Why MTNA Professional Certification?

For MTNA

• Fosters excellence in music education through the development of criteria, standards, and guidelines for assessing educational competencies in performance, music theory, music history/literature, and pedagogy/teacher education.
• Assures the educational community, the general public, and other agencies or organizations that the MTNA Professional Certification Program for applied music teachers has been clearly defined with appropriate objectives.
• Provides a national forum for the discussion and consideration of concerns relevant to the preservation and advancement of standards in the field of music and music education.
• Develops a national unity and strength for the purpose of maintaining the position of music study in the family of fine arts and humanities and providing qualified teachers to guide that study.
• Sets a uniform national minimum standard of achievement without restricting the development of new ideas, experimentation, or the expansion of personal standards.

For the Music Teacher

• Offers a process by which teachers may examine and update their libraries, teaching methods, business practices and philosophies.
• Encourages improvement in teaching through continuous self-study and planning.
• Raises the likelihood for a higher level of teacher competency and effectiveness.
• Provides a goal for personal professional achievement for music teachers.
• Increases the potential for earning power for music teachers.
• Improves the level of professionalism within the field of music teaching.
• Identifies for the public competent music teachers.