As a pianist, I've found that the two biggest reasons why I get hired are my sight reading and ability to improvise without getting nervous. This usually leads to gigs accompanying various students, playing in bands, or sitting in on a musical.

I was just curious as to how your income comes in for keys. What do you get the most comments on, whether it be good or bad?

It occurred to me that a classical pianist would have to do something along these lines without an artist residency with a major orchestra because, if you think about it, planning, practicing for and performing one recital is an affair that can take up to 6 months of work. I don't know about you, but I somehow doubt that two checks a year is going to cover all the expenses. Just something I thought about that made me feel a little more secure in the upcoming career choices.

Most of the professional pianists I know have to resort to teaching -- in fact, I'd say that teaching makes up the bulk of their income. Others supplement it with playing for dance or choral rehearsals or maybe doing a night or two in a piano bar. Playing on radio and TV commercials is another way to make money without having to go into the bar scene. And there's always the church market, either in a traditional or praise band setting but many churches don't pay anywhere near scale. A friend has been a church organist for more than 40 years and has never made more than $35K a year. That's not bad income for her because she's single, but she does have to supplement it by playing at a synagogue and the occasional wedding.

Another friend played trombone in orchestras and with a brass band and chamber ensembles until he was 50, then decided to open a studio. After 10 years owning the studio, he still has to teach and play a club date now and then to make ends meet.

Being a professional musician isn't easy and the competition is rough, especially for gigs in major orchestras. Now, with arts funding being cut almost everywhere, it's going to be even tougher. I was lucky enough to make my living playing bass for almost 20 years, but reality caught up with me eventually. Today, only about 10% of my income comes from music.

Oy vey. There seems to be SO much money in religion. I don't think I've ever gotten less than $50 for an hour's work playing organ or piano for a service, and weddings can bring in ten times that much. Plus I do vocal coaching, so either that or musical theater is probably where I'll end up making my bread. Funny how many pageant plays get done in churches nowadays, when theater was a sworn enemy of many religious sects up until only 300 years ago or so. Sure, Bach did oratorios, but according to the German and English churches, those didn't count. =P

I certainly don't want to disrespect the writers who do the type of contemporary Christian musicals I've played in, but I usually can't get through playing them without stifling a laugh at several places. The music can be very sophisticated, but it always seems to recall some very familiar genre or pop music hook. For example, we did one last year that had sections than sounded like they had been lifted from "Fiddler on the Roof," John Williams' "Superman" theme and even the theme from "Shaft." And I swear that the year before, we did a song that used the same type of modulation/key change that the theme from Gilligan's Island uses, complete with repeating the last line of the verse before going up a half step to the new key.

I wonder if the composers do this consciously, knowing that people will listen and feel comfortable with the song because they feel like they've heard it before but can't quite put a finger in it? I hope that it's and not that they're just flat out borrowing from Isaac Hayes because they can't come up with something as catchy.

But -- OK, I promise this is my last example -- we did a CC tune that had the changes C, Am, F, G. When I pointed out that these chords could be used to accompany just about and love song from the '50s, the music director gave me a look as if it had never occurred to him. Talk about being sheltered.

I never thought about that Laklander. They might be using those changes just because people have heard it enough zillions of times that they don't have to bother thinking about it.

Maybe that's part of why so few people like jazz...

Sounds like a question for Dan Levitin.

This guy, in case you don't know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Levitin

I would recommend "This is your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession" to anyone even remotely interested in music, musician or otherwise.

I think you guys are absolutely right about the CC writers. I think they pay especially close attention to U2. Every Christian guitarist wants to sound like The Edge and the vocalist do there best to sound Bonoish.

If you guys don't know Lincoln Brewster, you need to check him out. I am a guitar player, but the whole band was always excited to play his tunes. http://www.lincolnbrewster.com/

On the topic:
I am slowly starting to replace my day job with more music income, but in the past it has been half and half. Lessons and then Church and private gigs.

Lincoln Brewster's original material is much more interesting than many of the CC bands and even his covers are better in most cases. The band has an almost metal edge to it. I particularly like their version of "Salvation is here." Has a Yes-like feel to it in some portions.