How to Become a Music Teacher: Quick Facts 

What Does a Music Teacher Do? 

The list of activities that are performed by a Music Teacher are listed below for your reference,

• Music Teachers educate their students to play Musical Instruments and they also organize concerts or performances to showcase their and their student's capability. 
• Music Teachers can also be held responsible for teaching theory, appreciation, or composition classes to advanced students. 
• Some Music Teachers can teach students at their homes or can teach online. A Music teacher who also teaches voice lessons teaches students to maintain pitch while singing and helps them to find their genre of singing. 

• Music Teachers list lesson planning (51%), mathematics, language arts as the top skills they need to polish to pursue a career as a Music Teacher.

Types of Music Teachers

Music teachers are categorized as Instrumental Music Teacher and Vocal Music Teacher. Let's have a look at both of them.

• Private Instrumental Music Teacher: An Instrumental teacher is one who teaches students to play various instruments such as Piano, Guitar, Sitar, Tabla, Flute, etc. these music teachers recite with the students and give feedback to their students on their performances. Music teachers also hold performances and concerts wherein they participate with their students to showcase the talent of their students. They help students to become successful musicians.
• Vocal Music Teachers: A Vocal Music teacher is a person who teaches students singing and the art of singing. They are entrusted to bring the hidden talent of students into existence. Private Vocal Teachers recite with their students and help them to pick the correct pitch at the correct point. Vocal Teachers encourages its students to participate in various performances/concerts/shows to skill out their talent so that they get great exposure and make their way in the Music Industry.

Steps to Become a Music Teacher

There are not many steps to follow to be a Music Teacher. However, aspirants willing to pursue a career as a Music Teacher must follow some of the following steps to become a Music Teacher.

• Make a Decision: Look out for all the possibilities even abroad and in India for better understanding of a career as a Music Teacher. You should find out the pros as to how becoming a Music Teacher is better than normal music teachers, in terms of higher salary, flexible work hours or benefits of teaching music from the comfort of your home.
• Choosing the right set of Subjects: There is no well-defined structure in 10+2 to choose a particular course to become a Music Teacher. But one needs to have basic knowledge of Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics as this course are the building blocks of the Music course. While taking up a Music course you might/will have to choose B.A. Music and M.A. Music. 
• Preparation for Entrance Examination: The admission to B.A. Music is based on Merit scores a student has obtained in the last qualifying examination. However some colleges might conduct their own entrance exams for admission to music courses. Give as many mock tests as you can and learn from the mistakes that you did in previous mocks to not repeat the same mistake.
• Get Admission to a Good Music College: Find out the best colleges for the program and have a detailed knowledge of the college like its Fees, Placements, Alumni, Faculty, Infrastructure, Facilities. Be associated with the Music Industry stalwarts to get a good knowledge of Music courses. Christ University, Miranda House, Ramjas College are the top Music colleges in India.
• After Qualifying Exam: Some colleges offer admission via the Centralised Admission Process wherein different rounds of admission are conducted to offer deserving candidates. Some colleges offer admission on the basis of merit and some colleges offer admission on the basis of merit and other academic undertakings. Some PG Colleges even take note of the profile you have like the previous work experience, Academics, Social work, Certifications, Accolades, etc. to offer admission.
• After Completing Graduation: Graduation is the only step that opens doors to infinite possibilities for any student. Graduation can land some in the corporate world, pave a way for Post-Graduation, or open doors to work in Government sectors. After Completing Graduation many viable options open up. s/he can choose the option of pursuing Post-Graduation in India or Abroad or He/she can start preparation of Government Exams. 

How to Become a Music Teacher in India

In order to become a Music Teacher one has to follow certain courses and steps that would help them understand the subject and make a thorough base about the same,

School Level Preparation: Students can choose any subject in their school. In the majority of schools, Music is a part of elective subjects up to class 10th. After 10th, they can take arts stream and music as an optional subject, to be aware of language, arts and music.

How to Become a Music Teacher After 12^th

The list of courses that should be pursued after clearing class 12^th board exams are listed below for your reference,

UG Level Preparation 

After a Candidate has cleared 10+2, He/she will have to appear for various entrance exams that are taken for admissions to Music Courses.

• After one has cleared the written entrance exam, he/she will be called for Group Discussion/Personal Interview/ Merit Rounds.
• Candidates are called for document verification after the candidate has cleared all stages of shortlisting.

• After clearing all stages and if the documents of the candidates are found to be perfect the candidate is offered admission in that college.

PG Level Preparation 

• After a Candidate has cleared Graduation, He/she will have to appear for various entrance exams that are taken for admissions.
• After one has cleared the written entrance exam, he/she will be called for Group Discussion/Personal Interview/ Merit Rounds.
• Candidates are called for document verification after the candidate has cleared all stages of shortlisting.

• After clearing all stages and if the documents of the candidates are found to be perfect the candidate is offered admission in that college.

Private Music Teaching Courses 

Aspirants can find two most popular courses: BA Music and MA Music to become a Music Teacher in India.

BA Music 

BA Music is opted by those who want to get good knowledge in a respective field and to earn a professional degree. This degree helps aspiring candidates to get a deep knowledge of the course in order to prepare them for future employability satisfaction.

• One should have secured at least 50% in 10+2 in order to get admission in BA Music.
• The Bachelor course is of 3 years duration.
• Admission for BA is offered on the basis of Merit. Colleges offer admissions on the basis of scores obtained in 10+2. Few colleges conduct Entrance Exams to admit students to their Music courses.
• The Average Fees of Bachelor's courses range from INR 3,00,000 to INR 5,00,000.
• After completing a BA in Music, candidates should complete an MA in Music and should have a minimum 3 years of work experience in order to be eligible for a Music Teacher job.
• After completing BA and MA and gaining skills and knowledge one can start teaching students about various instruments and how to play them.
• Subjects taught in BA Music are Classification of Music, Concepts of Ragas and Tala in Indian Music, Classifications of Ragas, Different Gharanas and their history, Evolution of Notation System, Laws of Acoustics, Role of Music in Multimedia, Taal Study.

Top BA Music Colleges

MA Music 

• One should have secured at least 50% in Graduation in order to get admission in MA Music.
• Admission in MA music course is offered on the basis of Merit. The scores obtained by a candidate in graduation becomes a medium of admission in a Master's course.
• Jain University however conducts Jain Entrance Test for admission in its MA Music Course.
• MA Music is of 2 years duration.
• The Average Fees for MA Music range from INR 50,000 to INR 1,00,000.
• Subjects taught in MA Music are History and Aesthetics in Music, Revision of Ragas and Sessional, Stage Performance, History of Indian Music.