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What skills will I learn?
Music offers many different careers paths for you to follow
and each will bring you a different skillset. Playing an
instrument, composing material and per forming will help
to improve your memory, physical dexterity and levels of
concentration. You will learn self-discipline, how to per form
under pressure, how to engage an audience and develop
an ability to evaluate your progress. Working within other
sectors of the industry you could be developing technical
skills to record and mix music, communication skills to
share your enthusiasm for music with others, empathy to
improve the well being of others through music therapy,
specialist practical skills to build or repair instruments, and
business skills to promote ar tists and musical events.
What kind of person do I need to be?
To be successful as a musician you’ll need to demonstrate that you have
talent, a high level of musical ability, self-discipline and dedication. Success
will also depend on your creative ability, the extent to which you can
brand your own unique style as well as your level of confidence for either
performing in front of an audience or coping with rejection. The technical
and practical aspects of music will require you to have a good working
knowledge of electronics and electrical systems as well as an appreciation
for sound quality, pitch, rhythm, timing and acoustics. Excellent practical
skills for working with wood or metal will also be impor tant for instrument
repair or manufacture. Elsewhere in the music industry a patient and
encouraging approach will help you to motivate and teach pupils, having
the strength to cope with challenging situations will be needed when
helping people deal with emotional difficulties, and having good business
sense will be vital for sales and marketing.
How do I get there?
Having learnt to sing or play an instrument from an early age will give you
an advantage but as long as you have the talent, passion and dedication
can quickly progress your level of proficiency. Par t-time music classes
are available at many colleges, adult learning centres and performing
ar ts schools as well as with private tutors. Music qualifications and
graded exams are usually on offer. You can also study music at college
or university for which an audition may be required. A variety of courses
reflect the broad nature of the music industry and the qualifications
available range from cer tificates at Level 2 to postgraduate diplomas.
Specialist courses can include music technology, teaching and music
therapy amongst others. Alternatively, even with no formal qualifications,
you can attend shor t courses in musical instrument repair or as an
ar tist promote your talent through CDs, DVDs, MP3s and various social
networking sites.
Music