Need advice! To major, or not to major- that is the question.

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Hello all! I am requesting some advice because I've been volleying the idea back and fourth and I'm wondering what you guys advise. </p>

<p>So here's my background: I am a high school senior, and am a flutist. I auditioned for only one school, Boyer Music School at Temple U and have been notified that I am first on the waitlist with a very good chance of getting in (actually, I know someone who got in who doesn't plan to go there so it's pretty much certain). However.. I am not sure if I want to major in performance anymore. I do not see myself ever being a teacher, and I probably won't make a good living doing just performance. </p>

<p>The thing is, I'm not sure what else to major in- I kind of want to take general classes and find out what I like, but maybe I should go for the performance degree anyway? I am planning to go to grad school either way, possibly for law, which means a BM in music would be just as acceptable as any other degree. But the other thing is, I'm scared about how hard it will be. How are performance majors graded? Looking at the class requirements, it seems like 90% of the classes are ensembles/lessons and the other 10% are theory and general ed. I'm worried because it seems so subjective- rather than studying tons of facts from a book, is it all based on how well I can play and improve? This makes me nervous, looking at the high GPA requirements for grad school. </p>

<p>The other side is, I could still keep my teacher (he is on Temple faculty but I started studying with him a couple months ago), play in all the ensembles I want, and major in a different department.</p>

<p>Apparently it's very difficult to double major at Temple across schools, and it's not recommended. So I think that might be out of the question.. and I have been told the music minor is not worth it, plus it doesn't have any emphasis on performance which is what I want anyway. </p>

<p>Also, I'm not sure about how long I have until I am unable to change my major- if I get into the music school off the waitlist, then will I be able to change my mind? I'm guessing I have until class registration starts, but I feel bad because someone else on the waitlist could have gotten in. Ahhh.</p>

<p>I'm really not sure what to do! Any advice? (I've read the Johns Hopkin's article on majors and minors and all that, but I'm still unsure).</p>

<p>Thank you so much! This forum is so very helpful.</p>

2

<p>If you dislike being judged on subjective criteria, then life as a musician after college could prove difficult. The academic classes that you take as a music major, including music theory and music history are very much facts based. If you use your electives to take other classes for which grades are also mostly based on your ability to absorb and repeat the class material, then you can probably get to a situation that is more 50/50 than 90/10. You will, however, very likely have to pass juries at the end of your first two years to be able to continue in the music major. They are entirely subjective, but if you have been making reasonable progress with your teacher through the semester and put in your practice time they should not be a problem. Your lessons may be about a quarter of your total credits and ensembles perhaps an eighth because ensemble participation generally carries low credit hour value even though it is very important and required.</p>

<p>With all of that in mind, I really can’t say what would be best for you. You can indeed switch directions in grad school or transfer to a different major in undergrad. That can mean an extra semester or two in undergrad, though, with the associated costs. Changing majors from music performance to something else will usually be easier than going the other direction because of the audition component, so you may want to start off as a music performance major if you have been accepted as one rather than having to go through the audition process all over again if you decide you really want to be a music major after all.</p>

<p>Some schools allow incoming freshmen to register for classes fairly early after they send in a deposit, so you may be at a disadvantage in getting into the most popular classes your first semester if you have to register later than most others. Other schools have first years register during orientation shortly before classes start. There is usually a short add/drop period after classes start during which you can get out of a class if necessary and possibly get into another if there are still seats available.</p>

3

<p>A very loose rule of thumb is that, if you have to ask, the answer is probably no.</p>

<p>But beyond that, here are a few other things to consider. My D is graduating in a few weeks with a performance degree that wasn’t her initial intent. We’ve learned a lot over the years, so here it is.</p>

<p>My D really has no regrets with her major, although we do wonder “what if” she’d pursued a different path. She loves her teacher, her school, and the opportunity she’s had for the past for years to pour herself into music. We sorta planned that she would head this direction for 2 years, and then reconsider, but after two years, it really wasn’t going to work to switch directions, so she followed it through.</p>

<p>Because her brother is a musician, she already knew what was involved in performance, so went in with her eyes open. We also knew that to decide upon a music degree later on was going to require starting college from scratch. Most performance degrees require 4 years of lessons and ensembles, among other things, so it’s not easy to transfer into without adding years to the education. What we didn’t realize was that, because it is so demanding, it is also not easy to transfer out of without losing time.</p>

<p>She entered school with no real clear idea of “what she wanted to do when she grew up.” Passing the time with music was one idea. BUT - music is a very time intensive major. The college years are an ideal time to “play around” with different courses. See what you like. Maybe take a course in something law-related (maybe you won’t like it). Or in education (you might find out it’s better than you think!) My D ended up taking 20 or 21 credits most semesters just to allow herself this exploration, but it was very stressful. If you know you dont’ want to perform, you might want to look for a more flexible major!</p>

<p>D is now looking at various grad school opportunities. Guess what? Although any degree is welcome, there ARE pre-reqs. For her to pursue certain paths, there are more sciences required than what she’s taken. For other paths, different core or preliminary courses. For most grad school programs, she is probably looking at an additional year, or at least a semester’s worth of pre-reqs at an undergrad level. </p>

<p>It really isn’t that unusual to go into college “undecided”. Be prepared to have your mind changed several times!</p>

4

<p>Hello everyone! I’m so sorry it took so long to reply; I read the posts a while but drifted off into school-and-music-land, haha. But I’d like to thank you guys and update you!</p>

<p>So between this post and now, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to do the performance major. However… I was notified I got off the wait list a couple days ago. Something inside me really wants to major in music, but the other side is still scared. I really want to do a double major in math or something, at least for now, to figure out what I really want to do. I’ll probably end up choosing one or the other in a year or two. What do you guys think of that? I emailed the college to ask if it would be possible, and now I’m waiting for a reply. </p>

<p>The thing I’m really worried about is being able to take all the classes, practice, study, and maintain a high GPA… which is very important to me. Basically, what binx’s daughter did is what I’m kindof planning to do. I wish I had a clearer picture of what my schedule would look like- I know it’ll be very intense, but I don’t know how intense. I’m scared I won’t graduate in a reasonable amount of time either! If I graduate in 5-6 years, I feel like I could have gone through something like pharmacy school (or law!) by then. Baaaa :frowning: </p>

<p>I also have another question! Music theory-wise, would it be beneficial to try and study some of the material over the summer by myself? I currently know very little theory- only the basics. Also… would it help to take piano lessons over the summer? I don’t play piano at all, and I know you have to have secondary piano. I’m just trying to make use of my nearly-empty summer doing something productive (for once) :-)</p>

<p>Baaaa :frowning: I am so very stressed, and college hasn’t even started yet! I need to go do some yoga or something…</p>

5

<p>Consider going to a community college for the summer. Usually they have two summer semesters and you could take two classes each summer. That would accomplish three different things at once. </p>

<p>1) It would give you some time to explore different areas that might interest you
2) It would give you some leeway if you decide to change your major later
3) It may allow for you to take a wider variety of classes while you are at the university because you would have already got some of your general ed classes out of the way.</p>

<p>No one says that you have to graduate with the minimum number of credit hours - having a few extra can’t hurt.</p>

<p>If your school allows it, you might also be able to have a minor. It usually doesn’t fit into a music degree without taking more than the minimum for the music degree, but if you decide to go to grad school in a field other than music, the minor may help you out on fulfilling some of the prerequisits that binx mentioned. A minor usually takes 18 to 30 credit hours (I looked up the math minor at Temple, it is by far one of the harder minors with 30+ hours required - most of the rest of the minors looked like 15-18 hours), you could do most or all of those credit hours in two summers at community college, without getting behind in your music major.</p>

6

<p>Plumeria: Congratulations!! Don’t forget to post your acceptance on the master list thread and if you decide to major in music let the Dads know its your final decision. I agree with the previous poster. Do try to take some courses over the summer at a community college and you could even check to see if Temple has any on line courses available that will help to fulfill your general ed credits or get a start on math for a double major. (You should check with their transfer coordinator to make certain the credits form a community college will transfer as you intend before signing up.) As others have posted, if you are more than 50% interested in the music major start with it since you are probably at the top of your game at this point and might not find it as easy to switch back to music later. It is usually easier to switch to another major from music. Have a great summer and let us know what you decided.</p>

7

<p>Hi guys!! Thanks for all your input. I finally made a decision, for now at least! I will be going in as a flute perf major. The admissions guy told me it is possible to double major in 5-6 years in performance + an outside subject, so I figured I might as well start with perf because if I wasn’t, I’d be undeclared anyway (and have to take a bunch of “useless” classes for undeclared people…). I’ll probably be taking a bunch of summer classes and stuff to get credits in, but I’m cool with that. And I could always change if I wanted to! So yeah! I’m happy with my decision at the moment and I’ll just see where the wind takes me (:</p>