To get an in-depth understanding of what you’ll study along with some of the various ways in which you can work once you become a credentialed music therapist, start by reading all the articles on MajoringInMusic.com about music therapy. Then, see if there’s a local music therapist you can talk with and maybe even shadow if they’ll allow that.

To major in music therapy, you will need to audition on your primary instrument. So that’s where we recommend putting your attention – focusing on your proficiency to be ready for auditioning in your senior year. Take a summer music program to jumpstart that. You can find many wonderful options on the Summer Music Camps & Programs. If you do major in music therapy, you’ll take some psychology classes as part of your degree. Of course if you want to take a class before then out of interest or curiosity, that would be great. But not necessary.

There are two ways to move forward with music therapy in the U.S. One is to major in it as an undergrad. The other is to major in any area of music as an undergrad and then take the two-year Equivalency Program offered by many schools with music therapy programs. The Equivalency Program often leads to a master’s degree. We suggest that you read all the articles about music therapy on MajoringInMusic.com to get a clear sense of what the training is like and how it can be used career-wise. Also visit the website of the American Music Therapy Association to learn more.

You would need to major in music therapy or do an undergraduate major in any area of music and then take the Equivalency Program.
But take a look at this article that offers other ways to apply musical skills to offer healing and comfort.

Any school that offers music therapy as a major will indicate that in their list of majors offered. Students who major in an area of music other than music therapy can still become music therapists by taking an Equivalency Program at a school that offers it.

MajoringInMusic.com participating schools include several with music therapy programs. You can find those schools by clicking on music therapy in the “Find Schools That Fit Your Interests” on the MajoringInMusic.com homepage. Note that the American Music Therapy Association has a more extensive list of schools offering music therapy on its website.

I stumbled across this article again, just as I did three years ago. This article is what started me on my path and it was refreshing to read it again and remember how excited I felt. Thank you, Majoring in Music, for giving me the idea. I can’t wait to begin my career. <3

Look at the application and audition requirements at schools you’d consider attending for music therapy. This will give you a clear sense of what you need to do to prepare. You can audition on any instrument but will also study enough piano, guitar and voice in a music therapy college program to prepare you to pass the exams that qualify you to become certified as a music therapist when you graduate. To learn more about the classes you’d take as a music therapy major, check the music therapy page of schools that offer this major or visit their university catalogue or view book.

To understand more about the profession of music therapy, read the music therapy articles on MajoringInMusic.com and also visit the website of the American Music Therapy Association.

There are no minors in music therapy. If you want to become a music therapist as defined by the American Music Therapy Association, you either need to major in music therapy OR major in any other area of music and then take a Music Therapy Equivalency Program.

Look at the required coursework for music therapy majors at any schools offering this program. You’ll see that students take general education classes including science as well as music therapy-specific classes in anatomy and the behavioral sciences (psychology). Some schools build their programs on what’s called “Neurologic Music Therapy” or NMT, where the scientific knowledge of how music is perceived and produced is used to work with people with neurological problems in the areas of speech and language, sensorimotor skills, and cognition.

Read our Equivalency Program article to learn more about what you can do if you major in an an area of music other than music therapy. A music major with a psychology minor will not prepare you to become a credentialed music therapist.

Every school accredited by the American Music Therapy Association has a somewhat similar curriculum and, yes, it includes classes in psychology. That said, it is not preparing you to become a counselor or psychologist and psychology is only one of the required areas of study. Click on the names of the schools listed on the side of the article you wrote in from, or any other school where you’d be interested in studying music therapy. Look at their required music therapy courses by going to the “Majors Offered” link. That’s the most direct way to see what you’d actually be doing as a music therapy major.

Read additional articles on MajoringInMusic.com about music therapy to learn more about this profession. You’ll see that music therapy majors take classes in exactly what the American Music Therapy Association has deemed necessary to be able to work effectively in this profession. We also recommend that you look at schools that offer music therapy as a major (you can see a number of them right on the article you wrote in from). Check out the required courses on their websites to see the classes you’d be taking. A master’s in music therapy may open additional doors for employment, but there are additional degrees in other fields required for this profession.