BY TRACY FRIEDLANDER
Tracy Friedlander is the founder of Crushing Classical. We’d like to welcome her to CutCommon as she shares her industry advice column with us!
I have two degrees in music performance, and went to school for seven years to get them.
Between my undergraduate degree and my Masters, I took a year off. I did that because I was conflicted — I saw that it was an option, but also really didn’t want to be in school anymore.
A year later, I had come up with no other options and decided to head back to get my Masters degree in horn performance. I wanted to move toward a career in music and, unfortunately, I saw school as the only path to get there.
But now, there are so many resources and programs that can also benefit a career in music, and a crucial tool that connects you to them — the internet. All it takes is some creativity and guts to create a custom careers model for yourself, and you don’t have to wait until you’ve completed post-graduate study to do it.
If I had it to do all over again, I can tell you, I would do things a lot differently.
Today, there are more opportunities than ever. You can learn about, explore, and connect with the right people to create an educational experience that is unique to you. Experiencing life will give you more answers about what you want for it than choosing only to sit inside the practice room.
So to help you forge a career in the professional world, I’ve put together a list of 20 things you can get started on. This list can be applied to graduates and music students alike, if you are daring and want a jump-start on creating something.
20 ways to enhance your music career outside uni
✓ Start your own ensemble
Create a concert series. Build the audience for it. Learn how to communicate the concept of your artistic vision, and you’ll start to discover ways to seek financial support, or grants you can apply for. Learn the business side of creating an artistic ensemble.
✓ Take auditions
Don’t do it “just for the experience”. Take every audition possible. Audition for international orchestras, too.
If you think you want to be an orchestral musician, if you’re hell-bent on this for a job, take every audition you can . Play for your peers. Create an audition club. Learn what it takes to really play the game by giving it a go (and do it before you have six figures in debt and a pressure to pay that back).
No one is stopping you from taking lessons with whomever you need for audition prep. If you really want this , get a head start on it instead of waiting until you’ve completed your study.
✓ Work in the industry
Find internships in arts organisations you love, or apply for a job inside a music or arts organisation. There are some great jobs in arts administration, so go learn what the business side of playing in an orchestra is all about.
✓ Travel
See the world. Take lessons from people in other parts of the world. Go hear lots of live music — orchestras and every genre. Experience the world.
✓ Live at home
Gasp! What did I just say?
If your parents will have you, go live at home. It’s especially wise if they live close to or in a city with professional musicians who may be suitable teachers for you. You’ll save money, and can even travel to take lessons with the money you save on rent.
✓ Start a business
Start something unrelated to music that could possibly fund your music career.
Find a real need in the world. Make that thing — a thing or service people actually want and need. It doesn’t have to be a big business; you can use your skills to find your own niche, and offer it to the world.
✓ Write in a journal or blog
Write every day. Post about it on social media. The more you write, the better you’ll get at it. And it’ll help you build skills to market your music in future, too.
✓ Find a hobby
So many musicians don’t even have one, on account of practising a singular thing and not making time for other things. I’m know a woman who is a chef and violinist — she has an audience that supports both things, and she’s currently building a career around those two loves.
✓ Work for a charity
Contribute your time to a worthy cause. You’ll learn how to raise money, and it may help you structure your own music ensemble or organisation.
✓ Want to be a teacher?
Volunteer to teach lessons with a young music program. Observe band rehearsals. Watch how the teachers do it.
Are you still passionate about this path?
✓ Work in sales
Everything is sales. Whether you are negotiating your contract at your new symphony job or asking someone for money for your non-profit, this is sales.
Learn how to tell great stories, and interest someone in yours enough to pay you, give you a raise, or invest in your thing.
✓ Develop yourself
Discover how you can be a better leader; how you can listen better; how you can ask for what you want by contributing to others. All of this lies in looking within.
Seek out ways to develop yourself. Being a great leader in the arts, music, and in your life — this is where it starts.
✓ Learn a new language
Immerse yourself. Go study abroad. You’ll learn how to communicate with artists in other countries (and if you sing, it’ll come in handy for technique).
✓ Tackle a problem in classical music
Not enough gender representation in concerts? Decide that you’re not going to sit idly by. Program works by diverse composers. You have the power to make a difference.
✓ Create a vlog
Document your life. Show people what you do outside of music school, and how you still learn and develop professionally. Create a plan — document that. Maybe you can even sell your program in the future?
✓ Grow an audience
For your vlog, or even your own concert series, if you’re part of an emerging ensemble or forging a solo career. Do this on Instagram and Facebook. Post every day on topics people want to hear about.
Learn how to get people to engage with you on social media, and work to provide valuable content.
✓ Learn how to sing…
… hey, maybe even play guitar?
It doesn’t really matter what instrument you choose – be open to adopting different styles of music. You might find it opens the door to more gigs.
As a classically trained musician, you have the skills to approach opportunity in your career.
✓ Compose a piece
Yes, you read that right. How is it that I’ve made it through seven years of college and two degrees, and no one ever asked me to compose something — or even arrange something, for that matter?
Compose it for yourself, or share it with your friends for feedback.
Even if you don’t forge a composition career, you’ll learn plenty about music in the process.
✓ Learn how to improvise on your instrument
Many experts agree that true mastery and confidence comes from being so comfortable with music that you can play off the page. This is something I’m taking on only now, as a 40-something-year-old!
✓ Learn music history — outside the classroom
Go see it yourself. If you’re learning about Baroque or Classical music, go to Vienna, Germany, and Italy, for instance. I know I already said this once, but if you want to learn about music, experience it in a place where it’s relevant to modern culture and history alike!
Make your own list!
What do you want to do? What do you wish you did? If you like, you can share it with us or add it in the comments!
Find out more about Tracy’s work on her Crushing Classical Facebook page, Instagram @crushingclassical, and on Medium. You can also sign up to her mailing list here.
Images via Unsplash. Featured image of Tracy supplied.
