Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover

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Course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Music
Regular course length: 8 semesters

1. Course content and objective
   The course in Instrument Teaching provides students with the opportunity to undergo both broad-based performance and also educational studies.
   The course of study centres on tuition in the principal instrument. This consists of weekly individual tutorials, artistic performances and participation in a variety of ensemble and chamber music projects whose participants are drawn from a variety of courses.
   Depending on the principal instrumental subject, there is also tuition in a subsidiary instrument or in Voice during the first two years of study. Opportunities to receive tuition in Elementary improvisation, Percussion, Ensemble direction, Music theory and Practical vocal skills open up a wide diversity of opportunities for the student to expand his or her musical skills beyond simply instrumental playing.
   Insights are given into all the options offered by the Musical Performance and Education course. This enables students to change their course during the first two years, in accordance with their individual development and interests.
   In the third and fourth years of study, students can set their own individual focuses by taking a variety of supplementary subjects that serve both to deepen and broaden their previous studies.
   The educational studies consist of academic subjects and practical skills. The academic subjects give the students the theoretical equipment to be able to work independently and in accordance with their own wishes and interests. The course of study is distinguished by its distinct practical orientation, which is reflected in the training in teaching methods. Except for methodology in the principal subject, training in teaching methods is undertaken in cooperation with ordinary schools, the focus being on music-making in classes and groups.
   

   In the field of teaching methods, students are required to choose among the following:
   - Teaching methods in cooperation with ordinary schools II
   - Teaching methods for particular target groups (adults, young children, people with special needs)
   - Introduction to the aesthetics and playing techniques of jazz/rock/pop
   - Methods of teaching music theory
   It is possible to obtain a teaching qualification for the subject Music theory.

2. Who is the course aimed at?
   This course of study is directed towards people
   - who would like to combine musical performance studies with sound educational/teacher training;
   - who are seeking to follow a diverse and flexible career in performance and education;
   - who desire to receive musical education and training that is as demanding as it is diverse.
3. Requirements for admission
   - Successful completion of the acceptance procedure / admission examination 
   - A school leaving certificate of at least lower secondary level (e.g. sufficiently good GCSEs) 
   
4. Career outlook
   The professional field of music teaching has been subject to considerable changes in recent years. Ever greater differentiation is taking place, since there is an enhanced demand for music tuition in society. Thus a broad range of professional opportunities is being created. In schools, for example, new areas of work for music teachers have been created which demand more than simply a traditional school music teacher’s qualification: on the one hand, for example, in the form of different kinds of class-based music teaching (e.g. choral, wind and string classes), and on the other hand through the extra-curricular activities offered at all-day schools. In these areas, the activities of a school music teacher and of a freelance professional in music education overlap.
   By modernising its range of courses, the HMTMH is seeking to take account of these developments and to give its students the best possible preparation for their later careers.
   Graduates of the Musical Performance and Education course acquire qualifications, depending on the option they have chosen and their individual profile, to undertake individual or group tuition, ensemble work at music schools and comparable institutions, the teaching of groups and classes at ordinary schools, or teaching in the fields of elementary music education, rhythmics or music theory and of adult and special education. In addition, there are a wide range of opportunities to combine performance and educational activities.