 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ClarinetPlayer_18
Date: 2009-08-28 23:44
Hi, I'm heading off to college soon and I really want to play my clarinet for a living. However I don't know how or what you can do to earn money with music. I love playing clarinet and I want to be the best I can be and I'd love to have a job that involved playing it. Does anyone know how I might be able to make this happen? Thanks and any and all comments/advice on just about anything is welcome. 
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-08-28 23:52
After college, you might want to look into one of the Armed Forces bands. They pay you, provide other benefits and also can help to fund additional education. Don't discount it without careful consideration. You might want to contact a recruiter, who can refer you to someone in the music area. Several members of this board are in AF bands, and others have served previously.
Jeff
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Author: ClarinetPlayer_18
Date: 2009-08-29 00:01
I know that the armed forces employs a good number of muscicians though I'm not sure if they can be forced into combat or anything. Do you know anything about that? Like is music their primary role or their ONLY role?
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-08-29 00:07
Check with SFAlexi, who is a regular contributor. I know that all the band members go through Basic Training (except maybe for those good enough to make it into the TOP band in the force). I never got that detailed into the process, as I was disqualified all those years ago, because of a physical problem that excluded me from the military.
There has been a bit of discussion on this before, so you may want to do a search.
Jeff
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Author: Brianj
Date: 2009-08-29 01:46
You can email me as well. I have been playing clarinet for the Army for almost 20 years, and will give you the real deal. I have also been a recruiter and can help you through that process if need be.
SSG Brian Jungen
399th Army Band
Ft. Leonard Wood, MO
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-08-29 02:41
There are the jobs that people might make or otherwise arrange for you that sometimes pay enough for you to live on, e.g. symphony clarinetist, college professor, army clarinetist, music teacher, studio performer (though that gets into the realm of freelancing), traditional touring soloist, opera or musical theater musician. There are peripheral jobs, e.g. instrument repair and/or design, music therapy, symphony employee. Then there are the jobs you make for yourself... touring composer/performer, entrepreneur, rock musician, .....???
The ones you make for yourself are the big unknown... easiest to get started with (i.e. you don't need to convince a committee or a boss, though you might have to convince a bank to give you a loan), but riskiest to bank a livelihood on because nobody's guaranteeing you a paycheck, and, quite frankly, if you suck at it and are in denial about sucking at it (like a lot of first-round cuts in America's Got Talent, for example), you are completely and utterly doomed.
From what I've gathered lately, there is currently a huge void in some areas in high-quality exciting chamber ensembles to play at private parties. I say void, not demand, because people aren't clamoring for chamber groups. But, given the idea and a good ensemble, I think there's room for someone to fill the niche. I'm busy with grad school, otherwise I'd be doing that myself right now. This is the type of thing to find the Job You Make Yourself of. You look around, and try to find situations and audiences who would appreciate what you do, then offer them something *unique* (a quartet playing Eine Kleine will not cut it... they're a dime a dozen) and fill the void. Finding something unique is what college is for.
I, for one, hope to open a small concert hall in a few years (one that, of course, I would be scheduled to play in on a regular basis), and have been hypothesizing all sorts of ways to make it work.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-08-29 02:56
Check out my website and read the page of symphony jobs in the USA. You will get some idea just how difficult it is to make a living as a musician, especially a clarinet player in America. I do give some suggestions as well. Follow your dream but be realistic as well. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: 2E
Date: 2009-08-29 09:37
get some mates together who play other woodwind instruments and start a small chamber group. you could perform locally or tour around, you could also combine repertoire by having some solo clarinet works, followed by concertos with a piano accompaniment, and then wind quintet etc. also, compose and arrange lots of music for your own combinations and perform them as much as possible
good luck,
2E.
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