What Is a Master of Music Education?
Posted: August 03, 2020 | Author: Southern Utah University | Read Time: 4 minutes
Music Educators are responsible for teaching basic principles of music, directing ensembles, equipment and instrument maintenance and inventory, and advocating for the arts in schools. With so many responsibilities, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed during the first few years of teaching music in a school setting. One of the best things a music educator can do for themselves is to obtain a Master’s Degree in Music Education. In a graduate program, students learn skills to help manage all of the aspects of teaching that fall outside the realm of understanding basic music pedagogy and theory. Graduates with a Master of Music Education are equipped with many high-level skills that allow them to run the kind of music program they want to run.
What is a Master of Music Education?
A Master of Music Education is a graduate-level degree for practicing music teachers. Most master’s programs in music education are designed to use your classroom(s) as a place to test the methods of instruction, evaluation, management, and leadership that you learn in your master’s courses. A Master of Music Education graduate gains a unique insight into modern pedagogical trends in music education and leadership skills that make a music program strong.
Why is a Master of Music Education Important?
The teacher training that music educators receive in bachelor’s and certification programs is absolutely essential to getting started teaching music in schools. Like most fields of study, however, there is always more to learn. Along with a very desirable pay-raise, a master’s degree in music education brings the graduate a set of essential skills for coming into their own as a music educator. There is so much more to teaching music than simply teaching music. This degree can help educators overcome some of the hurdles they are facing so that they can effectively share a love of music with students.
3 Essential Skills You’ll Learn as a Master of Music Education
Research
A master’s degree in music education familiarizes students with a number of research techniques. These techniques are very important when advocating for arts programs. School administrators do not typically have experience in the arts and will want to see data to support arguments for the value of the arts in schools. Rather than simply researching assigned topics for papers as in an undergraduate-level course, these masters-level courses will call for research that directly applies to what educators are doing in their classrooms, allowing students to develop a deeper understanding of how to use research to improve their music programs and advocate for them with parents and administrators.
Repair And Maintenance
Music educators at the undergraduate level receive some basic training on the various instruments that they are likely to work within methods courses. However, the complexity of the inner workings of these instruments really does go beyond even the most thorough of one- semester methods courses. Many Master’s of Music Education programs include in-depth looks at managing instrument maintenance and care. This can range from ways to get by in a pinch for last-minute quick fixes or knowing how to diagnose issues that need to be addressed by repair professionals. Courses offered at Southern Utah University include Band Repair Workshop, Orchestra Repair Workshop, and Percussion Repair Workshop. These skills can save educators, their students, and schools a great deal of money in having to replace instruments that can be repaired.
Customized Program
Some Master of Music Education Programs, including the one offered at SUU, include a great deal of customizable elective selections. This allows students to focus on developing skills that will directly apply to the programs they are running in schools. This can include some cross- disciplines in professionalism in the music business, music technology in an educational environment, and sometimes even pitched or proposed projects designed by students as an opportunity to explore new frontiers in music education. The arts are an expressive and dynamic field, so find a master’s program that is just as personalized and customizable!
A Master of Music Education is not only a natural next step in the career of a music educator but an essential part of being a great teacher. A graduate degree gives educators the tools needed to be the best music educator possible. Graduates can use research to further their goals, manage resources effectively, and bring a unique take on musical pedagogy to the schools in which they teach. Graduates from SUU’s Masters of Music Education program are more competitive, more competent, and more complete educators. Learn more about getting your master’s degree in education.
Produced by SUU Graduate Studies
SUU's Graduate School draws from a prestigious heritage and allows students to pursue a quality education. The master's degree programs offer students the chance to further their professional and educational careers on campus or online.
Tags: Music Graduate Programs College of Performing and Visual Arts
