As I have been traveling around to many music schools, I inquire how they handle the business of singing material.

1) A few schools have courses specifically designed for singers, 2) many have entrepreneurship courses designed for all musicians and 3) many are not able to find any room in the curriculum for this material, so they bring in seminars “a la carte.” Some schools have very active and involved career services departments while others handle career preparation more heavily within the vocal department.

That all said, there seem to be some patterns across class syllabus and seminar offerings.

Topics / Seminars

• Business Plans
• Finances / Taxes
• Marketing, Networking
• Resumes, Materials, Promotions
• Time Management / Organization / Goals
• Technology / Websites
• Mock Auditions
• Recital Programming / Program Notes
• Career Options / Brainstorming
• Artist Management
• Health / Yoga

Course Materials

• Beyond Talent (Beeching)
• The Art of Possibility (Zander)
• Velvet Singer Courseware (Velvet Singer, LLC)
• Get a Financial Life (Kobliner)
• The Inner Game of Tennis (Gallwey)
• Opera America Perspective Series
• Aria Ready (Kirkpatrick)

Assignments

• Business Plans
• Informational Interviews
• Lists (Professional Contacts, Repertoire, Auditions)
• Journal Submissions (Auditions, Coachings, Lessons)
• Reading, Blogs, Research
• Sample Recital Programs
• Audition Repertoire Book

I would also suggest the following books for any singer:

• How to Win Friends and Influence People (Carnegie) — Networking and communication 101. Wonky title, transformational book.
• The Savvy Musician (Cutler) — He has a nice blog and great appendixes brainstorming musical opportunities.
• Complete Preparation (Dornemann, Ciaccia) — This is an easy read, great for getting psyched up on your plane ride before your next audition.