Description
Perform on drum set, mallet instruments, timpani, and auxiliary or hand percussion for live, broadcast, and recording projects. May specialize in specific percussion families or styles and work as soloists or ensemble members on stage or in studios.
- • Perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, theater pits, dance, and other events.
- • Play drum set, orchestral percussion, timpani, mallet instruments, and auxiliary or hand percussion as required.
- • Interpret and shape rhythmic feel, dynamics, articulation, and timbre to serve the music and engage audiences.
- • Specialize in a percussion family or style (e.g., orchestral, jazz, Latin, marching, world).
- • Perform as a soloist or as a member of ensembles such as orchestras, bands, chamber groups, and rhythm sections.
- • Follow conductors, concertmasters, or music directors for cues, tempo, and ensemble balance.
- • Memorize parts and routines, or perform from percussion scores, lead sheets, and click tracks.
- • Sight-read percussion and drum set notation during rehearsals and sessions.
- • Perform from memory or read from scores, parts, or charts.
- • Practice technique, rudiments, and independence; study with coaches to develop skills and prepare repertoire.
- • Listen to reference recordings to learn, refine, and maintain repertoire and styles.
- • Teach percussion or drum set to individuals or groups.
- • Provide percussion for live shows such as ballets, operas, musical theater, and cabarets, and for studio sessions.
- • Audition for orchestras, bands, theater pits, and other ensembles.
- • Seek out and learn new repertoire, grooves, and percussion traditions for live performance or recording.
- • Record percussion parts in professional studios or remote/home setups.
- • Promote solo or group projects through social media, interviews, and community engagement.
- • Research period instruments, stylistic practices, and cultural contexts for authentic performance.
- • Learn electronic percussion, sampling, and DAW skills required for studio or live productions.
- • Adapt or orchestrate percussion parts to fit ensemble instrumentation or venue needs.
- • Lead or coordinate the percussion section; serve as principal or section leader when assigned.
- • Compose percussion works, grooves, cadences, or create percussion arrangements.
- • Arrange and edit percussion parts to fit style, instrumentation, and balance with other sections.
- • Improvise grooves, fills, and solos appropriate to the style.
- • Collaborate with managers, contractors, or agents to secure work and negotiate engagements.
- • Perform for television, radio, streaming, film, or video game productions.
- • Rehearse individually and with ensembles to master repertoire and maintain technique.
- • Maintain, tune, and set up percussion instruments, heads, mallets, and hardware; manage logistics and stage changes.
- • Coordinate with audio engineers on mic techniques, monitoring, and click or cue mixes for live and studio settings.
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Related Pathways
Arts, Entertainment, & Design
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
