The process of choosing a career is, many times, a difficult decision. Many factors must be taken into account while deciding a career. Such factors usually include pay, work environment, and most importantly, what the person is interested in. Becoming a musician would be a highly fulfilling career for the reasons of broadening one’s musical abilities, people enjoying something that an individual made, and traveling the country, possibly even the world, for musical opportunities such as teaching, performing, and writing.
Musicians play an instrument, either for a recording or in front of live audiences, and usually choose to play multiple instruments, as well as write their own music (BLS). One will choose to play multiple instruments mainly because that skill will usually make the person more marketable and/or popular (BLS). A musician can also choose to play alone, in a small group, such as a band, or in an orchestra band (BLS). Many times, one will either choose to perform popular music, which draws in more attention than that of the second choice, a classical musician, which usually obtains paychecks more often (Greenwald.)
As an alternative to being a solo artist or part of a band, many people will choose to be a session musician, which means one will move from group to group while playing backup for each group, or for a solo artist (BLS). When first starting out, performers need to start out at fairly small venues, including bars, nightclubs, and parties (Greenwald). Though, if successful, a musician will become more famous among such local places and move on to bigger jobs and venues such as baseball games, on the radio, or even in movies (Greenwald). They get such opportunities usually by being discovere...
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...cons include your work being critically judged and the likelihood of rejection (Greenwald). Many can say that becoming a musician is a drastically complicated road, but no one can argue that successful musicians are some of the most influential individuals in society.
Works Cited
“Art/Music Therapist.” Career Cruising. N.p.. Web. 26 Nov 2013.
Dable, Jill. Personal Interview. 27 Nov 2013.
Greenwald, Ted. Music. Princeton: Peterson’s, 1992. Print.
“Music Teacher/Instructor.” Career Cruising. N.p.. Web. 26 Nov 2013.
“Musicians: Job Outlook and Career Information for Becoming a Professional Musician.” Education-Portal.com. N.p.. Web. 25 Nov 2013.
“Musicians and Singers.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. N.p.. Web. 26 Nov 2013.
Radbill, Catherine. Introduction to the Music Industry: An Entrepreneurial Approach. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2013. eBook.
In the article “The Case against College,” Linda Lee argues that upper-level education should only be for those who intend to go into jobs where a degree is essential such as medicine, law, and education. Lee dismantles the hope for higher education for those who are unsure of what they want to do or simply see it as the next step in life. Lee’s case is not specifically about why not to go to college; it is more about who belongs there and who does not. Receiving a degree, especially in the creative department of the music industry, may not be as important as society makes it out to be. Creativity is natural, and people are born with ingenuity; it cannot be taught. Lee’s argument is very fitting to those in the field of music. As a music business major, pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter, it is common knowledge that success in the music industry depends upon whom you know and how talented you are, not whether or not you have a degree.
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Becoming a music producer can mean discovering and helping make the careers of artists. However, it takes time, effort, training and contacts. That's because a music producer has plenty of responsibilities during an album's production, both on the creative and the business looks sides. The producer supervises all aspects of the recording process, from helping to select songs to contracting with session players and deciding the sound of the song, selecting the studio and engineers, booking studio time and overseeing the recording budget.
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