The The skillset of professional studio musicians in the German popular music recording industry

Abstract

Among the professional roles in the recording industry, studio musicians have received relatively little academic attention. Who has played on a record and who has developed the rhythms, melodies and fills are secrets that remain hidden behind closed studio doors. Since the little public media available mainly recollects memories of past stars or musical developments from more than twenty years ago, little is known about more recent biographies, individual skills and working practices of average studio musicians from different parts of the world. Against this backdrop, the present study explored the skillset of studio musicians in Germany’s popular music recording industry. The interviewees provided rare insights into their careers, expressed their views on technological developments and depicted their economic realities. With increasing power and affordability of music production resources, new business models for studio musicians were developing along with a change of skills. For a long time, the successful studio musician had incredible playing skills, stylistic flexibility and was an excellent sight-reader. These requirements seem to have shifted; today’s musicians must have a broader skillset and be experts beyond their instruments. A repertoire of ideas and sounds to be offered spontaneously in a recording session are highly valuable next to empathy, social skills and a likeable and humble personality. The musicians must be both unique and flexible to serve a project and compete with the many fellow musicians and programmers of computer instruments.

Gear Acquisition Syndrome: Consumption of Instruments and Technology in Popular Music

“…A musician's role more and more entails the role of a technician or technologist because they are increasingly expected to engineer their sound on stage and recordings. Moreover, musicians might wish greater control over their sound as they progress in their careers (Herbst 2021;Herbst & Albrecht 2018).…”

The Work Realities of Professional Studio Musicians in the German Popular Music Recording Industry: Careers, Practices and Economic Situations

“…Another article based on the same interview data is published in the Finnish Yearbook of Ethnomusicology (Herbst and Albrecht 2018). Its focus lays on the required skill set of studio musicians and how it compares to musical scenes around the globe at different times in popular music history…”