If you have spent any time hustling as a musician, you know that the gig lifestyle is hardly as glamorous as they make it appear in the movies. Steady music gigs are often hard to get into and competition is often fierce. One of the best and perhaps least talked about steady gigs are paid church posts. I'm probably breaking some sort of unwritten musical code by talking about this but what the heck. I don't belong to any of the guilds. Once I tell you this information though they will probably put a hit out on me.
The truth is that musicians with an entrepreneurial attitude can make a good amount of money working as church musicians. This is partly due to the fact that most people don't know what they need to know in order to land these sort of jobs. If you grew up religious or in a church you probably know more than the average person but for the sake of those of you who have never been inside of a church here are the five things you need to know to make an extra $100-500 a week as a church musician.
1. Know how to sightread
Whether you are a pianist or a singer you WILL be called on to sight read most likely during the interview process. They'll most likely have at least one hymn picked out for you to sight read and they may ask you to play a hymn that you pick. This is a guideline obviously, not necessarily the rule. Having a good command of sight reading is very important (especially if you aren't familiar with the style of music that you will be singing or playing). That said...
2. Know or learn the music style
Preferably before your interview. Believe it or not, there is a world of difference between Lutheran music and Catholic music between Episcopal and Presbyterian music. Worship styles vary from denomination to denomination. If you've attended different churches, you know this to be true.
Pro tip: If you have an opportunity, attend a church service the week before your interview. You'll get an opportunity to hear the accoustics, see the hymnal, and experience their worship style prior to the interview. If you're really ballsy borrow a hymnal and practice with it before your interview.
3. Be able to improvise
Jazz musicians make the best church musicians. I grew up playing in church and was trained in sacred music. I went to college then and trained classically. Nothing I learned in my classical training related at all to sacred music. I have yet to make any money from any of my classical training other than teaching others how to play classical music. Yet the one course in improv that I took continues to make me thousands of dollars a year.
Improvising is vital to your success. Whether you are asked to play "Happy Birthday" spur of the moment or they ask you to add some "licks" or "flourishes" to liven things up, if you can play by ear and improvise that is almost a more valuable skill to have than excellent sight reading skills.
4. Show up
This should be a given but too many musicians (and people now days in general) don't take work seriously. Many churches that I have worked with previously have stories about previous musicians that were always late or missed services. Don't be the rule. Be the exception. Look if you have someone willing to pay you $100+ an hour week after week, treat them like gold. They value you; value them back.
5. Be coachable
Every church is different. There is no one size fits all style. Ask questions. Don't just act. If you get feedback don't take it personally. Use it and adapt. One church I play for likes their music very stately and grandiose. There's another one that they constantly are asking to "jazz it up." If you are working as a consultant, yes, you are "prescribing" but you, also, need to remember that you are ultimately there to serve them.
If you are "un-churched" there may, also, be a learning curve as to the proper etiquette for services. This, also, varies from denomination to denomination and from church to church. Be professional. If you "mess up" be apologetic and you will do fine.
Summary:
Working as a music consultant is a great way to land a "regular gig" that pays very well. I routinely make $125 per hour working as a church musician and it provides me a nice supplement to my music teaching and performing income. The money is out there. Work hard, have a good attitude, and you will go far.