Annual Salary
£0 to £0
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Swap to Education or Training or go back to all job sectors
Music teachers give music lessons to people of all ages and abilities. They work in schools and colleges, and with individuals and community groups.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: freelance / self-employed; managing your own hours
There will be
4.3% more Music teacher jobs in 2027.
Depending on where you work, you could:
You could work at a college, at a university, from home or at a school.
You can get into this job through:
Most music teachers begin with a degree in music.
To teach music in a primary school, you could train to teach all subjects, and develop a subject specialism in music.
To work as a secondary school music teacher, you could train to teach music as a single subject or combine it with teaching another subject.
In a music college, conservatoire or university, you may also need a postgraduate music qualification, have a recognised profile as a performer and have teaching experience.
When you apply for a music degree or postgraduate course, you'll usually be asked to attend an audition. You may be expected to have at least Grade 6 on a main instrument.
You'll usually need:
You'll need a level 3 qualification or higher in music or performing arts, if you want to be a music lecturer in a further education college.
You would also need a further education teaching qualification that is relevant to the level of teaching responsibility you would have in your job.
You'll usually need:
You may be able to start by doing a Teacher Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship, if you have a relevant degree and want to teach students aged 3 to 19.
This takes 12 months to complete and involves training while you work.
To do this apprenticeship, you'll need:
You may be able to work as a private music teacher with or without qualifications, if you've got exceptional musical ability. A teaching qualification would be helpful though not essential.
Many musicians combine performance and music teaching as a career.
You could take training accredited by professional bodies, like the Level 4 Certificate for Music Educators, offered by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and Trinity College London.
The course is aimed at people who are new to teaching music to children, and covers the purpose of music education and promotes best practice.
It has been developed for:
Other options include the Professional Diploma (Teaching) offered by Rock School.
You'll need to:
You can search for jobs in schools through the Teaching Vacancies service.
You can find out more about becoming a music teacher from:Get Into Teaching; Independent Society of Musicians; Musicians' Union
As a qualified and experienced music teacher in a school, you could become head of a music department, deputy head or headteacher.
With further training you could qualify as a music therapist.
You might also work freelance, teaching students in person and online.
You'll need: