Qualifications in Vocal and Instrumental Teaching

Thinking about a career as a vocal or instrumental teacher?

Teaching already but keen to develop your professional practice further?

Wanting to gain a recognised qualification?

This directory provides information about the wide range of accredited qualifications in the UK that develop skills in vocal and instrumental teaching.

Qualifications are organised into five categories:

• Undergraduate Courses
• Postgraduate Courses (Masters Degree, PGCE, PGCert)
• Certificate for Music Educators
• Diplomas
• Certificates 

Undergraduate Courses

Northumbria University – BA Music 

3 years full time | In person

In year one all students take an introductory music education module, which combines lectures and workshops with placement visits to schools to observe good teaching in action. In years two and three students have the option to take further music education modules, each requiring completion of a placement normally with a music hub. During placement, students are tasked to not only observe teaching, but to get stuck in delivering parts of or complete lessons, gradually building their confidence and expertise as an instrumental or vocal tutor capable of teaching one-to-one, small group and whole class ensembles. Students therefore end up ready to enter the music hub workforce, apply for PGCE study, or set up their own private music teaching practice.

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire – BMus

4 years full time | In person

All RBC undergraduate music students engage with a combination of cross-departmental and discipline-specific pedagogical training across Y1–2, benefiting from workshops led by RBC staff and visiting professional practitioners. Across Y3–4, students are offered the opportunity to undertake placements under the supervision of a mentor in a variety of ensemble, whole-class, small group and one-to-one settings, working with local music hubs and arts organisations within the Birmingham Music Education Partnership and beyond. In addition, RBC alumni regularly contribute to the pedagogy curriculum, informing current students about life as an early career instrumental teacher.

University of Chichester – BMus (Hons) Instrumental Teaching

4 years full time | In person

This BMus (Hons) Instrumental Teaching degree explores all aspects of musical learning and teaching. Students discover instrumental technique and how sound is physically produced on the instrument in the first year before focusing on repertoire and the various musical gradings used by that schools and external exams. Students also experience being a musical beginner as you learn a new instrument from scratch.

University of Sheffield – BMus Music with a Placement Year

4 years full time | In person

The University of Sheffield offers a diverse BMus programme (3 years) including modules in music education, music psychology and community music. A further placement year can be taken to make this a four year course, and opportunities for work experience include a well-established partnership with the Sheffield Music Hub. Past students on the course (then called BA Music Education) describe their experiences here.

Postgraduate Courses

Masters Degree

ESTA Education – MA in Practical Instrumental Teaching

2 years part time | Online plus summer school

The instrumental teaching profession demands constant reflection and improvement from its practitioners. This course will help you to validate your personal development and formalise your academic qualification to teach. This programme of study is designed to enable you as an instrumental or vocal teacher to progress from the stage you are in your career and to take a fresh look at the way you approach your teaching.

Royal Northern College of Music – Master of Education

1 year full-time, 2 years part-time | In person

Open for 2024 entry, this degree is aimed at music teaching professionals who wish to gain further training and accreditation for their teaching and/or conducting practice. It is also ideal for musicians who have completed an undergraduate or postgraduate course at university or conservatoire and are now looking to specialise in education. Through timetabled and optional modules, flexible supervision, and placements, students will develop knowledge of relevant and current educational concepts to inform their own practice and learn how to creatively respond to the ever-changing developments in pedagogy and music education. They will also graduate with a clear understanding of how to promote healthy and holistic approaches to learning and teaching.

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance – MA Music Education and Performance

2 years full time, 3-4 years part time | In person

The MA in Music Education and Performance is designed for any student wishing to pursue an active career as both a professional musician and a teacher or educator. It aims to equip you with the necessary musical skills, insight and experience required by the contemporary profession in its widest sense, with a focus on the artist in educational settings, from instrumental and/or vocal teaching to workshop leading.

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance – MA International: The Teaching Musician

1-4 years (flexible learning) |  Online

The Teaching Musician is an accredited professional development route for practising music teachers and music leaders. Its online and flexible structure permits suitability for those working in a wide variety of settings, including classroom teachers, instrumental/vocal teachers and community musicians. The Teaching Musician will develop your understanding of current learning models and core pedagogies in music, while supporting you to refine your practical skills through sharing of practice, relating theory to practice, observations and inspiring work placements.

University of Sheffield – MA Music Psychology in Education, Performance and Wellbeing

2 years part time | Distance learning

The MA Music Psychology in Education, Performance and Wellbeing offers a thorough grounding in music psychology research with relevance to instrumental and classroom music teachers, covering topics including musical development, psychology of performance, and uses of music in everyday life. Students also undertake training in qualitative and quantitative research methods and undertake a dissertation on a topic of their choice, through online learning materials and an annual residential (delivered online or in hybrid form).

Royal College of Music – MMusEd Teaching Musician

2 years full-time or 12 months intensive | In person

The RCM MMusEd Teaching Musician is a taught degree programme designed for aspiring music educators that aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge required for a successful professional career as a Teaching Musician. This course offers a unique blend of practical training in performance or composition, vocational training in music education skills and theoretical knowledge of teaching and learning, equipping students with the expertise to succeed in a range of music education settings.

University of Southampton – Music (Education) MMus

1 year full time | In person

The MMus Music Education Pathway at University of Southampton is for performing musicians who wish to develop their practice and knowledge of practical music teaching. The course looks at the theory and application of teaching music performance in a variety of settings, including one-to-one, workshop and ensembles. Students will learn about a variety of pedagogical approaches and have lots of opportunities to participate in practical sessions too.

University of York – MA Music Education: Group Teaching and Leadership

1 year full time, 2 years part time | In person

This unique course integrates theory and reflective practice so you can gain an understanding of the philosophy and psychology of music education. You’ll explore inclusive approaches to supporting musical development in early childhood, primary and secondary education, and with learners with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

University of York – MA Music Education: Instrumental and Vocal Teaching

1 year full time, 2 years part time | In person

This unique course for musicians interested in developing their instrumental and vocal teaching skills allows for exploration of both practical and theoretical concepts of pedagogy. Through a combination of reflective practice, engagement with academic research, and creative development of new educational approaches, you will be able to enhance your capabilities and confidence as a teacher.

PGCE

The following PGCEs specialise in vocal/instrumental teaching. Information about the full range of music PGCEs can be found on the government webpage for postgraduate teacher training courses.

Birmingham City University – PGCE Secondary Music (with instrumental enhancement route)

1 year full time | In person | QTS

The Birmingham City University PGCE Secondary Music course includes the option to take an instrumental route. By following this route, your placements will be split between time spent in a secondary school music department developing your classroom teaching skills and time spent with Birmingham Music Service (Services for Education) developing your instrumental teaching skills. If you are offered a place on the PGCE Secondary Music course, you will have the opportunity to audition for the instrumental route in September. A minimum of grade 8 performing standard is expected for the instrumental route.

Music Masters – Musicians of Change (PGCEi)

1 year part time | RQF Level 7 qualification | Remote

Musicians of Change (PGCEi) is a year-long programme for musicians committed to transforming music education. Uniquely, it focusses on nurturing and building participants’ ability to deliver excellent, inclusive, group instrumental teaching that reflects the diversity of society and champions the musical lives and futures of young people in schools across the UK. Delivered in partnership between Music Masters and Birmingham City University’s (BCU) School of Education and Social Work, Musicians of Change provides students with a broad range of professional, practical and academic experiences supported by a world-class team of practitioners, academics and leaders. This qualification does not automatically include Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), although it can prepare students for the Assessment Only Route, an additional qualification offered at Birmingham City University, providing all criteria for accessing this route are met.

Royal Northern College of Music (in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University) – PGCE in Music with Specialist Instrumental Teaching

1 year full time | In person | QTS

This PGCE course is designed for graduates of universities and conservatoires who wish to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) whilst specialising in instrumental or vocal teaching. This one-year full-time course offers instrumentalists and vocalists a range of distinctive features, enabling them to teach music both in a secondary school context and Music Hubs or Music Services.

PGCert

ESTA Education – Post-Graduate Certificate in Instrumental Teaching

1 year part time | Online plus summer school

The ESTA PGCert is designed for instrumental teachers who want to enhance their approach to teaching through a programme of study that is both academic and practical. This course gives you the opportunity to take a look at your own teaching technique and specific strategies and techniques you use, in addition to standing back and developing a broader perspective on teaching and learning and music education in general.

Guildhall School of Music and Drama – Post-Graduate Certificate in Performance Teaching

1 or 2 years part time | Remote

The Guildhall PGCert is a Masters-level course designed to support professional musicians, actors, production artists and dancers who teach as part of their practice. Learning is online, combining live workshops on Zoom together with self-study via the comprehensive VLE (Virtual Learning Environment).

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire – Post-Graduate Certificate ‘Musician as Educator’

1 year part time | In person and online 

The PgCert ‘Musician as Educator’ course enables professional practitioners working across a variety of music education settings to access high-quality CPD that can be scheduled around your regular working hours to enhance your practice. You will be introduced to a spectrum of areas relevant to the 21st-century music educator. These will include the position(s) of music in society and the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion; creative approaches to curricula and assessment strategies; and situating your practice within the wider music education landscape. Lectures and workshops will be interspersed by roundtable sessions, facilitated by staff from RBC’s Pedagogy and Community Department, where you will be encouraged to think about the application of learning theories and other pedagogical issues to your own practice.

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance – PGCert International: The Teaching Musician

1-2 years (flexible learning) | Online

The Teaching Musician is an accredited professional development route for practicing music teachers and music leaders. Its online and flexible structure permits suitability for those working in a wide variety of settings, including classroom teachers, instrumental/vocal teachers and community musicians. The Teaching Musician will develop your understanding of current learning models and core pedagogies in music, while supporting you to refine your practical skills through sharing of practice, relating theory to practice, observations and inspiring work placements.

Certificate for Music Educators (CME)

ABRSM – Level 4 Certificate for Music Educators

RQF Level 4 qualification | Courses provided via validated providers

The ABRSM CME is a qualification for all music educators working in England with children and young people, whether they work privately, in Music Hubs, orchestras, community music organisations or other settings. It’s been designed to improve the knowledge and skills of music educators and raise the quality of the experience for children and young people wherever they encounter musical learning. The ABRSM CME is designed to support inspiring, motivational learning and to be relevant to all music educators, regardless of the musical genre they work in or the stage of their career.

Trinity College London – Level 4 Certificate for Music Educators

RQF Level 4 qualification | Courses provided via validated providers

The Trinity Certificate for Music Educators is a flexible programme of learning designed to equip music educators from a wide range of backgrounds with the foundations in music pedagogy, planning and delivery.

Diplomas

ABRSM – ARSM in Music Teaching (Associate of the Royal Schools of Music)

RQF Level 4 qualification | Assessment only

From 2024, the new ABRSM diplomas will allow you to demonstrate your teaching skills in a live environment, supported by a piece of written work and a professional discussion with an examiner. These diplomas will assess your skills in leading musical work with others, such as planning and strategies to inspire and motivate musicians, and your understanding of the underlying principles and values of teaching music.

ABRSM – LRSM in Music Teaching (Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music)

RQF Level 6 qualification | Assessment only

From 2024, the new ABRSM diplomas will allow you to demonstrate your teaching skills in a live environment, supported by a piece of written work and a professional discussion with an examiner. These diplomas will assess your skills in leading musical work with others, such as planning and strategies to inspire and motivate musicians, and your understanding of the underlying principles and values of teaching music.

ABRSM – FRSM in Music Education (Fellowship of the Royal Schools of Music)

RQF Level 7 qualification | Assessment only

From 2024, the new ABRSM diplomas will allow you to demonstrate your teaching skills in a live environment, supported by a piece of written work and a professional discussion with an examiner. These diplomas will assess your skills in leading musical work with others, such as planning and strategies to inspire and motivate musicians, and your understanding of the underlying principles and values of teaching music.

London College of Music Examinations – Diploma of the London College of Music Teaching Diploma DipLCM(TD)

RQF Level 4 qualification | Assessment only

This diploma requires the candidate to demonstrate the fundamental skills and understanding required by a competent instrumental music teacher, consistent with a Level 1 (frst-year) undergraduate module. Examiners will expect to encounter evidence of solid basic teaching skills, a performance technique which equips the candidate to demonstrate pieces with clarity and confdence, and the ability to communicate appropriate knowledge and understanding with verbal articulacy.

London College of Music Examinations – Associate of the London College of Music Teaching Diploma ALCM(TD)

RQF Level 5 qualification | Assessment only

This diploma requires the candidate to demonstrate the skills and understanding required by a competent and proficient instrumental music teacher, consistent with a Level 2 (second-year) undergraduate module. Examiners will expect to encounter evidence of accomplished and confdent teaching skills, a performance technique which equips the candidate to demonstrate pieces with clarity and authority, and the ability to communicate appropriate knowledge and understanding with clear verbal articulacy.

London College of Music Examinations – Licenciate of the London College of Music Teaching Diploma LLCM(TD)

RQF Level 6 qualification | Assessment only

This diploma demands a fully professional standard of teaching, musicianship and educational skills, consistent with a Level 3 (fnal-year) undergraduate module. Evidence of experience and expertise as a teacher, a secure and versatile performance technique, and the ability to communicate a tangible sense of understanding and insight into the teaching process, will be expected.

RSL – Level 4 Diploma in Music Teaching

RQF Level 4 qualification | Assessment only

The RSL Diploma qualifications are designed to allow opportunities for flexible progression routes through the choice of optional units which will allow learners to tailor qualifications to meet their own specific needs. The teaching pathway in the Level 4 Professional Diploma comprises one optional unit and three core units: Understanding Learning; Planning, Facilitating and Evaluating Learning; and Inclusive Learning.

RSL – Level 6 Diploma in Music Teaching

RQF Level 6 qualification | Assessment only

The RSL Diploma qualifications are designed to allow opportunities for flexible progression routes through the choice of optional units which will allow learners to tailor qualifications to meet their own specific needs. The teaching pathway in the Level 6 Professional Diploma comprises one optional unit and three core units: Understanding Learning; Planning, Facilitating and Evaluating Learning; and Inclusive Learning and Pedagogical Approaches.

Trinity College London – ATCL Principles of Instrumental/Vocal Teaching

RQF Level 4 qualification | Assessment only

The ATCL Principles of Instrumental/Vocal Teaching diploma examines how well you understand the theory behind effective music teaching, and your ability to plan and deliver teaching activities.

Trinity College London – LTCL Instrumental/Vocal Teaching

RQF Level 6 qualification | Assessment only

Trinity’s LTCL Instrumental/Vocal Teaching (individual or small instrumental groups) diploma is a step-up from the ATCL and is designed to let you show you can plan and deliver teaching to individuals and small groups at all abilities, taking full control of the teaching environment.

Trinity College London – LTCL Music Teaching

RQF Level 6 qualification | Assessment only

Teachers working towards the LTCL Music Teaching diploma are assessed on their ability to plan and deliver music lessons in whole-class or large-group (15+) settings.

Certificates

RSL – Level 3 Certificate in Supporting Music and Performing Arts Learning

RQF Level 6 qualification | Assessment only

RSL’s Level 3 Certificate in Supporting Music and Performing Arts Learning is designed to provide opportunities to gain a recognised qualification for individual learners already working as, or hoping to work as, a teaching assistant in a Music and Performing Arts environment.