Music Teacher vs. Music Educator: Does it Matter?

When I was in college (or just out of college- the details are getting blurry in my mind), I remembered being advised by a professor to join the professional association for music teachers.

I must not have taken good notes that day, because if I recall correctly, I searched online for “music teacher association national” and I found MTNA (Music Teachers National Association). So I joined, along with PMTA, my state association.

What I failed to realize at the time was that I needed the music EDUCATORS association since I was teaching in a school. I quickly figured it out and joined NAfME (National Association for Music EDUCATORS) and PMEA and got the resources I needed.

When I stopped teaching in a school classroom to be home with my children, I discontinued my membership.

Just recently, I decided it would probably be a good idea to join a professional organization again; my children are almost grown and I’m slowly re-entering the professional world.

This time I INTENTIONALLY joined MTNA, PMTA, and our local association, RMTA.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that we have a very active chapter here in the Reading, PA area. They hold monthly breakfast gatherings, host workshops for teachers, and organize community outreach events; it’s a fantastic organization and I highly recommend getting involved in your local chapter if you have one.

As a result of my involvement in my local organization, I decided to attend the state conference as well. That was a very worthwhile investment in my business and I plan to return!

At the 3-day conference, I met other teachers, swapped ideas, got a sense of where I am (level of experience/expertise) in relationship to other teachers (it helped me overcome any lingering imposter syndrome), and attended some very educational workshops.

I particularly appreciated the ones that dealt with performance anxiety and gave me research-based tools to overcome it, both for myself and for my students.

Don’t forget, all these things (professional association dues, breakfast meetings, conferences, and mileage/travel costs for all business-related events) are business expenses, so they are tax deductible.

I’ve spoken with a few newbies lately that didn’t really know what that meant (tax-deductible business expenses), so I’ll clarify just in case that helps a few people.

When you (or your accountant) file your taxes each year, you will tally up ALL your business expenses: instrument repairs/purchases, piano tuning, books/materials, recital costs, website hosting, possibly even a portion of your home. Those expenses are subtracted from your income, so let’s say I made $25,000 last year (income), but had $3,000 in expenses. That would mean I would only have to pay income taxes on $22,000. Not a huge amount, but let’s say you’re around the 20% tax bracket: that’s $600 less income tax to pay!

I’ve found it’s worth the expense to pay an accountant because they know of more deductions than I do, lol! You’ll be out a few hundred dollars, but guess what?? Tax preparation is a business expense, so it’s also tax-deductible!

So the morals of the story are 1) if you’re a private music teacher, be sure to join the Music TEACHERS association, not the music EDUCATORS association, and 2) talk to an accountant (or research online) to find out what costs qualify as a business expense and then keep good records!

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