Musician Resume Sample

As a performer, you understand the importance of striking the right notes but when it comes to your musician resume, do you feel like you're spinning on a broken record? Whether you're looking to secure gigs, land a role in an orchestra or become a teacher, you'll need a resume that articulates your musical skills and experience in an effective way.

Keep in mind that your musician resume will follow a slightly different format than other professions. Instead of elaborating on your work experience, you'll focus on sections such as awards and honors, musical training, recordings, performances, and skills. Don't be afraid to toot your own horn when crafting your resume, as your musical accomplishments could ultimately land you an interview.

Like a finely tuned instrument, your resume should outperform the competition. Use these pointers to hit all the right chords with a potential employer:

• Focus on your strongest musician skills. Create a bulleted list beneath your career summary with your expertise in the music industry. For example, highlight technical skills such as music theory knowledge, improvising abilities, proficiency in bass and string instruments, singing techniques, or teaching skills.
• Highlight your soft skills. Skills such as attention to detail, creativity, dedication, and discipline show that you’re committed to your craft.
• Your resume format should be clutter-free and follow a consistent rhythm. While you may want to throw in all the bells and whistles, we advise including only relevant information. Make sure to use white space to separate sections, bullet points to emphasize skills and accomplishments and stick with two simple fonts at most.
• Include relevant keywords found in the job description. This will help your resume get through any applicant tracking system (ATS). Also, remember to customize these keywords to each position you apply to, as they will differ in each job listing.

Are you ready to create a resume that deserves a standing ovation? Check out our music resume template below for more ideas and inspiration.

Musician Resume Sample

First Last

Email | Phone | Location | LinkedIn

FIRST CHAIR VIOLINIST

ORCHESTRAL EXPERIENCE

First Chair | St. Louis Symphony Orchestra | St. Louis, MO, USA 20XX to 20XX

First Chair | Manitoba Chamber Orchestra | Winnipeg, MB, Canada 20XX to 20XX

Second Chair | Manitoba Chamber Orchestra | Winnipeg, MB, Canada 20XX to 20XX

Violinist | Portland Columbia Symphony | Portland, OR, USA 20XX to 20XX

Soloist | Hamburger Symphoniker | Hamburg, Germany 20XX

SUMMER FESTIVALS

Atlantic Music Festival | Waterville, ME, USA 20XX

Boston University Tanglewood Institute | Boston, MA, USA 20XX

Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival | Rendsburg, Germany 20XX

AWARDS AND HONORS

First Prize | Pacific Northwest Regional Competition | Seattle, WA, USA 20XX

First Prize, Graduate Division | National Competition | Washington, DC, USA 20XX

First Prize, Undergraduate Division | Jacobs School of Music | Bloomington, IN, USA 20XX

Outstanding Violinist Award | The Julliard School of Music | New York, NY, USA 20XX

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

MFA in Music, Violin | The Julliard School of Music | New York, NY, USA 20XX

BS in Music, Violin | Jacobs School of Music | Bloomington, IN, USA 20XX

Principal Teachers | List Teacher Names

Conductors | List Conductor Names

Chamber Music Coaches | List Coach Names

Download this music resume template in DOC format, add your information and save it as a PDF.

Curious to find out how much you can make in the music industry? Salaries vary depending on your position, experience level, and location. For instance, a musician/singer makes a median salary of $20.37 per hour, whereas a music teacher makes $22.97 per hour. However, your earning potential can be as high as $34.14 per hour.

Keep in mind that if you are playing independent gigs, you could also receive tips in addition to your salary. With more experience and training, you could advance to leading a musical group or becoming a section leader in an orchestra, resulting in higher earnings.

Browse Monster's Salary Tool to see what you might make in the city you live in. Here, you can see salaries for similar roles, job postings, and the steps to take to advance your musical career.

The cities with the top salaries for musicians include:

• New York City
• Chicago
• Los Angeles
• Houston
• Philadelphia

To explore further, check out all the music job listings available on Monster.

Compose a Musician Resume That's Worthy of Applause

Do you have all the melodic flair and talent to succeed on the big stage, but your resume is falling on deaf ears? Employ Monster’s ensemble of certified experts to help harmonize your skills, musical experience, and achievements to create an eye-catching, modern resume. Improve your current resume or create one from scratch by hiring one of our resume writers so you can focus on perfecting your musical performance.