Making a Music Resume

         Resumes in general are really difficult to perfect.  These are the documents that build our reputation and are major factors of our career path.  For music majors though resumes are different.  They do not follow the normal guidelines of what is suppose to be on a resume.  Here's an example:

         This is my old music resume from my auditions to get into Music School.   It is divided into three categories Education, Achievements, and Experience. 

Experience:  The experience column in a music resume is the meaty part of the resume. As a music major I would just write down my performances that I have previously done such as participating in ensembles, solo's and or a gig. Also, for experience you may also write down the opportunities you have participated with whether it was with a famous teacher and or a group. 

Achievements: This is the reputation part of the resume.  This is where musicians put their accolades they have received throughout their lives.  Achievements can be a variety of things.  Placing at solo competitions, principle chair of orchestras,  concerts, national awards, etc.  The more you have the better off you are in the long run.

Education: I made this one last because this is what goes last in a music resume (even though I didn't put it last in my resume).  Education is primarily is the professor a musician studied under in college. Education is extremely important because its how a musician will perform the rest of their life.  The fundamentals they were taught will affect their auditions, performances, and overall musicianship.  Additionally, in orchestral auditions finalists can be determined sometimes by who taught them before the audition because the judges will know how they will continue perform based of their teachers.