# Music Therapists

> Plan, organize, direct, or assess clinical and evidenced-based music therapy interventions to positively influence individuals' physical, psychological, cognitive, or behavioral status.

- **SOC code:** 29-1129.02
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1129-02
- **Also known as:** Board Certified Music Therapist (MT-BC), LCAT (Licensed Creative Arts Therapist), Music Therapist, Neurologic Music Therapist, Public School System Music Therapist, Therapist, Activity Therapist, Certified Music Therapist
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Design or provide music therapy experiences to address client needs, such as using music for self-care, adjusting to life changes, improving cognitive functioning, raising self-esteem, communicating, or controlling impulses.
- Design music therapy experiences, using various musical elements to meet client's goals or objectives.
- Sing or play musical instruments, such as keyboard, guitar, or percussion instruments.
- Communicate with clients to build rapport, acknowledge their progress, or reflect upon their reactions to musical experiences.
- Customize treatment programs for specific areas of music therapy, such as intellectual or developmental disabilities, educational settings, geriatrics, medical settings, mental health, physical disabilities, or wellness.
- Establish client goals or objectives for music therapy treatment, considering client needs, capabilities, interests, overall therapeutic program, coordination of treatment, or length of treatment.
- Document evaluations, treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.
- Assess client functioning levels, strengths, and areas of need in terms of perceptual, sensory, affective, communicative, musical, physical, cognitive, social, spiritual, or other abilities.
- Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to music therapy.
- Improvise instrumentally, vocally, or physically to meet client's therapeutic needs.
- Gather diagnostic data from sources such as case documentation, observations of clients, or interviews with clients or family members.
- Plan or structure music therapy sessions to achieve appropriate transitions, pacing, sequencing, energy level, or intensity in accordance with treatment plans.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Psychology _(knowledge)_
- Therapy and Counseling _(knowledge)_
- Fine Arts _(knowledge)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(transferable_skill)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Service Orientation _(transferable_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Psychology _(Specialized Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Learning Strategies _(Specialized Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Avid Technology Pro Tools
- Electronic health record EHR software
- Email software
- Musical instrument digital interface MIDI software
- Virtual instrument software
- Web browser software

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 42nd percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 58th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 30th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 11.5% growth (Growing fast); 4.1k annual openings; 56.1k → 62.5k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $65,010; 19,320 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-29-1129-02_