<p>I thought that I would write this in order to help prospective music students/parents of prospective music students make sure that a music degree is in their best interests.</p>
<p>Basically, since the age of 14, I was set on being a music major in some form. I had been playing jazz bass since 6th grade and was heavily involved in music at my school, getting paid gigs, playing in PMEA ensembles up to the All-State level, and so on. I graduated high school in 2010 and ultimately decided to pursue a BM in Music Technology at Duquesne University, so I began studying there this fall. </p>
<p>Beginning next semester, I will switching my major out of the music school. Over the past two months, I have come to realize that being a music major is not for me for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, I would like to say that this decision has nothing to do with Duquesne's music program - it is an extremely well run music school and I do not wish to somehow give the impression that this is something against the program. It also is not that I'm not doing well in my music classes so far (I have a 4.0 thus far and I made the university's top jazz ensemble). It's more that I don't have the unwavering dedication and passion that is required to be successful as a music major and more importantly a professional musician. I do love music, but not to the point in which I am willing to sacrifice so much in life for it. Being a music major in a BM degree entails living and breathing music nearly 24/7. </p>
<p>The cliche goes that you shouldn't major in music unless you can't imagine yourself doing anything else with your life. When I was looking at colleges two years ago, that was the case, but since then I have matured a bit. I have lost some of my youthful idealism and now the vast insecurity that comes with a music degree frightens me more than it did when I was 14 and had dreams of making it big. More than anything else, I think this decision is about realizing that being a musician and a music major are not mutually exclusive. Music has always been my favorite hobby, and I've realized that I would like to keep it that way. I plan on continuing to perform in many ensembles here and be active within the school as well as the jazz scene in Pittsburgh (I've already networked a fair amount and have played a few gigs here). In no way am I quitting music. </p>
<p>What will I be switching to? Economics - a subject that I excelled in during high school, something that interests me, and something that is broad in application. The security offered by a more traditional degree like Economics is definitely more for me. I have utmost respect for those that can deal with the level of unsureness that comes having music as a career, but like I said, it's just not for me.</p>
<p>So, to conclude this seemingly self-centered post, I would just like to say that I hope that my experiences can be of help to those considering studying music as a major in college. Please realize what this major really means and do your homework on what it entails. Best of luck to prospective music majors!</p>
<p>Sounds like you’re staying at Duquesne University for your new major. You must like it there, so it is nice that you will be able to keep up your music connections and stay at a school you enjoy. I hope that it continues to be a fit. Your post is a good reminder for folks to pick a school that might give them other options if they are not 150% certain about their major. Congratulations to you, and best wishes. I bet you’ll still be playing plenty of music in your life.</p>
<p>Thanks for the excellent and thoughtful post. You sound like you have a lot of insight into yourself and the world and a positive attitude. Of my oldest two sons, one is an economics & math major and the other a music and math major so I have some resonance with your decision.</p>
<p>I notice a lot of musicians are very good in math, CS and economics. I know quite a few IT programmers who play semi-professionally - one a violin player, few guys play in a band, and one is a lead singer for a band. They all seem very happy with the path they have chosen.</p>
<p>My older daughter, an accomplished ballet dancer, decided not to do it professionally because she didn’t have it in her to make it to the top. She is majoring in math/econ and going into finance. She continues to dance while in college, just not 15 to 20 hours a week. I think her dream would be to own a ballet studio someday because she loves to teach.</p>
<p>I was an econ major and I think you made a great choice! ;-)</p>
<p>This happens to many college arts students. My husband started college as an art major, and after a semester of drawing a hand 200 times he had enough. He switched to a government major and is now a successful attorney. I was not a music major but played in my university marching band with a lot of music majors. Several of those I started out with dropped out of college entirely and others quit music. It is really tough to do nothing but music 24/7 and spend hours just playing scales and learning theory. I’m glad music remained my hobby, as art has been for my husband. </p>
<p>My son, however, really is a brilliant young man but has not been interested in studying anything but music since he picked up a guitar at age 12. But he has evolved from wanting only to go to Berklee as a guitar performance major to looking at several schools for composition. He realized that he doesn’t want to be the most technically proficient guitarist in the world, he wants to write music and have people play it and others to hear it. He has a rock band and went from being lead singer and guitarist to mostly writing the songs. Oddly enough, the private teacher I hired to get him ready for auditions convinced him that a guitar performance degree was a waste of his time and our money. At first I was annoyed because it is the 11th hour as far as college applications and especially for SAT/ACT (Berklee doesn’t focus on them so my son didn’t either, and got nowhere near the scores he could have), but mostly I am thankful that he figured this out now.</p>
<p>This is why I am strongly pushing my son to choose a college/university with a good music composition program rather than a conservatory or Berklee. If he has changed his mind once, he may again and I would rather him be able to do what this person did and not have to switch schools and feel like a failure at music.</p>
<p>Your post does not seem self-centered; on the contrary, it is food for thought for all of us. Thank you for sharing your experience so far and maybe starting out as a music major was a necessary part of your journey. I wish you much success!</p>
<p>I would just add that music majors are not obligated to follow a career in music after graduation: a BM or BA in music can lead to law or medical or business school just like any other bachelor’s (for those interested in such careers) and many other avenues are open to graduates who have studied music. Sorry if this is obvious, but just for newcomers…</p>
<p>For those who do want to study music but don’t want to breathe music “24/7”, a BA with major in music is another route, or a double degree.</p>
<p>The original post was insightful and reflected the daily experience of this student, which was disappointing but clarifying. But, at the same time, I run into so many parents who won’t let their kids study music because of the perceived economic insecurity, and sometimes it bothers me, at least when the student him/herself loves music but can’t pursue it.</p>
<p>My own daughter continues to major in music (BA) but has some plans for making a living that don’t depend on it.</p>
<p>I think the important thing is whether or not a student is enjoying the studies, now, not the economics of the job path, later, because there is some flexibility with the latter no matter what the undergraduate major.</p>
<p>I would also point out that some major changes are easier in one direction than the other. I think it might be easier for a music major to switch to econ after two years than the other way around. This is something to bear in mind when choosing initial majors.</p>
<p>Wascos, thanks for your post. I’m betting it’s a little unsettling to be headed one direction for so many years, and suddenly find yourself going a different path. It is a good reminder to us that our lives and decisions are not static. Like several of the other parents, I resonate with your choices. My oldest son is an economist; my second son is a musician. And honestly, both of them are talented in music, and both enjoy economics. It had more to do with what they saw themselves doing for the rest of their lives.</p>
<p>For a flip side discussion, my D is also a music major. She went that route with no real interest in doing it for the rest of her life, but only because she earned a better scholarship, and was undecided as to what she DID want to do. She is now a senior, and recently mentioned that for the past year and a half or so, her passion for music has suddenly turned up a notch. She does feel it’s too little, too late to be a performer, and is still looking for her career focus outside of music. But she is grateful she’s had these 4 years to pour herself into music. We are all hoping she’ll find a way to keep music in her life after this year.</p>
<p>And then there’s me. Nursing degree 30 years ago; piano teacher now.</p>
<p>One of DD’s friends entered college as a vocal performance major, good scholarships, great performance opportunities, loved his lessons, hated studying music. Changed schools and majors after freshman year. Still loves to sing, but career in a totally different field.</p>
<p>Interesting post. When we were at “Accepted Students” day at my D’s school, they had a panel of current students trying to give advice on how to make your decision. While most of the statements were positive, choose us, comments, one student took a deep breath and said “Look - if you come here, you will be immersed in music 24/7. That also means that when you’re tired of music there is no escape. Make sure you understand that”. I really appreciated the intensity with which he made those comments, and they sparked some real discussion at our house. For my D, it confirmed her choice, because that is exactly what she wanted, but I’m guessing it may have made a few people re-think.<br>
On the other hand - I don’t think the OP’s situation is at all unique to musicians, but is a common Freshman occurrence. Isn’t that what college is for?</p>
<p>Wascos, thank you for your post; rather than sounding self-centered, I think you sound self-aware.</p>
<p>My daughter followed a similar progression, although she opted for a BA rather than the BM she was offered after the audition at her college. She ended up designing her own major, which included, but was not limited to music. She is now a first-year Ph.D student in anthropology and has absolutely no regrets over the meandering path she took in undergrad. </p>
<p>And she called me last week and asked if for Christmas, I would pay for her to have voice lessons next semester. She discovered her university has a community music program with top-notch instructors, so she can continue her music without the pressure of grades/juries. She said she needs something that’s just for her in grad school, and voice lessons would fit the bill!</p>
<p>Wascos, your post is not self-centered, it has helped me and is so pertinent to our situation now. My son is a HS senior, applying for music school. I do wonder if it is going to be the path for him or if when he starts the program and finds himself taking all music classes and one liberal arts course per semester he will find he loses his devotion to music. He started out exceptionally well in trombone, then started drifting away from the classical area when jazz became of interest a couple years ago. Now he wants to be a jazz studies major…but who’s to know if he will lose interest in that in another couple years? So it’s good to hear of your story and that people do switch majors.</p>
<p>Interesting to hear about the math/music connection. My son does well in his honors/AP math track in spite of not spending much time on it. He also did well in Econ (which he had to take in the summer, in order to do two band classes during the regular school season) and as I remember, was more interested than usual for a non-music class. Maybe that would be a feasible alternative major for him. Do I remember correctly that Mick Jagger has a degree from the London School of Economics :-)?</p>
<p>Good luck in your new career path, and as others have said, I’m sure you will still be making music in your life!</p>
<p>Wascos, Duquesne is fairly demanding in its music requirements for all students, as well. Even the music tech kids are required to keep up instruments to a high standard. I can see that it wouldn’t be a perfect fit for even all musicians.</p>
<p>Doing music locally, hanging around the music school, and pursuing economics sounds like your right path. However, for many talented musicians, there are great programs out there and a fair amount of scholarship money for kids in music. My techie kid meets hundreds of high schoolers who love computers and programming, but the scholarship opportunities in music are greater! </p>
<p>For other musically tech kids (this is similar to my son, who can’t wait to take music tech classes at Duquesne!), there are other routes. A BA might fit kids who want more than music 24/7, and schools with less emphasis on conservatory and more on liberal arts might fit this type of student better.</p>
<p>Wascos your post is great because it shows there are many paths and each student needs to find their own path!</p>
<p>Thank you all for great posts. I have a friend who majored in music at Amherst, then went for an MBA and now in Finance. I personally think he’s so much more interesting as a person because of his combination of very different backgrounds. In this world going forward, every job is so specialized. But those who have really diverse background and can pull everything together as an intelligent person, will be valued at any place.</p>
<p>A side question for all of your advice: where can I find out which major has the most scholarship? </p>
<p>I think this is a valuable thread, for a number of reasons, and thank you to the OP for sharing. </p>
<p>There are two things I see in this thread:</p>
<p>-That if you are seriously thinking of going into music, you need to face the reality, not just of the life of a musician, etc, but what it means to go into music, that a BM at a conservatory is literally living the music, 24/7, whereas at a music school at an LAC there might be more of a mix of music and other things, and even for kids who love music one may be the better option then the other (one observation I read somewhere else was that going to a BM program at a conservatory was sort of the equivalent of throwing a kid hesitating to swim off a boat, whereas a music program in an LAC is like throwing the kid off the boat but with some aid, like floaties, on them:).</p>
<p>-The other thing with music is that like any other muse, it can change, but that that is not necessarily a bad thing. First of all, the things they learned in doing music, like self discipline, striving towards a goal, and even in learning the esoterics of music like theory or doing things like ear training are valuable in themselves IMO. As a hiring manager and professional, plus in my personal circle of people I have known, I have known a number of people, including the COO (Juilliard, BM in Piano I believe) of my last firm , who had majored in music and then did other things and were successful. I think it is important to pay heed to the realities of music, they are quite real, but the fear that if you major in music and change your mind is the road to ruin is not one of them IME. Doesn’t mean it will be an easy path if that happens,it isn’t/won’t be, just that it isn’t a disaster that can’t be overcome, and if someone has had to put the hard work into getting into a music school, especially a high level one, then they have the ability to find their new path and succeed:).</p>
<p>And it takes all kinds…
Our DS is a currently in a music performance master’s program after a music education undergrad. Never any doubt that his passion and course of study would be music.</p>
<p>BUT if he ever did switch majors, it most definitely would NOT be to a math related major!
He had the most lopsided SAT scores (very high verbal/very mediocre math).
He convinced his HS guidance counselor that he would NEVER be needing advanced math in his life and only went as far as absolutely necessary, geometry? alegra II?
Not a great plan for most kids, but OK for this one. </p>
<p>DH is also a musician and poor/uninterested in math. Also strong writing/verbal.</p>
<p>On the other hand, both DS and DH are immersed in numerous music composition programs on their computers that to me resemble math problems!</p>