I'm only in the first year of my GCSEs but i feel like there is a lot of preassure on me 2 alredy no wat i want 2 do. I would rely like 2 become a skool music teachr but at the moment i am only grade 4 on piano and violin. I would also like 2 perhaphs do something else but after taking a music degree or a level. Do you know what else i could do as a career involving music?

hey purple pianist - i am in the first year of my gcses as well and am pretty much in the same situation - would be interested to see if anyones got any advice, wot other options are there apart from teaching and being in an orchestra?

I know exactly how u feel. im also in the first year of my GCSE's. I think when i leave school im going to leeds college of music to qualifications that are equivalent to 3 a levels. But after that i dont know what i want to do...maybe something in advertising or pr?
Here is some advice i got:


"The great thing about music is that it's something you will be able to enjoy for the whole of your life - and you can fit your enjoyment of music around any other career - often as a means of relaxation to help keep your life in balance. Most orchestras and choirs seem to rehearse at evenings and weekends, so it's something you can do after work.

I certainly find that to be the case - I've been a Chartered Accountant for 10 years, and find that singing (whether practising, taking lessons or in a choir) in my spare time is the main thing that keeps me sane! And in this last year I've (at the grand old age of 36) started having singing lessons for the first time ever - and to my great delight I passed Grade 5 with distinction a couple of weeks ago.

I think what I'm trying to say is that you CAN enjoy both music and another career, if you are prepared to put the time in."

Definitely good advice u got there - sorry i couldn't be more helpful. I always liked the idea of bein a music teacher either private or in a skool, and id love 2 be a professional musician but u hav 2 be super fab, and musics one of those things, if you go 2 music college ure gonna hav 2 follow music 4 the rest of ur life.
Anyway i still think id like 2 give it a shot, either going 2 college or studying it at uni. Id also love 2 b a doctor, but its really tricky cos its either years in music college or years in medical skool.
By the way - does anyone know what sort of standard you have to be to get into music college?

I'm currently doing a BA Music Degree at University...and I still don't have a clue what I want to do!!

I didn't want to go into teaching - the thought of me stood up in front of 30 kids who don't really want to be there didn't strike me as being my way of paying back the student loan!!

Careers at GCSE are difficult to pick...they throw all this information at all (or in some cases, no information at all!) and you don't know what to do.

The answer, at least for now, is...NOTHING!

You know that you want to do something with you music...so work hard at GCSE music - go for your AS and A2 Music, and then go for degree if you want. A mate of mine put it into perspective for me:

"Lets have some fun with the music for 3 years - if any opportunities arise, brilliant. If they don't, then we'll still come out with a degree!"

Plus I wouldn't worry if you don't get a music-related job - music graduates are the most employable people in the world, because they have a wealth of skills excercised during their career than other graduates. Last year, 95% of all music graduates walked straight into jobs, whether they be related to music or not!

The future is bright...just concentrate on your studies and the rest will fall into place!

There was a time when you could get into music colleges with say grade 8 practical, this is unlikely now, esp ' the big 4'. I believe Durham Uni requires grade 6 piano (with audtion) + 3 A levels. The broader colleges and uni's may consider a student with a vocational qualification such as a BTEC but would also likely expect a good knowledge of music theory (grade 5 or higher) and an advanced practical grade.

There's loads of stuff you can do with freelancing as a professional musician -music teaching at all levels (KS1 through to A Level), as well as solo performance obviously. You should also look at Musical Direction for choral, orchestral and theatre companies. Theatre can be really profitable - they're always after a vocal coach, musical director or rehearsal pianist. If you are a pianist, accompaniment and rehearsal pianist is frequently available. Playing in bands for musicals and other performances! Peripatetic instrumental teaching is obviously another option. When your in with it all, you get asked to get loads of stuff, ranging from accompaying dance and music exams, to playing for weddings and other functions or special occasions! So, secondary level teaching isn't your only option! (Although it is reliable!) Good luck! xx

i know i didnt start this topic but you all have good advice!Id never thought about theatre - that could be really fun. Music college/university doesn't sound quite as tricky as i first thought to get into, but im sure its not easy! Obviously ive still got a good 2 or 3 years before i really have to think about my options again, but its comforting to know that people can follow their chosen path into music, and still have no idea what they want to do (bet you anything that will me!)You all make it sound a loooooot less daunting than I first thought - now my grade 6 and grade 3 doesn't sound quite so useless thank you for good advice! Anna x

I am in 1st year GCSEs and would love to be a concert pianist or something, I'm on Grade 8, but i don't think i'm good enough for that career !!! I'll probably teach in a school, specialising in music, then teach in a concervoitore, then maybe do professional accompanying.
i want to go to music college - RCM, Guildhall, Trinity etc.
other careers, in music, ............ Music Therapy, Music Engineering ?
Hope that's help full !!!
love Ellie

definitely helpful!!thank you ellie

I think i have the same situation as you too. I'm currently re-taking my DipABRSM as i did not perform well for my previous dip exam and i seriously have no idea what i wanna be. Being an asian and musically inclined is quite...well, different if u're a westerner.Don't ask me how i got this idea but whenever i tell anyone on what i'm doing they'll say "Why Music?Can u get a career out of it?" I want to study jazz (i'm a classical etudiante) and aspire to be like my jazz idol ,Diana Krall-a Jazz musician/singer. It's really a big leap (ithink) from classicals to jazz and coming from a family where we do not have much money it's really impossible for me to study abroad. I'm hoping to try out for the scholarships under ABRSM and hope that i'll get into either RSAMD or RCM. I've tried auditioning for berklee college of music in boston but i wasn't shortlisted so i'm really really confused now. can anyone give me some advice on this? I do want to make it into a reality and tell people that yes we asians CAN study music and be as succesful as how we want to be-depending on how far we're willing to go!

XOXO
Pau-Lynn

When I took my grade 8 whilst starting my A-Levels, I had absolutely no intention of doing music as a career and ended up going to university studying science.

Towards the end of my degree, I was having severe doubts about whether I wanted to pursue a career in science, and ended up taking a one-year course in contemporary guitar performance (HND) just for fun.

Since I've finished doing that, I've been making a living teaching and performing music on a lot of different projects and since I've always be open-minded, I've ended up doing a lot of different things!

I started off as a classical pianist, but then ended up playing guitars in rock bands and function bands for weddings, teaching piano/guitar privately and 1-to-1 in schools, writing for a live drum n bass band, and most recently, working on electronic synthesizers for a couple of bands signed to small record labels. I would have had absolutely NO idea any of that was coming when I was studying for GCSE's!

As RTD said, I've found that teaching is the most reliable source of income, which I do 3 days a week and spend the rest of the time doing some of the other more creative stuff.

Incidentally, I'm Asian too and also constantly get the pressure from family to get a "proper" job!