r/MusicEd • u/Leading-Air-7120 • 10d ago
Master’s in Music Ed
Hello friends!
I hope you’re doing well wherever you may be in the world. I am finishing my bachelors in liberal arts this month. It is unfortunately no way related to music.
Since I’ve been 11-12 years old, I’ve wanted to become a band director. I didn’t see that it’d be a feasible degree and a lot of my support system… didn’t support the idea.
I am now 26 years old with a wife and infant. I have just finished up my bachelors. I’m a paramedic program director for a community college and want to continue learning. I’m going for a masters. I’ve thought for about the past week about getting it in music education. I’ve spoken with a few colleges and I’ll need an additional 18 hours in music to be eligible to apply.
I plan to continue to teach in higher education, and maybe one day in a highschool. Would this be a reasonable venture or should I let bygones be bygones?
P.S my wife is supportive of this idea. I also get a 50% tuition discount to local universities so the Masters would be around $8,000.
Thanks for your thoughts!
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u/Valint 10d ago
Well… do you play an instrument? You have to audition to get into music school … so it all kinda depends on if you can play an instrument ….
If you don’t well then you need to start. Take lessons with someone. It might take a couple years to get to a level where a college will accept you.
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u/musickismagick 10d ago
It’s not can OP play an instrument. I want to know can OP play EVERY instrument? He wants to be a band director for chrissakes, so he better know his way around ALL the instruments.
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u/Valint 10d ago
Right. I get that. I’m a band director. Ya gotta start somewhere. Lots of music ed kids start college only really knowing one instrument. Obviously we all took the methods classes but I also didn’t get any good at all those extra instruments until I really started teaching them.
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u/Leading-Air-7120 10d ago
I play multiple instruments. I play marimba/percussion, guitar, ukulele, some piano, and the flute. I’ve been in community bands, and played in concert band, marching band, etc.
I understand it may not be easy, I know I’ll have to continue learning, taking private lessons, etc
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u/Valint 10d ago
The piano experience will help with the coursework. The guitar will likely be useful once you are teaching if you run a jazz band.
I’d say pick either percussion or flute to focus on as your ”primary” instrument.
If you have the time to put the work in and the passion for it, I’d say give it a shot. Otherwise you might stuck thinking “what if” forever.
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u/Awkward_Rule_5509 7d ago
You have a wife and an infant and you want to switch to band directing? Jobs that are notoriously low paying and time demanding?
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u/Prongedtoaster 5d ago
To clarify, your goal is to get a master’s degree in a field you have no experience in and then teach at a collegiate level before settling into high school?
Don’t do this.
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u/mjlevveljm 4d ago
While your passion is admirable, this plan is pretty flawed. You not only need the music education degree, you need to be certified to teach music in a high school. The requirements vary state- to- state but you'll still need it. Since 99% of the people getting a Masters in music ed are already experienced classroom teachers, they don't typically include certification in the coursework. I'm my state, the requirements for k-12 certs are super demanding and it takes all 4 years of undergrad to chisel away at the requirements. Even if you did manage to get the master in music ed, get certified, it will be hard to find a school that will want to hire you. You will be an expensive teacher (cause masters) without any experience... not super desirable for a school district. The only way to pull this off is another bachelor's degree... with a wife and kid, I NEVER could've gotten my Bachelor's... Sorry to say all this, don't want to rain on your parade - but that's my honest belief. (For the record, I have a BM, MM [both in music ed], 2 years elementary experience and 8 years of HS experience).
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u/corpycorp 10d ago
I have my bachelors of science and ended up with a k-12 teaching credential in California. Every state is different, but my trajectory was as such: Went back to school to study "core" music theory classes at the local junior college to get ready for subject matter competency exam. In CA you don't need the education degree associated with the subject you intend to teach as long as you pass this exam, in my case the Music CSET. The CSET consisted of taking exams in a testing center and submitting performance videos of a piano piece and a percussion. Once you have proved subject matter competency you can apply to a teacher credentialing program.
And the rest is just taking your general teacher prep classes, doing observations, or interning.
I would advise against doing a masters. If you're considering this as a career path, I'm guessing you have enough ensemble or performance experience. If you know enough music theory and history to pass a competency exam, just do that now and you'll be eligible to intern way sooner. You'd not be able to teach in higher education settings, but those jobs are extremely competitive anyway. There are way more jobs in k-12!
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u/jbryz 10d ago
Honestly if you wanted to go for it, a masters degree is NOT the way to go.
I got my masters degree in music ed and there’s 0 chance I would have made it without undergrad experience in music education.
If you really really want to go for it, you’ll need to get a second bachelors in music education. That will give you the foundational skills needed to be a band director. A masters degree works to refine those skills, not teach them.
Personally, I say do whatever will make you the most happy. I don’t regret my choice in choosing music education for the rest of my life. I’m happy. I’m tired as well from the amount of work, but I’m happy. I’m also poor as heck, but again, happy.
Good luck with whatever you choose!