Music Major

Hey! So I know I want to do music in college. However with pre med courses, I was wondering which would be the best. I want to be in a program where I can perform all kinds of music and not be restricted to JUSt jazz or JUST classical, know what I mean? Would a performance major allow you to do that? If not, how would you go about doing this? In my previous thread I did also mention that with the ore med required courses I also want to minornin music composition/conducting.

@SDave03 You should head over to the Music Major forum here at CC - lots of help available there. Your first step should be reading this essay, which discusses the various ways to study music in college and the ways it can be combined with other majors (which often takes 5 years if they are outside the school of music)

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/1948726-double-degree-dilemma-essay-written-by-david-lane.html

Be aware that BM degree programs in Music Petormance are very demanding and time consuming at most schools. Music majors often take an unusually large # of classes/credits, and I’ve heard it can be difficult to schedule labs for science courses around the many classes and rehearsals a music student will have. A BA Music program is generally much easier to combine with other things, though at many schools it is more of an academic music major rather than a performance based major.

It will vary by program, professor, and instrument whether playing both jazz and classical is doable, so you will need to do your homework on all the schools and profs you are considering. Your private teacher may be a helpful resource. My son applied to performance programs as a classical saxophonist, for example. At some schools there is one sax professor who does both jazz and classical., and students are able to do both (meaning, participate in both jazz and classical ensembles) relatively easily… At others, jazz studies and classical are pretty segregated and some classical profs are not very supportive of their students playing jazz, or jazz ensembles may not be open to classical students and vice versa. Some schools don’t even have a classical sax program/prof, just jazz.

Oh thanks so much @classicalsaxmom I really appreciate the help! May I ask what school your son attended? And yes, I was thinking that a BA would be a bit more lineant in terms of scheduling.

Thanks!

B.A. music programs tend to be broad in scope and offer courses in theory, performance (in a variety of styles), conducting and composition. With a major, you could elect to emphasize the areas of greatest appeal to you without the necessity of an added music minor. These sites will give you an idea of what a B.A. music curriculum might look like:

http://www.kenyon.edu/academics/departments-programs/music/academic-program-requirements/courses/

https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/departments/Courses-and-Requirements?dept=music

Depending on where you study, picking up some of the pre-med coursework in summer school can be very easy. Of course this would restrict other summer activities a bit, but it would give you more flexibility during the regular academic year. You also could investigate a couple of the post-baccalaureate pre-med programs as ways to cover any missing requirements after finishing your music major. Yes, this would add on a year to your total program of studies, but would not necessarily need to be a full load for that year.

Moved to Music Major Forum

SDave03, most BM’s in performance will want a narrower focus. On the other hand, a BA is a more academic degree, and may even have little performance in the curriculum. Lessons and performance opportunities may be available but as extracurriculars at some schools.

Composition can be done in either a BM or a BA program.

You can major in anything and still go to med school. Either take prereq’s during college or, as mentioned above, in a post-grad program.

Oh thanks @compmom ! Yes, I agree I’ve heard many people say that a BA once anything music related is filled with more liberal arts courses instead of actual music courses. In that case, is it possible to double major with a BM/BS or complete requirements during your BM?

@SDave03 I think re-reading that Double Degree dilemma essay at the top of this forum again would be worthwhile (FYI a BM/BS is a double degree, not a double major, and requires fulfilling all requirements of two different schools within a university, which normally takes 5 years). After that, look very carefully at the Web sites of each school you are considering. Many music schools or music departments will have undergraduate handbooks and/or advising sheets and/or course descriptions online that show a typical pattern of coursework, semester by semester, or at least a summary of coursework and what the graduation requirements are. They are worth diving into and looking at in detail so that you can see what type of classes you would be taking for each major/minor you are considering, how a BA in Music differs from a BM, and how much room might be available for pre-med prerequisites (not much, in many BM programs). Every school will be different. If you can’t find them online, email to ask.

Among the things you should look for at each school…

  1. What general education/core curriculum requirements do all students at that university have to take? Are there a lot of gen ed classes to take? Will you be able to fill some of them with your pre-med courses or music course work? Some schools have very specific classes and limited choices available for fulfilling gen eds, and there may be zero overlap with pre-med classes, other schools may be perfectly happy to count your pre-med science courses against any core science requirements. If there are a lot of gen eds required and no overlap with premed course work it will be much harder to do a BM plus finish all premed requirements in 4 years, if that is your goal.

  2. Will you be bringing a lot of AP credits to college and will the college give you credit for them? Will they fulfill any of the gen ed requirements? Most schools will have a page outlining what credit they give for various AP tests/scores. If you can replace some gen ed requirements with AP credit, that leaves more room in your schedule for the pre-med courses. Note that some BM programs (including my son’s) do not allow AP credits to replace gen ed course work, though sometimes they allow it for double degree students. Many good BM programs want you to take Music Theory there and will not even accept a 5 in AP Music Theory for credit, though at many public universities you might get credit for it and/or place out of a semester or two of theory, which would help create a bit of room in the schedule.

  3. If you are considering a double degree like a BM in performance and a BS outside the school of music, look for pages on the music school web site that address that situation and what is required for a double degree. This is generally a five-year program, and the cost of that extra year will be an issue for most people who are looking at med school. At some schools double degree students are common, at others, the school and/or many of the profs will not be supportive of a double degree. Even schools where double degree students are common may have individual profs that do not like having double degree students in their studio because they simply don’t have time to put in the practice time that BM-only students can manage.

If you are seriously considering the BM route, start thinking about professors on your instrument that you would like to study with if you have not already, because that is a major factor in narrowing down school choice for most BM students, and by junior year many prospective BM students are making music school visits and arranging sample lessons with professors to see if they are a good fit. Professor fit may limit your choice further. If you have a private teacher who has sent a good number of students on to college-level music programs, he or she will probably be a good resource for recommending profs and programs that might be a good fit for you and that are appropriate to your skill level, then you can do your homework on those schools to see if the type of degrees they offer will suit you.

Good luck with your research!

Thanks so much for the detailed response @classicalsaxmom

@classicalsaxmom if you just do a BM in music, do you have space for pre med requirements to complete in four years?

It can be done, but how easy it is to do in 4 years will depend on the school (see 1 and 2 above) and whether science labs at that school tend to conflict with rehearsal schedules. There really isn’t any substitute for doing the research on each school you are considering.

Have you considered a double degree?

Yes, I have @compmom . However the only problem is that it leaves with an extra year worth of tuition. Or else it does seem like a good idea .

@classicalsaxmom .yep, I’ve looked at a few universities and none of them really have a program designed for music and pre med- except for UFlorida. I’ve found some that have sciences and music separately, but not much on them being together, or a dual degree. Would that be a double major then? I’m not sure if that would fit in the schedule or not.

You don’t need a special program for music and pre-med, pre-med isn’t even a major at most schools. You just need to know 1) what the required pre-med courses are and 2) whether the school’s music program will have enough space in a typical BM student’s schedule over 4 years to take all those required classes as electives along with music course work and any other required general education requirements. You can always call or email individual music schools and ask if they’ve had many pre-med music students in the past and whether those students are typically able to finish in 4 years.

I think the OP would be better served with a BA in music, rather than a BM. Since they have no interest in specializing in either classical or jazz, and want to do performance, conducting & composition, they would be better served with a more general program of study which is widely available. And a double major with biology or chemistry, or even a single BA in music with electives in organic chemistry etc. would work fine for Pre-Med.

Or a BS in science with courses in music as they can fit, lessons and extracurricular performance.

If you do music and don’t have room in your schedule, prereq’s for med school can be taken during the summer and also in special programs for post-graduation, though those options are also expensive in some cases. Google Goucher’s program for an example; there are many.