Music Therapists
Plan, organize, direct, or assess clinical and evidenced-based music therapy interventions to positively influence individuals' physical, psychological, cognitive, or behavioral status.
$77,930 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
of the working time. Estimate.
- 70%
- 5%
- 25%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 57%. Today's estimate: 61%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 30 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 9% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| 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.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 1.3 h38 min to 2.5 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Design music therapy experiences, using various musical elements to meet client's goals or objectives.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 7% | 42 min21 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Integrate behavioral, developmental, improvisational, medical, or neurological approaches into music therapy treatments.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.1 h | 94%Half by now | |
| Apply current technology to music therapy practices.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 2.1 h50 min to 4.2 h | 72%Half by now | |
| Sing or play musical instruments, such as keyboard, guitar, or percussion instruments.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Assess client functioning levels, strengths, and areas of need in terms of perceptual, sensory, affective, communicative, musical, physical, cognitive, social, spiritual, or other abilities.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Compose, arrange, or adapt music for music therapy treatments.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now | |
| Engage clients in music experiences to identify client responses to different styles of music, types of musical experiences, such as improvising or listening, or elements of music, such as tempo or harmony.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min17 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Document evaluations, treatment plans, case summaries, or progress or other reports related to individual clients or client groups.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 4% | 33 min17 min to 1.1 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Gather diagnostic data from sources such as case documentation, observations of clients, or interviews with clients or family members.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Improvise instrumentally, vocally, or physically to meet client's therapeutic needs.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.