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By David Collier
Undoubtedly you've heard about freelance musicians. But have you ever wondered what that really means, especially for a percussionist? Let me tell you what it means for me.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word freelance means: "A person, especially a writer or an artist, who sells his or her services to employers without a long-term commitment to any one of them."
Though I never really set out to be a freelance percussionist, much of what I (and many percussionists) do falls under this definition. Some of the freelance services I perform are:
- Orchestral timpani and percussion,
- Percussion for national touring artists and stage productions,
- Percussion for chamber ensembles,
- Teacher, private lessons,
- Adjudicator,
- Clinician.
Each of these areas are directly related to my training and background and I enjoy them all. However, I am hired, or contracted, for only a specific amount of time which means that no single one of these would make a full-time job. Therefore, I am freelancing and building a career of many small pieces.
How do you prepare yourself to be successful in this arena? As a player there are three things you need: technical proficiency, versatility, and stylistic adaptability. You must be technically proficient on every instrument you can. This is the result of the total percussion concept under which I developed. Realistically, it is not be possible to be a master on all percussion instruments, but if you plan to perform with a wide variety of ensembles or artists, you must be strong in areas like timpani, keyboard percussion, Latin percussion, multi-percussion, and drum set. You may be hired to play any one or more of these areas for a particular job. Some of the techniques one must know are:
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