Top 10 Musicians Who Are or Were Teachers

I didn't want to make the list title very long, and I said "teachers," but it includes everything from school to university teaching, lecturing, training, instructing, and coaching.

Ranking depends on:
- Their own music skills (better musicians should be higher)
- The level of their teaching (e.g., college/university-level teaching should be higher)
- The length of their teaching career
- The effectiveness of their teaching (e.g., Joe Satriani and Mike Mangini trained other musicians)
- Whether they liked teaching

The Top Ten

  1. Brian May

    Brian Harold May (born July 19, 1947) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist. He is best known as the lead guitarist of Queen. He co-founded the band in 1970 and contributed iconic guitar parts and vocal harmonies to hits like Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, and Another One... read more

    In 1971, he was a math and science teacher at South London's Stockwell Manor. "It was very challenging," he said. "You couldn't get the children to attend unless they were incredibly interested in what you were saying. I had an advantage because I was young and could speak to them in their own language."

    May says he enjoyed the job, except for one class when he passed out scissors to be used to cut out shapes. "Half an hour later, they were attacking each other, blood and paper everywhere!"

  2. Mike Mangini

    Mike Mangini is an American drummer known for his technical proficiency and teaching expertise. He was the drummer for the progressive metal band Dream Theater from 2010 to 2023, following the departure of founding member Mike Portnoy. Mangini has also held several records for drum speed and served as... read more

    A metal drummer who was an Associate Professor and faculty member at Berklee College of Music (Percussion Department). He left the college around 2010 when he joined Dream Theater. His predecessor in Dream Theater, Mike Portnoy, was a student at this same college and department.

    I put Mike Mangini higher than Brian May because Mangini taught at a much higher level and did it for a much longer time than Brian. Both are great musicians.

  3. Peter Lennodo

    Peter Lennodo is a British musician. He is also a composer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the vocalist, lead guitarist, and main songwriter of the rock band The Arcana.

  4. Art Garfunkel

    Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer, poet, and actor. He gained fame in the 1960s as one half of the folk rock duo Simon and Garfunkel, alongside Paul Simon. The duo became known for classic hits such as "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "The Sound of Silence."

    From 1971 to 1972, he taught math at the Litchfield Private School in Connecticut.

  5. Joe Satriani

    Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956) is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, with many of his former students achieving fame, including Steve Vai, Larry LaLonde, Rick Hunolt, Kirk Hammett, Andy Timmons, Charlie... read more

    Guitar instructor/teacher. For details, you can visit my list - Top 10 Best Students of Joe Satriani.

  6. Apostolos Apollo Papathanasio

    Apostolos Apollo Papathanasio is a Swedish metal singer of Greek descent known for his work with Spiritual Beggars and formerly with Firewind. He has also performed with bands such as Meduza, Evil Masquerade, Gardenian, and Richard Andersson's projects Majestic and Time Requiem. His powerful and versatile... read more

    Apollo is a metal singer who has been working as a music teacher for a school in Halmstad, Sweden. I wish he was my music teacher. Try these songs he sings: Spiritual Beggars - Sweet Magic Pain, Dreamer, Turn the Tide, A New Dawn Rising.

  7. Greg Graffin

    Gregory Walter Graffin is an American punk rock singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, college lecturer, and author. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the punk band Bad Religion, which he co-founded in 1980. Graffin also earned a Ph.D. in zoology and has taught natural science courses at universities... read more

    A punk rock musician. With a Ph.D. from Cornell, he teaches biology at Cornell.

  8. Chuck Billy

    Charles "Chuck" Billy is an American vocalist best known as the frontman of the thrash metal band Testament. He joined the band in 1986, replacing original vocalist Steve Souza. Billy is recognized for his distinctive vocal style and his Pomo Native American heritage.

    A thrash metal singer who was a safety lecturer for truck drivers for 17 years.

  9. J.T. Taylor

    The lead singer for Kool and the Gang was a nursery school teacher before that.

  10. Lord Worm

    Dan Greening, known by his stage name Lord Worm, is the original vocalist of Cryptopsy, a Canadian technical death metal band. He contributed to the band's early albums, which helped define their intense and chaotic sound. Outside of music, he has also worked as an English teacher for adults.

    English teacher. Death metal vocalist. Side note: to me, this guy has the most brutal death growl.

    11. The Newcomers
  11. ?

    Kim Larsen

  12. ?

    Mike Score

    13. The Contenders

  13. Sting

    Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE, known professionally by his stage name Sting, is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist, actor, and philanthropist. He is best known as the lead singer and bassist for the band The Police. Sting has also enjoyed a successful solo career... read more

    He taught elementary English from 1974 to 1976 at St. Paul's First School in the northeastern English town of Cramlington. But he says he didn't like teaching, so he isn't in the top spots.

  14. Roberta Flack

    Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 - February 24, 2025) was an American singer who topped the Billboard charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," "Killing Me Softly with His Song," and "Feel Like Makin' Love." She holds the distinction of being the first solo artist... read more

    A high-school English teacher in North Carolina and later a music teacher. In 1986, she said of her teaching experience, "The kids had never been actively involved in singing. I exposed them to Bach, Mozart, Handel, all the great choral things."

  15. Gene Simmons

    Chaim Witz, known professionally by his stage name Gene Simmons, is an Israeli-American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, actor, and television personality. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead singer of the rock band Kiss, which he co-founded in 1973 and performed with... read more

  16. Ralf Scheepers

    Ralf Scheepers is the lead vocalist of the German heavy metal band Primal Fear. He is known for his high-pitched, tenor-like singing voice and often uses shrieks similar to those of Rob Halford of Judas Priest. His vocal range spans nearly four octaves in the modal register and includes powerful baritone... read more

    A metal singer who is also a vocal coach/teacher.

  17. Steve Miller

    Steven Haworth Miller is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, known as the leader of the Steve Miller Band. The band is best known for hits such as The Joker, Fly Like an Eagle, and Abracadabra. Miller was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.

    He taught master classes at USC for students enrolled in the school's music and music industry programs.

  18. Sheryl Crow

    Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of pop, rock, folk, country, and blues. She has won multiple Grammy Awards and has released several successful albums over her career.

  19. Kenny Aronoff

    He is John Mellencamp's drummer who also joined the faculty at Indiana University's School of Music to teach percussion. After several years as an associate professor, his success as a session drummer forced him to quit the classroom.

  20. Linda Spa

    She was a member of Tangerine Dream, playing sax and keyboard, but in recent years she works as a secondary school music teacher in Austria. I know because I used to be one of her students. Without a doubt, one of the nicest teachers there is. It was basically impossible not to pass her class.

  21. Myles Kennedy

    Myles Richard Kennedy is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge. He is also the lead vocalist in Slash's current band, Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. Kennedy has received critical acclaim for... read more

  22. Pat Benatar

    Patricia Mae Andrzejewski, known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American singer, songwriter, and four-time Grammy Award winner. She rose to prominence in the 1980s with hit singles such as Hit Me with Your Best Shot, Love Is a Battlefield, and We Belong. Benatar was inducted into the Rock and... read more

  23. Nocturno Culto

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