PRINT: Musicians' Lifestyles: Creating a Life in Music

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Musicians' Lifestyles: Creating a Life in Music
Janis Weller

The life and lifestyle of musicians vary enormously depending on the career decisions you make. Here are ten multiple-choice questions to get you thinking about some lifestyle choices that might be important when looking for work that is productive and fulfilling. Remember, there are no right answers to any of these questions—any one of the options could be right for you. All answers can work in some arena of the music world, but some choices will be a better fit than others in certain jobs and careers. It is, of course, also very likely that your work expectations and requirements will change as the years go by. Many musicians are delighted to tour extensively early in their careers, then scale back somewhat when families come along, for example.

So take the quiz to learn a little more about yourself at whatever stage in your training or career you might be. You may be surprised.

1. My ideal workday would:
     a) start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m.
     b) start at noon and end at midnight
     c) be different every day

2. I would be willing to take the following number of auditions
    before I landed an orchestra job:
     a) 1 - 3
     b) 4 - 10
     c) as many as it took

3. It’s December. I’m a professional musician with a family to support, so I:
     a) refuse to accept holiday gigs (it’s the holidays!)
     b) pick and choose a few gigs and sacrifice a few presents for the family
     c) postpone family holiday activities to get as many paying gigs as possible

For each of the following questions, choose the statement that most accurately describes your attitude:

4. I prefer to:
     a) be the master of my own schedule and priorities
     b) take direction from others
     c) work as part of a team

5. My lifestyle preference is:
     a) “the good life”—nice car, eating out at restaurants, owning a home
     b) “whatever works”—driving a 10-year-old beater, mac-n-cheese,
          renting a cheap apartment
     c) “movin’ on up”—starting out on a shoestring is okay,
         but I want the best eventually

6. I thrive in the following environment:
     a) high energy, high stress situations
     b) laid back and safe situations
     c) a changing environment that isn’t too crazy
         but isn’t guaranteed peace and quiet, either

7. I would be happiest with:
     a) a regular paycheck (both amount and frequency) and steady work
     b) a free schedule that doesn’t tie me down but doesn’t guarantee
         steady income either
     c) a steady part-time job that doesn’t pay all the bills, but it’s a start

8. My attitude toward compromise is:
     a) I’m really easy-going; whatever people need is fine
     b) I’m pretty set in my ways once I’ve made up my mind
     c) I’ve got strong ideas, but I’ll listen to yours

9. I take rejection and:
     a) work even harder (it challenges me)
     b) back off to recover (rejection is hard for me)
     c) keep on going as if nothing happened

10. My organization skills are:
     a) unbelievable--I always know where every scrap of paper is,
         where I need to be and when
     b) not so hot--I can get by with a great performance,
         so who will notice if I’m late?
     c) I’m working on them

Now review your answers. Is the security of regular hours and a regular paycheck important to you? Do you enjoy lots of variety and freedom? Do you work best with clear structure and expectations? How resilient are you? Can you accept the fact that performing musicians work mostly weekends, evenings and holidays, the times many other people are playing? What is your interpersonal style, that is, how well do you play with others?

Next, look over the sampling of music careers listed below. Using the insights you have gained about yourself from this self-assessment survey along with the skills and interests you have developed to this point (honoring your passions is even better), circle all the careers that most appeal to you in each category. For example, if you answered that your ideal day would start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m., you might not be happy performing in an orchestra that has concerts four or five evenings (including weekends) every week. But those hours might be a better match if you pursue work as an elementary music teacher, music therapist or arts attorney, for example. Circle as many careers as look interesting to you, then try to imagine ways you might combine them creatively.

Typically, musicians create careers for themselves made up of a wide range of different activities, collecting a whole array of different musical “hats” throughout their careers. Each of these hats may require different skills and work styles, may take place at different times of day and types of locations and may pay quite differently too. Often the hats worn by a musician may intersect with each other, but they may be completely different too. For example, imagine a symphony musician who teaches cello, conducts a youth orchestra and also composes for and directs a church choir. A singer-songwriter might double as a recording engineer and producer and do all her own booking and management, as another example.

One of the great lifestyle benefits in the music world is this option to tailor-make a career around your own strengths and interests.

Circle all of the musical areas that interest you in each of the following categories:

Perform	Teach	Compose	Conduct
Large group Small group Solo Concerts Shows Gigs Recording Touring Collaborative Church Military	Private Classroom Pre-school Primary Secondary College Community Residencies Suzuki Mentoring	Concert Theatre Opera Arranger Copiest Ad jingles Songwriter Lyricist Sacred Film/TV Orchestrator	Concert Theatre Opera Youth Adult School Community Commercial Church choir Vocal Instrumental

Tech	Administer	Medicine	Other
Engineer Roadie Producer Radio Stage hand DJ Sound design Sound editing Music editor	Booking Managing Directing Producing Librarian Presenter Contractor Promoter Critic Sales Union executive Publicist A & R rep Arts attorney	Music therapy Physical therapy Occupational therapy Psychology Music medicine	Instrument maker Repair Acoustician Musicologist

And finally, in a nutshell, here are some typical elements of the musician’s lifestyle—

Hours

are usually long!
often vary dramatically from day-to-day, week-to-week, season-to-season
lots of evenings, weekends and holidays—musicians work when others play and relax
you usually get to avoid rush hour!

Wages

are flexible and variable--you may earn a lot for some work and little for others
may be negotiable with the person hiring you
are often paid on contract which may not provide medical or other benefits (paid vacations, paid sick days, pension, etc.)
Some of the most important work for advancing a music career is often unpaid—practicing, planning, networking, promoting

Working Conditions

are sometimes very structured and at other times completely self-directed
may include both familiar and unfamiliar spaces (especially while touring)
range from high stress to boring
vary from very solitary (practice) to highly interactive (rehearsal and performance)
are rarely routine—each day is often very different from the next
often include many bosses and varied colleagues
require the ability to work both in teams and independently—to be flexible and adaptable
your role may be on center stage or in support and/or background roles
include a physical atmosphere that ranges from carefully controlled, to dark and smoky, to almost anything goes, like outdoor gigs.
For performers, high sound volumes are prevalent regardless of the musical genre. Both a symphony orchestra and a rock band can produce ear damaging sound levels and often require hearing protection devices