Minoring in Music Without Any Knowledge of Music

<p>I plan on majoring in biomedical engineering, but I'm also very passionate about music and think it'd be fun to receive a higher education in music. Even though I don't play any instruments, is it possible to minor in music? If yes, how much harder will it be for me?</p>

<p>First, a warning: the academic study of music is not necessarily “fun”: it is very rigorous and difficult, but certainly rewarding. Theory classes are often compared to introductory pre-med science classes in difficulty. You study theory, music history, composition, ethnomusicology and music technology in most programs for a BA.</p>

<p>There have been some recent posts trying to give potential applicants and idea of what it is really like to study music (by students doing performance, though).</p>

<p>So yes, you can minor (or even major) in music without playing an instrument, as long as it is a non-performance, academic program. Theory does involve piano, but often extra or remedial help is available. (I am assuming you can read music.)</p>

<p>Another option is to take selected classes in music without worrying about minor. I took a class in “world music” and am thinking about a class in “American Music in wartime,” neither of which requires any music background. I know many students who dip into music classes like this. American Studies programs often have classes on popular, or ethnic music, too: folk/protest, rap, musical theater, and so on. Also, general classes on, say, Romanticism or Modernism in the arts will cover music.</p>

<p>Some of these classes are “fun” :)</p>

<p>DS’s favorite “fun” activity during break in his college years was to listen to music and wrote down its baseline.</p>

<p>OP, If you enjoy activities like this for many hours of your free time, music may be a thing for you.</p>

<p>He had been a violinist most of his life before college but somehow decided to pick up bass toward the end of high school. According to what he said at that time, he believes it is an instrument in a higher demand in high school and in college as an “amateur” musician.</p>

<p>Even though he was an amateur musician, he took most of composition classes and their associated ear training classes for music major. Some of the students in his music class are quite enthusiastic about music and at least two of them choose the music career after college even though both of them are not music majors. (For example, one student in his music composition class is Kurt Hugo Schneider who is in the music production/performance business now, I think. Not in classical music though.)</p>

<p>I am glad he has taken these classes while he could in college and he and his friends occasionally even played music on the street in his college town for the fun of it.</p>

<p>My D1 is in engineering, minoring in music and Spanish. The universities she considered were highly variable in music - some offered no minor and some a very rigorous one. Some explicitly stated that some background in music was required but others did not. She ended up at a small engr. school that offers a minor where performance is possible but not required. There are two required music history courses and two music theory. The first music theory course is apparently quite popular even with those not minoring in music as it highlights the engineering/math/acoustics elements of music and composition. Additional credits can be earned through performance, independent study and certain engineering or physics classes (like acoustics in physics or electronic music synthesis in ECE). While D1 has a music background (cello), it seems like this program would be doable without one. BTW, she loves that her music classes complement her engineering ones while using her brain a little differently. That makes them “fun” for her!</p>