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Musicians and Singers

The occupation Musicians and Singers covers people who play one or more musical instruments or sing. One core duty is to perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings. The strongest interest signal is Artistic (6.7 of 7), then Enterprising (3.4) and Social, which gives it the code AES. Plan on a bachelor’s degree plus a period of work experience; O*NET labels this considerable preparation. Strength in speaking, monitoring, and active listening helps most here. The job can ask you to practice performances, individually or in rehearsal with other musicians, to master individual pieces of music or to maintain and improve skills. If you want creative work with room for original expression, keep it on your list. If you need research, analysis and working through hard problems, it may feel thin.

What they do

Play one or more musical instruments or sing. May perform on stage, for broadcasting, or for sound or video recording.

Main tasks

  • Perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings.
  • Practice performances, individually or in rehearsal with other musicians, to master individual pieces of music or to maintain and improve skills.
  • Specialize in playing a specific family of instruments or a particular type of music.
  • Play musical instruments as soloists, or as members or guest artists of musical groups such as orchestras, ensembles, or bands.
  • Provide the musical background for live shows, such as ballets, operas, musical theatre, and cabarets.
  • Play from memory or by following scores.

Skills

  • Speaking
  • Monitoring
  • Active Listening
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Critical Thinking

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You want room to make something in your own way.
  • You are ready to spend around four years on a degree, then build experience.
  • You are comfortable relying on speaking and monitoring.

May not suit you if

  • You prefer clear instructions to open creative briefs.
  • You want to spend most of your time analyzing and researching. Investigative rates 1.5 out of 7 here.
  • You want to avoid a four-year degree or its equivalent.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code AES takes the three highest, and Artistic comes first here.

Preparation

Considerable preparation. Most jobs here ask for a bachelor’s degree, and employers usually expect a few years of related experience as well.

Also called

  • Chorister
  • Drummer
  • Musician
  • Opera Singer
  • Orchestra Musician

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.