Start by doing both until you land a good paying gig or get conected to do studio recording. I used to teach but with the demand in the recording studio, it is much more lucrative, easy-going, and offers versatility. You get union scale or more depending on the demand. YOu get to choose which pays more. If you are young, I would do both, teach and play as starter.
When others get to know you, the offers open up and you never know what happens from one day to the next. You can even get a break, like myself, to do tons of studio work. You need to be very accomplished if you are heading towards that avenue since you have to play each style very well.
Both! Most professional musicians still have to supplement their performance incomes with other jobs, so if you taught music, you'd still be involved in the field you love. And being a professional musician increases your cache as a teacher. You'll be able to attract more students and earn more money if you're also performing regularly, since students like to know their instructors aren't merely failed musicians. They find it inspiring to learn from someone who's actually doing what they aspire to do.
I am both and I can tell you that the majority of my income comes from teaching. Unless you have a steady gig that pays well (which is hard to come by) you will be hard pressed to stay busy enough performing, to pay your bills. By teaching I have a consistent and fairly reliable income. I still perform several times a month but some months are better than others.
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Start by doing both until you land a good paying gig or get conected to do studio recording. I used to teach but with the demand in the recording studio, it is much more lucrative, easy-going, and offers versatility. You get union scale or more depending on the demand. YOu get to choose which pays more. If you are young, I would do both, teach and play as starter.
When others get to know you, the offers open up and you never know what happens from one day to the next. You can even get a break, like myself, to do tons of studio work. You need to be very accomplished if you are heading towards that avenue since you have to play each style very well.
Both! Most professional musicians still have to supplement their performance incomes with other jobs, so if you taught music, you'd still be involved in the field you love. And being a professional musician increases your cache as a teacher. You'll be able to attract more students and earn more money if you're also performing regularly, since students like to know their instructors aren't merely failed musicians. They find it inspiring to learn from someone who's actually doing what they aspire to do.
I am both and I can tell you that the majority of my income comes from teaching. Unless you have a steady gig that pays well (which is hard to come by) you will be hard pressed to stay busy enough performing, to pay your bills. By teaching I have a consistent and fairly reliable income. I still perform several times a month but some months are better than others.
Music teacher.
Then on your days off you can be a performing musician.
Plenty of people are both.