Most states in the country have adopted a broad P-12 licensure for music teacher certification (Henry, 2005). This broad licensure puts a strain on music teacher education programs. Faculty create degree programs which must include coursework from internal and external influencers, all while trying to create a curriculum for preservice teachers that incorporates a wide breadth of topics, balanced with enough depth for teachers to be prepared for success in the profession. Harsh criticisms have risen about music teacher education programs shortfalls in trying to strike a balance between breadth and depth (Forsythe, et. al., 2007; Legette, 2013; Leonhard,1985). Much of the content within a music teacher education program reflect guidance from and is approved by a single external influence–the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). The NASM is the national accrediting agency for schools of music who voluntarily choose to subscribe to this oversight. Their accreditation standards are the most recognized and supported in the country, and because of that accrediting function, NASM has great power and influence over music programs in higher education (Ester & Brinkman, 2005). However, research informing the requirements from the NASM and their effectiveness are scarce (Forsythe et. al., 2007). The purpose of this research is to explore early-career music educators' perceptions of the value, effectiveness, and relevance of their NASM accredited undergraduate music studies in preparation for teaching. A marketing research approach and subsequent analysis provides empirical evidence of novice music educator's perception of the efficacy of teacher preparation curricula as they correspond to each NASM guideline. Study participants (n=36) were early-career teachers (1-3 years professional experience) from the National Association for Music Educators Northeast Region who responded to a survey request. In the survey, participants used a 1-5 Likert-type scale to rate the importance of NASM competencies to their first years of teaching and the instructional performance of their music teacher education program. Lastly, participants rated the overall importance and performance of their music teacher education programs. Survey results indicate the overall average perceived importance of all music competencies from the NASM in music teacher education programs (MTEP) are rated higher than the overall perceived performance of instruction (3.61, 2.81). Analysis of the results also revealed a discouraging gap between the high importance of general, vocal, and instrumental music curriculum knowledge and the less than sufficient performance by music teacher education programs. A similar gap in laboratory and field teaching experiences in individual, small group, and whole group settings was identified. The results of this study indicate a need for more reflective research into music teacher education programs and the competencies required by the National Association of Schools of Music. / Music Education