Career Plans

[jamesbaldwin]

Hi everyone,

I'm starting a bachelor's in trumpet performance this fall (classical/orchestral oriented). I must confess, I have barely any idea what my life after college is going to look like. I've got a few questions:

- Should I expect to get a master's degree after completing undergrad?
- How do I sub in an orchestra?
- How can I make a living after I graduate?

If I'm asking the wrong questions or if I neglected to ask something important, please let me know! Thank you all.

[Troy Sargent]

Hey! I was where you are about 10 years ago. I'll put in my two cents below for what it's worth. This isn't going to be exhaustive (its late and I should be asleep) but I'll put down what I think of.


Getting a master's degree is going to be highly personal. I got one but you may not. It depends on what you want to do and the market you find yourself in after school. The more competitive you want (or need) to be the more training you will need.


For orchestral work, you take auditions and work on the technique of taking auditions until something pays off. Orchestral positions (even sub-list ones) are highly coveted and difficult to get into. I highly recommend reading "Golf is not a Game of Perfect" and "Heads Up Baseball." Both books have really helped me with the mental side of auditioning and performing.


https://www.amazon.com/Golf-Not-Game-Perfect-Rotella-ebook/dp/B000SEJ2GG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=golf+is+not+a+game+of+perfect&qid=1684914362&sprefix=golf+is+not+a+%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Heads-Up-Baseball-Playing-Game-Pitch/dp/1570280215/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3OFMHD8VA1Y4B&keywords=heads+up+baseball&qid=1684914380&sprefix=heads+up+baseball%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-1



Making a living looks different for everyone. The reality is that your income as a performer will be a combination of performance and "other". For me, the balance has been performing (which is about 60% of my gross yearly income after the COVID lockdown), coaching music at schools (2-4 different ones), and teaching private lessons (anywhere from 20-30 lessons a week). I know people who make a sizeable percentage of their income from arranging, composing, producing, recording, or contracting among other things. Others prefer to only perform and instead supplement as needed with a job outside of music. Everyone is different.


The two pieces of advice I would give you for during school:


1) Learn to play everything not just classical. It makes you more marketable and will let you have a greater percentage of performing work after school. You need to be able to play in just about any style that shows up on your stand. A basic understanding of improv is also extremely useful. I have been catching up on this after graduating and I would have started earlier had I realized the utility.


2) Learn how to teach during school. I mean really teach, be able to diagnose and break down technique problems and develop your own routines to solve them. You will eventually need to solve your own technique issues and write your own exercises to target those issues. Additionally, teaching enabled me to not take a job outside of music after graduating and it continues to provide financial stability during "slow" performing seasons. It does help that I really enjoy teaching though. You may not and might prefer to do something different.


All this being said, I'm not a career guide in any way shape or form. It's good that you are thinking about what life after school looks like (especially in music). If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. I'm happy to answer what I can.
_________________
www.tsargentmusic.com

[ericmpena]

I would go for your Masters.

Get to know the trumpets in your local orchestra. Networking is necessary to getting called for gigs.

Expect your income to be a mix of gigs and teaching private lessons.
_________________
Thane Performing Artist
www.youtube.com/ericmpena
https://thanetrumpets.com/

[Dayton]

A few thoughts:

[LaTrompeta]

Anybody who thinks that they know what their life will look like in 5-10 years is deluding themselves. What did you think 2020 would look like at the end of 2019? Things always change and go differently than planned.

I got my bachelor's degree in trumpet performance and was fully planning on getting a Master's degree and maybe even a DMA. Later, after graduation and some frustration with graduate schools, I chose a different career and it has worked out for me.

If you plan on doing music you will likely need to get as much of an education as possible.
_________________
Please join me as well at:
https://trumpetboards.com

[Nathan.Sobieralski]

Have you reached out to your future trumpet teacher with these questions? I would start there for sure. You will be spending a lot of time with this person! (who also may be your gateway into local sub-work..)

Making a living in this business looks different for everyone. My advice is to keep your mind open to everything and practice like your career depends on it.
_________________
Dr. Nathan Sobieralski
www.s-mute.com
Principal Trumpet, Sequoia Symphony
Department of Music (Trumpet)
California State University, Fresno

[JoseLindE4]

Regarding sub/extra work with orchestras, getting lessons with the full-time players in the orchestra can open up some doors. I wouldn’t go to them exclusively for networking reasons — you should go to learn — but it can sometimes be a nice side benefit.

The most important things right now are to practice like your next meal depends on it and to be kind and gracious with those around you. If you come out of college and can’t play, you won’t find work. If you come out of college and can play but have a reputation as a jerk, you won’t find or keep much work either. Building a teaching studio in college is a good way to make a smooth transition to life after college.

Right now, learn lots of styles and don’t pigeonhole yourself. Learn to sound like your orchestral heroes, but also learn to improvise at least a little, play lead a little, etc. It all helps.

Make sure that you’re learning to play your instrument well, not just pounding excerpts. Better players have an easier time with the excerpts, so become a better player first. Make sure that you are learning the rep as a musician — listen to recordings of the entire works and know them well. This takes time and you can’t really fake it in an audition.

The audition process is its own skill set. Learn from those who do it well and plan on taking lots of auditions until you figure it out. I didn’t win a full time gig until audition number 10 and didn’t feel like I was comfortable with the process and my preparation until number 7 or 8.

College teaching is a great way to make a stable living, but you’ll need at least a masters and probably a DMA to be marketable. You’ll also need to be a pretty flexible player and musician. The more you can do, the more jobs that are available — there aren’t a ton of trumpet only teaching gigs. Don’t completely neglect your other classes for trumpet, you may be teaching music history, theory, or band someday. Like auditions, the interview process is its own skill set and can take a while to work out. Find the schools and teachers who are putting people in jobs — they understand how to play the game.

Military bands are also a great way to make a stable living. Some of them are quite competitive to get into. They typically have their own set of band excerpts. Again, learn the rep as a musician, not just a trumpet jock. Score study is your friend.

You’ll need to make peace with it even learn to love practice and the solitude of working through hard trumpet and musical problems.

Also, if some trumpet advice or exercise doesn’t help you today, don’t write it off completely. It may be the be the exact thing you need 10 years from now.

[kehaulani]

One common theme to this thread is being flexible and that you may not be able to predict the future.

I never aimed at an orchestral or professional legit position like you, but I believe my experience may show you how flexible you may have to be. This list, chronologically, is how I was able to stay a full-time musician for half a Century. There was some overlap, of course:

1. Instrumentalist - trumpet, French horn
2. Composer/arranger
3. Conductor
4. Instrumentalist - Saxes, flute
5. Mixture of all of the above, some private teaching on the side,

You may able to do exactly one or two facets for a career and more power to you. You may be like me - anything to keep the wolves from the door, LOL. Or you may drop out of professional playing, find another job and enjoy music when and where you like. In any case, it's an interesting journey so savor it.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[meoates1]

[mcstock]

[kehaulani]

[jamesbaldwin]

Thank you all! I'll make sure to talk to my teacher and network like hell