Pro Tips #2: Essential Skills We Didn’t Learn in School

This is the second in our series of “Pro Tips” articles that feature the input of many professional musicians, all answering the same question. Check out the first article in the series here. 

This week’s question: What is one skill that you use today that you DIDN’T learn in music school? 

Without a doubt it is verbal communication. Musicians are notoriously under developed in this area. Its easy to go through music school and never be forced to confront verbal communication.  We practice, perform, and master our non-verbal performance abilities, and can easily chalk up other skills such as verbal communication as non musical, and by extension, non essential.  However, growing your network, interviewing for a job, reaching new audience members, and teaching all require strong verbal communication skills.

– Dr. Sean Murphy, Assistant Professor of Arts Management & Entrepreneurship, Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, OH 

Although I am no expert, I have utilized audio and video editing software such as Final Cut Pro and Finale a TON. I have made many videos for myself, chamber groups I play in, and for my students. I took an ALP course at Eastman that gave a basic intro to Logic Pro, and that was extremely helpful because I have ended up needing these skills to record and edit audio/video projects at a relatively advanced level. Believe it or not, I was never trained how to use Finale notation software in my undergrad, but I was writing marching band percussion books so I figured it out on my own!

– Andrea Venet, Assistant Professor of Percussion, University of North Florida. Escape Ten Percussion Duo, Jacksonville, FL

Budgeting. When JACK Quartet formed as a nonprofit, we suddenly had a board of directors that needed to vote on an annual budget, but none of us knew how to effectively prepare and maintain one. We eventually (and predictably) ran into financial troubles, and the struggle forced us to seek guidance and commit to fiscal health. Now we have a solid cash flow and can see years into the future, allowing us to make smart decisions as we pursue goals and grow.

– John Pickford Richards, Violist & Executive Director, JACK Quartet, New York, NY

Networking Skills. This is being taught, to some degree, in certain classes and programs. However, the soft skills I use to meet contacts, establish and maintain relationships, and effectively leverage networks, were not learned in conservatory.

– Christopher Thibdeau, Freelance Musician, Boston, MA

Personal Finance/Budgeting – There are many skills that I have learned since music school, but if I could go back in time and do it over again, I wish I knew more about how to manage my own money.  Even though I didn’t have a lot of money in music school, I sure lived like I did! I now know a lot more about how to manage my money, live on a strict budget, track spending, save and invest.  This knowledge has reduced a lot of stress that I always associated with money giving me more freedom and peace of mind. If you are going to be a self-employed freelance musician, this is an essential skill!

– Jared Chase, DMA, Associate Professor of Music, Director of Wind Studies, Nazareth College, Music Director, First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford, Music Director, New York State Ballet, Vice President, CBDNA-Eastern Division, Member, Wilmot Brass Quintet, Rochester, NY

The two skills I use today that aren’t taught in music school are being able to stay organized and people interaction skills. 

Running a large high school band and orchestra program comes with a lot of moving parts. Being able to stay organized and on top of the layout of the year is crucial to be successful in my opinion in addition to all the musical aspects of the job. Secondly, as a teacher you have to remember that your musicians are people first, and are at all different levels of musical and personal development and how you can incorporate a range of ability into one successful program.

– Arthur Thovmasian, Director of Instrumental Music, Longmeadow High School, Massachusetts

For my career, it is coding/design since I have found myself building VR audio software. This is a self-inflicted thing, but I definitely was not prepared for…any of this from my studies in music school (aside from the obvious creative/critical thinking, world building/narrative skills that you naturally develop as a composer!)

-Dr. Roy Magnuson, Assistant Professor of Music, Illinois State University, Bloomington, IL

I think the biggest thing is teaching special education students who need a lot of support within the choral ensemble in ways that help them progress as singers/musicians at their own pace. I wish I had received more training on how to best teach these students while also managing the large choral ensemble.  It’s not just modifying the curriculum for them….it’s creating and delivering a whole new one at the same time as the choir’s curriculum.  Additionally, I wish I had learned how to better advocate for these students in ways that results in them receiving the most appropriate/best music education without me being viewed as exclusive/elitist.  I want to help all students grow as musicians and am continually learning how to best facilitate this process.

– Lauren Verney-Fink, Fairfield Warde High School Choir Director, Fairfield, CT

I wish I had been more proactive in seeking formal pedagogical training. As a cellist, much of the work I did in between my masters and doctoral programs involved teaching children via the Suzuki method, which has a structured teacher training program. While I did take the training courses soon after my masters, it would have been more ideal to pursue it sooner for both practical reasons (being qualified for certain jobs) and my personal musical development (given the many benefits of studying one’s instrument from a pedagogical perspective). To make a general point, it’s very easy to get through any college program (musical or otherwise) without really experiencing what it will be like to work in the field–so the sooner you can get that “real world” experience, the better!

– Zachary Preucil, D.M.A. candidate, Cello Performance; Arts Administration minor, University of Wisconsin-Madison

I don’t think that I knew that consulting would be in my future while in school; there’s an art to being a great consultant overall, but in the particular type of work I do I’ve developed skills in design thinking, asset-based community development, and civic practice that have become really central. In other words, I’ve spent a lot of time learning about ways of making work collaboratively with partners who are very different from one another!

– Melissa Ngan, Executive Director and Flutist, Fifth House Ensemble, Chicago, IL