preparation time, meetings, school events, availability to students, serving on committees, grading papers and exams, and evaluating students' progress in general. Total working hours probably number in excess of forty-five hours per week.
Since both public and private schools employ music teachers, the possibility of employment exists at all schools at all levels-elementary, secondary, and college as well as at music conservatories. Opportunities also exist in adult education programs and private lessons.
Music educators work in a school setting where they may be assigned to an ordinary classroom or a music room equipped with specially designed acoustics that help the music teacher to define and enrich the sound of the children's voices. The specially designed room may have semicircular risers or platforms. Rehearsals for chorus, orchestra, or band ensembles will be held here and led by the music teacher also.
Substantial time may be spent in other places, such as an assembly hall when special musical productions are offered or out-of-doors if the teacher's specific responsibilities call for this.
While those teaching in public or private schools may maintain a fairly normal schedule, those who give private lessons may have more irregular hours because of the necessity of working within the schedules of busy students and adults.
TEACHING THEATER
Theater teachers instruct or coach students in the techniques of acting, directing, play writing, script analysis, and the history of theater. They help students acquire confidence, assurance, speaking skills, and timing. They encourage students in their work, direct rehearsals, and guide pupils in their roles. At the same time, they instruct students in backstage work including set design, production organization, set building, stage lighting and sound, properties, costuming, and makeup.
At the high school level, theater may be a part of English or language arts. On the other hand, many high schools today have separate theater departments. They may offer classes in acting, directing, theater history, stagecraft, makeup, playwriting, wardrobe, speech arts, and theater management.
In most schools and colleges, theater teachers and administrators produce or direct plays for school and public performance. They audition students by cold reading of plays or listening to prepared auditions in order to judge the pupil's potential. Theater teachers also stress the front-of-the-house or management duties of a stage show. Students learn publicity and promotion, programs, tickets, ushering, and business procedures.
In general, college teachers are specialists in one or two theater arts. They may work in acting, which focuses on scenes, study, improvisation, voice for the actor, classical acting, and audition techniques. They may teach technical skills such as set construction, properties, lighting, sound, costume construction, and makeup. Some teach the art of directing, play-writing, or both. Others teach stage production and arts administration.
Theater teachers may lead seminars and workshops or arrange trips to professional plays or plays at other schools. They may work on drama forms such as mime, improvisation, and reader's theater. Some produce children's theater, summer theater, or dinner theater.
College teachers may also do research and write articles and books. They may take on projects such as plays by students or young playwrights. Some develop programs that give theater experience to troubled children. Others work to present traveling street theater or community or regional theater productions.
School theater departments often give two or three full-length plays or musicals each year for the student body and the public. Theater teachers may guide students who give plays in local, regional, state, and national contests. School theater clubs may have ties to national groups.
Dramatic coaches work with actors in an attempt to improve their acting techniques. They conduct readings to evaluate actors' abilities and then instruct them on how to improve their performances. Areas of concern may be stage presence, character interpretation, voice projection, or dialect.
Theater teachers work in almost every city and town. Most full-time theater teachers, however, work in or near large cities. They teach in public and private schools, colleges, and universities. Some work in regional theater, community theater, children's theater, or other groups that present theater productions.
TRAINING FOR MUSIC TEACHERS
All public school music teachers must achieve state certification, which can be met through a bachelor's degree in music education at an accredited college or university. It is possible to teach at some private schools without certification, although this is becoming more and more rare.
Typical courses at the undergraduate level include:
- background for teaching music in elementary school
- background for teaching music in high school
- child development
- conducting
- chorus
- educational psychology
- group voice
- form and analysis
- orchestration
- piano musicianship
- public performance
- student teaching
It is important for teachers at all levels to be capable of working well with people, have an aptitude for conveying an enthusiasm about music to others, and have the ability to teach others. You will need to be skilled in playing at least one instrument (preferably more), have good communication skills, be independent, have initiative, possess a good sense of humor, and be intelligent, patient, and flexible.
For teachers giving private music lessons, it is necessary to have extensive training or study on a particular instrument or instruments, usually piano plus another instrument. In addition, they must possess the skills necessary to teach someone else how to play an instrument or sing with greater proficiency. Personal qualities include patience, good communications skills, and a true love of music.
TRAINING FOR THEATER TEACHERS
Most of the theater teachers who are employed at the college level graduate with either a master's or a doctoral degree in theater or visual and performing arts. Those who plan to teach at the high school level must take courses in teaching methods, along with studies in drama. Some states offer certification in theater arts.
More than fifteen hundred colleges and universities in the United States offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in dramatic arts. Studies may include techniques of acting; history of the theater; understanding lighting, scenery, and costumes; analyzing and creating roles; working with directing concepts and techniques; techniques in script study and rehearsal; and lab sessions to gain experience.
College students may major in acting, child drama, directing, playwriting, theater design, theater education, stage technology, or theater management. A part of the training includes staging and acting in plays. In order to obtain a Master of Arts degree, students take the curriculum prescribed by the university and produce a thesis.
To get a Master of Fine Arts degree, students take mandatory courses along with electives, and do a creative project. They also must pass tests, both oral and written. Doctoral candidates must take more course work, must pass more examinations, and must write a dissertation on some aspect of the theater.
Certification and Unions
Theater teachers in public and private elementary or high schools need state certification. Certification demands a college degree, a stated number of credits in a major, and courses in teaching methods.
Many school teachers belong to a union. The two principal ones are the National Education Association of the United States and the American Federation of Teachers. These unions negotiate contract terms on pay, tenure, working conditions, and other issues. College and high school teachers can also join the National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts.
High school teachers may join the Theatre Education Association, which works to support theater programs in the educational system and emphasizes the importance of theater arts in the learning process. The American Alliance for Theatre and Education consists of educators, artists, administrators, and others serving young people in professional and community youth theaters and theater educational programs.
The Association for Theatre in Higher Education is a group of fifteen hundred individuals and five hundred organizations that foster the interaction and exchange of information among those engaged in theater research, performance, scholarship, and crafts. The association sets standards of excellence for organizations and individuals concerned with post-secondary theater training, production, and scholarship.
CAREER OUTLOOK FOR MUSIC TEACHERS
Opportunities for music educators continue to increase as the popularity of music is spurred by new media techniques. On the other hand, when there are educational cutbacks, the music departments may be among the first to be affected. Positions at the college, university, and conservatory levels are not easy to come by, and competition for available positions is very stiff.
Prospects are always good for talented teachers who wish to give private, semiprivate, or group lessons. Word of mouth travels fast once someone is happy with their instructor or their child's instructor.
CAREER OUTLOOK FOR THEATER TEACHERS
Although the demand for live theater today is not strong enough to support the many who seek to enter the field, countless individuals sign up to study theater in high school or college. These hopefuls create a demand for theater curricula and theater teachers.
The employment of college and university faculty as a whole is expected to increase through the year 2005. Many openings will arise as faculty retirements increase from the late 1990s through 2005. However, reduced budgets have cut some jobs, and those seeking work as theater teachers will, in fact, still face stiff competition.
JOB STRATEGIES
When just starting out, you could contact music and instrument shops in your area and elucidate your credentials. Ask if they would be willing to recommend you to individuals seeking lessons. Have business cards made up that can be passed out at the retail establishments. Also contact public and private schools and religious organizations in your neighborhood to establish your credentials with them. Best targets for jobs would be large cities and metropolitan areas with enough people to warrant several private teachers.
Be aware of teacher certification requirements. Make sure you are aware of all teacher certification requirements in your state so there are no unpleasant surprises. Attend a school that will give you the credentials you need for state certification. Some positions will require that you get a master's degree and/or take a proficiency exam.
Work through your school's placement service and also approach school systems directly. Have your resume and cover letter ready. (Include your philosophy of music or theater education. Tell why you think these subject areas are important.) If they have no openings now, ask them to keep your credentials on file in case an opening occurs. Summer sessions may provide a good opportunity for you to get your foot in the door.
Check newspapers, employment agencies, and the Internet. Other avenues for finding jobs include reading the weekly want ads (available at most libraries), investigating employment agencies (some specialize in working with teachers), and surfing on the Internet. The World Wide Web has a vast number of areas that offer career advice and provide information about job openings and further contacts.
Go to job fairs. Job fairs that focus on educational possibilities may provide you with knowledge of openings or contacts for future positions.
Special Contacts for Positions at Higher Levels of Education
Those who seek positions at institutions of higher learning (and who have earned a Ph.D.) will probably need to prepare a curriculum vitae (CV) instead of or in addition to a resume. This vehicle stresses your interests, experience, publications, and achievements in research. A good resource to help you prepare this is VGM Career Horizon's, How to Prepare Your Curriculum Vitae.
For positions at the college, university, or conservatory level, you may obtain a list of openings called the Music Faculty List, provided by the College Music Society (CMS) and the American Musicological Society (AMS) The list is available to members. The Chronicle of Higher Education also publishes a weekly newspaper that features a list of faculty positions available in colleges and universities. In addition, you should approach institutions of higher learning directly.
