Recognizing Specialized Skill & Additional Labor
Playing multiple instruments or mastering particularly challenging ones represents a significant investment in skill, practice, and equipment. The following guidelines support charging appropriate premiums for these specialized services. As with all Guild guidelines, these are recommended frameworks to inform your negotiations, not fixed rules.
Common Doubling Combinations
Doubling occurs when a musician is required to play more than one distinct instrument during a single engagement. The first additional instrument typically commands the largest premium.
Woodwinds (Common Doubles):
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Flute Doubles: Piccolo, Alto Flute, Bass Flute
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Clarinet Doubles: Bass Clarinet, Eb Clarinet, Basset Horn
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Saxophone Doubles: Switching between Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, and Bass Saxophones. Note: Playing both Alto and Tenor sax in the same show is generally considered a standard double.
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Oboe Doubles: English Horn, Oboe d’Amore
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Bassoon Doubles: Contrabassoon
Brass:
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Trumpet Doubles: Piccolo Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Cornet
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Trombone Doubles: Bass Trombone, Alto Trombone, Euphonium
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French Horn Doubles: Wagner Tuba (a specialized, rare, and difficult double requiring different technique and embouchure).
Strings:
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Violin/Viola Doubling: Switching between these instruments, which have different clefs and techniques, is a recognized double.
Keyboards & Percussion:
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Piano/Keyboard Doubles: Playing both acoustic piano and synthesizer/organ where the latter requires distinct technical knowledge (programming, patches, Leslie speaker control).
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Percussion Doubling: This is highly specialized. See the expanded Percussion Doubling Categories below.
Percussion Doubling Categories
Percussion doubling is not simply playing different drums. It is categorized by families of instruments requiring distinct techniques. If a player covers instruments from more than one category below, it constitutes doubling.
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Category 1: Drum Set
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Includes: Full trap kit (kick, snare, toms, cymbals, hardware). Adding a few auxiliary items (cowbell, wood block) does not constitute a double.
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Category 2: Timpani
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Includes: Two or more pedal timpani, requiring tuning and specific technique.
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Category 3: Mallet/Keyboard Percussion
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Includes: Vibraphone, Marimba, Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Chimes, Crotales.
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Category 4: Hand Drums & World Percussion
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Includes: Congas, Bongos, Djembe, Cajón, Frame Drums.
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Category 5: Auxiliary/Orchestral Percussion
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Includes: Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Cymbals (concert), Triangle, Tambourine, all other miscellaneous percussion and sound effects.
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Specialty Instrument & Difficulty Premiums
Certain instruments are widely recognized within the industry for their inherent difficulty, physical demand, and scarcity of expert players. It is standard and reasonable for musicians who specialize in these instruments to command a higher base rate.
Recommended Premium Instruments:
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French Horn: A premium of 10-15% over the base musician scale is strongly recommended. This recognizes the instrument’s extreme difficulty—its high susceptibility to error due to partials being very close together, significant physical and mental stamina required, and the specialized skill needed for reliable, resonant performance across its wide range. This premium applies to horn players in any orchestral, chamber, or commercial setting.
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Oboe & Bassoon: Often command a slight premium (5-10%) due to the cost and skill of reed-making, and the specialized nature of the instruments.
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Viola: In professional orchestral contexts, sometimes commands a small premium due to chronic scarcity of high-level players.
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Harp: Typically commands a significant premium due to the instrument’s size, cartage challenges, tuning complexity, and highly specialized technique.
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Specialist Doubles: Instruments like the Wagner Tuba, Contrabassoon, Eb Clarinet, or Piccolo Trumpet may command an additional specialty fee on top of any doubling premium, due to the rarity of the instrument and the expertise required.
How to Implement These Guidelines
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For Doubling: Quote your base rate for the primary instrument, then add the agreed-upon premium (e.g., +50% for the first double) for the additional instrument(s). Itemize this on your invoice as “Doubling Premium.”
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For Specialty Instruments (e.g., Horn): Simply set your base rate higher from the outset to reflect your specialty. You can communicate this professionally: “As a French horn specialist, my rate for this engagement is $XXX, which reflects the industry-standard consideration for the instrument’s demands.”
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Clarity is Key: Discuss doubling and specialty requirements during the initial negotiation, not after the gig is booked.
Guild Philosophy: Your rates should reflect your unique skillset, the tools you provide, and the value you bring. Mastering difficult instruments or multiple instruments is a marketable asset that deserves fair financial recognition.
