Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 360 pages
• Published by: Oxford University Press, USA February 3, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 019516914X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0195169140
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 12.8 ounces

Product Review
"The title of this book gives just a glimpse of the breadth of information that is actually included. Author Angela Myles Beeching is director of the Career Services Center at the New England Conservatory, and it is clear that she draws from her personal experience advising hundreds of musicians in all aspects of their careers. Although the book is written primarily for musicians aspiring for full-time professional performing careers, the chapters include practical tips and guidelines that can also be applied to music teachers, composers, and freelancersThis book could easily be used as a textbook for a group of musicians to discuss, ponder, and creatively experiment with promoting their own music making and creating their own 'career paths.'"--American Music Teacher

"The director of New England Conservatory's Career Services Center offers practical advice on a host of topics ranging from performance anxiety and repertoire decisions to creating a web site to managing daily expenses. The book is rife with checklists, short case studies, and what the author calls 'accumulated wisdom of the faculty, alumni, and guest speakers who regularly present career strategy workshops at New England Conservatory.'"--Symphony

"An great manual for musicians at all levels. Full of practical advice and important information, simply presented, easily understood and ready to use."--Janet Bookspan, Stage Director and Performance Coach

"Career specialists and students are hungry for this information. When it is packaged as clearly, concisely, and entertainingly as this book is, it is easy to imagine its addition to the shelves."--Simone Himbeault Taylor, Director, Career Center, University of Michigan

"Beyond Talent is a wonderfully helpful book for the professional future of any young musician. Beeching writes clearly and comprehensively. Her book is a must for the library of any professional musician."--Robert Freeman, Dean, College of Fine Arts, the University of Texas at Austin

Book Description
Contrary to the standard joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall, "making it" in music is not simply about practice, practice, practice. Today, over 200,000 people in the United States work as musicians. With competition for traditional employment opportunities for musicians becoming ever more heated, today's musicians must know how the music industry works and how they can tailor their skills accordingly. How can musicians create their own professional paths? In Beyond Talent, veteran music career counselor Angela Myles Beeching offers up a comprehensive guide for musicians in search of work, demystifying the steps to success. Drawing on a wealth of real-life examples, the book untangles artist management and the recording industry and explains how to find and create performance opportunities. Guidance is also provided on grant writing and fundraising, day jobs, freelancing, and how to manage money, time, and stress. Straightforward and reader-friendly, Beyond Talent is filled with practical tips, examples, checklists, sample budgets, goal-setting exercises, and extensive resource listings. This essential handbook goes beyond the usual "how-to"; Beyond Talent helps musicians tackle the core questions about career goals, defining success, and imagining and then creating a meaningful life as a professional musician.

Reader Reviews
Angela Beeching's "Beyond Talent" is a must-have book for musicians -- both young musicians who aspire to a career, and working musicians who wish to be more successful. Full of practical advice, "Beyond Talent" gives step-by-step strategies for important aspects of building a career in music, covering topics like networking, promotions, and building and connecting with audiences. "Beyond Talent" also includes samples of bios, press releases, and other documents that are vital to the working musician. Beeching knows her stuff and writes with depth, and at the same time, her writing is accessible and inspirational. This book is a terrific companion for young and established musicians alike! Comment | Permalink | (Report this)