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Psychology of Music
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Insecurity, professional sociability, and alcohol: Young freelance musicians'
perspectives on work and life in the music profession
Melissa C. Dobson
Psychology of Music 2011 39: 240 originally published online 27 August 2010
DOI: 10.1177/0305735610373562
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Article
Insecurity, professional sociability,
and alcohol: Young freelance
musicians’ perspectives on work
and life in the music profession
Melissa C. Dobson
University of Sheffield, UK
Psychology of Music
39(2) 240–260
© The Author(s) 2010
Reprints and permission: sagepub.
co.uk/journalsPermission.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0305735610373562
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Abstract
Research addressing a link between musical creativity and mental disorder has predominantly
considered composers rather than performers, and has been dominated by the questionable use of
retrospective biographical research methods. This article calls for research to explore more widely
the stressors and challenges that living musicians face in their work and lives. Semi-structured
interviews were undertaken with 18 young musicians (nine freelance classical string players and
nine jazz musicians). The participants expressed concern over their lack of job and financial security,
and stressed the importance of reputations in the networks of musicians in which they operate.
Socializing professionally was identified as a key means of advancing work prospects, in which alcohol
consumption often played a strong role. Drinking patterns were also associated with the demands of
performance, with alcohol consumption arising either as a consequence of pressure or boredom. These
results are discussed in light of the limited existing research investigating musicians’ uses of alcohol.
Keywords
alcohol, freelance musicians, jazz, job insecurity, musicians’ lifestyles, reputations, social competence, string
players
This study emerged from an interest in the possibility of a relationship between creativity and
psychopathology, particularly in reference to music practitioners. This purported relationship,
and the romanticized notion of the ‘mad genius’ creator with which it is associated, have
attracted attention in both academic discourse and popular media (Schlesinger, 2002). Much
research in this field has employed retrospective biographical research methods, whereby
researchers examine the biographical sources of creative individuals for indications of psychiatric
disorder (e.g., Jamison, 1993; Ludwig, 1995; Post, 1994). 1 Among studies using these
methods on music practitioners, classical performers have largely been neglected, with a focus
instead on jazz musicians (Tolson & Cuyjet, 2007; Wills, 2003) and classical composers (Frosch,
Corresponding author:
Melissa C. Dobson, University of Sheffield, Department of Music, Jessop Building, 34 Leavygreave Road, Sheffield, S3 7RD.
[email: melissa.dobson@hotmail.co.uk]
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Dobson 241
1987; Trethowan, 1977): groups of musicians perceived to exhibit ostensibly higher levels of
creativity in their work than classical performers (Cottrell, 2004; cf. Seddon & Biasutti, 2009).
Yet research on living classical musicians finds that their work can exert detrimental effects on
their physical and psychological health (Brodsky, 2006; Parasuraman & Purohit, 2000), and
opponents of the use of retrospective biographical methods have called for a broader investigation
of the factors which affect musicians’ well-being (e.g. Schlesinger, 2003). This research
attempts to deconstruct the ‘mad genius’ myth in relation to performing musicians, demonstrating
the increased relevance of findings emerging from a study of living individuals, and
presenting a realistic picture of the pressures and challenges that freelance musicians face.
Two large-scale studies examining the biographies of ‘eminent’ individuals for evidence of
mental disorder indicate that, in relation to composers, a link between musical creativity and
psychopathology is less concrete than often portrayed. Ludwig (1995) found that composers
possessed the lowest lifetime prevalence rates for mental disorder among the arts professions,
while Post’s (1994) survey of biographies indicated that composers exhibited the second lowest
prevalence rates for incidence of psychopathology among a sample of scientists, politicians,
artists, thinkers and writers. Frosch (1987, p. 322) stated that there is ‘no compelling evidence’
for a ‘pathology of musical creativity’ in composers, arguing that ‘our image of the mad creator
is drawn from those few vivid examples, such as Schumann, and draws its strength from nineteenth-century
romantic notions of the hero’ (p. 321). Indeed, the allure of viewing artistry as
a tortured process is exemplified by research which seeks to find ‘evidence’ of psychopathology
in composers’ musical works (e.g., Caldwell, 1972) or which uses biographies to attempt to
identify psychological problems experienced by specific composers. Taking Mozart as an example,
studies have variously asserted that he suffered from a wide range of medical conditions,
including cyclothymia (Davies, 1987) and Tourette’s syndrome (Simkin, 1992), although more
recent literature has disputed these claims (Ashoori & Jankovic, 2007). More widely, researchers
interested in a creativity–psychopathology link have questioned the use of biographies as
reliable sources (Poole, 2003; Schlesinger, 2004b) and raised objections to the use of
‘psychological autopsies’ as research methods (Schlesinger, 2004a, p. 184).
These recent methodological critiques were prompted by research by Wills (2003), who formed
psychiatric diagnoses from the biographies of jazz musicians eminent between 1945 and 1960.
He found that 28.5% of the sample suffered from affective disorders, 27.5% from alcohol-related
disorder, and 52.5% from heroin-related disorder (pp. 256–257). While living performers’ uses of
substances have been explored in relation to both amateur (Groce, 1991; Grønnerød, 2002) and
professional rock musicians (Raeburn 1987a, 1987b), there is little contemporary research into
the role of work-related alcohol consumption in professional jazz and classical musicians. 2 Of
Raeburn, Hipple, Delaney, and Chesky’s (2003) two convenience samples used to survey popular
(including jazz) musicians’ health, 10% and 16% of the respective groups indicated that substance
use had affected their performances over the past year (p. 116). The International
Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) study of symphony orchestras found
that 21% of musicians were worried about the effects of their alcohol consumption (Fishbein,
Middlestadt, Ottati, Straus, & Ellis, 1988), but as with Raeburn and colleagues’ (2003) study, its
findings cannot necessarily be generalized beyond prevailing attitudes held in the United States
(US) towards drinking. Given the differences in drinking cultures between countries (Bloomfield,
Greenfield, Kraus, & Augustin, 2002; Kuntsche, Rehm, & Gmel, 2004), there is a clear need for
research in this area to be undertaken in countries other than the US – as demonstrated by the
inexorable reliance on anecdote that was evident in a recent United Kingdom (UK) media debate
on orchestral musicians’ drinking habits (see Higgins, 2009; Nwanoku, 2009).
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242 Psychology of Music 39(2)
Work-related alcohol consumption among musicians has been attributed to its role in maintaining
group membership (Grønnerød, 2002; Raeburn, 1999; Wills & Cooper, 1984). Alcohol research
has highlighted occupational cultures amongst journalists and naval officers (Cosper & Hughes,
1982) and manufacturing plant workers (Ames & Grube, 1999; Ames & Janes, 1987) where workrelated
drinking ‘becomes normative behaviour that is interactive with the overall organizational
culture of the workplace’ (Ames & Janes, 1992), playing an important role in the formation and
maintenance of social networks. Data from Martin, Roman, and Blum’s (1996, p. 593) crossoccupational
sample indicated that ‘participation in a work-based drinking network ... emerged as a
powerful predictor of problem drinking status’, with employees who regularly drank with colleagues
more likely to view drinking as a means of coping with job dissatisfaction or job stress.
Wills and Cooper (1988) focused on the sources of occupational stress faced by popular
musicians, considering the effects of musicians’ lifestyles on well-being and mental health.
While financial security and sporadic working patterns were significant sources of stress, the
greatest sources of pressure originated from maintaining standards of playing to a level that
met the musicians’ own ideals. However, this study’s tendency to finely categorize the types of
musician working within the popular field (using player categories such as ‘jazz/gig’, ‘commercial/gig’
and ‘commercial/session’) does not adequately reflect the current need for both popular
and classical freelance musicians to be as adaptable as possible to ensure financial survival
in a competitive work environment (Bennett, 2007; Cottrell, 2007). This is particularly the
case for jazz musicians, who are often less well remunerated than popular musicians performing
in other styles (Cottrell, 2004), with the ‘jazz life’ characterized as one of ‘relative poverty
and hard work’ (MacDonald & Wilson, 2005, p. 405).
From a predominantly classical perspective, research has begun to address the health problems
of conservatoire students (e.g., Ginsborg, Kreutz, Thomas, & Williamon, 2009; Williamon
& Thompson, 2006), and their experiences of the often difficult transition between amateur
and professional states (Burland & Davidson, 2002). In research concerned with fully professional
musicians, Marchant-Haycox & Wilson (1992) attributed classical musicians’ high levels
of stress to a competitive work environment, constant criticism from external sources, and
unconventional working patterns. The ICSOM survey of 2,212 orchestral musicians’ health,
which encompassed both physical and psychological problems, found that medical problems
were most prevalent among string players (Fishbein et al., 1988). While an existing body of
research focuses on the internal psychological workings of string quartets (Davidson & Good,
2002; Murnighan & Conlon, 1991; Young & Colman, 1979), research has neglected to consider
freelance string players, whose livelihood might involve negotiating the demands of both
orchestral and chamber music performance within a larger portfolio of work.
The present study gathers data from freelance jazz musicians and string players to explore
the challenges and stressors involved in young freelance musicians’ work and associated lifestyles.
It aims to use the differences in the work of these two groups of musicians to gain a rich
picture of freelance life, and simultaneously aims to gain perspectives on performers’ experiences
of their tertiary education.
Method
Participants
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants: nine jazz musicians (coded
J1–J9) and nine freelance string players (S1–S9). Their ages ranged from 21 to 34. Overall, the
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Dobson 243
Table 1. Participant profiles
Code Age Gender Status Instrument(s)
Jazz
J1 21 Male University UG 1 (3rd year) Trumpet
J2 22 Male University PG 2 (1st year) Piano
J3 21 Male Conservatoire UG (4th year) Drums
J4 28 Female Professional Singer
J5 25 Male Professional Bass guitar
J6 31 Male Professional Saxophone
J7 26 Male Professional Piano, bass
J8 25 Male Professional Piano
J9 34 Female Professional Piano
Strings
S1 22 Female University UG (3rd year) Violin
S2 22 Male University PG (1st year) Cello
S3 21 Male Conservatoire UG (4th year) Violin
S4 22 Female Conservatoire PG (1st year) Cello
S5 23 Female Conservatoire PG (1st year) Viola
S6 22 Male Conservatoire PG (2nd year) Violin
S7 26 Female Professional Viola
S8 24 Male Professional Violin
S9 28 Female Professional Cello
Note: 1 UG = Undergraduate; 2 PG = Postgraduate.
sample consisted of 11 men and seven women. This imbalance stemmed from the jazz group:
only two of the nine jazz participants were women, while the string group comprised five
women and four men. A more balanced sample was initially sought, but difficulties were
encountered identifying female jazz musicians to interview, and time limitations on a research
trip to London meant that a better matched sample could not be pursued. The participants’
educational and professional statuses spanned a continuum, beginning with university music
students already undertaking paid freelance work and hoping to embark on performance
careers, followed by students at London conservatoires, and ending with professional musicians
(see Table 1). The ambiguity between these states must be noted, however, as in some
cases the boundaries between student and professional were distinctly blurred, with some ‘student’
participants working professionally as much as any other ‘professional’ might expect to. 3
As a string player, the author accessed potential interviewees through peer networks. While
some participants were known to the author as friends, others were previously only ‘known of’,
and some were completely unknown: in these cases contact was established via telephone numbers
provided by mutual acquaintances. It is likely that the varying degrees of acquaintance
between the author and participants affected the course of the interviews, although ascertaining
(or generalizing) the nature of these effects is difficult. The participants who viewed the
author as a friend may have been more open to discussing sensitive topics. Alternatively, because
their interview was part of an ongoing association with the author, rather than a one-off
encounter, the elements of formality inherent in a semi-structured interview may have been
more noticeable, leading them to feel less, rather than more, at ease within the interview context.
These participants may have been more likely to actively censor their responses so that they
did not include details which they would not wish the author to know. However, as all participants
were accessed through peer networks, it is plausible that this may be the case, in varying
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244 Psychology of Music 39(2)
degrees, throughout the sample. Conversely, the author’s status as ‘musician’ in addition to
‘researcher’ may have engendered a feeling of shared understanding and trust. 4
The participants were approached initially by phone: implicit consent was assumed by their
agreement to take part after hearing an outline of the interview schedule. Before each interview
started participants were assured of the confidentiality of their answers and that data
from their interview transcripts would be treated anonymously. They were asked for their permission
to record the interview and were informed of their right to withdraw from the study
at any time.
Interview schedule
This article originates from a broader study, the interview schedule for which is provided
(see Appendix). Dobson (2010) presents other findings from the research. The interview
schedule began with a warm-up period which sought details of the participants’ work or
study, before asking them to consider how working as a musician affected their lifestyle.
They were asked to identify aspects of their personality which they considered to be advantageous
for working in the music profession, before exploring their perceptions of the levels
of autonomy and creativity experienced in their work. This was followed by a group of questions
on stereotypical musicians’ personalities. Through inviting participants to think about
whether they did fulfil a stereotype (and giving them the opportunity to reject the stereotype
they had provided, or indeed the notion of stereotypes altogether), the aim of this section
was to ease participants into talking comfortably about their experiences in preparation for
the later, potentially sensitive, questions of the schedule (Smith, 1995, p. 13). This section
addressed the incidence of mental health problems in musicians, explored the participants’
perceptions of why such problems occur, and asked them if they had experienced difficulties
concerning emotional well-being or mental health either personally or in other musicians
they knew.
Analysis
The interview transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
(IPA), following suggestions proposed by Smith (1995). Initially, one transcript was analysed
in depth by reading the transcript repeatedly and marking summaries, initial interpretations
and then emergent theme titles in the margins. The themes were compiled into a list, and
related themes grouped together, producing a number of ‘master themes’ (Smith, 1995,
p. 19). These were checked against the transcript to ensure they were an acceptable reading
of the raw data. This process was repeated for the next participant’s transcript using the same
themes and master themes where appropriate. Once this transcript was coded the first participant’s
transcript was checked to see if any new emergent themes could be applied. A
cumulative list of master themes and sub-themes for the whole sample was thus devised. As
the number of analysed transcripts grew, newly emergent themes were tested out periodically
on previously analysed transcripts.
IPA was chosen as a method of analysis because it ‘is concerned with cognitions … with
understanding what the particular respondent thinks or believes about the topic under investigation’
(Smith, Flowers, & Osborn, 1997, p. 70). As IPA is intended for data that focuses on
participants’ personal experiences and perceptions, the third person data that was deliberately
obtained (e.g., responses to the questions on stereotypes and accounts of mental health
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Dobson 245
problems in musicians that the participants knew) was collated into separate files and
excluded from the main analysis. Where other third person data arose spontaneously in the
transcripts it was identified as such but was used in the analysis if it could contribute to
already-emergent themes, especially when providing further insights into the milieux in
which the participants operate.
Results
Overview: Life in the profession
Both groups of participants valued the flexibility and diversity inherent in the nature of their
work; many appreciated the variety and unpredictability that working as a musician entailed,
often comparing it favourably to those who had ‘office’ or ‘nine-to-five’ jobs. The freelance
string players in particular valued being able to make work-related decisions for themselves,
explaining how ‘you’re living to serve your own purpose’ (S5) in comparison to their orchestral
counterparts who are simply ‘told what to do by an orchestral manager’ (S3).
The insecurity that accompanies such a varied lifestyle was not so eagerly welcomed, however,
and a tension between the positive and negative aspects of unstable work patterns was
noticeable in most participants’ accounts. A trade-off between insecurity and variety has
been identified in Cottrell’s (2004, 2007) research on freelance musicians, although wider
literature suggests that portfolio workers in other occupations similarly find difficulty negotiating
the dual aspects of autonomy and uncertainty which characterize their work (Clinton,
Totterdell, & Wood, 2006, p. 189; Cohen & Malon, 1999). Amongst the musicians in this
study, financial insecurity and job uncertainty were perceived as particularly prominent disadvantages
of working in the music profession. Although none of the participants yet had
the added pressure of children to support, the most experienced of the string players looked
ahead to that stage in her life, highlighting concerns about how such a lifestyle could successfully
operate:
it’s so badly paid, it’s really demoralizing for everybody, and it can force people into situations where
they’re just working their arses off, they never have a holiday, and they take anything that comes their
way, and they’re working seven days a week, you know, full on and … you’re just exhausted and you
have no quality of life anymore if you’re doing that, so. But that’s kind of what it takes to live in
London and raise a family or whatever, and sometimes that’s what you have to do. So yeah, I’m not
sure … long term whether I still see myself still doing this, in London, at this pace, because I see that
and I think ‘Oh God, I don’t want to end up run ragged’. (S9)
The participants’ distinctive lifestyles appeared to instil a sense of being unusual or different
from the rest of society, which for some translated into feelings of alienation, with descriptions
of feeling ‘disconnected from real life’ (S9) or ‘that we live slightly outside the world’ (J7). A sense
of isolation was experienced by some of the conservatoire students, who noted the insularity
involved in hours of solo practice, and the degree of self-involvement which practice required:
it’s such a kind of self-involved thing, you know, you’re criticizing yourself and your playing – you
have to think a lot about yourself, and what you’re doing. When you’re at music college level … you’re
learning to perfect your technique on your instrument, and it’s not about other people at that stage;
maybe later. (S5)
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246 Psychology of Music 39(2)
The enduring presence of self-criticism and the potential for criticism from audiences served
only to exacerbate the distinctions that the musicians made between the requirements of their
profession and those of other lines of work. Talking of the effects of self-criticism, a conservatoire
violinist stated ‘you don’t have to always do that [in other occupations], you don’t have to
always think about where you’re going wrong’ (S6), while a professional viola player spoke of
the vulnerability she perceived as inherent in performance:
it’s such an emotional thing, it’s such a personal thing, music, you know. It’s not like if you work in
recruitment…you’re really putting yourself on the line in some ways – a lot of it has to come from
inside you…so you have to believe in yourself. (S7)
This idea was extended by the jazz musicians: one jazz student described performance as ‘putting
out your soul’ (J3), speaking of the potentially damaging effects of criticism from audiences
and peers when the performer has taken a prominent role in shaping the musical product.
The jazz musicians highly valued improvisation because of its capacity for self-expression
(Dobson, 2010), but they also believed that it increased their exposure to the effects of criticism:
J4, for example, stated that ‘the more creativity there is the more chance there is of getting
hurt’. Similarly, a jazz pianist reflected on the greater vulnerability involved when performing
music she had composed:
if you do write your own music, I think that’s also a different thing from just playing other people’s
music, and also it’s similar to being a singer or something, you’re very exposed and very open to criticism
– you really kind of put yourself on the line, so you’ve got to be fairly strong-minded. I mean
everybody, any musician will tell you I guess, and you’ve probably discovered that we’re all kind of,
with a lot of self-doubt, I suppose, in what we do. (J9)
Self-doubt, peer-comparison, and the importance of reputations
Doubt in one’s abilities as a performer was a strong emergent theme. While several string players
discussed self-doubt, this theme was more prominent in the jazz musicians’ accounts and
was most frequently related to their experiences at music college. J5 talked of having ‘some horrible
times being a musician’ during his student years, describing the potential for depression
that an uncertain involvement with music can harbour: ‘music is as good a thing as anything
to get really down about, and insecure about…if you’re not sure about what you’re doing’. He
explained this lack of confidence in terms of the need to adjust to a greater degree of selfsufficiency
during conservatoire training, particularly when operating in what he described as
‘a very sort of introverted, middle class jazz scene’ (J5).
While self-criticism and criticism from audiences did concern some of the participants, criticism
from peers emerged as a more prominent theme. J5’s experiences also demonstrate the
potential for peer criticism to impact on a musician’s well-being, depicting a conservatoire culture
in which back-stabbing is rife:
You have to be confident in what you’re doing, because nobody around you is going to tell you what
you’re doing is good or bad…there’s a massive culture of praising and putting each other down behind
people’s backs…that is hugely widespread, but it is awesomely rare for anybody to turn round and tell
anybody else that they’re great, that they’re good, that they enjoyed what they did.... If you allow
yourself to be bogged down in the sort of comparing yourself to what’s going on around you stakes,
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Dobson 247
then … it can be a very unhappy life, very unhappy existence. (J5)
Similarly, a lack of self-belief characterized a jazz drummer’s account of his student experiences,
demonstrating how peer-comparison can fuel self-doubt within a conservatoire ‘hothouse’
environment (Pitts, 2002, p. 87):
At the end of first year [of music college], I really felt rubbish … it’s very competitive amongst certain
people in London … I wanted to give up because I felt there were so many other good people in London
and, you know, ‘What have I got that other people can’t give?’ … People are always talking about you
behind your back, you know. Which can be quite hard to deal with … I mean I’m guilty of this … you
think, ‘Oh I wonder what people think of me, or think of my playing?’, you know, but I think I’ve
learned from being a musician that you can’t think like that. (J3)
In these accounts, the opaque nature of the musicians’ reputations interacted negatively
with the proclivity within conservatoire culture for peer-comparison and competition. These
musicians have a clear idea of the means by which reputations are formed, yet the nature of
their own reputation – which holds the potential to mediate both social and professional relationships
– remains far from transparent. The participants’ uncertainty about the nature of
their reputations exacerbated their propensity for making self-comparisons with peers,
increasing their likelihood of engaging in self-doubt. J3 had just finished his conservatoire
training at the time of his interview, and his description of having ‘learned from being a
musician that you can’t think like that’ indicates that this belief system developed as a
response to the negative consequences of engaging in sustained peer-comparison. In this
sense, a competitive conservatoire culture could be interpreted as contributing to a ‘hidden
curriculum’ through which students learn adaptive practices for coping with professional life
(cf. Pitts, 2003).
A professional jazz musician implicitly acknowledged the importance of external validations
and reputations:
if I don’t feel I’m playing well, I find that very depressing, and very sort of … you know, I think if you’re
freelance, you haven’t really got a framework of people … you’re always working with different people,
and if you’re playing badly, for example, or if you can see that you’re not playing well, I don’t know.
Sometimes I find it quite depressing, but I mean that’s probably more the nature of doing something
creative and being self-critical. (J6)
For J6, freelance work entailed constantly having to prove his musical worth, with little
shared history to provide an indicator of his usual standard of performance from which colleagues
could assess his playing on a given occasion. This account complies with the musicians’
adage that ‘you’re only as good as your last gig’ in the eyes of colleagues and,
importantly, in the modification or formation of reputations following a performance. From
one perspective, J6’s quote demonstrates the effects of an interaction between (1) feelings of
insecurity when performing with colleagues who are constantly changing (yet who are
simultaneously linked by a network of musicians and shared reputations), and (2) the effects
of the self-criticism required to attain an intrinsically rewarding level of performance.
Alternatively, the last sentence of the quote could be read as a reluctance to criticize the
milieu in which he works, instead attributing his ‘depressing’ situation to internal rather
than external causes.
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248 Psychology of Music 39(2)
Lack of job security; the ensuing importance of ‘professional sociability’
A lack of security and stability was frequently cited by participants in both groups as a negative
aspect of freelance life, particularly because of the speed at which work can be both offered and
withdrawn:
I think the sort of air of insecurity around it is also something that’s hard to shake off. Because you
don’t really ever know where you stand. I mean you kind of do, you know, when people are booking
you, but actually there is no such thing as a contract with most of the groups I play with. So, and a lot
of the directors are very fickle and, you know, they might just change their mind and decide they
prefer somebody else, and just like that, you know, you’re dumped. And you’ve kind of got no comeback.
So there’s a lot of intrigue and politics attached to that, and a lot of people who are very insecure
and hanging onto their jobs as much as they can. (S9)
This account suggests a need for freelance performers to maximize work potential in as
many ways as possible, not just by maintaining an adequate standard of playing. This was
echoed by many of the other musicians; a strong emergent theme is what I have termed
‘professional sociability’: the need to be sociable and liked by one’s colleagues and peers in
order to increase chances of offers of work, or simply to retain existing work. The participants
stressed the importance of ‘getting on well with people’ (J5), describing how ‘you need
to be in a good mood all the time’ (J3) when working. S9 noted her difficulty maintaining
adequate levels of professional sociability when on tour, where in essence one is ‘working’ –
socially if not musically – constantly:
I really treasure having time to myself. So sometimes when I’m on tour, that makes me a bit disagreeable.
Because you’re around people full-time and you have to be positive and cheerful and fun, all the
time. And, you know, there’s a limit to how much of that you can do. (S9)
One conservatoire student violinist, talking in the context of competition among violinists,
was more explicit about his aims, stating:
You’re perfectly nice to people most of the time, because you have to be because you want work and
you want people to ask you to do stuff, but … there can be slight competition issues, and it’s always at
the back of your mind. (S6)
This suggests an underlying tension, perhaps particularly in the conservatoire environment,
between regarding peers as competitors for future work, yet simultaneously acknowledging
that the same people hold the potential to lead to new work opportunities.
S6 was not alone in explicitly acknowledging the importance of being sociable and likeable
to maintain and advance prospects of work, as the following two sample responses to the question
‘Do you think there are any aspects of your character which are particularly well-suited to
your life as a musician?’ demonstrate:
I’d say probably there are areas of my character that have taken me further in playing than probably
[my] actual playing. I tend to get on with people very well, and I tend to be on very friendly terms with
most people that I work with regularly, which I think sometimes tends to get me a call, now and again,
maybe beyond my playing. I think it really is the fact that I can … become meaningfully involved with
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Dobson 249
people, yeah and I do certainly think that’s got me ahead, and, you know, got me to at least some
degree where I am now. (J5)
I get on pretty well with people … which I think, I think is crucial. I think to be a successful English
musician – and I say English, you know, because so often all English orchestras are under-rehearsed,
and everything’s a little bit last minute – and I think it’s so important that you can have the ability to
get on with people, be calm. Just be easy, you know, not make too many demands, just get on with it,
be professional and do a good job. (S3)
These sample responses demonstrate that the ability to ‘get on well with people’ is regarded
as a vital characteristic for freelance professional success. These quotations do suggest two
levels of professional sociability, however: while S3 talks of being sociable purely in the
context of being easy to work with during the confines of a rehearsal or concert, J5 extends
the idea, emphasizing the role of establishing friendships with colleagues in progressing his
career.
Alcohol as career facilitator? Drinking in socio-professional contexts
Participants from both groups linked professional sociability to alcohol consumption, although
the two groups differed in the extent to which they viewed excessive drinking as a continuing
practice within their profession. Violinist S8 presented drinking as a professional necessity:
I probably drink too much, in fact I do tend to drink on a regular, daily basis, which is not really good.
But especially when you’re, for example when you’re trialling for an orchestra to get a job, I know for
a fact that lots of players that haven’t been offered jobs – and it’s got nothing to do with their ability
– but they won’t really go out for the whole sort of socializing thing, and sadly that often includes having
six pints every night in the local pub after the concerts. Which is pretty unfortunate, and a bit sad,
but that’s sort of the way it works, certainly in British orchestras. (S8)
S8 voices concern at the regularity at which he drinks, but qualifies this behaviour because it
fulfils a professional purpose. He moves quickly away from talking about his own personal
experience, so that rather than explain how he has engaged in these behaviours when trying
to secure future work, he shifts to discussing others who have neglected to conform to
expected behaviour codes, consequently failing to gain orchestral positions. The presentation
of this negative outcome serves to validate S8’s drinking habits, framing him as a professional
who understands that participating in work-related drinking is crucial for career progression
and success. He acknowledges that this situation is not ideal (‘pretty unfortunate,
and a bit sad’) but nonetheless appears willing to conform to the established system (‘that’s
sort of the way it works’).
The close relationship between drinking and professional sociability was not just presented
as a feature of orchestral culture: talking of working on a touring show, J4 described the obligation
of ‘having to go to the pub, you know, that’s what you’ll do: go to the pub in-between breaks
and after the show’ (emphasis added). Continuing from S8’s account, it seems that even once a
period of work is secured, work-related drinking is presented as an expected part of the job,
rather than something over which it is possible to exert direct choice. However, a number of the
jazz musicians believed that a generational shift had occurred in musicians’ attitudes and
behaviour relating to socio-professional drinking:
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250 Psychology of Music 39(2)
There’s definitely … a camaraderie thing about, you know, I think especially the older generation, it
was really, you had to get really … yeah, I mean there’s a ‘hard’ thing about it, you know, you’ve got to
drink people under the table and all that stuff. And I think there’s a certain kudos of being able to play
when you’re pissed, and stuff like that, which is a completely pointless skill, but I think it’s something,
you know, older musicians are always astounding me with tales of when so and so had 19 pints and
could still play. Which doesn’t impress me much, but it obviously impressed them. (J6)
J6 depicts an older generation of players for whom work-related drinking provides a vehicle for
creating a sense of shared history based on notions of deviance, and a culture in which professional
success is characterized more by on-the-job drinking ‘achievements’ than musical accomplishment.
J6 distances himself from this generation’s behaviour (‘completely pointless skill’,
‘doesn’t impress me’), although the way he initially attributes musicians’ alcohol consumption
to ‘camaraderie’ suggests that he still recognizes the role of drinking in professional socializing,
despite believing that his generation does not engage in these behaviours to such excess.
Two jazz musicians believed that a change in attitudes towards alcohol consumption was
not just generational but also societal: even the musicians who had previously conformed to the
stereotype of the heavy-drinking jazz musician had now changed their behaviour:
It’s funny, all the musicians I know now are fairly clean-living – it’s quite boring [laughs].... A lot of
musicians who were alcoholics, or who were like really, like in a bad way have kind of pulled themselves
out of it somehow, and are on the straight and narrow. And it’s really quite boring! [laughs] It’s
like that’s not jazz! (J9)
The laughter punctuating each occasion when J9 proclaims ‘it’s quite boring’ could be read as
signalling a degree of discomfort with this statement. Presumably she would not wish for her
colleagues to return to alcoholism, but her depiction of the new culture as ‘not jazz’ suggests a
reminiscence for a time when jazz musicians’ drinking habits did in some way define them as a
coherent professional and social group, and when a sense of ‘jazz’ identity may have been more
tangible (cf. MacDonald & Wilson, 2006, p. 75). J9 talked at another point in the interview of
her belief that jazz in Britain was ‘on the margins of existence’, especially in comparison to classical
music, which was ‘more embedded in society’. A tendency among freelance musicians to
feel alienated from the rest of society was highlighted earlier, and this is perhaps exacerbated for
jazz musicians, whose genre arguably receives less recognition in mainstream culture. Taking
this perspective, without deviant drinking cultures, jazz is depicted as a genre that is both
under-recognized and lacking in distinctiveness: of salience for an art form with the potential
to be regarded (and presented) by the media as ‘esoteric’ (Byrnes, 2007).
Performance-related drinking: Alcohol consumption as a consequence of pressure
or boredom
It was notable that only one string player (S8) made a distinction between the drinking behaviours
of an old and a new generation of musicians. Despite making this delineation he still
seemed resigned to the inevitability of a culture of heavy drinking continuing within the classical
music community. He qualified the drinking habits of classical performers by describing
the pressure orchestral musicians are constantly under, especially in terms of the requirement
to consistently produce accurate performances (cf. Dobson, 2010). The majority of string players
who discussed post-concert drinking attributed it to a need for a release from the pressure
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Dobson 251
involved in performance, as described by S7: ‘When you have such high-pressure situations and
all that adrenaline, then it’s so tempting to just get hammered afterwards – it’s like these kind
of ups and downs.’
The string participants typically explained post-concert drinking in terms of ‘winding down’
after the ‘high’ of a performance, but in some participants’ accounts this seemed to have
become an ingrained cycle that, despite originating in the need for a release from the pressure
of performing, also contained an element of social imperative:
It’s the whole thing of being so high after a concert and, you know, you kind of want to sustain that
high – it’s very odd to just go home after a concert. I mean I do sometimes, now, if I’m really tired, I
just think, ‘Right, I have to get up early and do something else’. I will go home, but it still feels quite
alien to be, to not go to the pub and have a drink with everyone, you know, and just wind down a bit.
And so I suppose [for] people that are prone to that addiction, then it develops, because it’s so wrapped
up in the lifestyle of being on stage. (S9)
S9’s description of it being ‘very odd to just go home after a concert’ suggests a sense in which
‘winding down’ is seen as a collective, rather than simply personal, process: an almost obligatory
part of the performance event itself. There is a contradiction between the way S9 initially
presents post-concert drinking in terms of a need to ‘sustain that high’ but later characterizes
it in terms of winding down, suggesting that the functions of post-concert drinking might be
multi-staged. Sharing a progression through changing emotional and physiological states
(enjoying the high to winding down) with those with whom one has collaborated in performance
perhaps serves to solidify a sense of group identity within the transitory nature of freelance
life. But this process did not exclusively relate to performance, with S4 similarly talking of
drinking to relax after a day of rehearsals, creating a situation where playing is intrinsically
associated with drinking: ‘it does just get to the situation where you’ll have a few drinks like
every day … but then sometimes you’ll have like a few more drinks than you should’ [laughs]
(S4). Some participants were matter of fact about this part of their existence, viewing drinking
as an inevitable corollary of their work’s demands, but not one that was necessarily negative.
Others, like S9 before, did express concern at the potential for alcoholism to arise from these
patterns in already-susceptible individuals.
The jazz musicians also spoke of the incidence of alcoholism in the musician community,
although from their perspective, this was less related to the pressure of performing, and more
connected to the situations in which jazz musicians perform:
I think practically speaking, alcoholism’s got a hell of a lot to do with the, you know, musicians perform
in social environments. You know, you’re playing in a bar, you’re sitting around, what do you do?
You drink. Most [other] people go to a bar one night a week … A lot of the work that I do is corporate
events where … you can’t do anything when you’re not working except sit in the bar and get pissed.
And I think that’s, you know, there’s obviously other reasons, but I think availability is a big part of
the problem. (J6)
This emphasizes a difference between jazz and classical music’s typical performance environments,
and the consequent expectations of performers’ behaviour. While it is not usual to see
classical musicians drinking when performing, jazz musicians frequently perform in more
explicitly social environments, and moderate drinking while playing is not frowned upon by
either fellow musicians or audiences. Conversely, while the string players did speak of other
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252 Psychology of Music 39(2)
orchestral musicians (particularly from the brass and percussion sections) who drank during
breaks in rehearsals, before concerts, or during the interval, when describing their own behaviour
the string players only talked of drinking after a rehearsal or concert, presenting alcohol
consumption primarily as a result of pressure rather than availability.
J6’s quotation above demonstrates how, for jazz musicians, boredom and availability can act as
incentives to drink while undertaking function work (providing music at corporate events, parties,
weddings and so on), a view also taken by J3, who described how ‘it’s just too easy’ to drink to
excess in such circumstances. It is plausible that jazz musicians harbour a degree of resentment
at having to undertake function engagements ‘to bring home the bread and butter’ (J8); contrasting
with the classical sphere, the relatively low remuneration for jazz gigs means that it is rare for
musicians to survive financially from playing jazz alone (Cooper & Wills, 1989; MacDonald &
Wilson, 2005; Stebbins, 1969). The professional string participants were sufficiently remunerated
for their concert-based performances and so did not need to undertake function work, while
the jazz musicians presented it as an inevitable part of their performance portfolio (Dobson,
2010). The latter are therefore forced to spend time undertaking less intrinsically rewarding (but
better paying) work, and may compensate by drinking to counteract the effects of boredom.
Discussion
The aim of this study was to explore the challenges facing young student and freelance professional
musicians. Many participants reported particular difficulties while studying at conservatoires.
In some cases, problems experienced at music college seemed to serve as a rite of initiation
that, although unpleasant at the time, equipped the musician effectively for the demands of
their future career, or at least alerted them to the ongoing existence of such demands. In particular,
participants’ uncertainties about their abilities and reputations whilst at music college
served as preparation for a freelance professional culture in which ‘you don’t really ever know
where you stand’ (S9). It is notable, however, that the aspects of the conservatoire experience
that might prepare musicians for the reality of working in the profession were not taught as
part of a formal curriculum, but rather were institutionalized features of the conservatoire
culture itself. This finding therefore contributes to other research suggesting that the conservatoire
curriculum per se does not always adequately prepare students for working professionally
(Corkhill, 2005; Hager & Johnsson, 2009), and especially falls short of requirements in teaching
the extra-musical skills needed for a successful performance career (Bennett, 2007;
MacNamara, Holmes, & Collins, 2006).
The participants stressed an ability to get on well with colleagues and peers as one of the
major extra-musical skills they needed when working. This finding concurs with research by
MacNamara, Holmes, and Collins (2008) in which successful performers identified the possession
of strong interpersonal skills as an important characteristic, especially during the transition
from training to profession. Negotiating the requirement for professional sociability caused
a tension with the culture of competitiveness and back-stabbing that some participants had
experienced at music college. As the majority of data on competition and back-stabbing came
from discourse about experiences at music college, it may be that this tension between camaraderie
and competition is at its worst for conservatoire students, who inhabit an intense environment
in which they work with – and compare themselves to – the same relatively small group
of peers over a number of years (cf. Steptoe, 1989, p. 7).
Although the coexistence of back-stabbing and professional sociability might superficially
seem incongruous, it is plausible that collective back-stabbing at times occurs as a form of
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Dobson 253
professional socializing, serving to unify those engaged in the practice. It is also possible that
concerns over peer competition may be a more general feature of freelance working rather than
specifically relating to being a musician. Research on freelance workers in other occupations has
found that peer networks are highly valued as a means of enhancing work potential (Dex, Willis,
Paterson, & Sheppard, 2000) and for providing work-related support and recognition (Gold &
Fraser, 2002), but that peers are often viewed with caution (Cohen & Malon, 1999), to the extent
that Clinton and colleagues (2006, p. 196) found that ‘the competition between peers for work
sometimes made cooperation very difficult’. Perhaps peer competition does not pervade the freelance
musician community to a similar degree because musicians’ work is inherently collaborative:
in most cases, performances cannot be realized without a process of cooperation.
The data highlighted the importance of reputations among networks of freelance musicians,
a factor that was also a cause for concern for some participants in the conservatoire
environment where little direct feedback occurred from one musician to another. As a result,
participants suffered from the pressure of feeling that they constantly had to prove themselves
at every performance. This is not a problem unique to freelance musicians: Brodsky
(2006, p. 687) found that players holding orchestral positions similarly reported an ‘everpresent
feeling of having to justify themselves’. However, orchestral musicians may at least
be warned by orchestral management if their playing is consistently not up to standard; for
freelance musicians there is no one to provide a warning in this situation and offers of work
may diminish. This problem is perhaps exacerbated for jazz musicians, who are not necessarily
judged wholly on ‘errors’, but also on more subjective features of their playing, such as
possessing the right ‘feel’.
Performance and drinking were closely related for participants in both groups, although the
groups differed in the ways they accounted for their drinking behaviour. The string players predominantly
presented drinking as a result of the anxiety and stress involved in the execution of
an accurate performance (cf. West, 2004). Although none of the participants spoke themselves
of pre-performance drinking, they freely talked about other classical musicians who drank to
counter the effects of performance anxiety. It is possible that even if these participants did
engage in pre-performance drinking they may not have admitted to doing so, believing that this
could potentially damage their professional reputation. Depending on the extent to which the
participants viewed the author as a peer or colleague, they may have been hesitant about
releasing information of this kind.
In contrast, some of the jazz musicians attributed performance-related drinking to the availability
of alcohol in their work environments. This was particularly the case when undertaking
function work, where boredom accentuated the effects of availability. It is plausible to suggest
that jazz musicians might actually be less inclined to drink when performing in jazz gigs than
when undertaking function engagements, wanting to retain the creative and technical faculties
required for an intrinsically satisfying performance. The views of the jazz musicians in
MacDonald and Wilson’s (2005, p. 405) study support this idea: in one of their two focus group
interviews drinking ‘was seen as a failing and associated with lesser musical ability’. The jazz
musicians thus appeared to exert conscious control over performance-related drinking, while
the string players presented alcohol consumption as an unavoidable response to the pressures
of their work. While related research has investigated the respective pressures involved in performing
classical music and jazz (Dobson, 2010), there is scope for more detailed research to
examine how jazz and classical musicians’ perceptions of performance vary, and to investigate
whether there are differences in the ways in which (and extent to which) they experience performance
anxiety.
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254 Psychology of Music 39(2)
This article makes a distinction between ‘performance-related drinking’ and ‘drinking in
socio-professional contexts’. The two, of course, are often intertwined: while the string players
frequently attributed post-concert drinking to the pressure of performance, it was also presented
as a requisite of the job itself. In a lifestyle characterized by unpredictability and uncertainty,
work-related alcohol consumption appeared to provide a substitute for routines,
introducing structure into otherwise erratic working patterns. Cosper (1979) suggests that
drinking is used to express solidarity or group identity, especially in occupations that regard
themselves as ‘marginal’. Participants from both the jazz and strings groups acknowledged
drinking with colleagues as a way of realizing professional sociability, thus advancing and
maintaining work prospects. This study therefore identifies freelance musicians as an occupational
group in which alcohol consumption is seen as an almost obligatory professional practice.
Drawing on Cottrell’s (2004, p. 82) finding that for professional musicians ‘musical ability
and social competence are … closely intertwined’, I suggest that in the milieu in which freelance
musicians operate, drinking is an important means of exhibiting social – and consequently,
professional – expertise.
The findings of this study relating to musicians’ alcohol consumption have highlighted a
paucity of research in this important area. Very little literature specifically focuses on drinking
practices, or indeed the incidence of substance abuse, in classical performers. Perhaps classical
musicians, because of the ‘re-creative’ nature of the roles they inhabit, have been neglected in
this context, overshadowed by the allure of associating deviant behaviour with creative practice.
The string players presented ingrained drinking patterns as a result of an aspect of their
work which is not explicitly creative: the pressure arising from the requirement for accuracy to
the musical score. Remembering that the jazz musicians attributed drinking to availability,
boredom and professional socializing, it is clear that in this study, work-related alcohol consumption
in musicians was not connected to being creative at all.
It may be that the prominence of alcohol in the lives of classical performers has not emerged
in existing studies because of difficulties encountered by researchers in gaining the complete
trust of symphony orchestra musicians (Brodsky, 2006). A study of the stressors experienced
by musicians of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (Piperek, 1981) acknowledges the effects of
tension induced by performance, finding that players constructed post-concert rituals to enable
the dissipation of tension, as did the freelance musicians in this study through alcohol consumption.
Yet the activities that constituted these rituals are somewhat tame compared with
the drinking patterns described by the participants in the present study: ‘Some have a talk with
friends. Others resort to television and the radio, the daily newspaper or sometimes a book. A
short walk or a glass of wine, or simply daydreaming, also help to reduce the tension’ (Piperek,
1981, p. 8). This could of course merely be a function of cultural differences, but it is notable
that Piperek’s study was commissioned by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra itself, raising questions
about whether the musicians, as salaried employees, felt they could be completely honest
about their behaviour. It is therefore recommended that comprehensive research is undertaken
to investigate classical musicians’ drinking cultures and habits, especially in relation to the
notion of professional sociability. For instance, how much importance is placed on professional
socializing by contracted orchestral players, and how does this relate to orchestral drinking
cultures?
The study could have been improved if the ratio of student to professional players had been
constant between the jazz and string groups. For example, the relatively small number of professional
string players interviewed limits the degree to which generalizations can be made about
the experiences of this subset of player. However, this research gains a rich insight into the world
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Dobson 255
of professional music-making, responding to Corkhill’s (2005, p. 270) call for ‘the setting down
of the views of “ordinary” musicians’. Additionally, the study has demonstrated the effectiveness
of using a sample of freelance musicians for research in this area. Perhaps because these
musicians did not possess a loyalty to one particular ensemble, few problems were encountered
gaining access to their confidence. This research has highlighted the importance of investigating
the reality of working and training as a performing musician, demonstrating that the musician’s
existence is far more complex than either the widespread public opinion that musicians are ‘paid
for doing something they presumably enjoy’ (Steptoe, 1989, p. 6) or the ‘mad genius’ myth propelled
by research investigating a creativity–psychopathology link. Rather, it is a distinct and
demanding pattern of working that deserves to be explored further in its own right, holding the
potential to identify important implications for how we train our musicians, and for providing
student musicians with realistic expectations of the profession they hope to join.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a Research Preparation Master’s Award from the Arts and Humanities
Research Council. I am grateful to Stephanie Pitts, Christopher Spencer and two anonymous reviewers
for their valuable comments on previous drafts of the manuscript.
Notes
1. See Jamison (1989) and Andreason (1987) for examples of research investigating a creativity–psychopathology
link in living individuals.
2. Raeburn (2000, pp. 9–10) provides a review of existing research on the prevalence of substance
abuse and dependence in musicians.
3. Participants will be referred to hereon by numbered codes, whereby ‘J’ denotes ‘jazz’ and ‘S’ ‘strings’.
While the numbers allocated within the codes are influenced by participants’ positions in the student–
professional continuum (with professionals allocated the highest numbers), no attempt has been made to
rate participants on the extent of their professional experience. Given an imbalance between the numbers
of theoretical students and professionals in each group, it should not be assumed, for example, that participant
J5 stands at an equivalent point along the student–professional continuum as participant S5.
4. See Cottrell (2004, pp. 15–19) for a more detailed consideration of some of these issues from the perspective
of ‘ethnomusicology at home’.
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Biography
Melissa Dobson read Music at King’s College, London, and subsequently gained an MA in
Psychology of Music from the University of Sheffield. The research in this article originated
from her Master’s dissertation. Her PhD research, also at the University of Sheffield, focused
on audience experience of classical concert attendance. She also works as a freelance cellist.
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Appendix
Interview schedule
1. To begin, can you summarize what your work as a musician involves, i.e., what types of
music do you play and where do you play it?
Prompts: main instrument/others
types of ensemble: preferred type of playing
types of performance situation: preferred and least preferred
teaching?
stage in musical career: still studying?
2. Do you have any specific career aspirations?
3. How does being a freelance musician affect your lifestyle? (for students: how do you think
it will?)
Do you think it differs from musicians with more regular jobs, e.g., orchestral players?
How does it differ from non-musicians?
4. Are there aspects of your lifestyle as a musician which you particularly appreciate? (or
think you will appreciate?)
flexibility
independence
working with many different people
opportunities for travel
5. Are there any aspects which you find particularly detrimental?
competition
performance anxiety
unsociable working hours / time constraints
financial insecurity
6. Do you remember any specific times where your lifestyle as a musician has affected, either
positively or negatively, your emotional well-being or emotional state?
7. Do you think there are any aspects of your character which are particularly well-suited to
your life as a musician?
Are there any ways in which you are not suited?
8. Has playing professionally affected your enjoyment of music-making? (or do you think it
will?)
How?
Has it affected how you listen to music / concert-going?
9. Do you ever make music on a non-professional basis? (apart from studying?)
playing for fun
amateur involvement
10. Moving onto a slightly different topic, do you think of yourself as a creative person?
Do you see creativity as an important part of your character?
11a. Do you feel that working as a musician provides a sufficient outlet for your creativity?
composer/performer differences
11b. If not: does this bother or frustrate you?
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260 Psychology of Music 39(2)
Do you engage in any other predominantly creative activities?
12. How do you think the amount of creativity required for your work compares with that of
other types of musicians?
popular musicians
jazz
orchestral
13a. Looking at the work you actually take on, do you ever feel you’d like to have more control
over the music which you perform or the way in which you perform it?
13b. Jazz players: does improvisation play a role in providing a sense of autonomy in your
work?
14. Do situations where you do have more musical autonomy have any effect on your emotional
state?
15. Does this impact on the types of work that you choose to take?
16. If there were such a thing, how would you describe a stereotypical jazz musician’s/string
player’s personality? (relevant one first)
typical traits
17. And do you think you fit this stereotype?
18a. And how would you describe a stereotypical string player’s/jazz musician’s personality?
(whichever they are not)
18b. If negative traits or emotional well-being issues are raised: Why do you think musicians
are assumed to portray these traits?
19. How would you describe a stereotypical composer’s personality?
20. Do you think the stereotypical notion of the ‘mad genius’ composer (e.g. Schumann,
Beethoven…) is justifiable?
21. Do you think creative people are naturally inclined towards problems with emotional
well-being or mental instability?
If yes: why do you think this is?
22. Do you think that musicians are more accommodating of people who have problems with
emotional well-being or mental health than those in less creative professions?
Explain answer given
23. Past research has suggested that, compared to the general public, music practitioners
have shown higher rates of alcohol and drug-related problems and also of some mental
disorders. Do you think that lifestyle has any role in causing these problems?
24. Have you experienced any problems in emotional well-being or mental health in musicians
you know or in yourself?
If yes: Do you think that an involvement with music played any sort of role?
25. Finally, there’s a common idea that music can be therapeutic, stemming from music therapy
itself and also, on a more day-to-day level, the way in which people frequently use
music to regulate their moods. Do you think that for musicians, however, being so involved
with music can actually be a hindrance to mental stability rather than a help?
playing/listening distinction?
introspection
having to play emotionally demanding repertoire
26. That’s all I have to ask – is there anything you’d like to add?
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