Music Technology Major -vs- Business Major/Music Minor

My son thinks he wants to major in Music Technology. I think he is better off with a major in business and minor in music. He is a talented guitar player and really has no other interests aside from music. Although extremely talented, I find that there are so many talented kids his age that perform in bands. As a career he obviously wants to make a good living but still do something he is passionate about. He is an average to slightly above average student–no honors classes. Any thoughts? Then we can discuss schools.
Thanks so much.

Check out University of Hartford and the Hartt School of Music - they have programs both in and outside of the music school that might meet his interests.

The Audio Engineering Society maintains a list of audio programs that might be of use. http://www.aes.org/education/directory/

My son did music business at the Hartt School. He got some good general education/business courses, but also took music classes, had private lessons and played in ensembles.

There are a lot of threads on music technology here if you do a search. And on popular music, or electric guitar.

UMass Lowell has both guitar and music technology. Hartt, Ithaca, Frost, Berklee are possibilities. Columbia College Chicago.

Terms vary and include music technology, studio production, and audio engineering.

But as I wrote in your thread on the other forum, I hope he can major in music if that is what he wants, meaning guitar. That would be a BM. He could also major in music for a BA but that would not usually (there are exceptions) be a performance degree: instead he would do lessons and performance outside of academics.

He sounds more like a kid who would love conservatory or music school, so the trick is to find schools with electric guitar who also have some music tech. He can start out with one and see how he feels along the way, and include both or switch or stay with guitar.

Compmom–the dilemma is that although it is his passion, will he be able to make a living and get a job. Also, not sure he will do well so far from NJ. A lot of factors to consider but he is a junior so starting early.

I understand the concern about making a living in this day and age of high tuitions and loans. Some feel that a bachelor’s in music, whether BM or BA, is a legitimate bachelor’s in any work that requires a bachelor’s and, as I wrote before, gains access to grad and professional schools. You might want to check out the thread on top of this forum on the “myth” that majoring in the arts leads to the “poorhouse.” In the Double Degree Dilemma your son could be Howard or he could be Bill, about whom the essay writes:

"Within the program structures of most music schools are a variety of double degree or double major programs that combine music performance with a music related subject. Choices vary by school, but it is not hard to find B.M. degrees that combine performance with music education, recording arts (music technology), musical theater, music industry (management), musicology (history), accompanying, early music (lute, harpsichord, etc.), electronic/computer music, jazz, music therapy, pedagogy, or church music. These programs vary widely in their entrance and exit requirements, and in the kind of students they attract, so don’t take anything for granted.

Bill and his family are likely to be thrilled when they discover that Bill won’t have to straddle two schools to get his needs met. In all likelihood, he can take a double degree program in “recording arts” or “music technology” at a single school. At some schools, the performance degree is optional."

William Paterson in NJ has sound engineering and also a popular music BA (focused on songwriting and social media).
http://www.wpunj.edu/coac/departments/music/undergraduate/ But I cannot find anything about electric guitar. The BA has quite a few liberal arts requirements which a BM would not have.

Mason Gross at Rutgers has guitar, but not sure if it is electric or not (possibly, after looking at the teacher). They have jazz studies and recording technology BM programs. http://www.masongross.rutgers.edu/music/programs-of-study

Hartt has music management, music production and management, and guitar, but mainly classical, with two classes in electric guitar styles in the guitar major. You could check to see if jazz includes electric guitar. http://www.hartford.edu/hartt/programs/default.aspx

SUNY Purchase has classical guitar, and jazz studies ((is electric guitar part of that, can’t tell) and studio production as well as studio composition. https://www.purchase.edu/departments/AcademicPrograms/Arts/music/programs.aspx

UMass Lowell has music performance, sound recording technology, music business and teacher prep. The department, like others, is concerned about career: https://www.uml.edu/FAHSS/music/Programs/Undergraduate/Performance.aspx
There are electric guitar classes and ensembles.
https://www.uml.edu/search-catalog.aspx?q=electric+guitar

Miami Frost has
Department of Music Media and Industry
    •  Music Business and Entertainment Industries
    •  Arts Presenting and Live Entertainment Management
    •  Music Engineering Technology
Department of Studio Music and Jazz
    •  Studio Music and Jazz/Instrumental
    •  Studio Music and Jazz/Vocal
    •  Studio Jazz Writing
    •  Jazz Composition

Boyer at Temple in Philly has jazz studies and music technology (don’t see electric guitar).
http://www.temple.edu/boyer/academicprograms/index.asp

Ithaca has music technology, performance, jazz studies and an unusual BM that combines music and another field. Not sure about electric guitar but there is guitar. http://www.ithaca.edu/music/programs/

City College of New York has a range of programs that include jazz studies and sound recording technology (BFA). https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/music/

I think it is harder to find programs in electric guitar, particularly rock or other contemporary genre, than music technology/recording technology/studio production/audio engineering/music engineering technology or whatever you want to call it.

For electric guitar, Berklee is probably the best school to look at. (Merit aid is possible, no sure of your finances!) https://www.berklee.edu/majors It has everything your son could ever want : )

Columbia College Chicago has a great music program including contemporary urban and popular music, as well as a BS program in music technology.
http://www.colum.edu/academics/fine-and-performing-arts/music/index.html

Again, he can go anywhere and study guitar, perform in gigs and so on. For the latter he might want to be near a city. If he stays in NJ that is certainly a good location. I don’t know what other state colleges offer but music technology in whatever form it takes, is offered at state colleges in our state.

One other thing: there are small liberal arts colleges where you can kind of “do your thing” in an independent and interdisciplinary way. For example, Bennington http://www.bennington.edu/academics/areas-of-study-curriculum/music
Bennington also has a field work term in which students work for a semester, and faculty or Bennington connections can help them find suitable placements. This might make you feel better about job prospects. Have your son look at the music page I just linked to see how he feels about it. Bennington is test optional too.

Sarah Lawrence is another one https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/undergraduate/arts/music/

I really like the Colleges that Change Lives colleges and they are worth checking out. There is a website as well as Loren Pope’s original book with the same title.

And again here are the test-optional schools http://fairtest.org/university/optional

and you can do a search
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/search?cat=604&adv=1&search=music+technology
lots here!

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/search?cx=013579521852154800353%3Avvp1k6kluvq&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&Search=electric+guitar&=Go
no much at all on this topic : (

Here is a list of music schools or colleges with music, in NJ
https://www.careersinmusic.com/music-schools-new-jersey/

(TCNJ does not seem to have music technology)

@joshthemackid I have worked through some of the same “will he get a job?” issues - my son is a HS senior right now. I don’t know if sharing how our thinking has evolved will help, but here goes. In our case, DS was never going to major in a subject that would lead directly to high paying job opportunities (computer science, engineering, pre-med, finance, etc). He doesn’t have any interest in those fields and would be unlikely to succeed in them or be happy if he did major in them. So what was the alternative? If I were to be mean mom and say “no, you can’t major in music” what would he likely major in? The answer for our kid was likely to be history or political science. Is a bachelor’s degree in music any less marketable than a degree in history? No! In fact, as a music student he is more likely to learn and internalize many of the tangible “real life” skills needed to hold any job post college.

In addition to that Double Degree essay, this essay from the Dean of Lawrence Conservatory (one of the Colleges that Change Lives schools mentioned above) is a good one to read:

Everything I Know About Business I Learned at the Conservatory
https://www.lawrence.edu/conservatory/deans_desk/everything_i_know/node/7753

Our son currently plans to major in Music Ed (ideally at a program where performance standards are still very high), so unless he changes paths he will leave college with credentials for a specific type of “real job” that interests him. Even if he decides not to pursue a music-related career post college, though, I think he will be more prepared for life with a music degree than he would be with that history degree, and his college GPA almost certainly will be higher. I know from my own experience that the type of work I have spent most of my career doing didn’t even exist when I went off to college and got a liberal arts degree in an “unmarketable” subject, so I know first hand that one’s major does not determine one’s life or career path.

We have found in my son’s sample lessons and college visits that most music faculty (at least on instruments like classical sax where post-college performance careers are basically non-existent) are very open about the challenges of being a musician in the 21st century, and the good schools/profs take the time to help each student develop a career plan or “portfolio career” that is realistic for them. There seems to be a much greater emphasis on developing entrepreneurial skills than there used to be. My son has met many adult musicians in our area that have “portfolio careers” that have some mix of performing, teaching, regular office jobs, composing/arranging, music technology/recording arts type jobs, or arts-related office jobs, and I think it has helped open his eyes to some of the possibilities.

Often you can find sample “advising sheets” on college web sites for students who pursue different types of degrees, or at least lists of the type and amount of coursework in each area needed for the degree. They help you see what classes a student actually will be taking each semester to get that degree or major/minor. See if you can find some for your son’s target schools and in-state public schools in business, for a music minor, and for some of the music technology and guitar BM programs, as well. It may help you figure out which balance of music, music technology, and/or business sounds like the best fit for your kid. Just to give you an example of what I’m talking about, the University of Michigan offers 4 different degree programs in music technology with a different balance of music and technology/engineering - each are described here: http://music.umich.edu/departments/pat/programs.htm Many schools will even let you see course descriptions online - each of the degree descriptions programs above has a link at the bottom to course descriptions.

We have used these coursework lists to help us assess what percentage of classes are general eds at various programs, what the coursework differences are between a bachelor’s in Music Performance, a bachelor’s in Music Ed and a bachelor’s in Music Ed with a Performance Certificate, that sort of thing.

Good luck to you and your son as you start your search!

classicalsaxmom–Thank you so much for your reply. I have so many new links to look at from all the helpful people on CC. Let you guys know how it goes. Thanks again–

I’ll add one other comment from further down the road. My D is in the last year of graduate school in music. I would suggest that your son (with parental assistance) take a realistic look at life after graduation and his personality traits.

People tend to look at life after graduation as black and white. Business school is a guarantee of a good job and happiness. Music school is not. That’s not true so scratch below the surface.

Both routes give you a bachelors degree. And long-term success has more to do with your son,s personality, ambition, work ethic, passion etc. If he is very money focused and likes stability a music career could be tough. Also if he has not been exposed to an artistic lifestyle that could be a rude awakening. However if he has spent time around working musicians/engineers, understands the hours and money, can hustle, and just has a drive to be in music, then he is going in with eyes wide open and may make a happy, fulfilling life for himself. Maybe better than cubicle land at a job he only kind of likes.

Most parents struggle with these questions. I’m much more comfortable now bc I see my D getting hired. There is work. But you have to hustle continually. But there are a lot of connections and camaraderie and happiness too.

Good luck!

As a creative youngster I really wanted to major in (either) art or drama–really freaked out my mother, who was a successful business executive and had signed me up for classes in HS that I hated (typing, business). Looking back, I can only wonder what would have been had I received 100% support as an artist because I spent nearly all of my 20s conflicted and was not prepared to apply to the best arts colleges anyway. I wasted a lot of time being a square peg trying to squeeze myself into a round hole. My family wanted me to major in journalism because of my writing skills and because it was “practical”—well look what has happened in that field over the last 30 years! Thank goodness I rejected that idea and majored in English instead! I DID work on my college newspaper and I have earned money as a freelance writer, but my steady work has been as a high school English teacher. A liberal arts degree is the most flexible, but ultimately I feel very strongly that a student’s undergraduate education is really about following a passion, discovering oneself & finding kindred spirits.

I now have a son who has threatened to major in music–lol! And yes, it is forcing me to walk the talk. Yes, I am worried about his employment prospects BUT I have a good friend who has a master’s in music and he currently makes a good living in the tech industry. I don’t think he ever even took computer science classes in college. I have another friend who works as a developer who also never studied CS formally–he had been an art major in college. Both of these men were self-taught and/or got certifications online. That’s basically what I’ll be encouraging my son to do eventually. Job training is easier to get than “enlightenment.” Just my two cents.

“Better off” how, exactly? What does he ultimately want to do?

FWIW, I work for a well-known audio company and we have a lot of engineers who come from a music background. For what they do (design and engineer audio components like amplifiers, transducers, etc.), a music technology degree would be much more desirable than a generic undergraduate business degree. In fact, I doubt the latter would get an interview without some significant outside accomplishments. So, which is “better” really depends on what he’s interested in.

In many ways, I think a music education is exactly just that… learning the mechanics of music. What kind of a “career” that translates into depends much more on the student

FYI…for what it’s worth. http://www.collegemagazine.com/top-10-schools-music-technology/

Another great program is University of Michigan’s sound engineering program. It’s through the school of music but you effectively minor in electrical engineering and receive a BS degree. Super selective program that requires both musical talent and solid engineering aptitude. Two of my son’s former jazz bandmates are in the program; one of them with a perfect 36 ACT.
http://www.music.umich.edu/departments/pat/bs_curr_d.htm