As a one-time aspiring artist, I found myself living in two
realms, if you will. In one realm, I had a 9 to 5 that I used to try to pay
bills and scrounge the money for studio time. In the second realm, I was a
performer trying to gain experience in my craft that would likely never mean
very much in my first realm. In the first realm, I knew exactly what my resume
needed to say so I could obtain the next, higher paying 9 to 5. However, the
question of my resume for the second realm was always a fuzzy abstract. I
always knew that a bio was expected and I took great pangs to make sure that I
had one that best spoke to my personality and talents. I did not even
contemplate a musical resume until just two short years ago.
One of the challenges that I faced immediately in the
endeavor to create my music resume was the information that I needed to
include. After all, I did not want it to be just a bio in an outline form. I
had to ask myself what I sought to accomplish with my music resume. I found the
task of creating my music resume extremely difficult, in part, because I had
such broad focus. It was not until my Full Sail courses began that I really
began to firm up my musical career goals. That had changed since I was last a
performer on stage.
In trying to determine the best way to construct my music
resume I found an article
that proved very useful. Heather McDonald lists four areas that one should
examine to include on their resume; experience, reliability, list of music
related accomplishments, and related education. Each area has distinct
considerations that could make or break your music resume. However, I think
that the most valuable thing about developing your music resume is developing
your career focus and assessing your strengths and weaknesses. My journey
through the music resume revealed the areas that I needed to gain more
experience in to accomplish my professional goals. This is important because having a
plan, even if it is only a vague outline, can aid tremendously in keeping you
on track to your destination.
