Band leader vs high school music director

The differences between band leaders and high school music directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a band leader and a high school music director. Additionally, a high school music director has an average salary of $56,794, which is higher than the $55,494 average annual salary of a band leader.

The top three skills for a band leader include live performances, event planning and travel arrangements. The most important skills for a high school music director are fine arts, music theory, and curriculum development.

Band leader vs high school music director overview

	Band Leader	High School Music Director
Yearly salary	$55,494	$56,794
Hourly rate	$26.68	$27.30
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	29,066	29,139
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

Band leader vs high school music director salary

Band leaders and high school music directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Band Leader	High School Music Director
Average salary	$55,494	$56,794
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $98,000	Between $39,000 And $81,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between band leader and high school music director education

There are a few differences between a band leader and a high school music director in terms of educational background:

	Band Leader	High School Music Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common major	Music	Music
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Band leader vs high school music director demographics

Here are the differences between band leaders' and high school music directors' demographics:

	Band Leader	High School Music Director
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 74.8% Female, 25.2%	Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 5.3% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 5.3% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	30%	30%

Differences between band leader and high school music director duties and responsibilities

Band leader example responsibilities.

Perform diagnostics, lead audits, kaizen events, value stream mapping, PDCA teams and employee involvement.
Serve in consecutive positions of increase responsibility requiring strong interpersonal skills, extensive administrative, maintenance, and logistics backgrounds.
Serve in consecutive positions of increase responsibility requiring strong interpersonal skills, extensive administrative, maintenance, and logistics backgrounds.

High school music director example responsibilities.

Achieve staff competence with 4 staff members, encouraging the growth and development of one staff member into a leadership position.
Establish and maintain relationships with colleges, community organizations, and other schools to coordinate educational services.
Establish and maintain relationships with colleges, community organizations, and other schools to coordinate educational services.

Band leader vs high school music director skills

Common band leader skills

Live Performances, 27%
Event Planning, 19%
Travel Arrangements, 11%
Corporate Events, 6%
Private Events, 6%
Private Parties, 5%

Common high school music director skills

Fine Arts, 22%
Music Theory, 12%
Curriculum Development, 10%
K-12, 9%
All-State, 7%
Chorus, 6%

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Band Leader vs High School Music Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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