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Musician/Singer

Academic programs / Undergraduate degrees / Career opportunities / Musician/Singer

Musician/Singer

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

Potential job titles in this career
Chorister, Drummer, Musician, Opera Singer, Orchestra Musician, Percussionist, Performer, Singer, Violinist, Vocalist

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.
What will I do?
  • 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.
  • Sight-read musical parts during rehearsals.
  • Seek out and learn new music suitable for live performance or recording.
  • Listen to recordings to master pieces or to maintain and improve skills.
  • Make or participate in recordings.
  • In this career, it is important to know
    Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    It's useful to be good at
    Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

    Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

    Hearing Sensitivity - The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.

    Auditory Attention - The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.

    Memorization - The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

    Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

    Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

    Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

    Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

    Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
    Employment trends
    Location Pay period 2025
    10% 25% Median% 75% 90%
    United States Hourly $20.35 $27.57 $47.80 $75.33 $132.56
    Yearly
    Arizona Hourly
    Yearly
    2025 Median%
    United States $47.80 Hourly Yearly
    Arizona Hourly Yearly

    Employment (2025)
    170,400 employees
    Projected growth (2025 - 2035)
    Little or no change
    Projected job openings (2025 - 2035)
    17,400
    * Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

    Frequently asked questions about degree programs

    Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

    Accelerated master's

    These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

    Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master's during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.

    Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.

    Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

    ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the "New Programs" option.

    ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.

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