<p>What is the difference between "music" majors, "education" majors, and "music education" majors? Some of the colleges I've been looking into list "music education" as a major, which is what I want, but then some schools have just "music" majors and "education" majors. Is that different? I would like to be a choral music teacher after I graduate. Which major do I want for that?
Any other suggestions or tips for me in my college search?</p>
<p>The normal root to becoming a choral music teacher is through a music education program. While some “education” majors will have music courses, there will generally not be nearly as many as there would be in a “music education” degree. </p>
<p>Within a music education degree, you will have enough education courses to get certified as a teacher (at least in the state in which the college is located); whereas, in a music degree, there are usually no required education courses and certainly not enough elective room to fit in enough to get even close to certfication.</p>
<p>A music ed degree will almost always include considerable student teaching/internship experience in schools. The music ed degree will include at least some of the usual compulsory theory/music history/musicianship/studio courses that a music degree has. Within a music degree, most people specialize in a field (e.g. performance, musicology, music theory, composition etc.) and will take considerably more courses in that field than a music ed person would. </p>
<p>The admission requirements for a music ed person are usually lower in terms of the standard of performance required in the audition, but may in some cases be somewhat higher in terms of academics (either in terms of gpa or the courses required).</p>
<p>Another route to becoming a choral music teacher would involve taking a music degree (often as a voice or piano major) and then meeting certification requirements by doing a Master’s in education. I would caution you to do your research before considering this approach. I think this approach can work well for teachers of traditional academic disciplines (e.g. English, Spanish, science), but the few programs I have seen are usually not designed to give a potential choral teacher enough music methods/music ed classes within the degree. As well, there is no substitute for years of experience observing and student teaching in a variety of classrooms, schools and systems. You just can’t squeeze enough hands-on experience in to a year.</p>
<p>My Biggest Tip: Talk to your high school choral teacher. Ask them for advice. They will be more familiar than anyone on this board with the specifics of your state, the local music ed programs, and the job situation. They will also be a valuable source of reference letters that will probably be needed. If you have seriously discussed your career aspirations with them, then they will be in a better position to write a strong letter for you.</p>
<p>I suspect you may be mixing together 3 different things here…</p>
<p>1)music major: This can mean generally two different things,there is the performance major (BM) that conservatories and music schools within universities can give. It is a degree for instrumental music or voice, and generally involves lessons on the instrument, ensemble work (chamber/orchestra), recitals, music theory, ear training, classes in music history, potentially other things like conducting and so forth…it is about training the musician.</p>
<p>There is also the BA, that can be studying an instrument and taking general college courses as well, or it can be ‘academic’ music, such as music theory, musicology, ethno music and so forth. This is more like standard college degree in its form (depending the school, BM students may not have to take the ‘core’ courses regular students do, whereas a BA student would IME).</p>
<p>2)Education major: This is generally designed around cresting teachers for the K-12 world, usually public schools because of the certification requirements. Usually would be for academic teachers or perhaps visual arts.</p>
<p>3)Music Ed: This is an education major, but focusing on music, and not all schools offer it (some may offer a general ed degree. If I understand it correctly, it is involves not just studying a primery instrument but learning about others as well (since in schools with instrumental music the teachers tend to teach multiple instruments), it involves learning conducting and I believe marching band and involves some general education classes like other teaching students take. </p>
<p>The Music Ed degree is generally aimed at teaching in public schools in K-12 (private schools often don’t require this, and for private teaching you don’t need it either, though it would obviously help). </p>
<p>Students with a performance degree can and do teach, they can teach in private schools and they can teach privately, or at the college level. Most private teachers I have run across generally studied performance in college (some obviously might have studied for a music ed degree, my high school band director taught privately).</p>
<p>In the end it depends on your desire. If you want to teach choral music in the public schools, then the more indicated path would be a Music ed degree from a place that offers it. In theory you could get a degree in choral performance and then take education courses to meet the teaching requirement, not sure how easy that is to do.</p>
<p>I agree very much with violindad and musicprnt, they both offered some very accurate information.</p>
<p>I do want to add that curriculums and degree options vary between colleges - so when you start shopping for colleges, you need to pay close attention to that. </p>
<p>One of the colleges that my son applied at doesn’t actuallly have a degree in music ed, although they have a very large music ed program. If you are a music ed student at that college, you will be granted two different degrees, a BM in music, and a BS in Education. Although you are getting two different degrees, their curriculum for music ed is consolidated and course requrirements overlap for both degrees - so it’s not like it is going to take you 8 years to graduate. At that school most students take 5 years to get both degrees, but a student at that college who is a music performance student can’t neccesarally at the last minute change his major and get the BS in education in an additional year as he/she would have missed out on many of the overlapping classes (mostely classes in non-primary instruments).</p>
<p>Another of the schools that he applied at didn’t offer a BM at all, but they had a BA Music and MAT (masters of art in teaching with a specialty in music ed), a 5 and a half year combo program. It differs from the example above in that it is less concentrated in music but it provides for a broader education, and instead of two bachelors in 4 or 5 years, you spend an extra few months in school and get a Bachelors plus a masters (which in many school districts would result in a higher teacher salary).</p>
<p>At the school that he ended up enrolling in, he will be getting a BM in Music Education, generally achievable in four very loaded years (or maybe with a couple of summer schools to reduce the work load). His school also has some “add on” options, like they are really pushing a minor in music entrapanureship for all music majors (takes an extra semester or so), and/or a music performance certificate for non-performance students (may also extend the degree program an extra semester if the student doesn’t take an overload of classes or summer school).</p>
<p>One of the other posters pointed out that getting a MAT after a BM/BA/BS in music may not be the best option for someone who wants to be a music teacher. Thats also very accurate, unless the college offers some sort of combo degree program in which the curriculum for the bachelors takes into account that the student expects to become a music teacher (so that he/she can be taking classes in multiple instruments). Unless the MAT is specialized in music ed, a general MAT may teach one to be a teacher, but may not be specific enough to teach one to be a good music teacher.</p>
<p>Also, most choral music degrees do require that the student become fairly proficient piano player, so essentially, piano becomes a choral music students second instrument (second to voice). If you don’t already play piano, it may be a good idea to start taking lessons asap.</p>
<p>I agree very much with violindad and musicprnt, they both offered some very accurate information.</p>
<p>I do want to add that curriculums and degree options vary between colleges - so when you start shopping for colleges, you need to pay close attention to that. </p>
<p>One of the colleges that my son applied at doesn’t actuallly have a degree in music ed, although they have a very large music ed program. If you are a music ed student at that college, you will be granted two different degrees, a BM in music, and a BS in Education. Although you are getting two different degrees, their curriculum for music ed is consolidated and course requrirements overlap for both degrees - so it’s not like it is going to take you 8 years to graduate. At that school most students take 5 years to get both degrees, but a student at that college who is a music performance student can’t neccesarally at the last minute change his major and get the BS in education in an additional year as he/she would have missed out on many of the overlapping classes (mostely classes in non-primary instruments).</p>
<p>Another of the schools that he applied at didn’t offer a BM at all, but they had a BA Music and MAT (masters of art in teaching with a specialty in music ed), a 5 and a half year combo program. It differs from the example above in that it is less concentrated in music but it provides for a broader education, and instead of two bachelors in 4 or 5 years, you spend an extra few months in school and get a Bachelors plus a masters (which in many school districts would result in a higher teacher salary).</p>
<p>At the school that he ended up enrolling in, he will be getting a BM in Music Education, generally achievable in four very loaded years (or maybe with a couple of summer schools to reduce the work load). His school also has some “add on” options, like they are really pushing a minor in music entrapanureship for all music majors (takes an extra semester or so), and/or a music performance certificate for non-performance students (may also extend the degree program an extra semester if the student doesn’t take an overload of classes or summer school).</p>
<p>One of the other posters pointed out that getting a MAT after a BM/BA/BS in music may not be the best option for someone who wants to be a music teacher. Thats also very accurate, unless the college offers some sort of combo degree program in which the curriculum for the bachelors takes into account that the student expects to become a music teacher (so that he/she can be taking classes in multiple instruments). Unless the MAT is specialized in music ed, a general MAT may teach one to be a teacher, but may not be specific enough to teach one to be a good music teacher.</p>
<p>Also, most choral music degrees do require that the student become fairly proficient piano player, so essentially, piano becomes a choral music students second instrument (second to voice). If you don’t already play piano, it may be a good idea to start taking lessons asap.</p>