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Music Directors and Composers

Conduct, direct, plan, and lead instrumental or vocal performances by musical artists or groups, such as orchestras, bands, choirs, and glee clubs; or create original works of music.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Audition and select performers for musical presentations.
    • Confer with producers and directors to define the nature and placement of film or television music.
    • Transcribe musical compositions and melodic lines to adapt them to a particular group, or to create a particular musical style.
    • Plan and schedule rehearsals and performances, and arrange details such as locations, accompanists, and instrumentalists.
    • Perform administrative tasks such as applying for grants, developing budgets, negotiating contracts, and designing and printing programs and other promotional materials.
    • Write music for commercial mediums, including advertising jingles or film soundtracks.
    • Apply elements of music theory to create musical and tonal structures, including harmonies and melodies.
    • Study scores to learn the music in detail, and to develop interpretations.
    • Direct groups at rehearsals and live or recorded performances to achieve desired effects such as tonal and harmonic balance dynamics, rhythm, and tempo.
    • Arrange music composed by others, changing the music to achieve desired effects.
    • Coordinate and organize tours, or hire touring companies to arrange concert dates, venues, accommodations, and transportation for longer tours.
    • Copy parts from scores for individual performers.
    • Audition and select performers for musical presentations.
    • Consider such factors as ensemble size and abilities, availability of scores, and the need for musical variety, to select music to be performed.
    • Transcribe ideas for musical compositions into musical notation, using instruments, pen and paper, or computers.
    • Perform administrative tasks such as applying for grants, developing budgets, negotiating contracts, and designing and printing programs and other promotional materials.
    • Determine voices, instruments, harmonic structures, rhythms, tempos, and tone balances required to achieve the effects desired in a musical composition.
    • Explore and develop musical ideas based on sources such as imagination or sounds in the environment.
    • Transpose music from one voice or instrument to another to accommodate particular musicians.
    • Use gestures to shape the music being played, communicating desired tempo, phrasing, tone, color, pitch, volume, and other performance aspects.
    • Assign and review staff work in such areas as scoring, arranging, and copying music, and vocal coaching.
    • Collaborate with other colleagues, such as copyists, to complete final scores.
    • Create original musical forms, or write within circumscribed musical forms such as sonatas, symphonies, or operas.
    • Rewrite original musical scores in different musical styles by changing rhythms, harmonies, or tempos.
    • Study films or scripts to determine how musical scores can be used to create desired effects or moods.
    • Meet with soloists and concertmasters to discuss and prepare for performances.
    • Perform administrative tasks such as applying for grants, developing budgets, negotiating contracts, and designing and printing programs and other promotional materials.
    • Write musical scores for orchestras, bands, choral groups, or individual instrumentalists or vocalists, using knowledge of music theory and of instrumental and vocal capabilities.
    • Experiment with different sounds, and types and pieces of music, using synthesizers and computers as necessary to test and evaluate ideas.
    • Position members within groups to obtain balance among instrumental or vocal sections.
    • Fill in details of orchestral sketches, such as adding vocal parts to scores.

    Skills

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    0
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    Knowledge

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge 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.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge 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.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge 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.

    Career Video

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 60120/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 28.9/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,170
    • Yearly Projected Openings 250

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Artistic: People interested in this work like activities that include creating, designing, and making your own rules.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Integrity
    • Attention to Detail
    • Initiative
    • Cooperation
    • Independence

    Tools

    • Audio monitor
    • Bells
    • Cassette players or recorders
    • Conductors batons
    • Desktop computers
    • Digital audio workstation DAW
    • Drums
    • Guitars
    • Laser printers
    • Loudspeakers
    • Microphones
    • Musical instrument digital interface MIDI interfaces
    • Musical instrument effects unit
    • Musical organs
    • Notebook computers
    • Pen or flash drive
    • Personal computers
    • Photocopiers
    • Pianos
    • Portable hard disk storage device
    • Synthesizer
    • Tablet computers

    Technology

    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Music or sound editing software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Word processing software
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