A Look at Skills

Hello again!

As I was saying in my last post, this blog will focus on my goal of becoming a performing musician. To start I am going to look in to the skills that I think a performing musician should have to succeed.

NB: In my posts from this moment, I will sometimes refer to a performing musician as 'pm'.

First of all:

People Skills
In many ways it is important in all careers to have good people skills to some extent. In the case of a pm teamwork is extremely important. There would be a number of people a pm could have dealings with during their career, for example bands/ orchestras/ musical directors. They should be open-minded and supportive of other peoples ideas, whilst not being afraid of putting across their own ideas or opinions.

Of course dealing with all of these people demands an understanding of peoples sensibilities. The ability to listen and advise, to communicate well and compromise where necessary are all important interpersonal skills to have. They would need to be able to build up good rapport with different types of people, always be polite and courteous and non-discriminatory. This is all important as having good contacts in the music business is invaluable and the need for a good first impression and a good work relationship is essential to be successful.

Customer orientation would be important as the pm would have to be willing and able to accommodate to the needs of the customer and other people important to their employers business. If, for example, the pm was touring with their band, they would need to be diplomatic and respectful of the venue owner, venue staff, customers and any other bands playing. This is so they would have a good working reputation that others may hear about and more job opportunities could arise from.

Communication is important as saying the wrong thing conveys the wrong message. How well you convey your message can also say a lot and a pm would need the skills to say the right message the right way to get anywhere. Being able to speak clearly and concisely to prospective employers/ fellow musicians is extremely important. Written skills are important when needing to apply for a job/ gig/ grant or to promote an event/ release of recorded material. If keeping an online blog such as this or a webpage, the pm should be able to construct proper sentences and have adequate spelling and grammar skills (apologies for any mistakes of this kind on my part).

Generalist Skills
Problem solving skills would be useful to a pm, they should be able to analyse information and create solutions to problems that may come their way. The ability to manage different projects would be important as there may be a need to organise and time-manage many jobs at once.

Being comfortable with technology is a must for a pm as the internet can really aid the success of a music career, it gets music out to an audience and keeps musicians in touch with their fans. Office skills and a good knowledge of how to use and manage email would be very important for networking.

In any music career the ability to adapt and be flexible is essential, the creative industries sector demands one to be versatile and open to change. Venues/ the material they are performing or musicians they are working with may change last minute and the pm would have to be obliging and helpful should big changes occur.

Basic numeracy skills would be important as a pm should be able to organise their money, to know how much they are making and what their expenses are. There should be a knowledge of percentages as an employer may offer payment this way.

A good head for business would be very important. A pm should want to be innovative and competitive so that they can stay ahead of the game and offer something that other acts cannot. Being able to market themselves well would save them money as they would not need to hire anybody to promote them. An ability to communicate effectively, both written and orally would benefit them, as said above.

Being dedicated to the project they are working on and having a genuine interest in it will lead to a more successful outcome. Skills in commitment are those of punctuality, reliability and loyalty. These are skills much looked for in any business, the music industry included. Employers want somebody they can trust and will look at the experiences the pm has had in the past. They may talk to people the pm has previously worked with to find out if they posses these qualities and whether or not they are worth hiring.


*sips hot chocolate* Well, that is all for tonight, I shall continue along these lines in my next post where I will be looking at self-reliance and specialist skills.

Regards, LcB.