How To Become A Music Therapy Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a music therapy specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Rusty Banks,

Fred David Romines Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a music therapy specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.43 an hour? That's $50,810 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a music therapy specialist?

Rusty Banks

Senior Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music, Franklin and Marshall College

First, remember that your career doesn't start when you graduate. It starts before then. Do everything you can to get experience and exposure while still in school.
Be nice to people. Make yourself useful. Go to other musician's performances. Know the people in a scene.
Remember that you're always auditioning. This goes for when you play and how you interact with people. Show up to everything and perform at a professional level, even if what's going on around you isn't. Show up prepared. You can't wait until you're at Carnegie Hall to start playing well. Develop a reputation for being solid as a player and as a colleague.
Have a plan. "Vague dreams of stardom" is not a plan. How many gigs do you want to be doing by next year? What number of followers are you going to have by when? Set some concrete metrics and strive for them. You won't always reach them but that's not the point. Having something to measure against is important. Tracking your success shows you how well what you are doing is working.

ScoreMusic Therapy SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,810

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.2

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%

Asian 3.27%

Black or African American 6.53%

Hispanic or Latino 10.21%

Unknown 4.49%

White 74.73%

Gender

female 63.19%

male 36.81%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.9

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a music therapy specialist

Explore music therapy specialist education requirements

Most common music therapy specialist degrees

Bachelor's

70.9 %

Master's

20.1 %

Associate

5.3 %

Start to develop specific music therapy specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Music Program	17.26%
Music Education	12.47%
Chorus	10.94%
Public Schools	9.69%
Music Curriculum	9.07%

Complete relevant music therapy specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New music therapy specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a music therapy specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real music therapy specialist resumes.

Research music therapy specialist duties and responsibilities

Direct, choreograph and manage school musical production of Willy Wonka, Jr.
Train playground leaders in music and drama activities.
Develop lesson plans appropriate for toddlers, pre-school, pre- k and kindergarten.
Administer music theory/instrumental tests, student performances & end of the year concerts for grades Pre-K through 6th.

Prepare your music therapy specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your music therapy specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a music therapy specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable music therapy specialist resume templates

Build a professional music therapy specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your music therapy specialist resume.