Description
A Singer is a professional performer who uses their voice as their primary instrument to entertain and convey emotion. Singers perform across various genres, including pop, rock, classical, jazz, opera, country, and more. They may perform solo, with a band, or as part of a choir or ensemble. Singers also record music, perform live, and often work on developing their unique vocal style and repertoire.
Excludes people using musical instruments.
Duties
Here are some typical duties of singers:
- Performing: Sing live at concerts, events, festivals, clubs, and other venues.
- Recording: Record vocals for albums, singles, jingles, and other audio projects in studios.
- Rehearsing: Spend significant time rehearsing to improve vocal techniques, learn new songs, and prepare for performances.
- Songwriting: Write and compose original songs, including melodies, harmonies, and lyrics.
- Voice Training: Work with vocal coaches to develop and maintain vocal skills and techniques.
- Collaboration: Collaborate with other musicians, producers, and industry professionals on various projects.
- Promotion: Promote their music through social media, public appearances, and marketing campaigns.
- Touring: Travel to different locations for performances, often involving extensive tours.
- Engagement: Interact with fans and audiences, building a loyal following and engaging with supporters.
Other titles
The following job titles also refer to singer:
lead singer
musical theatre performer
soprano singer
opera solo singer
jazz singer
musical theater actor
musical theater performer
session singer
opera singer
solo singer
rapper
opera choir singer
baritone singer
singer songwriter
musical theater actress
musical theatre actor
vocalist
musical theatre actress
bass voice singer
contralto singer
choir singer
jingle singer
lead vocalist
tenor singer
Working conditions
Singers work in diverse environments, such as recording studios, concert halls, clubs, theaters, and outdoor venues. Their work schedule often includes evenings, weekends, and holidays, especially when performing live. Singers may face physically demanding conditions, such as long rehearsals, performances, and extensive travel during tours. The job can be both exhilarating and stressful, requiring good physical stamina, vocal health maintenance, and the ability to handle performance pressure. Collaboration with other musicians and industry professionals is a common aspect of their work.
Minimum qualifications
To become a successful Singer, the following educational background and experience are typically required:
- Education: While formal education is not mandatory, many singers benefit from structured training in music. This can include a bachelor’s degree in music, vocal performance, or a related field. Specialized training programs in voice or a particular genre can also be advantageous.
- Training: Intensive vocal training is essential. Singers often work with vocal coaches to refine their techniques and expand their vocal range. Training can occur through private lessons, music schools, conservatories, or self-study.
- Experience: Experience is gained through performing in various settings, such as school choirs, community theater, local bands, or solo gigs. Early exposure to performance opportunities helps build confidence and stage presence.
- Skills: Strong vocal skills, stage presence, creativity, and the ability to interpret and express emotions through singing are crucial. Knowledge of music theory, sight-reading, and familiarity with different musical styles are also important.
- Networking: Building a network within the music industry is vital for gaining opportunities and advancing a career. Connections with other musicians, producers, and industry professionals can lead to collaborations and job prospects.
Ongoing practice, professional development, and staying updated with current music trends and vocal techniques are essential for success. Membership in professional organizations, or local music unions, provides access to resources, networking opportunities, and industry support.
ISCO skill level
ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:
- the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
- the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
- the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.
Singer is a Skill level 4 occupation.
Singer career path
Similar occupations
These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to singer.
stand-up comedian
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musician
variety artist
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Essential knowledge and skills
Essential knowledge
This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of singer.
- Legal environment in music: Laws and regulations related to music creation, distribution and performance.
Essential skills and competences
These skills are necessary for the role of singer.
- Perform live: Perform in front of live audiences.
- Accept feedback on artistic performance: Accept feedback, proposed discussions and avenues of exploration about the precision of movements, rhythm, musicality, precision of the performance, interaction with peers and stage elements, areas requiring improvement. Take feedback into account to develop the potential as performer. Note the choreographers/repetiteur/dance master instructions, the instructions of other collaborators (dramaturge, performers/dancers peers, musicians, etc.) assuring being in the same page with direction team.
- Organise a repertoire: Sort and order a collection as a whole in such a way that its parts can be found by following the organising principles.
- Engage the audience emotionally: Create an emotional connection with the audience through your performance. Engage the audience with sadness, humour, anger, any other emotion, or a combination thereof, and let them share your experience.
- Interact with an audience: Convey the artistic values of the art form(s). Respond to the reactions of your audience and involve them.
- Memorise lines: Memorise your role in a performance or broadcast, whether it is text, movement, or music.
- Work independently as an artist: Develop one’s own ways of doing artistic performances, motivating oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
- Participate in music studio recordings: Take part in recording sessions in music studios.
- Sing: Use the voice to produce musical sounds, marked by tone and rhythm.
- Practise singing: Study and practise lyrics, melody, and rhythm of songs.
- Cope with stage fright: Deal with conditions that cause stage fright, such as time limits, the audience and stress.
Optional knowledge and skills
Optional knowledge
This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of singer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
- Acting techniques: The different acting techniques for developing lifelike performances, such as method acting, classical acting, and Meisner technique.
- Musical theory: The body of interrelated concepts that constitute the theoretical background of music.
Optional skills and competences
These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of singer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
- Select music for performance: Select pieces of music for a live performance. Consider factors such as ensemble abilities, availability of scores and the need for musical variety.
- Work within communities: Establish social projects aimed at community development and active citizen participation.
- Improvise music: Improvise music during live performances.
- Dance: Perform in artistic productions of different disciplines such as classical ballet, modern dance, contemporary dance, early dance, ethnic dance, folk dance, acrobatic dances and street dance.
- Manage artistic project: Manage an artistic project. Determine project needs. Establish partnerships. Manage the budget, schedule, contractual agreements and assess the project.
- Transpose music: Transposing music into an alternate key while keeping the original tone structure.
- Supervise music groups: Direct music groups, individual musicians or complete orchestras at rehearsals and during live or studio performances, in order to improve the overall tonal and harmonic balance, dynamics, rhythm, and tempo.
- Perform music in ensemble: Perform music in cooperation with fellow musicians, as a part of an ensemble.
- Perform for young audiences: Perform at a level accessible to children and young adults while also censoring unadvisable content.
- Play musical instruments: Manipulate purpose-built or improvised instruments to produce musical sounds.
- Collaborate with a technical staff in artistic productions: Coordinate the artistic activities with others who are specialised in the technical side of the project. Inform the technical staff of the plans and methods suggested and obtain feedback on feasibility, cost, procedures and other relevant information. Be able to understand the vocabulary and practices concerning technical issues.
- Specialise in a musical genre: Specialise in a specific type or style of music.
- Design a music show: Take the necessary steps to create a musical show: decide on which musical pieces will be played, decide on how the venue will be used, and prepare decoration and lighting if applicable.
- Act for an audience: Act in front of an audience, according to an artistic concept.
- Compose music: Compose original pieces music such as songs, symphonies or sonatas.
- Edit recorded sound: Edit audio footage using a variety of sofware, tools, and techniques such as crossfading, speed effects, and removing unwanted noises.
- Work with composers: Communicate with composers to discuss various interpretations of their work.
- Record music: Record a sound or musical performance in a studio or live environment. Use the appropriate equipment and your professional judgment to capture the sounds with optimal fidelity.
- Read musical score: Read the musical score during rehearsal and live performance.
- Perform music solo: Perform music individually.
- Manage artistic career: Present yourself and your artistic approach. Position your work in target markets. Promote and market yourself and your oeuvre.
- Participate in artistic mediation activities: Participate in cultural and artistic mediation activities: announce the activity, give a presentation or talk related to a piece of art or an exhibition, teach a class or a group, lead artistic mediation activities, lead or participate in a public discussion.
ISCO group and title
2652 – Musicians, singers and composers
References
- Singer – ESCO
- Musicians and Singers : Occupational Outlook Handbook – U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Singer Job Description – Betterteam
- Featured image; Photo by Elizeu Dias on Unsplash