My son is probably going to apply to music programs. I say “probably” because he’s concerned that it will limit him too much, that if he changes majors, say, junior year, he’ll have to make up a lot of courses he missed. Any thoughts on that? Any general advice on whether being a music major is totally impractical? (He’s not at all interested in teaching K12) I don’t mind impractical, but he is understandably worried that he will be unemployable.
This is a frequent topic on the music forum here, under “College Majors”. It is an excellent forum. At the top you will see a thread entitled " Busting The Myth That Fine-Arts Degrees Lead To The Poorhouse." But there are many others.
What do you mean by “music programs”? Is he an instrumentalist or vocal performer? Is he looking at conservatories or music schools for a BM? Or is he interested in a general music major for a BA, with or without performance? Has he done any theory? Music will involve theory, solfege and dictation, music history, ethnomusicology, composition, music and technology and so on.
It is not at all impractical. As a music major, he can go on to any grad or professional school (with prerequisites), including medicine or law or business. He can also intern and volunteer and gain job skills. Most music programs these days offer entrepreneurial studies as well.
He can also consider a double degree, double major, or major/minor. Or follow another interest academically, take private lessons, and perform in extracurriculars, depending on how much immersion he wants. A BM is usually 2/3-3/4 music classes, and a BA is often 1/4-1/3 music classes.
Here is a good essay to read on choices with individual examples: http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html
Many on the music forum resist the idea of a backup. Kids who major in music end up doing all kinds of things, including music of course, and some end up with PhD’s or DMA’s too. There are others who major in something else and continue to pursue music. There are many paths, but majoring in music can work out just fine. It is widely respected for the skills and work ethic involved.
Niece was a music performance major in college- even had a scholarship. Eventually she chose a BA instead of a BM. Now she works for an orchestra group in a large city. Her H has a degree in some kind of music from a different college and runs a studio. There isn’t enough work for all music majors to be performers but there are jobs where their expertise is required.
All colleges have basic breadth requirements regardless of one’s major. Some offer different degrees- such as BA, BS and BM which will have differing graduation requirements. Choosing a college or university with more than music offered will give him options if he changes his mind. He can plan his courses to meet music major reqs and include other courses that could lead to a major if he chooses to change majors. A BA with a major in a music field would be no different than one with a history, art or other humanities major I would guess- many jobs just want that degree, regardless of major.
Thank you so much. I wasn’t aware of the “majors” forum, so I’ll look there, too.
He’s interested in percussion performance. I want to encourage him not because it’s his dream, but because he often doesn’t trust himself to make decisions. Good to know he has options!
So if he wants to do percussion performance, that is different from doing a college BA in music. Show him that Peabody essay (linked above) so he can see where he falls in the spectrum of choices for students interested in music. If he wants to be immersed in a performance program, the music major forum will be really really helpful.
For some kids, it is good to cover more than one option because things can change in the course of senior year. My daughter applied to both conservatories (BM) and colleges (BA) and decided at the very last minute. (She is a composer and is at the moment writing for a PhD student in percussion!) I know one percussionist who plays with a well-known international ensemble but also teaches in a digital arts program. You never know where things might lead.
In addition to conservatory BM programs, and BA programs at colleges, there are also a number of universities that offer a BM. My kid went to Boston University. He was a music performance major, but he could have switched majors,at any time to any number of other great majors within that university.
Thanks! Good to know there are so many options/paths.
To do a double major it helps to go to a college with a relatively open curriculum. Many general requirements make it harder to go that route. My son is thinking of a double major in music and math, and his school has virtually no reunited classes–so he can just plunge right in.
BU has a music school. There are many colleges and universities with conservatories/music schools on campus, as opposed to a music department. Some of these have “low walls” between college and conservatory, and some don’t. Some offer double degrees (Oberlin, Bard, Lawrence, Tufts/NEC, Johns Hopkins/Peabody, others. Harvard and NE have a BA/MM program). And some have a BM in the conservatory and a general music major in the college (Oberlin or Bard for instance). Eastman is part of the U. of Rochester as well.
It helps to look closely at websites. Many state universities also offer BM’s. Some LAC’s will have music departments, which sometimes are BA programs, sometimes offer both BM and BA. Websites describe the degrees offered, the programs, the faculty and the courses.
Again, the Peabody double degree dilemma describes the degree options and has examples of students who fit each well 
Read the Peabody articles. They are excellent. There was an older batch when my son applied in 2003 that were even better (in my opinion) in terms of describing the different types of music students, and so forth. But the current ones are good too.
Add Syracuse to the college list as well.
Try looking in this subforum as well for music majors.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/