Arrangers
Job description
These individuals transcribe instrumental and vocal works. They create musical arrangements for audiovisual projects. They are self-employed or work for:
- Recording studios
- Concert venues or rehearsal spaces
- Music publishers
- Film sets (cinema or television)
Environment
- Controlled ambient temperature
- Noise
Main tasks
- Study specific instrumental or vocal works.
- Choose musical works and adapt them to evoke selected themes.
- Make changes to certain musical pieces in terms of tempo, volume, etc.
- Collaborate with other musicians.
Training and requirements
Formation
Also required
- Experience as a musician.
Sometimes required
- Specialized training in musical arrangement is usually required.
- An audition demonstrating musical talent and artistic ability is required.
- A portfolio demonstrating creative skills is usually required.
- Membership in the Guilde des musiciens et musiciennes du Québec (GMMQ [Quebec Musicians' Guild]) (professional union) is sometimes required.
Main skills and characteristics
Skills
- Technological design
- Result evaluation
- Data collection
- Human resource management
- Information processing
- Coordination
- Operations and control
- Negotiation
- Active listening
- Material resource management
- Programing
- Mathematics
- Quality control analysis
- Critical thought
- Oral expression
- Judgment and decision-making
- Learning strategies
- Active learning
- Systems evaluation
- System analysis
- Service oriented
- Operation analysis
- Equipment maintenance
- Reading comprehension
- Written expression
- Financial resource management
- Monitoring operations
- Solving complex problems
- Time management
- Social perception
- Persuasion
Abilities
- Hearing sensitivity
- Auditory attention
- Originality
- Selective attention
- Idea generation
- Oral comprehension
- Information organization
- Control accuracy
- Visualization
- Memorization
- Speech recognition
- Sound origin identification
- Perception speed
- Awareness of issues
- Limb coordination
- Inductive reasoning
- Information processing speed
- Deductive reasoning
- Mathematical reasoning
- Classification
- Speech clarity
- Peripheral vision
- Verbal skills
- Written comprehension
- Written expression
- Reaction time
- Basic numeracy
- Near vision
- Time sharing
- Manual dexterity
- Overall coordination of the body
- Colour perception and distinction
- Spatial orientation
Knowledge and attributes
- Autonomy
- Capacity to adapt
- Spoken and written bilingualism (French and English)
- Capacity to work in a team
- Rigour
- Attention to detail
- Knowledge of computer science, digital and electronics
- Creativity
- Knowledge of the arts
- Knowledge of communication and media
- Capacity to facilitate a group
Interests
- Direct, organize, and manage
- Draft, communicate, and inform
- Work in the arts, culture, music, or leisure
- Create, design
- Carry out research
- Self-employment
- Collect, verify, sort, and classify data or information
- Conduct tests and trials, control processes
Personality profiles (RIASEC)
- Artistic
- People with this profile prefer to express their emotions and thoughts through various art forms. They like to use their imagination.
- Investigative
- People with this profile prefer relying on theoretical knowledge before acting. They like observation, analysis and problem solving.
- Social
- People with this profile prefer to be in contact with others, in particular to entertain, help or teach them.
Appellation d’emploi liée (à traduire)
Conductors, composers and arrangers (CNP 51121)
Skill type
Art, culture, recreation and sport
Last update: January 29, 2026
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