Musician (Instrumental)
What the work is
Entertains by playing one or more musical instruments.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Practices and rehearses music to maintain and improve skills
- Performs live music for audiences in a variety of venues such as concert halls, clubs and festivals
- Selects and arranges music for performances
- Collaborates with other musicians, bands, orchestras or ensembles
- Creates music using electronic instruments, synthesisers, drum machines, and computer-based production techniques
- Records music for distribution and sale
- Contributes to the cultural landscape by expressing emotions, telling stories and communicating ideas through the universal language of music
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a community orchestra preparing for its biggest concert of the year. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A tricky passage clicks for the whole orchestra and the room goes electric
- A young player comes to you after rehearsal and says they finally understood a piece
- A concert where audience and players leave smiling, still humming the last tune
Hard days
- Hours alone in a practice room working on a passage that still will not come
- A player is struggling and you must decide how to help them without embarrassing them
- Your plans change at the last minute when a soloist cannot make it
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 231633, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.