Tell Me About Your Job

[Classicala]

What do you do for a living? Is it musical based? I'm just interested to see what everyone does around here

Overall, do you enjoy your work? Would you change anything about your job or decisions you have made in the past?

[MaestroX]

Unfortunalty my job does not involve music...yet

During the week I have college but at weekends I work in a shop (I hate it). I also do webdesign for a few clients on the side.

[Rey]

I don't work. I'm a student in highschool right now. I need to get a job soon though, because I feel bad for being dependant on my mom for money. I try not to buy things too often. (sheet music included ;_; )

[somtow]

I run an opera company, but it's not exactly a job. Some would consider it a millstone.... at its best, it's amazing.

[PeterG]

Hi,

I'm a chemical engineer working full time for a big chemical company and love to be engineer. But I love to make music too, it was a wish to be a professional musician, but I lack the talent to be absolutely great in it. My music teacher put it like this; either you become a conductor or you keep making music as a hobby and go be an engineer so you can pay for everything you want in this hobby.

[tengku_ryo]

My job as a musician, I play violin for living, I do enjoy it til last..nothing else. I dream for creating my own style from my own tradition music ( Malay ) that one day I can introduce it to whole world..so I think I would not change it.

[chckn8r]

Originally Posted by PeterG

My music teacher put it like this; either you become a conductor or you keep making music as a hobby and go be an engineer so you can pay for everything you want in this hobby.

Hey Peter,

I hope your music teacher qualified that statement as there's a whole lot more opportunities than aspiring to be a conductor. With the continuing ease with which computers make music creation, manipulation and distribution more and more accessible to everyone, the options grow to be so much more!

There's always going to be a need for musicians and acoustic instruments - nothing will be able to replace them - but computers, samplers, DAWs, etc bring down the barrier to entry into so many different fields - composition, engineering, mashing, etc...

Talent to master an instrument and be able to play it well is a very sought-after skill and I admire those who have the dedication to do it, but I personally I don't believe that physically mastering an instrument (be it a physical instrument or computer/mixing board) is necessarily a pre-requisite for all careers in music. You also need a couple other things - things that live in your brain: creativity/musicianship and something I see a lot of folks neglecting: tenacity!

You need to be able to get out there and blow your own horn (figuratively)! I've seen a lot of "If I post my music / send it out, people will love it and discover me..." Then they get depressed when no one calls. You've got to be able to be that (non-obnoxious) pain in the butt and give people a reason to notice you and know why you're important.

Okay, I'll stop my rant.

To answer Classicala's question, I wear a bunch of different hats, but they come in three main categories: business manager, composer and audio engineer. I think I can say that I do business manager about 40-50% of the time and the other two a combined 50-60% of the time.

[ttw]

Retired mathematician and before that, university professor.

[Thorolf]

^ Hey, grand! I used to be an unusual math talent myself, but computing, and then music, got the better of me, and now I make a living from conducting choirs (and everything else creatively connected to music).

I also keep the house for my doctor wife and two small kids. Big job as well!

Regards

[Majesty]

I teach classical piano, theory/composition and conduct at a performance arts school. Also, I'm always trying to promote myself in hopes of gaining commissions. I don't do as much performing on piano as I should.