How to Become a Successful Classical Musician: Part 2: Preparing for Professional Life

Music is not an easy career, but you can take steps to set yourself up for success. Professor Deborah Moriarty, chair of the Piano Area at Michigan State University, offers her advice to students desiring a career in music, with tips for many of the crucial stages along the way. From choosing undergraduate and graduate university programs, preparing for professional life, and guidance on freelancing, here are her recommendations for how to be a successful professional classical musician.

How to Prepare a Job Application

I rediscovered the importance of facilitating the transition to the job market during the pandemic.

I tried to do “regular” piano lessons using Zoom during the lockdown, but the process frustrated both me and my students. The sound quality was quite bad. I soon decided to change my approach.

Instead of conventional music lessons, we switched over to how to prepare a job application and interview for a college teaching position.

mock interviews

For one assignment, we did mock interviews. I had everyone come up with ten questions to ask. Then I divided students into groups of four, and they would ask each other the questions they’d prepared and answer them.

At first, it was amazing how terrible the responses were. I listened, gave feedback, and we discussed how to make a good impression. By the time we went for the third time using the same questions, my students had improved substantially. They felt much more prepared.

teaching philosophy

Another project we worked on was “teaching philosophy” statements. Most teaching positions require some kind of document explaining your pedagogical approach. I had students approach this through their own experience.

First, I had them come up with bullet points outlining what they considered the teaching philosophy of two people they had studied with. By getting them thinking about how their teachers taught them, I hoped to inspire analytical thinking about teaching and give them a place to start from.

Again, it didn’t start out well. Many of the initial efforts were descriptions of what people do, which is not a philosophy. What is a philosophy? How can you illustrate that philosophy in a brief document? Everyone has a different set of attitudes regarding teaching, but sometimes it is only through a concerted effort that students start to recognize and articulate their own perspectives.

Repertoire

Then I did a repertoire session where they had to come up with repertoire for different kinds of students. What repertoire would you give to an incoming freshman music education major, and why? And what repertoire would you give to an incoming performance major, and why? We went through and discussed how some pieces make more sense than others.

These lessons were all beneficial because these skills are all necessary for music students. Thinking about how to present yourself in an interview, how you teach, and how to assign repertoire to meet your students’ needs are critical skills for musicians. We just don’t normally devote enough time to do it right because we’re always busy working on pieces for performances.

Being able to make a good impression, talk about your goals and your teaching philosophy, and tailor your teaching to individual students are all essential to professional musicians.

How to Be a Successful Classical Musician: The Philosophy

Becoming successful as a musician has to do, in part, with the level of ability. Some of it has to do with how well you communicate.

The music business is a funny field. Playing the instrument isn’t enough; you have to network, follow through on things, and keep in touch with people. You have to talk to people and express what you’re thinking, as well as doing it yourself.

It’s not just winning competitions. Winning competitions is overrated. People keep wanting to do competitions, but that achievement only gives you a year or two. Then it goes away, because somebody else just won the competition. If they gave you $50,000, that’s gone and you don’t have it anymore.

Collaborate with other musicians

Playing with other people, by collaborating or playing chamber music, helps you become successful. When you play with good people, you get better. You always play at the level that you need to.

When you play with other artists, they get to know who you are. They will recommend you for other jobs. You need good personal skills and an ability to work with others.

The other thing that helps you become successful is, you don’t say no to things. It sounds odd, but don’t say “No, I can’t do that” “I’m too good for that,” “I don’t want to play with this person,” or “No, because I’m an important person and I just won this or that.” Say yes because you never know who’s out there. If it’s something that you truly cannot do, say, “I am not available for that particular thing”, or you find a way to do it. You never know who will hear you or what opportunities are out there.

Always be prepared

Another very important thing is never play badly. We all have times where we don’t play as well, but never be unprepared. Make sure you’re the one who knows what you’re doing when you go into a performance situation or when you play a lesson for someone. Make sure that you’re there, you’re together, and you know what you’re doing.

If you are a skilled player, work well with others, don’t turn down opportunities, and ensure you are prepared, you will be on your way to becoming successful as a musician.

Thanks for reading Part 2 of my series on how to be a professional classical musician. If you haven’t yet, be sure to read part one where I look at education and teaching.

Moriarty is a founding member of the Fontana Ensemble of Michigan, and as an advocate of new music, has participated in numerous premiere performances including Milton Babbitt’s “Whirled Series” at Merkin Hall in New York City.

Moriarty is the Artistic Director of the annual Encore Festival and the “Music in the Hidden Churches” concert series in Todi, Italy. She is also co-founder of “Celebrating the Spectrum: A Festival of Music and Life,” an annual summer festival that brings talented pianists with ASD to the MSU campus for master classes, performances and college level classes.