To go into the profession of being a session musician you need experience more than anything. Experience of playing with different people in varying ensembles builds necessary qualities such as teamwork, communication, and your general ability to play in a wide variety of musical styles.1 Having experience in the studio and putting your recordings into a portfolio of your output gives a concise overview of your previous projects and showcases your abilities; this is what potential future collaborators will care about most, as it gives them an insight into who you are as an artist. Academic qualifications are not essential in this field as it is a creative industry, however a lot of session musicians have studied formally at university particularly doing Classical, Jazz, or Performance courses. This gives them a bachelor’s in music which shows people you have a solid understanding of what you do without them needing to see any work. Studying these courses is still very helpful despite not being necessary, as they offer an opportunity to broaden your skillset and deepen your understanding of the field you choose. Also, they provide a novice session musician a taste of working in the industry. Another thing that helps get into being a session musician as a career is having a good relationship with a contractor (fixer) which is a person who connect musicians with their clients who are looking for people to play on their work. This is especially common on larger scale projects or productions and in bigger cities.2
To be successful as a session musician there are lots of vital skills needed in order to maximise your opportunities. Without question the fundamental key to becoming a session musician in the first place is to be able to play your main instrument to an advanced level. This is the entire basis of being a session musician and goes hand in hand with the next skill which is being proficient in multiple styles of music. This is what opens a lot of doors and will give you a broad range of potential gigs and sessions, as versatility in what you can play means you can accept more offers and go for more opportunities. Being an accomplished sight-reader is clearly an important talent to possess. This is because as a session musician there’s a chance you’ll need to sight-read a piece on the job without ever seeing the music beforehand; making sure you’re up to scratch with your sight reading allows you to play with ensembles like Big Bands or Orchestras. In these sessions they often have their own arrangements that you may not necessarily know ahead of time. Various attributes that you should possess if you are going into the music industry in general include working well with colleagues, this allows for smooth sessions and will increase chances of people passing on your name which is a key way of getting a good reputation and being offered more jobs. Reliability is a crucial attribute for session musicians – it helps everything run smoothly and everyone you work with will appreciate when you show up on time and know everything you need to do. Working flexibly is a necessity as a session musician; the majority of work done is not on a regular schedule with practices, rehearsals, and performances all potentially happening during the day or at night.3 The final attribute I will mention is perhaps the hardest: self-motivation. To be able to keep up with a busy schedule and practice consistently can be emotionally exhausting; finding the motivation is important so that you can stay on top of the multiple things you will most likely be doing.
One of the duties of a session musician is to practice their instrument to work on their technical ability. This is highly important to make sure they are at the advanced level they should be and to constantly be improving – to be a session musician you want to be more than capable of performing anything you are required to play so you don’t have to exert all your ability which could make room for error.3 Another duty is to make sure you know all the parts you are required to play ahead of any gig or recording session. To not having the capability to show up prepared would show a lack of professionalism and commitment.3 Another responsibility of being a session musician is making sure you have the right equipment for the sound you are trying to culture in the studio. The best way to do that is to get the most versatile instrument you can get as much variation out of it as you may need.4 As a session musician you will need to carve out time for auditioning for a part in an ensemble such as a Big Band. This can be a rarer task depending on the kind of work you go for or receive, but it is equally as important as you must give auditions your all, so you have the best chance at getting the job.3 Then the main parts of your day will probably be taken up by recording sessions in the studio. This is the bulk of session work and is often done in person with whoever has hired you but, nowadays can be done from home studios by yourself where you just record the stems and send them to the person who commissioned it, meaning you can optimise your time by getting through a lot more sessions in one day without having to travel and set up all your equipment at a professional recording studio.2 The other main part of being a session musician is the live performance aspect. A lot of times session musicians can be hired for live performances or may be asked to play live with people they recorded tracks with originally – this usually happens with big name label artists who need a backing band live either for single concerts or for whole tours.
As a session musician, financially it can be difficult to sustain a proper flow of income as they are freelancers and will work with varying rates of pay. Different types of being paid include a flat fee per song or hour which is more common for shorter sessions or being paid a full project fee for longer recording sessions such as multiple songs or a full album over several weeks. 2 One of the problems is session musicians rarely get royalties as it is not a universal law that they should get them, so they only do if it is agreed in the contract explicitly. As you are work-for-hire you are not given copyright for your performance. It is more common for session musicians to get a percentage of stream and sale royalties when they work with smaller indie labels who generally care more about how artists are treated than the bigger corporate labels.2 A financial cost of being a session musician as well is all the equipment you might need. Being any sort of musician usually comes with a cost of instrument maintenance and session musicians will use their instruments a lot so will need to make sure the tools of their trade are in mint condition.
In terms of promoting yourself as a session musician there are several options to choose for example one way is to create a website as an artist page. This would have a lot of important details about you including the basics like your name, where you are based, your contact details and the most important part – a portfolio.5 An online portfolio is vital to have as it is easy for anyone to see what you have to offer and if you would be a good fit for the project they are planning. You want to put on the best of your works and showcase your extensive skillset. As your career progresses your portfolio will change and adapt to fit in your best works and show off the versatility. Starting out as a session musician will be more of a challenge because you will have a smaller catalogue of work. This is not a huge obstacle, but it is imperative for the session musician to showcase the work they have even if it’s not professionally recorded – some is better than nothing in this scenario. The website is effectively an online CV, make it concise but informative. Social media is an important tool to promote the work of a session musician for example Instagram, Facebook, or freelance sites. Instagram is particularly good at building an online audience as another source of revenue as you can publish what you do as content for people to see and engage with your current and future work. As with a website it is important to remember not to clutter your online profiles, you want people to easily find the important content such as new releases and upcoming gigs so keeping your profile clean ensures you get the information you want across. It is key to link your social medias on your website and vice versa so that however someone finds you online, people can then access the rest of your online presence with ease.6
There are a few challenges that come with being a session musician, one of the main ones is that it can be demotivating. Constantly trying to find work and not always getting the gigs can be a hit to your self-esteem. The music industry is one of the most competitive, and in today’s age of social media you can get caught up with comparing yourself to people online – it can seem like there is so many musicians out there better than you. It’s hard to keep grounded and have true belief in what you do and the music you make, but if you can stay grounded, it helps cultivate a perseverance that will show in the quality of your work and makes people want to collaborate with you. There is also the added pressure of a lack of jobs, nowadays it is harder to make a living as a freelance musician alone because gigs are not as plentiful. If you do get revenue from streaming services, it will never be enough to sustain your lifestyle (the main artist and label will take the majority cut). With the significant role social media now plays in being any sort of musician, you can get social media fatigue and feel burnt out. This all has an effect on your mental health and could lead to developing severe mental health issues as a result.7
There are many different career opportunities you can take as a session musician. You may record for commercial release with a featured artist, orchestra, or band. There will likely be a label involved with reps at the recording and they may even film the recording as it is happening, for promotional use.8 Another avenue is recording for advertising on TV, radio, or cinema. This is usually a shorter session where you record multiple ‘jingles’ of around 3 minutes.8 Film score and soundtrack recording is a potential path where you record the music to picture with a film director potentially making changes in the session as to make sure it fits the visual. This can be orchestral or contemporary depending on the style the director wants the recording to have.8 Live television is a very different job opportunity as there are no second takes. You must be absolutely prepared musically, mentally, and physically. Examples include talk show band, talent shows, and sporting events. It is essential you keep an eye on the conductor so as not to miss cues to ensure everything runs smoothly.8 In the same vein is concert recording. This can be either live or be made into a commercial Audio/Visual release. It is very similar to any live performance with an audience except as it’s being recorded you will have two fees, live performance and broadcasting.8
Bibliography
1 UK Music (n.d.) Job profile session musician. https://www.ukmusic.org/job-profiles/session-musician/ [Accessed 07/01/2026]
2 Martina (2025) Studio Musicians: Who Are They And How To Become One? [Blog Post]. IMusician. 29 July. https://imusician.pro/en/resources/blog/studio-musicians-who-are-they [Accessed 07/01/2026]
3 Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025) Occupational outlook handbook: musicians and singers. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/entertainment-and-sports/musicians-and-singers.htm#tab-5 [Accessed 07/01/2026]
4 Last Minute Musicians (n.d.) Working as a session musician. https://www.lastminutemusicians.com/how_to_get_gigs/work-as-a-session-musician/ [Accessed 07/01/2026]
5 Shawn, L. (n.d.) How to Promote Yourself as a Session Musician [Blog Post]. Fusion Bags. N.d. https://www.fusion-bags.com/blogs/news/how-to-promote-yourself-as-a-session-musician?srsltid=AfmBOop4kCIAw6etPCHj4pjuONkvy_JhYOuB9Nydk2OAFdCY3a6Feh5E [Accessed 08/01/2026]
6 Musicians Union (2022) Promoting yourself and your music online. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/career-development/career-guides/marketing-and-promotion/promoting-yourself-and-your-music-online [Accessed 08/01/2026]
7 Ilaria G. (2025) Top challenges for music professionals in 2025: Part 1. https://www.music-jobs.com/uk/article/news/top-challenges-for-music-professionals-in-2025-part-1 [Accessed 08/01/2026]
8 Musicians Union (2021) Types of Sessions. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/recording-and-broadcasting/working-as-a-recording-session-musician/types-of-sessions [Accessed 08/01/2026]
