What is it like to be a music major?

College Majors Music Major
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<p>I'm halfway through my first semester of college and I just want to give advice to high school kids or anyone who is thinking about majoring in music! I want to make sure those who are thinking about majoring in music know what they are getting into. Everyone's experiences and opinions are different, so if you were/are a music major go ahead and answer the question "What is it like to be a music major" for other people who might be thinking about majoring in music! :) All opinions, tips, and suggestions are welcome! </p>

<p>If you're thinking about majoring in music, I just want you to ask yourself these questions before you decide.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Do you love music? Seriously? Think about magic shows. You have those people who are astounded by the magic and they don't want to know the things that go on behind the scenes. Then you have the other people who HAVE to know how everything is done (thus, ruining the awesome mystery of the magic). Well, music is essentially the same thing. So again, do you love music sooo much that you don't mind losing the magic of the music and becoming the magician? Or would you rather continue to happily play songs and listen to the music, keeping the secret behind its magic hidden? Once you know all of the tricks behind music, it'll still be pretty cool, but will the magic still feel the same to you? Really really think about how much you love music before you make the decision to become a music major. </p></li>
<li><p>Cool! You can play the (insert your instrument here)! Have a scholarship! 2 weeks into school: By the way, you HAVE to learn how to play the piano and SING! </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Are you willing to take sight singing classes and learn other instruments? Learning how to play other instruments sounds really awesome honestly, and it is! But, are you willing to take sight singing classes too? For someone who plays a saxophone and those who play other woodwind instruments, the singing portion can be really really really difficult. Are you willing to do something you're probably extremely uncomfortable with (singing in front of a whole class and individually with a teacher for a test grade?), probably bad at (I mean, that's how it was for me and the other two saxophone players. You might be good though! Be optimistic. I'm just trying to give people a heads up :P), and are you prepared to possibly receive some low grades because of it? I don't know how other schools are going to be, but every music major here HAS to learn how to sing ON PITCH and we have to learn how to identify types of chords and other things by ear too.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Are you being a music major because of the very 1st question I asked? Or are you doing it to make yourself stand out for med school/grad school? If its the second one, then STOP (unless you love music the way I explained earlier). Music classes take up A LOT of time. Think about the homework you have from the music classes, plus the 4 songs you have to practice for your ensemble, plus the 8 different things your private lesson instructor assigns you (private lessons are grades too!), plus the 29 songs you have to practice for your Basic Musicianship/Sight Singing class, plus the songs and scales you have to learn for piano. If your a music education major, don't forget the other brass and woodwind instruments you'll have to learn too. Oh yeah, you want to be pre-med or do another major too? Stack all the chemistry, math, psychology, biology classes on top of that or whatever classes you'll have to take and you pretty much have no college life. Don't forget about all the volunteering and shadowing time you have to squeeze in if you're pre-health!
*By the way, to me (pre-health) studying for a chemistry class is wayyyy better than practicing. The thing with music is that the only way to get better is to practice, and, depending on your skill level (don't forget about all those other instruments you'll need to play and singing!), the amount of time you might NEED to practice varies. Studying for a class like chemistry or history or anything else feels way less stressful compared to spending hours in a practice room trying to figure out how to sing. </p>

<p>So yeah. My first semester (my 3rd week really) I learned that I do NOT want to be a music major. I'd rather just play for fun than be so serious and stressed out over something that used to be cathartic for me. I have to keep doing the music classes till next semester, then I can finally focus on what my actual future job might be (I was pre-physical therapy and music; now I'm planning on switching to Global Health and Journalism along with pre-med or pre-physical therapy! The pre-med/pre-PT track will pretty much automatically give me a chemistry minor too. Those 3 things will allow me to help people all around the whole world if I wanted to! :) (even if I decide to not become a doctor or physical therapist, the majors I picked should allow me to help a whole bunch of people!!! :D) I'm so excited! You might be thinking that those three things will take up a lot of time too, but I mentioned earlier that studying for things like chemistry and anything really isn't stressful for me and I really do enjoy those kinds of classes. I'm in General Chemistry now, and I help out a lot of the other pre-med students whenever they need help with chemistry. I've always wanted to be a superhero (or as close to a superhero that I can be lol :P). That's why I wanted to do pre-med or pre-physical therapy. The reason I majored in music at first was mainly because of the scholarship I was offered (I love music too, but not the way I described it in the first question). </p>

<p>Basically, just make sure you're doing something YOU LOVE and when you make mistakes during college, you'll learn a whole lot more about yourself too! Trust me on that one lol. Anyway, don't be afraid to try something new/different, just really think about whether YOU want it. Don't try to impress future grad schools or med schools, try to do what you need to do to make YOU happy! :) </p>

<p>One more thing! If you do start something and you hate it, don't be afraid to stop and give something else a try. You're not a quitter if you stop doing something you hate. You're actually probably BRAVER than the other people who just continue doing what makes them miserable because they are afraid. This might sound a little silly, but I wrote this down after I made my decision to stop being a music major and to become a Global Health and Journalism major.
"I'm not changing my major because I'm afraid, I'm changing my major because I'm BRAVE enough to do what I need to do in order to enjoy MY life and to succeed in what I want to do." </p></li>
</ol>

<p>This is YOUR life. You have to do what you want, strive for your goals, and become what you want to be because you aren't doing this for anyone else. You're doing this for you.</p>

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<p>Great post MusicKnight…and speaking as somebody who is older and in mid-life…when you are young it is the time to explore new things and try on different hats. I am so glad you are finding out what you love.</p>

<p>PS: There are tons of careers in health and public health that do not require you to go the med-school route.</p>

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<p>Even to be a doctor, there is no need to do the pre-med route. You could have been a pure music major and had great odds for acceptance into med school, or majored in English, anthropology, philosophy, whatever. Yes there are a few prerequ.'s to do between graduation and admission, but lots of people do that.</p>

<p>I understand your point about the magic show, and it is a good metaphor, but understanding music in depth, or anything else for that matter, does involve breaking it down and analyzing. English majors can feel the same way: why not just read and experience literature rather than killing it with analysis? Does the study of biology ruin those moments in nature? So I guess many leave other majors for similar reasons. </p>

<p>However, I do think you basically seem to have a tendency to bite off more than you can chew. Even with your new plans, after leaving music, you are keeping a lot of different things on your plate, maybe too much to squeeze into an undergrad degree. But you seem to have it all figured out, so it must fit. I tend to think of physical therapy as a pretty intense, focused degree but if you can make it work, great :)</p>

<p>The only other thing I want to say, for the sake of others, is that there are many ways to study and/or do music. Clearly you are at a university, but were you doing a BM/BA double degree? Or a double major BA? Combining a performance degree with physical therapy sounds absolutely impossible.</p>

<p>Not all BA programs include performance either. Academic music can be exactly that: academic, with history, theory, composition, ethnomusicology, technology courses and so on. Sometimes learning about what is going on behind the scenes in a magic show can increase your appreciation of the magic, or even teach you some new tricks!</p>

<p>So options for music include BA, BM, double major, double degree (either BA/BM or BA/MM) and of course, majoring in something else entirely and doing music outside of school, through lessons and/or extracurriculars.</p>

<p>Great post. Really. But I also wanted to add my two cents for those whom you are trying to educate, from a different point of view :)</p>

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<p>Good insight. A good friend of DD’s had a beautiful voice, great stage presence and loved singing and acting. However, he got to college and discovered he did not like to STUDY music. He just liked to take lessons and perform like he did in HS. He dropped out of BM as a major and participated in performance as a hobby instead. If you don’t like to do the 99% that is not performance, then the major is not for you. It does not mean that music is no longer part of your life, it just is not your major. Vocation vs avocation. Both are valid choices and if all of the work is not interesting to you, then the vocation is not the right one.</p>

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<p>Just want to add that I know PhD students in music who hated/hate theory, sight singing, ear training, dictation etc. but love composing, or musicology, or music history and stuck with it. Many different paths are possible.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the insight MusicKnight. I have been noticing that as I look at various programs. One definitely must do massive amounts of theory and keyboard proficiency for most programs. I hadn’t looked at the sight singing requirements for other performance majors so will check that out. I know that music ED requires a lot more instrumental versatility and competence. I will also direct him to spend more time asking questions of someone an older brother of someone we know who just finished up at UNT.
Our D attends an LAC with many music majors of one kind and another and she said that she knows many people who have switched from BM to BA M or to Music ED or stay in performance groups as a hobby but change to a major outside music for all the reasons that you stated.</p>

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<p>MusicKnight, thank you for your post. I imagine there are many prospective music performance majors who don’t have a clear understanding of exactly what the major really entails before they start it, especially on a day-to-day basis. Some inevitably discover it’s not the most desirable option for a variety of reasons, and if you can learn that sooner (as in your case) rather than later, it’s bound to save a lot of time. I commend you for not only realizing it, but also for having the courage to take action; I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision.</p>

<p>For others, of course, the performance major and all it entails is exactly what they desire. This happens to be true for my daughter, who has just launched into a BM in violin performance. For those who are curious about the day-to-day life of a freshman performance major, her schedule seems typical: </p>

<p>Private violin lessons (1/week)
Studio class (2-hr group technique class, 1/week);
Recital Class (2 hrs, 1/wk)
Music Theory (3x per week)
Musicianship (3x per week)
Music History (3x per week)
Keyboard (1x per week – 4 semesters)
Chamber Music (1 coaching/several practices per week)
Orchestra (3x per week, 2 hrs per session)
Required Concert Attendance (7x per semester)
Alexander Technique (free elective)
American Poetry Freshman Writing Course (1 or her core non-music requirements)</p>

<p>[Next semester, she will add fiddling lessons, which makes sense for her given where she is and the fact that she thinks it’s pretty cool]</p>

<p>Like many of her peers, she is also volunteer-teaching at a local music school on Saturday mornings.</p>

<p>And then, of course, there’s practice and homework. </p>

<p>The schedule changes semester to semester and year to year, and must include a variety of music and free electives in addition to these course (forget how many). It also includes non-music requirements which boil down to basically one course per semester (if you’ve got some APs, you might be able to eliminate some of your non-music requirements).</p>

<p>It’s a long day, and she rarely leaves the music building (except for her English class and dinner). Most weekdays she arrives early in the morning and stays there until dinner. After dinner, she returns and stays well past midnight, and sometimes much later (thankfully, there’s a shuttle service between the building and the dorm, and with her iphone app she can know its arrival/departure times exactly, so she pops out of her building just as it arrives).</p>

<p>So – the life of a performance major is pretty well full of music and music study. For some people, it kills the magic; for others, it is magic. </p>

<p>In any event, your new path sounds very exciting, MusicKnight (and also busy!). I wish you the best of luck.</p>

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<p>One note on MusicKnight’s description of music majoring that is not universally true is the thing about sight singing and learning other instruments, that sounds a lot more like a music ed degree than performance. Likewise, in performance degree programs you have to demonstrate keyboard skills, a basic knowledge of the piano, but that is mostly geared towards theory classes where that is assumed, and probably music history and maybe solfege. It could be some schools if you are a woodwind major for a BM you play multiple instruments, but from what I am aware of in a BM you focus on your core instrument. </p>

<p>String Pop’s description is pretty close to my S’s experience in his first semester. String Pop didn’t mention solfege/ear training, which is generally going to be required for everyone unless they are incredibly well trained, as is theory. My S passed out of keyboarding because he had prior work on learning the piano but that can be a requirement, too depending on the student’s level. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is, and music theory and ear training can have significant homework, plus with chamber music there is going to be regular practice there as well, which according to me S can be even more daunting then private lesson or studio class:). And practice time is going to be up there, it from what I can tell is upped a level from what even top level students do in pre college years, because not only are you doing practicing for your teacher, but also for orchestra and chamber, and with orchestra, they tend to have short rehearsal periods between concerts, so you have no choice if you want to do well in the orchestra. </p>

<p>I agree with MuscKnight and how you love music, a lot of the time kids come on here saying how much they love music, because they love listening to it. While I don’t necessarily agree that the ‘magic’ of music is lost when you understand it (Aaron Copeland in his now classic book “What to Listen for in Music” makes the case about understanding music, that experiencing it on a emotional level versus emotional and intellectual are very different, the understanding brings a new level of love to listening to it), it also is wise to say that you can listen to the Tchaikovsky violin concerto and get all wowed on playing it, but when you are actually working on it, a lot of it can be drudgery, this phrase, that note, etc…It is why I think it is great for kids to study music theory before getting to college, it is great to play in ensembles or even better to get a taste of it through a pre college prep program like Juilliard, NEC, Mannes, MSM, CIM and others offer, it gives insight into it. </p>

<p>I also agree that there is nothing wrong with doing it and deciding to change majors or pull out. Obviously, it is very different to do that at a conservatory versus being part of a university, and I think if you are not very sure going in, a conservatory may not be wise (on the other hand, if you get through the first year and say enough, you could enroll at a regular college, though it might be rough because you would have few credits transferring), or if you go through 4 years and decide not to do music, there are plenty of things you can do with that degree:). To be honest, I am really getting tired of the idea that there is no room for mistakes or making a wrong turn or trying something and failing, the doomsayers make it seem like you have to have this path all laid out and follow it, and that is, to be polite, crud. The same people who say that hold up business success stories, guys who founded businesses, but what they don’t bother to do is read up, and find out that most successful businessmen, other than an anomaly like Zukerberg, often have many failures before the big one happened, and successful founders, like Bill Gates or Steve Job, also made more than a few mistakes (anyone remember the Apple Newton? The Apple Lisa? The Next Machine? Windows 2.0? The Zune Music player? Letting Steve Ballmer take over Microsoft? Windows ME? Vista?:). As that eminent philosopher, ms. Frizzel, on “The Magic Schoolbus” used to say, get messy,make mistakes, be involved:)</p>

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<p>Great post, musicprnt. Oh, my daughter’s musicianship class (kind of a generic catch all term) is ear training/solfege etc., so yup, you’re right, it’s definitely required.</p>

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<p>I just want to be careful and make sure that new people reading this understand that there are many different ways to study music, different degree programs, and that every school’s curriculum and requirements are a little different. Here is a great essay on degree choices:
[Double</a> Degrees | Peabody Conservatory](<a href=“http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html]Double”>http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/conservatory/admissions/tips/doubledegree.html)</p>

<p>It sounds to me like the original poster is doing a BA w/performance and some other posters have students doing a BM in performance. Again, there are BA programs without performance, double majors, and various double degrees.</p>

<p>I do hope this thread doesn’t discourage any lurkers from majoring in music! Some people are blissfully happy with all this, and with being immersed in music, whether a BM or a BA. And while theory and musicianship aren’t my own daughter’s favorite classes, nor is she particularly good at them, once she got through those requirements she has been able to take great classes in the music department. I think every major has some required foundational courses that can be onerous or uninspiring.</p>

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<p>Many moons ago I was a music ed major (I completed the program and have been a music teacher ever since). My dh is a “failed” music major (he lasted one semester before deciding it wasn’t for him) and my d is a CURRENT music ed major. I would say OP hit it well on the head.</p>

<p>When I was a music major, the performance expectation for me was much lower because I was music ed. I didn’t have to do a recital and never studied with a professor (I was/am a vocalist). All the “core” classes (theory, piano, history) were the same, but the performance standard was much lower)</p>

<p>D, though, is being treated as a performance major and it is a HUGE adjustment (a good one, but an adjustment nevertheless). Her horn professor expects 3 hours a day of practice, in addition to her ensemble, horn choir, brass choir, concert attendance etc. She is having a struggle as she says “balancing her academics with her music”. She is taking 2 non music classes and was AP’d out of a 3rd so is carrying one class fewer than most freshman and it’s still hard. She is LOVING the playing and the music classes but is just a bit overwhelmed.</p>

<p>We laugh because one of her compadres in the horn studio hasn’t been to piano class yet and when asked said"I didn’t know we had to take piano!" Neither d nor I think she’ll be a music major long.</p>

<p>In short, lots of people think music is a cupcake major. They couldn’t be further from the truth!</p>

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<p>That’s true. Non-music kids often don’t really understand what it means to study music seriously. </p>

<p>In my previous posts, if it wasn’t clear, I was referring to BM in performance exclusively. While NASM requirements ensure more similarities than differences in the BM curriculum from school to school, there are differences, particularly regarding the non-music academic stuff. </p>

<p>I wasn’t posting those requirements as a discouragement to potential music majors. My daughter is loving it all. </p>

<p>But it’s absolutely true that a BM in performance is only one of several ways to go. Actually, at my daughter’s school, there are even two types of BM performance majors, so there are definitely a lot of ways to study music in school, if that’s your interest. It can be helpful to get as much info as you can beforehand to increase the likelihood of a good match, but even then, it’s not necessarily a big deal either way because, as MusicKnight just discovered, changing paths is always possible.</p>

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<p>Someone mentioned that sight-singing is mainly for music ed majors, which isn’t true. For most schools, sight-singing is part of the theory class (or you take it side-by-side). When I was in school, they had just added sight-singing, but I was a junior by then and had already completed my theory sequence, and so I did not have to meet the new requirement. But many schools nowadays require sight-singing along with theory. And that’s a good thing - it’s a great skill to have, no matter what type of music degree you are getting. And many music majors require learning piano - something I recommend EVERYONE who is interested in music doing before college. Knowing how to play piano will make everything easier in college, especially theory and sight-singing.</p>

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<p>I agree with Saxlady. Most music schools require piano of all music majors AND Sight singing is usually a component of theory. In d’s school it is part of Theory and Aural skills.</p>

<p>The piano requirement varies. At some schools you are required to take quite a bit at others, not so much. I had to take 3 years of class piano plus a semester of private lessons. D I think is required to take 2 years.</p>

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<p>DS is taking piano this year as an elective in HS. He had never taken it before. That should help. Can anyone recommend an online theory program? I saw one through Eastman to prep incoming Freshman. It seems like that might be a good thing to do at one’s own pace before hitting college so it isn’t as much of a shok to the system. I have heard that theory is the OChem of music majors :D</p>

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<p>This classic self-study text is still a great way to prep for college theory:</p>

<p>[Scales</a>, Intervals, Keys and Triads: A Self-Instruction Program: John Clough: 9780393096255: Amazon.com: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Scales-Intervals-Keys-Triads-Self-Instruction/dp/0393096254]Scales”>http://www.amazon.com/Scales-Intervals-Keys-Triads-Self-Instruction/dp/0393096254)</p>

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<p>Thanks! I added one to my cart!</p>

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<p>To answer the original question…it depends on your actual major, there are differences between Music Ed and Music Performance, insturmental vs. choral, etc…</p>

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<p>saintfan, don’t know if you are still following this thread, but first year music theory is somewhat like AP music theory, depending on how it is taught at HS and also at the college/conservatory. Taking the AP class, if it is offered at your HS, will either enable student to skip first year music theory at college completely, or make it an easy first year class, depending on the policy of the school. The music theory at college may be divided into 2 classes, with sight-singing stuff separate. I know we looked at schools where it was structured that way. Or more commonly it is all blended into one class. My D says at her school the instrumentalists find the sight-singing hard and the rest of class pretty basic and for singers the situation is reversed. Also, at some schools you have the opportunity to test out of all or part of the piano requirement.</p>

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<p>First, my son is a Sophomore Music Performance Major with a music scholarship at the University of South Carolina. That first post on here has some really good advice, in that you really should love Music/Peforming/Singing in every respect, and that means the desire to pursue a career in it. It is true that he had to take singing & piano, neither of which he’s experienced or very good at, but he made it through just fine. There are also several semesters of Music Theory - but he was one of those kids who loved AP Music Theory and did well in it in HS. He knew he wanted to make Music his life’s ambition, and is already exploring graduate programs.</p>

<p>For those who don’t have that level of commitment, there are music minors and music certificate programs at many colleges - thus you can major in something else but keep music in your life. Many, like SC, also offer multiple levels of ensembles, so even non-music majors and minors can play and perform on stage.</p>

<p>Bottom line - Music is not an easy Major (you still have GenEd plus tons of practice, theory, lessons, master classes, performances, etc), so make sure you love it in every way before you commit.</p>