29 Ways to Know You're a Music Teacher

1. You know you’re a music teacher if it’s totally normal to play Christmas music in October.

2. You know you’re a music teacher if you more often find yourself humming Yankee Doodle than Taylor Swift.

3. You know you’re a music teacher if you have to explain to everyone that yes, this is your real job.

4. You know you’re a music teacher if you find yourself trying to correct bad television performances. (out-of-tune national anthem broadcasts, anyone?)

5. You know you’re a music teacher if your favorite stores are Staples and the local music shop.

6. You know you’re a music teacher if your internet browser homepage is IMSLP.

7. You know you’re a music teacher if you have

an instrument repair technician on speed dial.

8. You know you’re a music teacher if you can tell stories about students and almost any kind of “bodily function”…

9. You know you’re a music teacher if everybody you meet tells you, “I regret quitting music lessons.”

10. You know you’re a music teacher if you own multiple items of clothing with music notation all over them.

11. You know you’re a music teacher if a student has hugged you after they started to cry.

12. You know you’re a music teacher if your holiday bonus comes in the form of chocolate, coffee mugs, and gift cards.

13. You know you’re a music teacher if you feel absolutely no shame about jumping around or making funny noises in front of just about anyone.

14. You know you’re a music teacher if playing with toys is a just a normal part of your work day.

15. You know you’re a music teacher if you can tell a student hasn’t practiced before he/she even begins to play.

16. You know you’re a music teacher if you have nightmares about long fingernails, sprained wrists, and braces.

17. You know you’re a music teacher if there’s no such thing as a day off.

18. You know you’re a music teacher if you don’t ever leave home unshowered and in sweats… just in case you run into a student or parent!

19. You know you’re a music teacher if you tell jokes that nobody else understands. (A C, an E-flat, and a G walk into a bar…)

20. You know you’re a music teacher if you can easily redirect any of your student’s tangential comments into the lesson plan.

21. You know you’re a music teacher if you understand the value of discipline and hard work, and you like to reward discipline and hard work with stickers!

22. You know you’re a music teacher if you realize that mistakes don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things… but go back and try it again, slower this time.

23. You know you’re a music teacher if you’ve counted to four more times than you’ve done anything else. Ever.

24. You know you are a music teacher if “early dinner” means eating at 8PM.

25. You know you are a music teacher if you get excited to see new colors of “Post-it Notes.”

26. You know you are a music teacher if you dislike “Heart and Soul,” “Pachelbel’s Canon,” and “Fur Elise.”

27. You know you are a music teacher if you have to explain that there is a college degree for teaching music.

28. You know you're a music teacher if you harmonize with the vacuum cleaner!

29. You know you’re a music teacher if you love your job and can’t imagine yourself doing anything else!