Switching from Music Education to Performance

I’m currently in my freshman year of college as a music education major. When looking at colleges, I knew I wanted to major in music. I decided on choosing music education, primarily because of pressure from my music teachers at the time and my parents because they want me to get a good job after college and not stick them with my loans. Now my school is somewhat expensive and I’m studying with world class percussionists. But I dread my education classes and really have wanted to pursue performance right from the beginning. It is what I really love and I cannot seem to convince my parents to let me take the risk. I do understand their side of the story but I cant stand what I’m doing right now. After college I am okay with taking the resposibility for the loans because it is my education, therefore my responsibility. Any ideas on how I can get my parents to let me pursue performance?

Your statement “pressure from my music teachers” gives me pause. I wonder if they thought you would be a terrific music educator so encouraged you to go that route, or if they thought you would not be accepted into performance programs so encouraged music ed. Have you discussed the possibility of a performance degree with your current studio teacher? Some schools will require an audition to move from music ed to performance. The timing may be tight for that.

Also, you should talk with any of the professional percussionists you can about the reality of the working world. Try to find some fairly recent graduates. I think you are likely to find that many have a “day” job other than music. This may or may not be acceptable to you. Talk also with established professionals and ask their advice, but this can give a distorted view - older professionals may not truly know the current realities of establishing yourself as a new player. They will have their own stories of the “early years”, but things change and their path may not be readily available in the current era.

The advice above is good…particularly talking with current musician. My D has just graduated from grad school (VP) and if she had loans I doubt that she would be able to take a current opportunity that she has which is quite critical to continuing as a vocalist. The pay is very low. Saying you will be responsible for the debt and actually paying off the debt as a musician is two different things. Your parents are warning you for good reason.

So…you need details to make an “adult” decision and convince your parents (and yourself) that it can work … or not. Many musicians including my D have to make some sacrifices. For my D is was a lesser known school for grad school to keep out of debt. You mention that your school is expensive. Somehow you have to figure out how to make the numbers work…and I would suggest doing that now instead of later…when the living-independently numbers only work by giving up music so you can pay debt. Now you have time on your side before a lot of debt (some debt is OK if low and manageable) to figure this out. And…who knows…maybe your attitude toward music ed will change if you see it as a ticket to a music masters degree later. My D has a good friend who got a music ed degree and then decided teaching wasn’t for him and is now in a masters program. He did teach for two years to make money for the masters degree. Now he lives in NYC and is very happy…but he did have to work for it. Good luck.

BTW - my D thanked me again last week for being such a hawk on debt. She sees the impact on her friends. In high school she was quite mad at me that I wasn’t going to pay for her to go to NYU. It took until junior or senior year in college for her to start realizing the reality. Who knows maybe someday you’ll thank your parents too! Still you have options and opportunities…use what you have well.

A bachelor’s in music is just like any other bachelor’s and gives access to any job that requires a bachelor’s. Performance degrees are respected for the discipline and work ethic they require. You can also go to grad school or professional schools like medical, law, nursing or business.

Your parents are like many others in their view of performance degrees, that they are a trade school program that limits options. This is just not true. I know BM performance majors who are in all kinds of fields, including of course music but just about anything you can think of.

The problem isn’t your major, it’s the loans. Debt is hard to deal with no matter what you major in. Majoring in performance versus education does not make it any easier, but it doesn’t make it harder either.

Maybe there is a third party who can talk with your parents.

Have you considered transferring to a less expensive school?

You have no idea how common this parental attitude is, and it is understandable but in my own opinion misguided. Look at the thread at the top of this forum on this topic. “Busting the Myth that Fine Arts Degrees Lead to the Poorhouse.”