How to hire a music therapist

How to hire a music therapist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step music therapist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a music therapist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new music therapist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a music therapist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your music therapist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a music therapist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A music therapist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, music therapists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents music therapist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Music Therapist	Description	Hourly rate
   Music Therapist	Recreational therapists plan, direct, and coordinate recreation-based treatment programs for people with disabilities, injuries, or illnesses. Recreational therapists use a variety of modalities, including arts and crafts, drama, music, dance, sports, games, and community reintegration field trips to help maintain or improve a patient’s physical, social, and emotional well-being.	$18-40
   Recreation Therapist	A recreation therapist is responsible for supporting the patients' physical and mental wellness by organizing therapeutic programs and activities, depending on the patients' condition and existing treatment plans. Recreation therapists work with other medical health professionals for advice and medication needs... Show more	$17-40
   Music Therapy Internship	In a music therapy internship, an intern's duties primarily depend on the directives of a manager or supervising staff. Typically, they are responsible for gaining industry insights and practical experience while performing support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, conducting research and analysis, setting-up instruments and other devices, and running errands as needed... Show more	$10-29

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Interdisciplinary
   • Rehabilitation
   • Music Therapy
   • Mental Health
   • Adolescents
   • Music Therapy Interventions
   • Music Therapy Sessions
   • Social Work
   • Autism
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • Individual Therapy Sessions
   • Neurologic
   • Substance Abuse

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the entire SNF and Alzheimer's unit caseload.
   • Provide individual music therapy services in coordination with in-house hospice organization and participate in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings.
   • Provide individual music interventions for patients on sub-acute, rehabilitation to meet specific needs during short term hospital stay.
   • Develop and implement music therapy interventions to patients of all ages and abilities in an ever-changing behavioral health setting.
   • Design interventions to stimulate cognition, empower emotional expression, and promote engagement in group activities for clients diagnose with dementia.
   • Participate in IEP meetings and quarterly evaluation meetings with parents.

   More music therapist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your music therapist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A music therapist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a music therapist in Iowa may be lower than in California, and an entry-level music therapist usually earns less than a senior-level music therapist. Additionally, a music therapist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average music therapist salary

   $57,096yearly

   $27.45 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level music therapist salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 18, 2025

   Average music therapist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$85,607	$41
   2	New York	$65,620	$32
   3	Texas	$62,324	$30
   4	Virginia	$60,202	$29
   5	Missouri	$57,869	$28
   6	Maryland	$57,509	$28
   7	Minnesota	$56,232	$27
   8	Arizona	$55,370	$27
   9	Massachusetts	$54,917	$26
   10	Indiana	$54,020	$26
   11	Oregon	$53,639	$26
   12	Michigan	$53,075	$26
   13	Oklahoma	$52,227	$25
   14	Florida	$51,278	$25
   15	Colorado	$51,106	$25
   16	Ohio	$50,850	$24
   17	Louisiana	$50,250	$24
   18	Illinois	$48,935	$24
   19	North Carolina	$48,287	$23
   20	Iowa	$47,751	$23

   Average music therapist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Childhelp	$91,221	$43.86	3
   2	Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare	$81,884	$39.37
   3	LCMC Health	$81,556	$39.21
   4	Children's Minnesota	$79,993	$38.46
   5	Baptist Health Home Care	$73,312	$35.25	1
   6	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$71,323	$34.29
   7	UofL Hospital	$71,003	$34.14
   8	Children's Hospital Colorado	$70,252	$33.77	1
   9	CHKD Thrift Store	$69,899	$33.61
   10	ProMedica Toledo Hospital	$69,103	$33.22	1
   11	The Osborn	$65,399	$31.44
   12	TidalHealth	$65,009	$31.25	1
   13	Sharp HealthCare	$64,624	$31.07
   14	Cape Cod Healthcare	$62,230	$29.92	2
   15	Catholic Health East	$61,898	$29.76	2
   16	Houston Methodist	$61,300	$29.47
   17	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	$60,683	$29.17
   18	Point Loma Nazarene University	$60,385	$29.03
   19	Acadia Healthcare	$60,137	$28.91	107
   20	Elder Care Alliance of San Rafael	$59,875	$28.79

4. Writing a music therapist job description

   A music therapist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a music therapist job description:

   Music therapist job description example

   Our Company:
   
   Allay Home and Hospice
   
   Overview:
   
   Part-time with flexible hours!
   
   Our Hospice Music Therapists are the heart of our organization who support patients by applying principles of music therapy to address physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs and to improve quality of life for hospice patients and their families. Take this chance to make a meaningful impact with your career today!
   
   Responsibilities:
   Evaluate patient's functional status and assess patient's response to music, music preferences, music skills and cultural factors relevant to care
   Develop, administer and coordinate music activities and programs in accordance with state and federal regulations
   Implement music activities that facilitate non-musical goals (e.g. sensory stimulation, memory recall, positive failure, socialization, etc.)
   Monitor the condition of musical instruments
   Work as part of care plan team in determining therapeutic objectives and goals
   Keep accurate and thorough patient activity attendance records
   Ensure compliance with all state and federal legal and regulatory requirements
   Additional responsibilities as assigned
   Qualifications:
   Bachelor's degree in music therapy
   Currently registered as a Board Certified Music Therapist
   2+ years music therapy experience preferred
   Knowledge of and ability to utilize a wide variety of musical instruments
   Knowledge of the hospice philosophy of care
   About our Line of Business: At Allay Home and Hospice, our primary ambition is to bring first-class care to the warmest and most serene environment possible: home. We provide the full spectrum of hospice and home health services, thoughtfully tailored to the individual needs of patients and families. As part of the BrightSpring Health Services family of brands, Allay Home and Hospice is grounded in a foundational commitment to providing exceptional patient care and championing our agency leadership and teams. We are proud to have some of the best and brightest individuals in the health care industry on our team. We are confident you will find purpose, meaning and a chance to make a positive impact from day one. For more information about Allay Home and Hospice, please visit www.allayhh.com. Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right music therapist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with music therapists they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit music therapists who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your music therapist job on Zippia to find and recruit music therapist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting music therapists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new music therapist

   Once you've decided on a perfect music therapist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new music therapist first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a music therapist?