Careers in music??

Entry level is club playing which is $15 an hour 4 hours a night, usually two nights a week. It is not impossible for even just a pianist or guitarist to make $2,000 a week eventually doing just dinner houses.

There is teaching, which requires at least a BA and a teacher credential for Primary and Secondary schools, pay varies from a low of 22K to a high of 35K starting and as much as 55K at the current time after 20 years in a Union shop.

There is tutoring and teaching at music stores, which requires only the ability to play and teach. $25 an hour.

There is symphony work, which requires an ability to play as part of an ensemble and it’s through audition, a conservatory and degree might help, but it’s mostly your playing that counts.

Pay is between $18K and $35K depending on where the symphy is located.

There is session work at the studios, but you have to be union (AFM) base pay is $400 per 5 minute song/per 3 hours, more if you double on another instrument. You need to know musicians who do this work and bring you in or recomend you or you need to know a contractor, engineer or producer who calls upon you. You need to be in London, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles or Nashville for most of this work.

There is touring work, which is also union. Base pay is like $200 per week plus free travel, meals and hotel rooms (you double up with someone). Yu generally do 3 shows a week. A tour runs 15-25 weeks and can go overseas.

Interesting true story, the bass player in a band got sick or something, so this local band, which has a recording session blocked, called in a friend of theirs who taught ARt at Cal State Northridge and played bass for the fun of it and he did the sessoin and James Taylor was next door and he stopped in and listend and asked the Bass player if he wanted to go on tour with him.

That’s how Leland Skylar got his start and eventually teamed with Russ Kunkle to become “the session” doing work with everyone in the studios including that famous Running on Empty album by Jacksone Browne and the tour.

Most colleges give BAs in music. A few give Masters and Doctorates. A few give technician certificates.

The degrees are basically for playing or singing.

http://www.issues-mag.com/apr7/school.phtml

There are profiles on Julliard, Berklee, USC and MIT there

Once upon a time Christopher Parkening was the head of the Guitar department at USC.

You have to watch that guys hands move to appreaciate him. He’s like a humming bird doing Bach.