You should have the desire to work musically with people of all ages and all skill levels, and to explore the goals, content, and approaches of elementary music education. Spontaneity, creativity, and artistic and pedagogical skills are desired.

The Elementary Music Education program of study is particularly suitable for people who can perform at a high level on an instrument or vocally. If you would also like to work on an artistically multifaceted and interdisciplinary level, and you wish to expand your repertoire of expression in terms of improvisation and creation with instruments, body, and voice, then this is the right subject for you!

The versatility offered by an EME program of study enables personal growth, teaching skills at a high professional level, and a social and communal sense of purpose that can be clearly experienced at every moment, in addition to the joy of making music. Passing the aptitude test is obligatory.

You will study voice or your instrument as a major and minor, including individual instruction, ensemble work, choral singing, and music theory.

You will also study the artistic-pedagogical range of expression of EME in the fields of

• movement / dance, rhythm / percussion / elementary instrument playing,
• voice training / speech training,
• personal practice lessons in close connection with didactic and methodological issues,
• methodology / didactics / music education.

The artistic-pedagogical teaching program includes numerous practical courses and projects in close cooperation with music schools, general education schools, and other cultural and social institutions for children, adolescents, and adults.

The following topics from past semesters serve as examples of specialized practical teaching units in EME:

• Baby music class
• Elementary musical practice with preschool children
• Black light theater
• Musical theater for adolescents
• Projects in cooperation with the “Blauer Elefant” children’s support and education center in Mainz
• Sound installations
• Adult education
• Soundwalks

The standard period of study of eight semesters will conclude with your bachelor’s thesis and a final concert.

Stays abroad

Would you like to live abroad for a semester or a year? Do you want to learn another language and get to know a new culture? Or gain a different perspective on your particular subject? A stay abroad provides you with the perfect opportunity to achieve this and is possible with every degree program – either self-organized or by taking advantage of one of the popular exchange programs. This is made possible by various cooperation agreements and partnerships with foreign universities.

For more information on this topic, please visit our websites on studying abroad. Visit our student exchange platform for an overview of cooperating universities in your field.

This program of study does not require you to spend time abroad, but you nevertheless have the opportunity to do so.

Internships

An internship is planned for the 7th semester. The internship is individually designed to suit the student in terms of scope and field of application, and allows for job shadowing as well as individual teaching trials. The internship is complemented by a weekly colloquium.

Voluntary internships are another good opportunity to obtain more in-depth insight into a professional field.

An internship allows you to discover whether everyday life in a particular occupation suits your career expectations and interests. You can gain qualifications for a professional field and acquire important professional and personal skills to start a career. An internship helps you both shape your career path, and mold the remainder of your course sequence – in particular by selecting specializations that suit your practical experience.

You can find further information and relevant internships on the Career Service website.

Graduates of the Elementary Music Education program are currently in high demand on the job market and have interesting and diverse career opportunities: In addition to public and private music schools, Elementary Music Education graduates are also sought after in cooperative programs with kindergartens, schools, retirement homes, concert halls, and theaters, as well as in training and continuing education.

Not sure what to do after graduation? Don’t worry!

A university degree generally does not prepare you for a single profession but qualifies you for a wide range of career paths – for example, in research, in a typical profession related to your field of study, or in one of many other academic fields.

This is why career orientation is also part of your studies. Gaining practical experience is key, and you can do so through internships, working student positions, part-time jobs or voluntary work, for example.

JGU’s Career Service will support you throughout the entire process with information, advice, workshops and numerous events – from career orientation and working on your profile and skills to finding your dream job and successfully applying for it.