Undergraduate in Music Composition

<p>I am an undergraduate (sophomore) comp major and I want to write scores for film and other media. I have two questions:</p>

<p>1) Is a grad school degree necessary to get into film scoring? Will it be really tough without one?</p>

<p>2) As an undergraduate, is a BA or BM better for getting into grad school for film scoring? What about the market in general? I have heard a BM is geared more towards performance, so maybe a BA is better for composing?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/713375-good-grad-schools-film-scoring.html?highlight=film+scoring[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/713375-good-grad-schools-film-scoring.html?highlight=film+scoring&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/923307-graduate-schools-film-scoring.html?highlight=film+scoring[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/923307-graduate-schools-film-scoring.html?highlight=film+scoring&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/860608-ucla-film-scoring-certificate.html?highlight=film+scoring[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/860608-ucla-film-scoring-certificate.html?highlight=film+scoring&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/825236-film-scoring-mere-trade-not-art-form.html?highlight=film+scoring[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/825236-film-scoring-mere-trade-not-art-form.html?highlight=film+scoring&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/959355-state-things.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/959355-state-things.html&lt;/a&gt; (food for thought/companion discussion to thread above)
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/893867-im-confused-about-where-go.html?highlight=film+scoring#post1064480006[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/893867-im-confused-about-where-go.html?highlight=film+scoring#post1064480006&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/749881-best-liberal-arts-college-music-program-composition.html?highlight=film+scoring[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/749881-best-liberal-arts-college-music-program-composition.html?highlight=film+scoring&lt;/a&gt; (tangential discussion within thread)</p>

<p>The consensus seems to be that film scoring as a degree pursuit is concentrated within the grad curriculum, and not typically offered as an undergrad concentration or degree path. Is a grad degree necessary? Rhetorical question as with so much in the music arena, it is often a case of experience, training, exposure, self-marketing, networking, being at the right place at the right time, and whim of the gods. The masters may well serve to provide/increase a number of the variables, but the degree alone is no guarantee.</p>

<p>The BA/BM focus is really a function of the undergrad’s needs and focus. Much like performance, for composition the choice can well be driven by the faculty (and peers) a student will be working with. And there are exceptional comp programs and faculty within institutions that do not offer a BM, yet produce highly qualified and successful MM comp aspirants. In most cases, the composition grad selection process is submission driven, tempered with the appropriate undergrad academic and grade background in the appropriate required coursework, much of which should be centered in theory and analysis.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/561184-help-understanding-ba-vs-bfa-vs-bm.html?highlight=BFA[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/561184-help-understanding-ba-vs-bfa-vs-bm.html?highlight=BFA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;