Importance of Music and Music as a Career Opportunity
Music is known as one and the only universal language that can go beyond, geographical boundaries, culture, religions and languages. Melody has the power to leave an impact on our ideas, through process and emotions. When you hear a piece of music you know that it has the ability to connect us with others on a deep level. Let's discuss how to become a musician, a performance artist or a music educator. 
The soul of music is the artist itself, when an artist invests years of practice, learning, love and dedication they develop the ability to create that can touch millions of souls no matter where you belong. That is the power of music and an artist who truly loves to create good music. Music has been sold with the tag of entertainment but in real good music goes beyond entertainment, it takes patience, calmness, and pure love and respect to understand the true essence of music.
Even today certain diseases can be cured through music such as anxiety, depression, and Alzheimer's disease. There have been studies that show that music can have a positive impact on one's physical and mental health. It can also impact our social lives by bringing people together, developing a sense of community and joy of shared experience. There are various platforms where musicians and artists get the opportunity to share their music like concerts, music festivals, events, live performances and other social media platforms. Music is a way of expressing experiences, observations, and emotions with almost honesty and creativity.
Candidates who are passionate about music, and want to make a professional career in the music industry should read this entire Shiksha article to know about the rewarding and fulfilling experience of completing a music course and becoming a musician, singer, performance artist or music teacher. The music industry in India comes with various opportunities for students who wish to pursue music careers. Students can choose from various professional careers such as musicians, music composers, producers, sound engineers, and other music professionals to work on stage or behind stage in music production companies and recording studios.
The great violin teacher Shinichi Suzuki once said "The purpose of [music] education is to train children, not to be professional musicians but to be fine musicians and to show high ability in any other field they enter." True to Suzuki’s words, music education presents immense benefits to an individual in the long run and we have several testimonials in our history that prove his words. One such testimonial is in the form of Albert Einstein who is considered the world’s greatest physicist. In his own words, “The theory of relativity occurred to me by intuition, and music is the driving force behind this intuition. My parents had me study the violin from the time I was six. My new discovery is the result of musical perception”. One can’t simply ignore the words of the world’s greatest minds!
Neuroscientists worldwide have performed different studies and research to discover the intriguing relationship between music and brain development. In simple words, these studies demonstrate that music plays a crucial role in improving brain function. With strong evidence backing the benefits of music, it raises an important question—why is music not a fundamental part of our education curriculum and child development? This thought-provoking study is now urging educational institutions to widen their curriculum by incorporating music into education.
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Music brings the body and mind into harmony, enabling them to work together effortlessly. Studies indicate that learning music improves children's ability to learn by benefiting different parts of life. It also plays an important role in developing motor, social, and emotional skills while contributing to overall literacy advancement. A person who is learning to play a musical instrument should know that it will strengthen their hand-eye and ear-hand coordination, improving their fine motor skills. Further skill development, music acts as a powerful form of expression that positively shapes an individual’s personality, enabling better mental health and stability. Most notably, music is not just about growth—it is a source of pure joy and satisfaction.
Music as a Career Opportunity
Over the years multiple career avenues have opened up in the field of music. One can become a musician or a performance artist or can choose to be a music educator. And while we all understand the importance of music education, today’s youth needs to be made aware of these options available in the field of music.
The options are endless for a person who is inclined to build a career in the field of music. Here are some broad categories one can pursue such as:
- Musician/ Performance artist
- Individual vocalist/Band member
- Music instrument performer in any capacity including brass, percussion, wind, strings or keyboard
- Composer
- Conductor
- Music educator has an opportunity in the following areas
- Popular Music colleges
- General music teacher in elementary and secondary schools
- Band/Choir/Orchestra teacher in an education institute
- Private music instructor
- Radio/TV/Film – Another very popular field
- You can be a Radio Jockey/Video Jockey/Disc Jockey
- Music Editor
- Music Director
- Audio Producer
- Radio or TV promoter for an artist or label
- Music Therapist
- Song Writer/Composer
- Music critic
- Music Journalist
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Music Education
Mandatory music education is the need of the hour. While many educational institutes are waking up to this call, there is still a lot of ground to cover. Every child needs to be given a primary music education, just like other subjects. Educational institutes are collaborating with music schools to interweave music education in their current curriculum. Music schools are relentlessly carrying ahead the torch of spreading music education all over the country.
In the present time, the courses and programmes proposed by musical institutes have been specifically designed by leading educators from across the world that include modern and effective methods of teaching using the latest techniques along with the essential elements of traditional music learning.
It’s a long road ahead, and the foundation is just being laid. Everyone needs to lay a brick in this journey called music. Whether you are a student or a teacher in the field of music, you will continue to learn, grow, and evolve into a better person, and a better professional.
About the Author:
After working in the banking industry for over a decade, Dharini Upadhyaya’s passion for music led her to co-found Furtados School of Music with Tanuja Gomes. To provide quality music education in the country, the two women started the company to standardize and pioneer music education across schools and via centres to cater to all age groups. FSM is currently associated with nearly 200 schools and has 12 centres across India.
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