# Music Directors and Composers

> Conduct, direct, plan, and lead instrumental or vocal performances by musical artists or groups, such as orchestras, bands, choirs, and glee clubs; or create original works of music.

- **SOC code:** 27-2041.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-27-2041-00
- **Also known as:** Choir Director, Conductor, Music Composer, Music Director, Arranger, Composer, Music Producer, Orchestra Director
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Use gestures to shape the music being played, communicating desired tempo, phrasing, tone, color, pitch, volume, and other performance aspects.
- Direct groups at rehearsals and live or recorded performances to achieve desired effects such as tonal and harmonic balance dynamics, rhythm, and tempo.
- Study scores to learn the music in detail, and to develop interpretations.
- Apply elements of music theory to create musical and tonal structures, including harmonies and melodies.
- Consider such factors as ensemble size and abilities, availability of scores, and the need for musical variety, to select music to be performed.
- Determine voices, instruments, harmonic structures, rhythms, tempos, and tone balances required to achieve the effects desired in a musical composition.
- Experiment with different sounds, and types and pieces of music, using synthesizers and computers as necessary to test and evaluate ideas.
- Transcribe ideas for musical compositions into musical notation, using instruments, pen and paper, or computers.
- Audition and select performers for musical presentations.
- Plan and schedule rehearsals and performances, and arrange details such as locations, accompanists, and instrumentalists.
- Write musical scores for orchestras, bands, choral groups, or individual instrumentalists or vocalists, using knowledge of music theory and of instrumental and vocal capabilities.
- Position members within groups to obtain balance among instrumental or vocal sections.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Fine Arts _(knowledge)_
- Hearing Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Fluency of Ideas _(ability)_
- Originality _(ability)_
- Information Ordering _(ability)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Auditory Attention _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Anvil Studio
- Apple Final Cut Pro
- Apple MainStage
- Arobas Music Guitar Pro
- Arpege Music Pizzicato
- Audacity
- Audio Chaos Soundscape Generator

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 62nd percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 69th percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 77th percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 44th percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 11th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -0.3% growth (Declining); 4.3k annual openings; 47.3k → 47.2k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $63,670; 12,330 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-27-2041-00_