Music Directors and Composers Occupation Details

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Music Directors and Composers

The main tasks and work activities of Music Directors and Composers are to coordinate musical rehearsals or performances, determine presentation subjects or content, study details of musical compositions, confer with clients to determine needs. In general, for the Music Directors and Composers, instructing, active Listening, judgment and Decision Making, critical Thinking and other 17 skills are required.

Music Directors and Composers Job Description
Education	Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Related Experience	A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Job Training	Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Example	Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, chemists, art directors, and cost estimators.

The following chart shows the education/training levels for Music Directors and Composers jobs. 8.19% of Music Directors and Composers have High School Diploma (or the equivalent) and 38.32% of Music Directors and Composers have Bachelor's Degree and Above.

Less than a High School Diploma

15.97%

High School Diploma (or the equivalent)

8.19%

Post-Secondary Certificate

0.00%

Some College Courses

26.20%

Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)

11.32%

Bachelor's Degree and Above

38.32%

Tasks and Work Activities of Music Directors and Composers

Use gestures to shape the music being played, communicating desired tempo, phrasing, tone, color, pitch, volume, and other performance aspects.
Direct groups at rehearsals and live or recorded performances to achieve desired effects such as tonal and harmonic balance dynamics, rhythm, and tempo.
Plan and schedule rehearsals and performances, and arrange details such as locations, accompanists, and instrumentalists.
Consider such factors as ensemble size and abilities, availability of scores, and the need for musical variety, to select music to be performed.
Study scores to learn the music in detail, and to develop interpretations.
Position members within groups to obtain balance among instrumental or vocal sections.
Confer with clergy to select music for church services.
Transcribe musical compositions and melodic lines to adapt them to a particular group, or to create a particular musical style.
Audition and select performers for musical presentations.
Meet with soloists and concertmasters to discuss and prepare for performances.
Assign and review staff work in such areas as scoring, arranging, and copying music, and vocal coaching.
Perform administrative tasks such as applying for grants, developing budgets, negotiating contracts, and designing and printing programs and other promotional materials.
Plan and implement fundraising and promotional activities.
Coordinate and organize tours, or hire touring companies to arrange concert dates, venues, accommodations, and transportation for longer tours.
Collaborate with music librarians to ensure availability of scores.
Conduct guest soloists in addition to ensemble members.
Meet with composers to discuss interpretations of their work.
Engage services of composers to write scores.
Apply elements of music theory to create musical and tonal structures, including harmonies and melodies.
Use computers and synthesizers to compose, orchestrate, and arrange music.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsDeveloping constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Thinking CreativelyDeveloping, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Performing for or Working Directly with the PublicPerforming for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Scheduling Work and ActivitiesScheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of OthersGetting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Training and Teaching OthersIdentifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or PeopleAssessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Performing Administrative ActivitiesPerforming day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.

Coordinate musical rehearsals or performances.
Determine presentation subjects or content.
Study details of musical compositions.
Confer with clients to determine needs.
Create musical compositions, arrangements or scores.
Select staff, team members, or performers.
Audition or interview potential performers or staff members.
Collaborate with others to prepare or perform artistic productions.
Coordinate artistic activities.
Design layout of art or product exhibits, displays, or promotional materials.
Direct fundraising or financing activities.
Negotiate for services.
Promote products, activities, or organizations.
Coordinate logistics for productions or events.
Collaborate with others to determine technical details of productions.
Study scripts to determine project requirements.

Skills and Abilities for Music Directors and Composers

InstructingTeaching others how to do something.
Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.
CoordinationAdjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Social PerceptivenessBeing aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Systems EvaluationIdentifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
Learning StrategiesSelecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Personnel ResourcesMotivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Active LearningUnderstanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Complex Problem SolvingIdentifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Service OrientationActively looking for ways to help people.
WritingCommunicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
NegotiationBringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Reading ComprehensionUnderstanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
PersuasionPersuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Systems AnalysisDetermining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Hearing SensitivityThe ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Speech ClarityThe ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Auditory AttentionThe ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
OriginalityThe ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Fluency of IdeasThe ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Speech RecognitionThe ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Written ComprehensionThe ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Written ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Finger DexterityThe ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Speed of ClosureThe ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
MemorizationThe ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Sound LocalizationThe ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Guitarse.g. Acoustic guitars
Musical instrument digital interface MIDI interfacese.g. Audio interfaces
Laser printerse.g. Computer laser printers
Conductors batonse.g. Conducting batons
Photocopierse.g. Copy machines
Desktop computerse.g. Desktop computers
Musical organse.g. Electronic organs
Musical instrument effects unite.g. Expression pedals
Portable hard disk storage devicee.g. External hard drives
Pen or flash drivee.g. Flash drives
Musical instrument effects unite.g. Foot switches
Bellse.g. Handbells
Synthesizere.g. Keyboard synthesizers
Notebook computerse.g. Laptop computers
Musical instrument digital interface MIDI interfacese.g. Musical instrument digital interface MIDI sequencers
Personal computerse.g. Personal computers
Pianose.g. Pianos
Musical organse.g. Pipe organs
Loudspeakerse.g. Portable loudspeakers
Musical instrument effects unite.g. Sustain pedals

Fine ArtsKnowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
English LanguageKnowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Education and TrainingKnowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Philosophy and TheologyKnowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Administration and ManagementKnowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Customer and Personal ServiceKnowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Personnel and Human ResourcesKnowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
PsychologyKnowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Computers and ElectronicsKnowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
ClericalKnowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Sales and MarketingKnowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Communications and MediaKnowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
History and ArcheologyKnowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

Music Directors and Composers Occupation Detailed Description

Tasks and Work Activities of Music Directors and Composers

Skills and Abilities for Music Directors and Composers