Therefore, I am freelancing and building a career of many small pieces. You must be technically proficient on every instrument you can. This is the result of the total percussion concept under which I developed. Realistically, it is not be possible to be a master on all percussion instruments, but if you plan to perform with a wide variety of ensembles or artists, you must be strong in areas like timpani, keyboard percussion, Latin percussion, multi-percussion, and drum set. You may be hired to play any one or more of these areas for a particular job.
Versatility means the ability to move from one type of music or performance environment to another.
For example you may be playing timpani with an orchestra on one night and two days later performing as a percussionist with Aretha Franklin. Each of these situations requires high artistic and technical abilities but are vastly different. This means you must have stylistic adaptability. Whatever genre of music you anticipate performing, you must know the style of that music before the gig. Private lessons and classroom studies will help, but not completely.