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Pianist vs professional musician

The differences between pianists and professional musicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a pianist and a professional musician. Additionally, a professional musician has an average salary of $55,483, which is higher than the $53,479 average annual salary of a pianist.

The top three skills for a pianist include piano performance, chamber music and classical music. The most important skills for a professional musician are live performances, music venues, and music theory.

Pianist vs professional musician overview

PianistProfessional Musician
Yearly salary$53,479$55,483
Hourly rate$25.71$26.67
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs9943,354
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4545
Years of experience44

Pianist vs professional musician salary

Pianists and professional musicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

PianistProfessional Musician
Average salary$53,479$55,483
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $113,000Between $25,000 And $121,000
Highest paying CityBuena Park, CA-
Highest paying stateNew Jersey-
Best paying companySUNY Geneseo-
Best paying industryHealth Care-

Differences between pianist and professional musician education

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

PianistProfessional Musician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorMusicMusic
Most common collegeStanford UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Pianist vs professional musician demographics

Here are the differences between pianists' and professional musicians' demographics:

PianistProfessional Musician
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 50.5% Female, 49.5%Male, 82.2% Female, 17.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 5.5% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 5.5% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between pianist and professional musician duties and responsibilities

Pianist example responsibilities.

  • Skil at creation and maintenance of Milli's Bandcamp and Facebook websites.
  • Organize rehearsals, book shows, and collaborate in songwriting efforts with band members
  • Collaborate with teachers and directors to assist in learning and memorization.
  • Collaborate with teachers and directors to assist in learning and memorization.

Professional musician example responsibilities.

  • Accomplish placement in first group clarinet section.
  • Play drums, percussion keyboard instruments, tympani, and ethnic percussion.
  • use of rolland, yamaha, instruments, composing music.also taken courses on songwriting and acapella.also musis theory and philosphy.
  • Compose and write own original copyright music/tablature; release one EP and one full length LP (studio album).
  • Provide various music from spirituals, hymns, anthems, older gospel and the very latest of good quality gospel music.
  • Provide musical support during gospel choir singing engagements.
  • Show more

Pianist vs professional musician skills

Common pianist skills
  • Piano Performance, 36%
  • Chamber Music, 11%
  • Classical Music, 9%
  • Chorus, 7%
  • Music Theory, 6%
  • Piano Music, 4%
Common professional musician skills
  • Live Performances, 17%
  • Music Venues, 7%
  • Music Theory, 6%
  • Songwriting, 6%
  • Keyboard, 5%
  • Brass, 5%

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