Review

David Cutler
The Savvy Musician: Building a Career, Earning a living, & Making a Difference:

Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Publisher: Helius Press
Date of Publication: 2009

Primary Genre: Study Material - book

It’s safe to say that not every musician is initially blessed with a mindset to make a living in the field of music. Traditional music instruction teaches a person to perfect their craft in performing, teaching, conducting, writing, arranging, or therapy. After that, a person is often left to figure out how to make a living in the field. David Cutler’s book The Savvy Musician helps make the transition from instruction to production. The breadth of this book is astounding. It would be easier to list what is not in this book than what is in the book when it comes to making music a career. 

The Savvy Musician has an underlying theme:  think like an entrepreneur, and be your own boss. Cutler addresses modern tools such as the internet and social media. He has the reader think beyond his/her experiences with endless ideas from marketing to financing to people skills and beyond. He provides lists of suggestions—all of which are amazing, especially the ones in the back of the book, including vignettes from real, working musicians, which lend credibility to the text. An associated web page SavvyMusician.com features a blog and list of resources, keeping it current.

Dr. David Cutler teaches at Duquesne University. This book was donated for review by Helius Press. It is available at Amazon, or at SavvyMusician.com. I am extremely fortunate to have read and reviewed it and plan on making it required reading for my students.  

-Donald Babcock
Eastern Michigan University