16, and wondering about Schools/ Majors.

Well... if you think that working on film scores or video games is somehow less competitive, I have to burst your bubble. It's a numbers thing, pure and simple.

Let's say there's a thousand guitarists working on being rock stars, and ten will make it, because the market will only support ten rock stars. Looking around, you see there's only fifteen musicians who want to write a game score, and five games will come out this year. The odds sure look better for games, right? 3:1 instead of 100:1?

The thing is... record the game, and it's done. They'll sell it for years, and never need to record it again. So it's maybe 1500 gigs (going to 10 artists of 1000, or 1.5 gigs per hopeful) against 5 gigs to 15 musicians, or 0.3 per hopeful.

Now, if you're talking about writing the score for video games or films, you get an income stream from royalties, provided you didn't sell it outright, which sometimes happens in the game business.

So... there isn't really less competition. On to how to prepare for the jobs that are out there.

If you want to be a performer doing the recording for games and films, you'll need to sight read like nobody's business. They'll put it in front of you, you'll play it - and there are thirty other musicians on the clock, so if you blow the part and have to record it again, you're spending thirty salaries plus the studio time, which doesn't make the producer like you very much. You'll get those chops by playing music you've never seen before - sit in with every performance you can, in every style you can. Go to a good music school, major in performance, and play in every ensemble you can - play jazz, chamber music, reggae, whatever you can.

If you want to be a composer in the field, study composition, harmony, theory, and arranging. Write as much stuff as you can in as many genres as you can. Study every piece of music you can find, and figure out what makes it tick. Learn to write under time pressures - the director will reshoot a scene at the end of the schedule, and you'll have only a day or two to score it... and it's got to blend in with the rest of the stuff you've spent time getting just right.

If you want to work on the technical side (engineer, etc.), move to where the stuff is recorded. Offer to work cheap - even free - making coffee, sweeping the floor, whatever is needed. Learn the process, make friends, ask a few questions now and then.

No matter which part of the business you want to be in, you'll need to know (and eventually be known by) the people who parcel out the work. Get to know who's who in your end of the business, and be where they are. It's still a crapshoot as to whether you'll be able to demo your stuff for a decision maker, but chance favors the prepared... be where they are, and be ready to sell yourself at every opportunity.

I hope I haven't put you off of this as a career - that's not my intent. If you've got fire in your belly to do it, then I hope you make it... but it's not any 'easier' than other parts of the music biz.

Try this:

http://www.musiccareers.net/article.php?id=241

-Laz

Thanks for the input. I have, however done alot of thinking about this( probably much more than the average 16 year old) and realize that it is competitive. Im aiming more for compostion.

Once again, thanks for the input, I'm simply clarifying my postition. :)