If you are looking to become a music therapist, congrats! The field of music therapy is rapidly growing, and it can be an amazing and rewarding career option. You probably likely already have a desire and passion to help others realize their goals, which is inarguably the most important quality to have as a therapist. However, there are a few other things to know before pursuing a career in music therapy.

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

Auditions

To study to become a music therapist, first and foremost you need to be proficient in an instrument. In order to apply to an undergraduate program in music therapy, most (if not all) universities will have you audition on an instrument or voice as part of the admission process. Depending on where you plan on attending, the competition for admission can be a challenge in and of itself, so keep that in mind. You should also be able to sing on pitch, read sheet music, and be willing and able to learn the basics on a variety of other instruments, such as guitar, piano, and ukulele – don’t worry too much if you don’t already know how to play these instruments, as you will learn the skills you need through your college courses.

Education

Apart from the general education classes that your university will require, the main focus for your studies will be music education and music therapy courses. A common method of progressing through your college education, and something that I personally did (and recommend) is to finish the majority of your general education classes first before diving into your main area of study. So for me, I filled my first year with only general education requirements and waited until my second year to audition for the school of music. It allowed me the time to solidify my conviction in career paths, as well as the time I needed to practice my main instrument – if you’re curious to know, my main instrument is trombone. Of course, many people don’t do things this way, but it may be valuable to know that you don’t need to audition for anything straight out of high school if you don’t feel ready or discovered music therapy as a career option late (both things were true for me). Taking your time to do your research and practicing hard at your main instrument will save you a lot of frustration and heartache down the line. However, if you do audition but aren’t accepted right away, don’t be discouraged. You can always do your general education classes in the meantime and try to audition again the next year. Competition for openings will always fluctuate year-to-year, so use that time as an opportunity to finish those gen eds and practice to become a more confident musician.

Once you start taking your music classes, you’ll dive deep into the world of music theory, aural skills, music history, classroom instruments, and much more. Of course, a huge area of focus is on learning how to play the guitar, piano, and ukulele, so spending extra time practicing and becoming not just functional, but skilled in these instruments in particular is crucial for any music therapist. Additionally, you’ll begin your journey in learning the foundation of music therapy, from its origins and founders, to how and why music therapy is such an effective treatment option for so many people.

Models and Approaches in Music Therapy

Something that you may or may not know about music therapy is that there are many different models and approaches, and depending on which university you attend, the education and training you receive will look substantially different. For example, the university I attended used the model of Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT), which placed a heavy emphasis on the neuroscience on how music impacts and influences different non-musical functionalities of the brain. Other common models of music therapy include: Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy (NRMT) – which places emphasis on the therapeutic relationship; Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), Behavioral Music Therapy – which focuses on learning principles and uses music to modify behavior through reinforcement, and Community Music Therapy – which emphasizes the role of music in social and cultural contexts. There are many more that were not listed here, and if you’re curious to learn more or wish to find out which universities teach which models, I encourage you to look into it more after finishing this article.

Internship

Like I mentioned in my previous article, after graduating from your undergraduate courses at your university, you will need to work at an internship (usually unpaid) for a total of 1200 hours. The final year of college is when you will apply, interview, and audition for different internships. This is where you can tailor your career toward a particular area of interest. If you don’t have a preference regarding where and with whom you work, or you just aren’t sure which setting you’d like most, you have a multitude of different options. Personally, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to work, so I applied to work with a wide array of locations which included pediatric hospitals, hospice, private practice, and mental health institutions, since the demographics of the people I’d be working with weren’t a significant factor for me. I ultimately decided to intern at a state psychiatric hospital, and it was such a wonderful experience and shaped a passion for working in the mental health field. Where you intern will greatly impact the starting point of your career, as it will give you specific experiences that employers look for when hiring music therapists. However, if you complete your internship and decide that it wasn’t a good fit, there are still opportunities for other settings you can explore. Private practices usually provide a wide variety of clientele to work with, and those experiences all look wonderful on resumes. Hospitals are highly sought after and rewarding to work in, but are very competitive and usually don’t hire those who don’t have prior experience working in a hospital setting, so if that’s where your heart lies, an internship at a hospital is crucial to get before you graduate.

Wherever you end up, the real world experience of working as a music therapist will prove to be invaluable, so use that time to grow yourself as a therapist and a musician and ask your supervisor as many questions that you can think of. It’s something I wish I had done more of in my internship when I was surrounded by so many wonderful mentors.

Board Certification Exam

Following your internship is the time to really study and prepare for taking the board certification exam. I highly, HIGHLY recommend purchasing or getting your hands on official practice tests for the exam and completing them AT LEAST TWICE. Knowing what to expect beforehand – a firsthand look at the difficulty, what kind of information you need to know, formatting, and the type of questions that will be asked – will give you a significant advantage and boost of confidence going into the exam. Be aware that the exam wants you to choose the BEST option out of the bunch, not just one that makes sense. So when the time comes to schedule your exam, take your time to get to know what will be on it before the official one happens.

Career Outlook and Salary

Music therapy is a growing field, with opportunities expanding in various settings like psychiatric and medical hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, outpatient clinics, and more. Employment is expected to grow significantly at a rate of between 9-13% from 2024 to 2034¹, meaning music therapists will continue to grow in demand. The median salary hovers around $51,000² per year with the potential to earn more with experience and additional certifications.

Why I Chose to Be a Music Therapist

The decision to follow a particular career path is highly personalized to one’s own history and experiences. That being said, I’ll share a little about the reason why I decided to pursue music therapy. When I was a senior in high school, I was still undecided in which career option I wanted to explore. I already knew which university I would be attending – one that was close to home and where I could commute daily to save money on room and board. So my options were limited to those that this university offered. Luckily, this was a good school and had many career paths to choose from. In a desperate bid to narrow down my options, I thought about what things I enjoyed doing or was passionate about in making a contribution.

I ended up with two options: music and the environment.

I could either try to pursue a career in music, or to try and find a career with an Environmental Science degree (I originally wanted to be an Environmental Engineer, but my university didn’t have that option). After hours of research on my old laptop, I began leaning toward a career in environmental science until I had the thought, “if only there was a career where you could use music to help people.” That one thought led me to discover music therapy as a career. It was something I hadn’t even heard of until then, and the very idea that there was a job where you could help people reach their goals using music blew me away. From then on I knew there was no other choice in the matter – I would give it my all to become a music therapist.

There was only one giant obstacle standing between me and my dream: I wasn’t all that great at my primary instrument. And by the time I had reached my conclusion of becoming a music therapist, classes for the fall semester were about to begin.

So I started college off by doing only general education classes required to graduate and declaring my major “undecided.” I consulted with the trombone professor at the School of Music, who was gracious enough to give me a free trombone lesson and advice on what things I needed to work on. He told me to come back several months later, allowing me time to practice, for an audition to join the trombone studio for the following year. By this time I was so determined to get in, I gave it everything I had. I found a wonderful and amazingly talented trombonist who played professionally to give me lessons. I practiced for hours daily and had to restructure my embouchure (mouth shape), basically relearning to play correctly/more efficiently from scratch. I participated in my university marching band and became good friends with many people who were a part of the trombone studio, and who cheered me on and supported me during the auditions. It was a lot of work, but I look back on those days with fondness and a deep appreciation for the people who supported me.

Including my professor, who heard my audition and said he was so impressed – not necessarily in my musicianship or skills, but in the quick and significant improvement I had made from the first time he heard me play – that he accepted me into the trombone studio.

I took that as a sign. That I was meant to be there, studying to become a music therapist. The next three and a half years only strengthened my convictions, and every time I would think that I wasn’t good enough of a musician, or didn’t know what I was doing, I would think back to that audition. I was meant to be here. I can always learn and improve and become a better therapist.

And so can you.

Summary and Considerations

A career as a music therapist is a wonderful and rewarding experience that offers flexibility in where you work and who you work with. It is a growing field where more professionals and clientele are realizing and understanding the impact music has on the brain with the advancement of neuroscience research and studies. It requires a lot of practicing and studying, with quite a few auditions. However, once you see firsthand the progress and improvements clients have with music therapy, all of the hard work and practice you’ve made over the years becomes unequivocally worth it.

If you know someone who has been looking for a career option and think music therapy could be a good match for them, share this article with them so they can learn more.

I wish you luck on your life’s journey, wherever that may lead.

1. https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/music-therapy-global-market-report
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2. https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/music-therapist/salary/#:~:text=Music%20therapists%20earn%20an%20average,and%20go%20up%20to%20$76%2C077.
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