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Musician vs composer

The differences between musicians and composers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a musician, becoming a composer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a musician has an average salary of $57,257, which is higher than the $53,019 average annual salary of a composer.

The top three skills for a musician include live performances, keyboard and music theory. The most important skills for a composer are video games, adobe photoshop, and adobe premiere.

Musician vs composer overview

MusicianComposer
Yearly salary$57,257$53,019
Hourly rate$27.53$25.49
Growth rate4%5%
Number of jobs10329
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4544
Years of experience42

Musician vs composer salary

Musicians and composers have different pay scales, as shown below.

MusicianComposer
Average salary$57,257$53,019
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $127,000Between $25,000 And $108,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NY-
Highest paying stateNew York-
Best paying companySanford Health-
Best paying industryMedia-

Differences between musician and composer education

There are a few differences between a musician and a composer in terms of educational background:

MusicianComposer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorMusicMusic
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyStanford University

Musician vs composer demographics

Here are the differences between musicians' and composers' demographics:

MusicianComposer
Average age4544
Gender ratioMale, 80.4% Female, 19.6%Male, 79.8% Female, 20.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 5.4% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 5.3% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage9%30%

Differences between musician and composer duties and responsibilities

Musician example responsibilities.

  • Accomplish placement in first group clarinet section.
  • Play trombone, trumpet, baritone saxophone, keyboard, rhythm guitar, and provide backup vocals.
  • Jazz, fusion, blues band.
  • Design and maintain Facebook, MySpace and Purevolume websites.
  • Record multiple EP's and work on a full-length album.
  • Act as a vacation bible school instructor in the summer months.
  • Show more

Composer example responsibilities.

  • Supervise, manage and book DJ's.
  • Produce: NYC, Houston, TX, tour TX.
  • Work with multiple DAW software.
  • Record and master young talent demo CDs.
  • Build and maintain a high-performance PC studio workstation.
  • Experience in ADR recording, mixing and editing.
  • Show more

Musician vs composer skills

Common musician skills
  • Live Performances, 20%
  • Keyboard, 11%
  • Music Theory, 6%
  • Synthesizers, 6%
  • DJ, 4%
  • Saxophone, 4%
Common composer skills
  • Video Games, 12%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 11%
  • Adobe Premiere, 10%
  • Sound Design, 9%
  • Avid Media Composer, 6%
  • Pro Tools, 5%

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