Globalisation and digitalisation have not only had a positive impact on the business and enterprise world but also helped promote unconventional professions as potential career choices. Today, students have access to educational and career opportunities wherein they can opt to master any art they like, irrespective of whether it is technical or creative. This, in turn, has broadened the scope of unconventional career choices, helping professionals with a knack for creativity explore better avenues. 

Amongst the various creative industries available for students to choose from, one of the fastest-growing and popular ones is the music industry. Individuals with an inclination towards music studies have grown in numbers in the past two decades, urging more universities to introduce programmes to help students acquire a professional qualification in their area of interest.

If you want to take up a music performance degree and get a vivid idea about what the future prospects of the degree look like, this blog is for you. Read on to find out about the career avenues that you can work towards with a degree in music performance. 

Job prospects after pursuing a degree in music performance

• Music Instructor: As a music instructor, you will either be employed by universities and schools or you can establish your independent practice by teaching students music outside of school. Also called music teach, a music instructor’s duties are as follows:
• Teaching various music courses and concepts to students including tone, tempo, rhythm and voice modulation skills;
• Helping students train, rehearse and lead to participating in school, university or community music programs;
• Conducting music classes and sessions in accordance with the guidelines and standards set by the regional or national education board;
• Designing and maintaining an effective music educational program for students;
• Scheduling daily instruction classes and ensuring that a particular day’s lessons are accommodated within the assigned time;
• Assessing the performance of students and offering constructive feedback as well assistance to help them improve;
• Maintaining accurate lesson plans and instruction material for students;
• Ensuring that the musical instruments are maintained properly;
• Ensuring that the music classes and lessons are conducted in a disciplined environment;
• Maintaining a safe and positive learning environment for students.

The average annual salary of a music teacher is £28,350. 

• Professional Pianist: As a professional pianist, you will be employed as a part of orchestras, theatre productions or church services and provide background music for special events and occasions. You can also decide to work as an independent pianist and travel places for gigs, events and parties. With professional education as a pianist, you can also take up a teaching job, offering piano lessons to an individual or group of individuals. The average annual salary commanded by a pianist is £24,960.
• Accompanist: Accompanists are pianists who accompany instrumentalists, singers and dancers for various performances and events. As a part of their job, they are required to provide accompaniment for rehearsals as well as main events. They also need to record performances and rehearsals for each vocal part to better understand the intricacies of the performance. Accompanists work in close alliance with dancers, actors, artistic directors and other musicians involved in the event to create the perfect performance piece for the audience.

The creatively-charged industry of music has evolved exponentially over the last few years, encouraging more students to give way to their inclination towards creative arts. If you want to become a music performer, pursuing a music performance degree from one of the top universities could be the right choice for you. Bring out your creative feathers and the world will be yours to conquer!