Voicing a profession: What do we tell our students?

Abstract

A search of music dictionaries including the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (Sadie & Tyrrell, 2001) found no inclusion of the term 'musician' and until recently no one had established what is a musician in terms of employment characteristics and related skills and attributes. Internationally there is a critical lack of understanding both of the music sector and the wider cultural industries, which are under-researched, inadequately defined, and which lack sector-wide communication. With so much uncertainty, how can teachers guide students towards training and careers relevant to the strengths and potential of each individual?Music is a specialist field that demands exceptional skills and is unlikely to offer rewards commensurate with effort. New Australian research suggests that current education and training in music performance does not reflect the realities of professional practice in music. For the training and professional development of artists to be effective, it is imperative that the working lives of artists and musicians are understood, and that the characteristics of those working lives are reflected in curricula.The transfer of music graduate skills into the diverse cultural industries setting has enormous, largely unrealised potential. This paper seeks to outline the longitudinal characteristics of musicians' working lives and the diversity of potential employment for musicians and students.