<p>Hi guys. I am a spring admit and I am a business major. I am thinking about double majoring in piano but I don't know if that is possible. here are my questions. </p>
<ol>
<li>How much more tuition do I have to pay if I have piano as my second major? I checked the tuition of Thorntorn and it says that music students need to pay for an extra instruction fee of 1400 dollars every year. Are there other fees that I might come cross as a music major? I will have to figure this out before I start to prepare for the audition..cuz I will not be able to double major if I can't afford the extra cost:(</li>
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<p>2.Will I be able to graduate in 4 years? is it gonna be hard?</p>
<p>3.I am also wondering if I can be still be a music teacher if I choose to minor in piano. What certificate do I need to be a piano teacher??</p>
<p>4.Are there any piano majors here who can tell me how many hours do music students usually spend in practice room every day?</p>
<p>You won’t have to pay more TUITION per say because you’re set at 18 units a semester. You might have to pay more money because a double major MIGHT require staying on an extra semester or taking summer classes. Pretty much all the arts-based schools have class fees, usually to cover the cost of student’s using the school’s equipment (in this case, instruments.)</p>
<p>You’ll have to see the course plan for each program to see if you can graduate in 4 years. My BFA program had something like 136 units (?) and I had to take two semesters of summer classes to graduate on time with a minor.</p>
<p>I know performance majors have a LOT of required units and take a lot of time; I don’t think something so intense like business and a performance double major would be the best idea. A minor should suffice if you don’t want to become a professional touring pianist.</p>
<p>You posted this in another thread – do you mean PRIVATE piano teacher (like for kids who want in home lessons?) A minor for that should be fine if you are good enough. Anything else (college, high school, elementary) at an actual SCHOOL would require a DM in music education, a MAT or an education credential. Some private piano schools also like to see teachers with more practical experience (in orchestras, tours, etc) and don’t care so much about degrees.</p>
<p>All music majors require an audition and with USC outstanding reputation for music, the competition is pretty tough. There is a prescreen process and if you pass that audition you are invited for an audition. Here is the process that is listed on the web for classical piano:</p>
<p>“Applicants to programs in Piano must submit an audition recording, in a DVD format only, to be pre-screened by the faculty. The results of this pre-screen will determine whether an applicant will be invited to perform a live audition on the USC campus in Los Angeles. Reocrdings must be received by the December 1st deadline. Any application not complete by December 1 may be removed from consideration.” </p>
<p>…
AUDITION REQUIREMENTS</p>
<p>The required repertoire is the same for both the prescreen recording and the live audition, and should include the following works entirely from memory:</p>
<pre><code>Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Arts
Baroque - a Prelude and Fugue by J. S. Bach from the Well-Tempered Clavier
Classical - a complete multi-movement sonata by a classical composer, up to and including Schubert, but excluding Beethoven opus 49 and 79
One piece from the Romantic, Impressionistic or Contemporary repertoire
An etude
</code></pre>
<p>@Zelda Fitzgerald: woah…I just found out that a piano performance major needs liek 132 units to graduate.Although I didn’t find out how many units that the business major requires, I don’t think these two majors would have many units overlapped. That sounds hard…How can I find out how long it will take me to graduate with both majors, although I am probably not doing it. And yes, I want to be a private piano teacher but I am kinda worried that a minor might not be convincing enough…People will probably choose a teacher who major in piano.</p>
<p>@sx44038: Thank you for posting that piece of info. I will start preparing for the audition once I make my decision on whether to minor or major or neither.</p>
<p>Aside from the audition requirements, most performance majors have very few (sometimes as little as 10) “open” electives, which makes double-majoring and graduating in 4 years impossible. Minoring might be a better option. See your advisor and/or an advisor at Thornton to figure out how long it would take.</p>
<p>Music majors practice A LOT. And they also have courses that are ensembles, which require learning new music each week, practicing it with the group several hours a week. To make it worse, many of those types of courses are… 1 unit of credit. People don’t realize it, but a music major is one of the more difficult majors there is! A minor might be a great option for you.</p>
<p>If you are a great teacher and skilled pianist, no parent or student is going to ask for your credentials. A minor could easily work. You’ll still have to build up a clientele, one student at a time. Teaching in schools is another matter altogether.</p>
<p>When I was in high school, I had an amazing jazz piano teacher who I learned a lot from; she knew a lot about music, theory and really improved my technique. She was also pretty young (probably 2 or 3 years out of college) and I got along with her really well. She wasn’t a piano major in college (I think she did voice and literature?), but neither I nor my parents cared about that! She was a great teacher and that’s all that mattered. </p>
<p>Unless you’re hoping to teach prodigies, I don’t think any other reasonable parents would hold not majoring in piano against you. Why not look into music education if that’s what you’re interested in, anyway?</p>
<p>The Business major requires 120 units, if my math is correct; their cataloge is a bit confusing.</p>
<p>My son plays jazz guitar and was interested in engineering and studio jazz guitar. We visited USC last September and met with Thornton assistant admission director. I sat with my son and when he mentioned he wad considering a double major she was polite hut the look on her face was priceless. She explained that a double major in EE and jazz guitar would take at least 6 years to complete. The demands for each program are pretty intense and the jazz guitar major only accepts 15 students each year. She explained many if the current students are already touring with major acts. </p>
<p>My son decided to stick with EE and do a minor in jazz guitar.</p>
<p>ZF: with 132 units required for most if not all music degrees, it would shock me if the business degree was only 120 units. But I am often shocked.</p>
<p>sx, everything she told you is true! My son is a guitar major with a busy “hot” extracurricular band and barely has time to sleep.</p>
<p>Like I said, the business course plan was really confusing, so I might have miscalculated or missed another secretion of required units. Maybe they need to make up the rest in electives? Either way, with or without GEs, it’s a pretty demanding program.</p>
<p>Jeesh, sorry for all the typos in my previous post. The post was typed on my iPhone. After re-reading my post, it looks like I was drunk posting. Wish there was an edit button.</p>
<p>Anywho…
J/SMom - congrats on your son being in the Jazz Guitar program. From all of my research, the Thornton’s jazz guitar program is one of the best if not the best in the World. If you don’t mind, I would like to send you a PM with a couple of questions.</p>
<p>not at all, sx. But know that my son actually transferred from studio/jazz to popular music. Though jazz trained, contemporary rock is where his heart is. Feel free to PM me.</p>
That sounds hard…How can I find out how long it will take me to graduate with both majors, although I am probably not doing it. And yes, I want to be a private piano teacher but I am kinda worried that a minor might not be convincing enough…People will probably choose a teacher who major in piano.</p>