As discussed in my previous post, most cruise lines have an orchestra (aka Show Band) on board. This 5-10 piece band plays the production shows, headliner shows and big band or top 40 sets on board. Electric bass, drums, guitar, keys, sax, trombone & trumpet are the most common instrumentation. The most important requirement in securing one of these jobs is your sight reading ability.
No matter what instrument you play, you’ll need to schedule and pass an audition prior to working on board a cruise ship. Each company has their own audition process, however; here is the industry standard:
Scheduling an Audition
Regardless of the cruise line, the first step is scheduling an audition. In order to do so, you’ll need to provide your basic contact information (name, address, phone, email, instrument, age, citizenship, availability). Often, this can be done by filling out an online form.
You will also need to attach your resume/performance bio. Key things to include: related educational background (ex. major in bass performance), commercial/professional experience (ex. wedding band, studio work), big band/jazz band experience, most recent sight reading experience.
Because sight reading is such a huge part of the audition (and ultimately the contract), your resume should show off this ability. If your gut tells you that your sight reading isn’t quite up to par, I strongly recommend practicing first THEN auditioning. Although auditions are free, its better to start a relationship strong, confident and on a good note than vice-versa.
Phone Conference
Once your information has been received, you’ll be contacted to discuss your background and the details of the job. We like to talk with each musician and go through the job details (contract length, pay, cabin, etc.) before scheduling an audition. This ensures that you understand and are ok with the job specifics if/when hired. Again, better to audition for something you can actually do than vis versa.
The Audition
There are three types of auditions: Phone, Video & Live.
*Phone Audition – Email Access, Printer, Phone (land line preferred), Instrument
We’ll coordinate a specific time for the audition. (ex. 3PM EST). You’ll receive an email 30 minutes prior to the audition (ex. 2:30PM EST). Upon receipt, you’ll print out these charts and have them ready to go. You’ll receive a phone call at the scheduled time (ex. 3PM EST) and you’ll be asked to sight read/play the printed charts over the phone.
*Video Audition – CD Player, Digital Video Camera, Instrument
We’ll mail you a sealed envelope with sheet music and CD enclosed. You video record yourself opening the packet and sight reading the charts along with the CD. Often, we ask you to do a second take after 30 minutes of rehearsal. You then post the video footage online (www.youtube.com) or mail us music back along with your DVD.
*Live Audition – Instrument
We hold live auditions at Universities around the USA (East Coast, Midwest, West Coast). You’ll have a specific audition time and place to audition. At the live audition, we simply ask you to sight read a selection of music for us along with a CD or click track.
The audition type is usually assigned to you depending on your geographical location, availability to do a contract and what openings are available. Each audition type focus on your sight reading (charts and notation). Most of the orchestra positions on ships require big band/jazz band experience. Therefore, reading chord progressions and being able to improvise are definitely a plus!
The Offer
Passing the audition is the hard part. Once that’s accomplished, its just a matter of finding an opening that matches your availability. Because most contracts are 3-6 months in length, the more open your availability; the better your chance of landing a job. We get calls all the time asking for 1-2 week contracts. While these are sometimes possible, they go to the “re-hires” or musicians that have already successfully completed a contract. These fill-in contracts also come with 24-48 hours notice. They are often a result of an unexpected opening. Bottom line, if you want to work as an orchestra musician on board a cruise ship, the more open your schedule the better.
The Gig
Orchestra contracts are a great way to play music professionally, see the world and get paid for it! As an orchestra musician, you’ll play production shows, headliner shows and big band or top 40 sets on board. You’ll mostly perform at night and have an opportunity to get of the ship in several ports of call. Room/Food/Travel are all covered, so definitely a good opportunity to save money.
I hope this entry helped you to understand orchestra contracts on board 5-Star Cruise Ships and how to go about auditioning for them. Feel free to call/email/post any questions.
Michael Landau
Michael Landau is the president of Landau Music, an entertainment booking agency specializing in cruise line placement. Based in San Diego, CA, Landau Music currently works with 7 major cruise lines around the world. To learn more about Landau Music and submit your audition materials visit www.landaumusic.com.
Is there a typical day a week where the boat is at the dock and employees leave the ship or are stops more sporadic? For instance Sundays to go to church or fulfill another religious observance?
Are there any accommodations for musicians with pets? I would *love* to do cruise ship work, I definitely have the sight-reading thing down for both treble and bass clef (I play piano, guitar, and electric/upright bass professionally), but I also have a golden retriever that finding accommodations for would be very expensive. He is AKC-certified as a “Canine Good Citizen”, so he is *exceptionally* well-trained to behave around large crowds and I’ve flown internationally with him before without incident. Would I be able to get a cruise ship gig with accommodations for my dog?
Hi Paul,
The ships dock regularly and musicians will have an opportunity to get off the ship several times a week. Most of your performances will be at night, so you’ll have plenty of down time and opportunities to explore the different ports of call.
Regarding religious services, there are weekly services scheduled on the ship for guests & crew.
Hi Bob,
Thank you for the message. Unfortunately, pets are not allowed. Feel free to check the FAQ page on our website for other common questions about life on board.
Thanks!
Musician Interview: 930 giving the Mickey Mouse Club a reason to ……
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I have an audition on Thursday with Royal Caribbean and where did I first look for info on cruise ship auditions? Musician Wages. Thanks so much for the heads up!
Hey Emi,
Thanks for the post. Good luck!
Are there any jobs available for musicians who are not trained to read music but can play a few instruments? Im from India and used to play for a trash metal band METAKIX which disbanded a few years ago. I play the bass guitar and sing as well. What kind of opportunities would you think i may have?…thanks again….
Hi Nicky,
Thanks for the post. Orchestra/Show Band Musicians must be excellent sight readers. However; we do also hire solo entertainers & bands to play in lounges on board. Sight reading is not required for those positions.
In order to be hired as an entertainer, your video, song list and bio need to be submitted. Please refer to the blog “Different Types of Cruise Ship Musician Jobs” and/or our website for more info.
Thanks Nicky
I auditioned as a singer, and was just told “I didn’t fit.” What a bummer that no one gives constructive feedback.
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How long does it take after a live audition before you hear back?
Hi Deb,
The beauty of a live audition is that you know right away if you passed!
Thanks so much for a speedy response about the question when will you know if you”ve been chosen for a job based on your live audition. Does that mean if you havent heard anything for a week you probably didnt do well enough? thanks for your time
hi Michael If youve had a phone audition would they give you a call or email to let you know one way or another if you got the gig? Its been a few weeks should i hear anything?
Michael,
Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge. I have a couple of questions.
I’m a keyboardist/singer, gathering information to apply for Carnival and Princess. I sent my resume to Princess, and they responded by asking me to send a demo. Carnival’s website states that they want a demo as well. Does the demo replace the audition process, or is the audition simply another part of the process?
Also, what can musicians expect from a typical sight reading example? Will it be a note for note arrangement? Lead sheet? Jazz chart? Any of the above?
Thank you!
Katie
Hi Katie,
Thank you for the comment. If you are interested in performing on board as a solo pianist/vocalist, you would need to submit a demo rather than doing a sight reading audition.
I’m actually in the process of writing an article on “the perfect demo”. The demo should have video footage of you performing, your performance experience, availability and contact information.
Regarding sight reading auditions, it depends on the position you are applying for. Most auditions consist of notation & lead sheets. Hope this helps!
-Michael
My wife and I do a duet, piano and bass, and use a rhythm box, or keyboard rhythm. We both sing. We do pop, latin, country, & society. We have done resort hotels in the states and know the program for those venues. Are there rooms on cruise ship that would use that type of music? Also, what type of living conditions should we expect?
Thanks
Gary
Hi Gary – Try clicking around the site a little more, especially the cruise ship blog. I think you’ll find answers to all of your questions. Thanks for reading.
So much mention of sight reading notation and chord charts. Any chance you can email a sample of typical show band music?
I’ve played in local bar bands for a long time and taken many years of private piano lessons. My sight reading is good, but take any pop song you like and you can find from very basic versions to difficult arrangements. It would be nice to see where typical cruise ship skill level is.
Thanks,
Christopher
Hi Christopher,
Please send me an email and I’ll send you a couple sample charts.
Thanks Michael. Send them to blickcd@aol.com PDF format is fine, or MS Word.
Hi,
I’m currently at Junior music major studying clarinet (but I play saxophone almost as much as I do clarinet), and I’m seriously considering going out for a cruise ship gig when I graduate in about a year. I have no experience playing in a professional setting (beyond the regular college stuff). Do you have any suggestions about the best way to go about getting or preparing for an audition? Also, do you know how much improvisation skill would I need? (I currently have very little besides the theory behind improv.)
Thanks so much!
Michelle
HI Michelle,
Thank you for the message. Most sax gigs on ships require flute and clarinet doubles. So, if you don’t yet play flute, I would start now! I would also make sure that your proficient on alto & tenor as it will open you up to twice as many opportunities.
These contracts require heavy reading. So, I would continue to challenge yourself by sight reading fresh material as often as possible…Even if its just you in front of a stack of music that you’ve never seen before).
Improvisational skills on alto and tenor are definitely a plus as well. Any jazz or big bands you can play with (university or community) will give you valuable experience.
Hope this helps!
-Michael
Hi Michael! I love this article. For a classically trained pianist, I’m pretty good at sigh reading notation, but my reading of charts isn’t quite as good. What kind of music do most of the bands play on the ship? If you could email me some sample charts like you did to Christopher, that would be great!
Should I just buy a “Real Book” and start at page one and pick a song a day, learn what it sounds like, and play a new one each day? Or are most of the charts newer and somewhat random songs? Thanks for all this info!
RobertJ – I would recommend buying The Jazz Piano Book
(note: referral link) to learn some jazz chops. You’ll very likely need to have some knowledge of playing from lead sheets and chord charts to play on a ship.
Hey Robert,
Thanks for the comment. So glad you liked the article. David is right…Most lines require reading from lead sheets (jazz), however; some do not. We also hire solo cocktail pianists that only read notation. Feel free to send me an email or fill out our online application form for more info.
Thanks Robert
I would love to know how to get a response from agents – email after email to several of them and no replies whatsoever. What a bummer!
Hi TC,
I don’t know who you’ve been trying to reach, but do not see your email with our company.
If you’re interested in working with our agency, I recommend filling out our online application.
Thank you so much for the reply Michael, I was beginning to think I am alone on the planet! Perhaps it would be wrong for me to mention by name the agents I have contacted, but there have been several. I will make an application in the next few days. Regards.