5 Experts Weigh In: What is Good Music Practicing?

A woman is seated at a drum set practicing.
Practice. It’s the quintessential labor of any artist who wishes to hone their skills and advance their abilities, but in my decades of experience counseling music students, I’ve found almost everyone struggles at some point to develop the routine that works best for them. That’s because there isn’t only one way to practice.

Jobs in the Music Industry for Non-Musicians

A woman is on her cell phone in front of a concert stage that is being set up.
Passion for music extends far beyond passion for live performance. Many interweaving non-performance roles in the music industry make live performances and music releases possible. There are vital music industry jobs that don’t involve performing on stage, but still immerse the music lover into the center of the bustling music business.

From College to Career: Navigating Life After Music School

For most professional musicians, a music school degree is an obvious and ideal path toward working in the field they love. Specialized courses and private instruction mold students into industry-ready players, producers, composers, song writers, audio engineers, and business people. Each musician faces unique challenges after graduating from music college and the opportunity to mold a work-life unique to their musical strengths, interests, and goals. 

Music Specialization: “Jack of All Trades” or “Master Of One?”

Various music instruments
Students and parents ask me whether fanning out or focusing is better — and I’m here to say, well, it’s not that simple. What you should and want to concentrate on really depends on where you see yourself in five, ten or thirty years down the road. There’s a place for all these kinds of musicians as long as you remember one thing — you must be great at something to carve a space for yourself in what is a notoriously competitive career landscape.