Musicians and Parents - Introduce yourself!

College Majors Music Major
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Even for the most selective schools, like Harvard, it can be unnecessary to load up on as many AP’s as peers when doing music in an intense and dedicated way. Admissions folks understand the time commitment and discipline involved and may even see a reduction in rigor as a sign of that commitment.

Music 2023 I hope you and your son will read the “Double Degree Dilemma.” thread on this forum.

Just as a conservatory student can maintain intellectual interests, a musician who opts for college/university can maintain music progress through lessons, practice and performance, even without a double degree. Some conservatory students will enter grad school in other areas. Some academic students will enter conservatory for an MM. The road is flexible!

1422

Thanks, Compmom and Drummergirl. We had a long chat last night and my son was saying that he wants to take two AP classes next year- one in a subject that interests him, and the other one because if he only takes the Honors version he will be with the “dumb kids!” SO ridiculous. I’m having a hard time convincing an ambitious 16 year old to take it easy so he has enough time to practice. He is entrenched in the “Challenge Accepted!!” mode and has this manic drive to be brilliant at everything. Aaiee!!! But i am thrilled to hear about flexibility and diverse paths. My son needs to hear about more non/traditional journeys so that he doesn’t feel like his college major is the rest of his life.

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My D had the same concerns about non AP/IB classes. They feel like they will be viewed as less intelligent or slackers if they take honors and not AP. I think what is expected of kids for admission to college is unrealistic - They are told they need to be president of the class, captain of track team, all state musician, have straight A’s with maximum AP’s taken, have almost perfect SAT’s, have volunteered in a hospice for 8+ years (leadership role for 2+), and play the diggerydoo (as a “hook”). Then, they MIGHT be in the running for acceptance to an ivy. This is not normal, people, but it is presented as achievable. I think I’m going to encourage #2 to be a welder. Certainly won’t encourage an ivy (this from UPenn/Princeton grad!)

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@songbirdmama

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@Music2023 I remember my D asking me in high school what she should do one summer . I said “How about you hang out on the corner and smoke cigarettes”. I pointed out it was the one challenge she wouldn’t accept. She gave me a sour look and continued on her mad pursuit of accomplishments. We survived. It got better in college. She actually went to some parties freshman year. Yay!

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@songbirdmama and @bridgenail -
Lol! I keep telling my kids i would be happy to use their college funds to purchase a farm where they can milk goats. I don’t know how they caught this insane ambition frenzy!!

1427

Congratulations to all of this year’s applicants on making it this far on your musical journey! Today, I saw some photos of a very young cousin trying out her first instruments - maybe cello? maybe bass? given her expression, probably not violin! - and had a wonderful nostalgic moment about all those years of practicing and lessons and driving and driving and waiting in the lobby and auditions and driving and recitals. Now that my kids are up and out, I really miss those days! Hope you enjoy all the “lasts” coming up in the next few weeks.

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My S (jazz trumpet/composition) received his admissions decisions & scholarship letters from CU-Boulder ($2500/yr), Reno ($3250/yr) & Berklee ($21,000/yr). He’d really like to go to Berklee; but, even with the scholarship, it is vastly more expensive than the other two. Big decision coming up.

1429

Hi! I’m a rising senior high schooler planning on majoring in piano performance. Even though I just joined, I have been reading these forums for quite a while and have been very thankful for the advice given (and entertained by some of these conversations!). :slight_smile: I have been playing piano around 10 years and have played viola as a second instrument for around 5 years now.

1430

I am a parent of a sophomore D who plays the French Horn. She has been principal horn in District Honor Band for the last 2 years. Last Year she went to Idyllwild Summer camp for the Wind Ensemble and this year she goes to Tanglewood BUTI for the Horn workshop and Wind Ensemble. Her HS Band program is not that good but she is in Advanced Band there. She is also first Horn in the SDYS and has participated in community orchestras locally. She loves and is ver passionate about music. She also has played the piano for 9 years. I have been stalking these post to see the journeys of all of the other students and parents. I am new to having a child in the Arts as my other D was recruited for Crew to Cal. This will be a new experience for us. Her last performance of the year in SDYS will be The Firebird where she is first horn and I am sooooo looking forward to it. It is indeed a pleasure to learn from your children and gain an appreciation for their talents… one in sports and one in Classical music…

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Welcome to CC. I’m calling on @binx who started this thread over 10 years ago! Her son is now a professional French Horn player and got his degrees from Juilliard.

1432

Hello CC.

I have been lurking here years, but this is my first actual post.

I am the parent of a rising high school homeschool senior who is planning to major in viola performance. We are in the process of creating/narrowing down our list for college applications. My student has had trial lessons with 5 viola professors so far, and we are trying to squeeze in one more at CIM before things get too busy with school, applications and music in general.

I am already ready for the process to be over.

1433

Hi CC - I have a rising junior. He has been taking piano for 11 years, voice for 4 years (baritone), and casually taking guitar for 3 years. He is also a theater kid. He doesn’t have a major decided yet. He is especially interested in composition and collaborative music but would consider doing a performance degree as an undergrad and then getting a master’s in composition or something like that? I don’t even know if he would audition voice or piano or both? Given how competitive everything seems it might be good to prep both to break into a program.

We just started looking at schools. We are in the upper Midwest and I have a close eye on St. Olaf and especially Lawrence. He has strong academics so I’d love a strong LAC with a good music program.

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If he does want to do composition he can do a BA at almost any college or university, without auditioning. He can also apply to conservatories or schools of music attached to colleges/universities for a BM in music and do composition without auditioning on an instrument. If, however, he wants to audition he certainly can.

A BA is 1/4-1/3 music and includes theory, aural skills, music history, composition ethnomusicology, technology etc. Sometimes there is a composition strand or credit for performance components.

A BM in a conservatory or school of music, whether freestanding or part of a college, is 2/3-3/4 music with the other 1/4 gen eds and some electives.

He can also major in anything at college and still take music classes and composition lessons.

Students attending grad school for composition come from all kinds of backgrounds but need a portfolio of 3-4 pieces and letters or recommendation. Some have been to conservatory, some studied physics in undergrad, or literature and everything in between. Composition is a long journey and an argument can be made that a broader education can contribute to it over the long term. An argument can be made for career building as a conservatory undergrad as well.

Have you read the Double Degree Dilemma essay posted above in this forum? It is really about different ways to study music, using specific hypothetical individuals as examples. Which does he resemble?

He sounds multifaceted so perhaps a BA or double degree program would serve him best. Lawrence, St.Olaf, Oberlin, Bard, Ithaca, Hartt all offer a double degree as well as a BM. Bard actually requires a double degree of conservatory students.

If he does not want to do a BM then he might want to check and see if the conservatory BM students get the best teachers and performance opportunities, and if that is the case, avoid those schools despite the presence of a conservatory on campus.

1435

Hello Everyone!
My HS senior has been planning a music career since elementary school. He plays both acoustic and bass guitar. He also plays a little piano, sings and produces his own music in his own “too darn expensive” basement studio:) He’s planning to attend college for music industry/business with a minor in film. Unfortunately, there seems to be only one college that meets his preferred criteria. We’re so hoping he gets in!

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Glad you made it here @PositivelyMe - if you could share your S’s criteria beyond his desired major/minor perhaps some of the parents who are more aware of music industry programs than I am could come up with additional suggestions to look at.

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@classicalsaxmom - .My S really wants a program where he can immediately enter into his major and combine classes from other majors (i.e. film). He would prefer a school with a performance art atmosphere. If he could, he’d skip the liberal arts classes and get right into the meat and bones of his chosen career.

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Hello,

I just found this forum and I’m sure I’ll spend a lot of time here seeking advice - seems like a great forum!

My daughter is a HS sophomore double bassist. She’s currently plays for Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, and various city/school ensembles. She also plays piano and classical guitar. We are just starting to look at colleges for dual double bass/science degree programs and I just created a new thread seeking advice.

It’s great that this forum exists!

1439

Hi! My D is a senior, her intended major is oboe performance. She is applying to 4 schools, UGA, UMN Twin Cities, Michigan, and UC Boulder. We’ve had lessons with all the oboe instructors/professors and she says she’d be happy to study with any of them, although Nancy King, at Michigan, is her favorite. Best wishes to all the parents out there on this journey with their musical children.

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Hi! My son is a junior in high school. He plays trumpet, guitar, drums, and electric bass. He is starting lessons on upright in January. He has settled on either a jazz major in bass or a major in recording and production technology. Love all the great information in this forum!