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OaSIS 2025 Version 1.0
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51122.01 – Musicians

Musicians play one or more instruments in orchestras, opera companies and popular bands in establishments such as concert halls, lounges and theatres and in film, television and recording studios.

Overview

Example job titles

  • Instrumentalist
  • Musician
  • Percussionist

Core competencies

  • Social Perceptiveness to collaborate, adapt to group dynamics and create a harmonious performance environment, by being aware of the emotional and social cues of fellow performers, conductors and audience members
  • Oral Communication: Oral Expression to clearly communicate musical ideas, rehearsal instructions and performance requirements to other musicians, conductors and producers
  • Auditory Attention and Hearing Sensitivity to detect subtle tonal shifts, rhythms, and harmonies in complex compositions, and perceive precise pitch, dynamics, and timbre variations for accurate performance, composition, and sound mixing
  • Selective Attention to focus intensely on specific sounds or musical elements amidst background noise or competing sounds during live performances, recording sessions, and rehearsals
  • Creativity and Innovativeness to bring personal artistry to performances through improvisation, interpretation of a piece or adding unique elements to their playing
  • Knowledge in Arts to understand musical structures, theory and genre nuance to interpret and perform music with depth or accuracy

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

  • Play one or more instruments as soloists or as members of a musical group before audiences or for recording purposes.

Additional information

  • Musicians and singers usually specialize in specific genres of music such as classical, country, ethnic, jazz, opera or popular music.

Similar occupations classified elsewhere

Exclusions:

  • Conductors, composers and arrangers (51121)

NOC hierarchy breakdown

NOC version

NOC 2021 Version 1.0

Broad occupational category

5 – Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport

TEER

1 – Occupations usually require a university degree

Major group

51 – Professional occupations in art and culture

Sub-major group

511 – Professional occupations in art and culture

Minor group

5112 – Creative and performing artists

Unit group

51122 – Musicians and singers

Occupational profile

51122.01 – Musicians

O*NET in-it

This page includes information from the O*NET 27.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Employment and Social Development Canada has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.