A music coordinator serves a variety of roles in many types of settings. If you want to become a music coordinator, you must dedicate yourself to music through education and practice. You will need to perform a wide range of duties to supervise a music program. That program also can be in one of many industries, ranging from schools to churches, radio stations, record companies and more.
A strong educational background is key if you want to become a music coordinator. Most people in this position have at least a bachelor's degree in music, and many have postgraduate degrees as well. Knowing how to read music and play a variety of instruments is helpful to performing this job. You also will need to get experience as varied as directing groups of musicians or interning for radio stations, depending on which professional direction you want to take your career.
If, for example, you want to become a music coordinator for a school, you have to prepare differently than you would for other jobs. The duties for this job often require you to teach students how to play and read certain music. If you are the music director for a school band, for instance, you would be in charge of understanding the group's limitations and finding suitable music with which to challenge students for practice and concerts.
If you want to become a music coordinator for a church, your job duties would be similar but still unique. On a given day at a church, you might have to serve as an accompanist or a music conductor for religious services and work with the minister to select music for the service. In addition, you could be in charge of a choir or band and be responsible for teaching songs for performances. This job usually requires a strong understanding of religious texts and proper songs to act as accompaniment.
Traditional radio and internet stations also are a place to become a music coordinator. The music coordinator job here is much different than working for churches and schools. You must do a lot of research to know what your listeners want to hear and what the top songs around the country are. You will need excellent organizational skills in order to plan the songs to be played and what time they will appear. This job is becoming more common as actual disc jockeys do less broadcasting and computers play a larger role in the radio industry.