Variety artist to musician
A variety artist already meets 45% of what the musician role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
63.4/ 100
1 How much of what a musician is expected to do is already part of a variety artist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the musician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A musician role treats 12 of its required skills as things a variety artist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse own performance
- attend rehearsals
- cope with stage fright
- follow directions of the artistic director
- follow time cues
- interact with an audience
What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A musician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a variety artist background worth leading with.
- already held cope with stage fright management skills
- already held act for an audience communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform for young audiences communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform music solo communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held work independently as an artist communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held select music for performance communication, collaboration and creativity
All 19 carried skills, including the 12 the musician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 43 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn work with composers required
- still to learn collaborate with a technical staff in artistic productions required
- optional, not held advise on music pedagogy optional
- optional, not held collaborate with music librarians optional
- optional, not held complete final musical scores optional
- optional, not held compose music optional
- optional, not held create musical forms optional
- optional, not held design a music show optional
- optional, not held develop musical ideas optional
- optional, not held draw up artistic project proposals optional
- optional, not held evaluate musical ideas optional
- optional, not held improvise music optional
- optional, not held manage artistic career optional
- optional, not held orchestrate music optional
- optional, not held participate in artistic mediation activities optional
- optional, not held participate in music studio recordings optional
- optional, not held perform music in ensemble optional
- optional, not held play the piano optional
- optional, not held promote music optional
- optional, not held read musical score optional
- optional, not held record music optional
- optional, not held rewrite musical scores optional
- optional, not held specialise in a musical genre optional
- optional, not held transcribe ideas into musical notation optional
- optional, not held transcribe musical compositions optional
- optional, not held transpose music optional
- optional, not held write musical scores optional
- still to learn organise a repertoire required
- optional, not held manage artistic project optional
- optional, not held manage musical staff optional
- optional, not held plan musical performances optional
- optional, not held select musical performers optional
- optional, not held supervise music groups optional
- optional, not held work within communities optional
- still to learn legal environment in music required
- optional, not held link between dance and music style optional
- optional, not held music literature optional
- optional, not held musical instruments optional
- optional, not held musical theory optional
- optional, not held study music optional
- optional, not held study musical scores optional
- optional, not held perform musical improvisations in therapy optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a musician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 legal environment in music study this
- 02 organise a repertoire practise this
- 03 work with composers practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 19 skills that carry over
- already held analyse own performance skill
- already held attend rehearsals skill
- already held cope with stage fright skill
- already held follow directions of the artistic director skill
- already held follow time cues skill
- already held interact with an audience skill
- already held interact with fellow actors skill
- already held manage feedback skill
- already held perform live skill
- already held study roles from scripts skill
- already held work independently as an artist skill
- already held work with an artistic team skill
- already held act for an audience skill
- already held musical genres knowledge
- already held perform for young audiences skill
- already held perform music solo skill
- already held play musical instruments skill
- already held select music for performance skill
- already held sing skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
39 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on music pedagogy optional
- optional, not held collaborate with music librarians optional
- optional, not held complete final musical scores optional
- optional, not held compose music optional
- optional, not held create musical forms optional
- optional, not held design a music show optional
- optional, not held develop musical ideas optional
- optional, not held draw up artistic project proposals optional
- optional, not held edit recorded sound optional
- optional, not held evaluate musical ideas optional
- optional, not held improvise music optional
- optional, not held link between dance and music style optional
- optional, not held manage artistic career optional
- optional, not held manage artistic project optional
- optional, not held manage musical staff optional
- optional, not held music literature optional
- optional, not held musical instruments optional
- optional, not held musical theory optional
- optional, not held orchestrate music optional
- optional, not held participate in artistic mediation activities optional
- optional, not held participate in music studio recordings optional
- optional, not held perform music in ensemble optional
- optional, not held plan musical performances optional
- optional, not held play the piano optional
- optional, not held promote music optional
- optional, not held read musical score optional
- optional, not held record music optional
- optional, not held rewrite musical scores optional
- optional, not held select musical performers optional
- optional, not held specialise in a musical genre optional
- optional, not held study music optional
- optional, not held study musical scores optional
- optional, not held supervise music groups optional
- optional, not held transcribe ideas into musical notation optional
- optional, not held transcribe musical compositions optional
- optional, not held transpose music optional
- optional, not held write musical scores optional
- optional, not held perform musical improvisations in therapy optional
- optional, not held work within communities optional
15 held skills the musician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role create an artistic performance skill
- not needed by the target role develop educational resources skill
- not needed by the target role develop magic show concepts skill
- not needed by the target role engage the audience emotionally skill
- not needed by the target role identify artistic niche skill
- not needed by the target role keep up with trends skill
- not needed by the target role manage performance light quality skill
- not needed by the target role manipulate object to create illusions skill
- not needed by the target role match venues with performers skill
- not needed by the target role meet deadlines skill
- not needed by the target role perform dances skill
- not needed by the target role perform stunts skill
- not needed by the target role train livestock and captive animals skill
- not needed by the target role use declaiming techniques skill
- not needed by the target role work with respect for own safety skill
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn legal environment in music required
- optional, not held link between dance and music style optional
- optional, not held music literature optional
- optional, not held musical instruments optional
- optional, not held musical theory optional
Other moves recorded from variety artist
Common questions about this move
Can a variety artist become a musician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A variety artist already covers 45% of what a musician is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 12 of which the musician role treats as required.
What skills does a variety artist need to become a musician?
4 required skills are missing, plus 39 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is legal environment in music.
How hard is the move from variety artist to musician?
Its learning distance is 63.4 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.