<p>Hey all. I'll soon be entering USC as a Popular Music major. Although I seemingly have a lot of time to think about what I want to minor in, there are already so many minors that I'm interested in. The reason I'm planning so early is that if I ever find myself with elective spaces as an underclassman, I'd want to know what I should get a head start on. I'm interested in honing my skills in areas that relate to popular music and the overall world of arts. My career goals involve the usual writing, recording, touring, etc. as well as writing stage shows/rock operas, making short-film-style music videos, and being innovative in the world of interactive/social media. I'm also interested in further honing my skills in arts journalism in case I need something to "fall back on." Some minors available to me that I'm kind of interested in are:</p>
<p>Music Industry
Communication and the Entertainment Industry
American Popular Culture
Interactive Multimedia
Music Recording
Musical Theatre
Performing Arts Studies
Playwriting
Songwriting
Digital Studies
Cinematic Arts</p>
<p>I can only pick one because, even though we're allowed to have two minors, my major requires a heavy courseload to begin with and I'd like to graduate in 4 years. My major mainly covers performance & overall musicianship, but it does include some recording, songwriting, & music industry classes. I'm not sure if I'd want to add depth to one of those areas or initiate studies in others that I'm interested in. So, which major(s) do you think would be most promising and helpful?</p>
<p>27dreams, you are a planner! I would suggest you first dive head first into your first semester. A minor may not matter as much in your field as much as talent and networking, but any minor on that list will be interesting. Good luck next month when you start!</p>
<p>I have a friend who majored in music industry at USC. What he really liked about it was he thought a lot of the music business classes were very practical and would really help him later on as far as getting his business started, getting music sold etc. I imagine a minor could do similar things for a potential musician.</p>
<p>I would be tempted to take advantage of the awesome cinematic arts faculty you have available to you, in terms of both practical skills and networking considering you particular set of talents/interests. A second choice, as a performer, would be music recording, since a thorough understanding of what it takes puts you in a stronger position to control the quality of your productions, particularly given the often independent nature of the industry today. If you are in a position to self-produce, you have an advantage getting to market.</p>
<p>I’m sorry for piggy-backing on this thread, but I have a question. Would double-majoring in Popular Music and Film Production at USC be a good idea?</p>
<p>tofugirl101, I’m not sure if that would even be possible, considering how difficult it is to get into each of those programs, the many major requirements you have for each, and how few of those requirements would overlap. I suggest applying for both, if they allow it and you’re equally interested in each. If you get into one, that’s your major and the other can become your minor if you take the necessary steps to make that happen. If you get into both major programs, you should still pick one for your major and minor in the other. Keep in mind that in order to be accepted into these major programs, there are additional requirements. You’ll need to submit a prescreening DVD for Popular Music (3-5 full songs performed live) and then audition at USC if you pass the first round. For the film school, it looks like you’ll need to fulfill an additional writing supplement, a visual requirement, and a sort of resume-portfolio combo.</p>
<p>A professional choreographer told me recently that there are plenty of young dancers who have good technique, but few with the kind of expressivity she looks for. She said that therefore children with an interest in the arts should focus on literature to develop their empathy.</p>
<p>I think we could generalize from that and say that whatever area of artistic expression you connect with the best will be helpful for you. It could be literature or some other artistic field.</p>
<p>That’s one approach to answering your question. Another would be to follow your nose. If there’s a project you’ve been involved in recently, or a project that appeals to you, that you would like to learn some more about, in order to go farther with the idea, that might be a starting point.</p>
<p>One more approach. Besides looking at the list of fields, have you also looked at the list of courses that one would take as part of those minors? In other words, read the course descriptions from the catalog. See what courses appeal to you, and build the minor around those.</p>
Good luck!</p>