Richard Strauss-Woche Poster
Ludwig Hohlwein
Many people think that in order to have a full-time career in music, one needs to be either a performer or a teacher. However, this is not true. The U.S. Occupational Information Network lists hundreds of occupations that require specialized knowledge in music and do not involve teaching or performing. These occupations range from the scientific to the academic, from puzzle-solving to hands-on, from the mechanical to the clerical. And the good news is, that with the right teacher who concentrates not only on progressing through repertoire, but on helping students understand the history, construction and expression of music, a few years’ worth of lessons will open up these hundreds of careers in music, for less than the cost of a semester of college tuition and fees.
If you are a parent who is concerned about the economy and what your children’s future will look like, I encourage you to enroll them in music lessons to open those hundreds of occupations to them. The music industry is bigger, both in the U.S. and in the world, than the pharmaceutical industry, and that is talking some serious dollars.