Virdung sung in the choir as a male alto until 1505/1506. Around 1506 he became a singer in the chapel of the court of Württemberg in Stuttgart. The following year, in January 1507, he received one of nine succentorships at Konstanz Cathedral where he educated the choirboys until he was dismissed in 1508 presumably for his difficult temperament.

In 1511, he published his treatise Musica getuscht und ausgezogen. The text is described as the first printed book on the subject. It covered the theory of music, counterpoint and composition.