<p>I hope my question is not redundant or immature, and I apologize in advance if people frequently touch this subject. I am a senior in high school and am interested in possibly studying music in college. I have taken private piano lessons for 10 years, and progress has been slow and inconsistent. I am not too proud to admit my skills are quite elementary; my sight reading, technique, and grasp of theory are all at a basic level. Nonetheless, I can say without a doubt that I am passionate about music. Although I am years behind other music students, I feel that my capacity to study a rigorous music program is strong. Academically, I have an excellent work ethic and am in the top 8% of my class. My question is, if I continue to refine rudimentary skills and begin to take music and piano study very seriously, would studying music at the college level be attainable? Am I too far behind to even conceive of earning a music degree? I appreciate any comments and am grateful for any advice.</p>
<p>Instagaeta-Welcome. Your question is valid, and while you give a thorough basic assessment of your skills, pianowise and academically, there are areas you left blank. As to my background, I have no musical training or skills. My son is a fifth year double degree viola performance/music ed major, so my "musical" background stems soley from this experience; others here can offer much better practical assesments, but the following would prove helpful:</p>
<p>Have you applied yet to college? Where?</p>
<p>Do you have a private teacher? What is their assessment of your ability?</p>
<p>Do you other knowledgeable assessments and are they similar? </p>
<p>What do you define as a degree in music? You might want to read the authorative post by BassDad at <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=258796%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=258796</a> and take a sidebar excursion to the link within that post to the page at Rice/Shepherd School of music examining different musical careers.</p>
<p>Do you wish a degree in music for personal enjoyment or a source of income/employment?</p>
<p>At most any state college or university that has a music program, you would be welcome to pursue this as a minor and be welcome to play (and learn/develop). If your assessment is accurate, I'd say at this point any conservatory would be an unrealistic goal. </p>
<p>I suggest posting a bit of the requested detail, and do the suggested reading... there are many supportive individuals within the board that may then be able to give you more than my generalities. </p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>My error. In rescanning BassDad's great post, I could not find the Rice/Sheperd link therein. It is here:<a href="http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/%7Enavmusic/careerpaths/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~navmusic/careerpaths/index.html</a></p>
<p>The Peabody link mentioned in his post may prove fruitful to you to peruse initially as well.</p>
<p>InstaGaeta - this is my opinion only - take it for what it's worth.</p>
<p>I don't believe your experience thus far sets you up well for a career as a famous, international solo pianist.... There are many, many dedicated, talented pianists who will be your competition, and I'm afraid you won't rank well. (Feel free to prove me wrong!)</p>
<p>However, music majors come at all levels. As violadad asks, what are your plans with the degree? Your skills won't get you into a major conservatory at this point, but many smaller schools and public universities have music programs several steps lower, where you would fit right in.</p>
<p>Also, there are music majors with BM degrees (performance) and BA degrees (liberal arts.) The BA degree has a less rigorous focus on music, mixed with other liberal arts courses. It might be the degree you would want to look at. A BA in music, like a BA in many other subjects (psychology, anthropology, english ....) does not dictate that you must do that for the rest of your life - it gives you a general degree that can take you a multitude of directions. You can go on to grad school and teach music history, for example. Or you can go to med school. Or, if you improve significantly in college, go to a better known music school for grad school. So your answer to what you want to do with it can help us better answer your original question.</p>
<p>A BA degree is also more amenable to a double major program, where you do music and something else. My D is looking at programs that allow her to do this. (My S is strictly a performance major.) </p>
<p>There are many schools out there with strong academic programs and weaker music programs, which is what you probably would do best aiming at. I don't know where you live, or what kind of school you want. Everything from some Ivies to private LACs (Allegheny, for example) to public universities (such as Miami-Ohio) offer the opportunity to double major with a BA in music.</p>
<p>There are also degrees in music education, music therapy, church music and music industries. Elementary teachers frequently handle music in their classrooms. Keyboard skills are necessary for all of these majors, and if you played another instrument quite well, you would still need keyboard, so you might be ahead in this area. From my experience, music education requires the highest level of performance of the non-performance degrees. GOod luck.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your insightful responses. I really appreciate your time. Currently, I have finished applying to colleges, and my top choice is Pepperdine University, a small Liberal Arts college in Malibu California. I have also applied to the University of Southern California, New York University, and University of Colorado at Boulder. Although Pepperdine is not known especially for their music program, I've heard they have an excellent faculty and ensemble. If I were to major in music there, they offer an emphasis in composition and theory, along with the basic requirements. I realize I am not experienced enough to pursue a performance major, but a major in composition might be attainable, and is more interesting personally. I have had the most experience in music production and composition using computer technology. I use Propellerhead's Reason 3.0 to compose music for local hip hop artists, and have composed short scores for the news network at my school district. In this musical arena, my experience with piano has helped tremendously. If I were to get a music major, I would hope to improve my understanding of music and composition and apply this knowledge toward my passion for studio production. This would also open the doors for graduate study in, perhaps, recording arts or scoring for film/television. As binx mentioned, also, the music major at Pepperdine would probably allow room for a double major in liberal arts (perhaps economics, international business, etc.). As far as my skill level with piano, I am currently working on Beethoven's Sonata 01 in F Op.2,1 - I - Allegro. I also am studying jazz and work on tunes in Real Books and such. I apologize for my long winded narrative, and thank you all for your guidance. Let me know what you think of my plans; are they logical, conceivable, foolish, impossible? Thanks again!</p>
<p>CU-Boulder has a very strong music school, and unless you can do a top notch audition, music studies would be limited. You might be able to study through a graduate student doing a pedagogy course, but that would not be for major credit. Good luck.</p>