This paper employs ArcGIS, a geographic information system (GIS) software, to map the distribution of music access in New York City elementary public schools, highlighting persistent, inequitable disparities based on race and socioeconomic status. GIS research offers music education sociologists a plethora of tools to visualize demographic factors and academic outcomes in relation to music education, school by school. Using ArcGIS mapmakers can display quantifiable data in color and size, allowing for multiple variables to be visualized at the same time alongside data on the presence or absence of music instruction, thereby providing a more detailed analysis of the extent of music instruction in any given school, or community context. Despite New York State laws that mandate music in public schools, and despite robust evidence that music instruction confers cognitive benefits and promotes the development of important social and emotional skills, too many students go through school with little to no music. In NYC and across the country, disparities in music access often result from circumstances of place, race, and class. These music education inequities that persist in New York City, the largest school system in the U.S. The findings in this paper attempt to answer the research questions:1) How do geographic variables (district/neighborhood) and socio-demographic variables (SES, PTA funding, race/ethnicity, disability, English learners, enrollment/school size) and school variables (charter vs. traditional public, student achievement) relate to the presence of music instruction in NYC public elementary schools?2) How have the levels of music instruction changed since the pandemic, if at all?The paper adopts a critical social justice framework to investigate the geographic distribution of music access in New York City elementary public schools. This critical social justice perspective sheds light on the interlocking facets of structural inequality and socioeconomic factors, and how these manifest in disparities in music access across NYC elementary schools. By employing ArcGIS, the paper aims to visualize the spatial patterns of music instruction in NYC elementary public schools, identify areas with limited access, and show how the racial and/or socioeconomic composition of schools and their surrounding areas correlates with the presence or absence of music instruction.Various geospatial techniques, such as geocoding school locations, mapping choropleths, and overlaying datasets, will be employed to create informative visualizations with ArcGIS. The NYCDOE publishes data on music instruction in traditional public schools for the 2024-2025 school year in the Annual Arts in Schools Reports (AASR). I will manually input these data into ArcGIS and analyze them alongside base layers containing demographic information about schools and census tracts. AASR data will be complemented by secondary demographic data collected by the NYCDOE Demographic Snapshot, which provides information on SES, race/ethnicity, disability, English learners, enrollment, PTA funding, and geographic (district/neighborhood) variables.Findings show that music instruction has decreased in the City since the pandemic, and that students of color and in lower-income neighborhoods are disproportionately more likely to be deprived of music. By integrating diverse methods of inquiry, this research sheds light on the disparities in music access in NYC elementary public schools, revealing how systemic inequality translates to locate realities. This paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings for elementary school curricula and arts education policies more broadly. It is my hope that the stark visualization of these data will encourage policymakers and other scholars to advocate for equitable access to music education for all students.