Music education coursework for pre-service teachers must change with development in culture, technology, and student needs. This study is based upon data collected from graduating alumni with a degree in music education from a university in the upper midwestern region of the United States. The participants are all currently in-service teachers. Data was collected to determine what content in-service music teachers suggested is critical for teacher preparation. Research questions guiding this study are: 1) what are the most critical topics in music education, 2) how did your university pre-service teaching coursework align with the most critical topics in music education, and 3) what content and skills are essential for first-year teachers.The design of the study employed a mixed methods approach to research in a convergent parallel design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). Music graduates from the university from 2011-2024 were invited to do a survey and an interview. Quantitative data was sorted and analyzed for common themes using SPSS, and qualitative data was analyzed using open and axial coding techniques. The data was all considered, and conclusions were drawn based on all forms of data.Results included four primary topics that in-service teachers indicated were most critical to pre-service teacher education: 1) classroom management strategies, 2) teaching outside their primary emphasis (related to teaching classes using non-primary instruments or content), 3) finances - budget, travel, fund-raising, and 4) time management. They noted they felt very prepared on their primary instrument but would have liked more emphasis on the piano and/or a non-primary instrument. Current topics that had not been covered or needed updating included 1) Artificial Intelligence, 2) current uses and types of technology, and 3) non-traditional music classes.In conclusion, topics including classroom management strategies, teaching outside their primary emphasis, finances, time management, AI and current technology is content that in-service teachers believe should be included in undergraduate music teacher preparation. Although some of these topics had been part of their undergraduate coursework (classroom management, finances, technology) they felt the rest should also be included. They did not include any content they felt could be eliminated, however, so this may mean the offerings for music teachers should expand to include all of these critical areas.