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Vocalist vs musician

The differences between vocalists and musicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a vocalist has an average salary of $57,656, which is higher than the $57,257 average annual salary of a musician.

The top three skills for a vocalist include wedding ceremony, corporate events and singers. The most important skills for a musician are live performances, keyboard, and music theory.

Vocalist vs musician overview

VocalistMusician
Yearly salary$57,656$57,257
Hourly rate$27.72$27.53
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs135103
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4545
Years of experience-4

Vocalist vs musician salary

Vocalists and musicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

VocalistMusician
Average salary$57,656$57,257
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $129,000Between $25,000 And $127,000
Highest paying City-New York, NY
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-Sanford Health
Best paying industry-Media

Differences between vocalist and musician education

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

VocalistMusician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorMusicMusic
Most common college-Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Vocalist vs musician demographics

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

VocalistMusician
Average age4545
Gender ratioMale, 42.3% Female, 57.7%Male, 80.4% Female, 19.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 5.6% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black 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%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between vocalist and musician duties and responsibilities

Vocalist example responsibilities.

  • Achieve desired tonal and harmonic balance by communicating clearly with singers.
  • Self-Employ internationally known opera singer, award-winning cabaret singer, actor with off-Broadway credits.
  • Self-Employ internationally known opera singer, award-winning cabaret singer, actor with off-Broadway credits.

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

Vocalist vs musician skills

Common vocalist skills
  • Wedding Ceremony, 20%
  • Corporate Events, 13%
  • Singers, 8%
  • Songwriting, 6%
  • Chorus, 6%
  • Sound Equipment, 6%
Common musician skills
  • Live Performances, 20%
  • Keyboard, 11%
  • Music Theory, 6%
  • Synthesizers, 6%
  • DJ, 4%
  • Saxophone, 4%

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