Requirements of an Orchestra Musician

In my last post, I covered some basics about the musicians in the ship's orchestra.  This post will be my top requirements/attributes in order to be successful as a member of the group.

The Requirements.  I often get asked what it would take to work as a musician in the orchestra.  There are some specifics for each instrument that I will get into for later posts, but this is a general overview for all musicians in the orchestra.  This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list, but just a broad starting point.  I have to also say that this list goes beyond the obvious of playing your specific instrument (and doubles for woodwind players) at a professional level with professional tone and be able to play the necessary ranges.

Sometimes you have to be a really good reader (or mind-reader)
to make sense of some of the really bad charts.
Good luck to Jake, trying to figure out the lead trumpet chart.

1) Be a good reader.  This group works almost 100% from reading charts and it is one of the, if not the most, important parts of the gig.  Not only to be a good reader, but to be a good sightreader.  As I mentioned before with guest entertainer shows, the orchestra usually has only 60-90 minutes to rehearse a one hour show, so you basically read through it once and you might get the chance to go over some tricky transitions or train wrecks but that's about it.  The production shows are all charted as well and a new musician will get to run it one time straight down before performing it for real in front of the guests.  And there are not usually rehearsals for big band sets, so the musicians must be able to sightread the charts.  The guests don't care that the arrangement of In the Mood in the orchestra's big band book is in a different key than the original, they want the band to read it correctly and make it sound like the song that they know.

Since reading is such an important part of the gig, it's also an important part of the audition process (I will get to more on the audition process in another post).  There are many great players out there who freeze up when you put a chart on the stand.  I'm not saying that those people aren't great musicians, it just means that this isn't the gig for them.  Like most things in life, it's like a giant puzzle and you just have to see where the pieces fit best.  The musicians who have great ears and play well but don't read do have a place, even on a ship, and I will get to that during a later post.

One big band or cocktail set may run through
a variety of different ballroom styles.

2) Have a broad musical knowledge.  I'm not saying you have to be an expert in every single genre, but be able to know the basics about the most common styles.  Because the orchestra sometimes works as a jazz/dance band, it is good to know the basic Latin ballroom styles as well.  While playing in the orchestra, I've had to play samba, bossa nova, cha-cha, rhumba, mambo, songo all in the "Latin" styles as well as all the various sub-jazz genres, classical, country, and also pop/contemporary.  One day you might be playing a tribute to Celine Dion and the next might be Motown, and then the next might be a Latin-style show.  Again, you don't have to be an expert in all, but know a little bit to be able to cover.  It also pays to load up you listening library so you can study if need be.  Be able to play stylistically correct in as many genres as possible, know the correct articulations, the overall feel of the genre, etc.  Some people call it the "jack of all trades, master of none" but it kinds of holds true.

In addition to having a broad background, it is also useful to be able to solo on at least a basic level.  I'm not saying you will have to take 20 choruses of Giant Steps, but at least be able to cover yourself with basic changes.  As a drummer I hate soloing, it's one of my least favorite parts of the gig, and when I am MD I get the magical power not to have to do it.  But there have been times when I had to take an open drum solo in front of over 1,000 in the theater and it was a part of my job and I did it with a smile.  There is nothing worse in a Big Band set when a musician gets called to solo on a chorus and they look like a deer caught in the headlights.  I've worked with some players with more of a classical background that just flat out do not solo.  On some ships you might actually be able to get away with it, but on others you might not last more than a couple of weeks before getting a return ticket home.  Better safe than sorry and soloing is like anything else, it just takes practice.  And with the technology available today, there is no excuse not to be able to practice the skill.  Get some Aebersold play alongs, go on YouTube...

3) Be a team player.  While I mentioned the routine playing venues, sometimes you might have to do something of those.  The Cruise Director is responsible to put together the best entertainment they can for guests and sometimes they will try new things.  I have played sets that I didn't always enjoy playing, but it wasn't my job to question it.  I've played next to the pool while at sea and watched everyone's sheet music fly away.  I've had to sit at the dock next to the ship and play as guests were returning to the ship (even if they never noticed that there was a live band playing).  I guarantee there will be times when the musicians are asked to do something outside of their normal duties and it's usually best to just be a team player, suck it up, and do it.  Sometimes because of busy schedules the musicians might have to have a rehearsal in the morning, or they might have to come back to the ship early and give up some port time.  But in the end, musicians are there to work and there is a job to do.

The dreaded parade!  My djembe is being blocked from view.
Is my hat on straight?

Sometimes there is a tendency for people on a ship to say "that's not in my contract" or "I didn't go to music school for this."  Well, maybe not, but you took the gig and you also take your salary every 2 weeks without.  Plus when you are on a ship in the middle of the ocean it's not like you can just walk away so easily.  I'll give you an example, on the first ship I worked on there was a weekly parade and it included the musicians from the orchestra.  There was no actual playing, instead the musicians had to dress it very brightly colored costumes and dance around like fools up and down the ship.  I absolutely hated everything about that parade.  But it wasn't my job to question why I was there, my job was to put on the costume and do my job.  Of course I didn't get a bachelor's degree in music to pretend to play in a silly parade, but that wasn't the point.  What got me through those parades was the fact that the guests loved it.  It was one of their first experiences onboard and the ship was family friendly and it was fun seeing the smiles on the faces of the children.

Most of the musicians on my first ship.
I can count at least 9 countries represented off the top of my head.

4) Be open minded.  Musicians playing on ships come from all over the world and in one orchestra I was in, we had 7 different countries represented in the 9 members.  Needless so say, with all of the backgrounds there can be different interpretations and musical ideas on the bandstand.  Ultimately it's up to the Musical Director, but sometimes by being open minded you can resolve little issues without having to involve them.  And remember that you don't always have to be right.  Learning how to "smile and nod" can go a long way.

Being on a ship in general is like a mini, floating United Nations.  It is a melting pot of different religions, cultures, and languages.  On a typical cruise, there will be over 40 nationalities represented in the crew onboard.  There is a tendency not to always understand each other at first.  On my first ship I worked with a lot of Americans onboard so I didn't notice it as much.  But then I went to a ship based in Europe and I worked with more British musicians.  I worked with an MD that would always ask me, "Are you alright?"  In the US you usually only get asked that question if it looks like you are not doing so well.  I kept wondering to myself if I looked sick or something.  I am so grateful to have worked on a ship because it allowed me to experience so many different cultures and I can get a glimpse into many different places around the world without even having to go there.  And my rule for everyone is that you don't always have to like each other, but you must respect each other.  It is nearly impossible to like every single person you work with, especially on a ship with over 800 crew members.  But you are expected to show a basic level of respect.

The ship is active 24 hours a day and rules help keep it safe.

5) Be able to follow rules.  This is not just a music-related requirement.  While being on a luxury cruise ship is not the same as being on a military ship, it is similar in that there are a lot of rules to follow.  For some people, this gets to be a little overbearing, but there is a need for it all.  The reason is almost always for everyone's safety onboard.  It's not your job to decide which rules to follow, it's your job to follow them.  Yes, at times it may seem overbearing, but to work on a ship you must in general be a rule follower and not a rule breaker.

Believe it or not, this goes against the attitudes of a lot of musicians I know, which means this is not a gig for everyone.  No, you cannot wear sandals into the crew mess (dining room).  Yes, you have to wear a uniform when you are in a public area.  And yes, in some ports there might be a curfew for the crew.  It's not your job to determine whether the rules are right or wrong, it is only your job to follow them.  As I said, most of the rules are in place to ensure everyone's safety.  If you happen to be one of those anti-establishment, stick-it-to-the-man kind of people, then working on a ship is definitely not for you.


This by no means includes everything but it gives a general outline.  There is a lot more general and instrument-specific information that will take more posts to go through.  For my next post I will discuss the audition process and the decision of whether or not to get an agent to get employment on a ship.