I’m going to be a senior in high school this year and I am still wavering on what to do afterward. I know I’ll be applying to college soon, but what I have yet to decide is whether I want to major in an academic discipline (it would be math) or in music (piano performance). I plan on applying to some conservatories as well as some more rounded colleges/universities with good academic and music schools. I really love music, although I would live if it didn’t end up being the center of my life. I’ve already proven to myself that I can motivate myself to practice 6-8 hours a day when I have time (i.e. during the summer) and I think I could keep doing that. The problem is with finding a job afterward. I don’t want to be a starving artist, constantly trying to find a chance to perform, and I’m not much of a teacher. Is there anyone here who has gone down this path? What did you end up doing, and are you glad you did it?
B.Mus. (Composition) here. It’s late and I’m tired, so I’ll get back to you tomorrow.
And let me add that even though I’ve written three musicals, I work as a technical writer for a high-tech firm… But that’s more circumstance than anything.
Man, the Teeming Millions are showing a remarkable level of restraint.
It’s late and board traffic is slow. Give it till tomorrow morning.
As to the OP: in general, a degree is worth as much as the skills you bring along with it. In many cases, your other skills will be what matters, and the degree will only allow you to get your foot in the door. As far as general skills go, be sure you’re computer literate, be sure you can write and speak articulately, and be sure to develop your leadership skills. These are the skills that, combined with a good liberal arts education, will carry you far in today’s world. Also, it probably wouldn’t hurt you to have some background in finance.
I don’t know much about the conservatories, but you might want to consider doing a traditional undergraduate degree (major in music and something else you like), and then specializing in grad school.
I was kind of in the same situation as you when I graduated HS. Music (drums and percussion) was my big thing and I had a few major accomplishments under my belt. Unfortunately I was somewhat burned out from all the pressures of auditioning for everything and not terribly excited with the music I was playing. I was also in a rock band, and that vein of music was my main musical interest but I also had academic interests as well.
I visited some conservatories up in Boston, was recruited by a couple more and my private teacher offered to do what he could to get me into Juilliard if I could put together a worthy audition. If I could do it again I would take him up on that offer. At the time I wasn’t terribly inspired by any of these choices, though.
After my senior year I toured Scandanavia with a wind ensemble, then hitchhiked through Germany, Belgium, Holland, and the UK for a couple months. For good or ill I developed a pretty serious travel bug. I took the next year off and worked, then went to Syracuse but majored in Liberal Arts (loved Geography) and still took music lessons. One thing I learned during my travels in Europe was how little I knew about my own country, so…
I transferred to the University of Colorado, majored in Geography for a semester, travelled around the southwest, but couldn’t let go of music altogether and heard about a good percussion teacher there. I then switched back to music education and learned that music education wasn’t my thing. In the meantime I got turned on to different kinds of music and ended up doing a Bachelor of Arts - which was basically a do-it-yourself degree where I studied Geography AND Music and wrote a thesis at the end. I’ve learned to play a couple of other instruments in the years following college. In short, I would classify myself as somewhat dissipated. I lost the ‘burn’ for the one thing I was really good at (drums & percussion), lost my edge, and thus became less good at it. I also developed other interests that drew energy away from music. After a twisted path of employment I now work in pharmaceutical clinical research data management. It has absolutely nothing to do with what I went to school for. I still enjoy the things I went to school for though, I just don’t get paid for them.
You seem to be willing to put in a lot of hard work, and that is good. You seem to be somewhat unwilling to endure the hardships and frustration and that’s not so good in terms of starting up a career in music. I know a guy who’s a professional drummer and he approached it very pragmatically - step by step. A lot of musicians are put off by the crappy gigs you have to endure to get to the choice ones. This friend of mine went to a conservatory, got his masters, endured the crappy gigs and met musicians who eventually referred him to gigs with national acts. He teaches as well.
To me, it seems like a University with strong music and math programs would be the way to go. The tricky part is that to get at the really good music professors, you probably have to major in music so maybe you can double-major or find a University with the kind of flexibility that allows you to satisfy both of your interests. If it turns out you really want to enter a conservatory you can transfer, but you should probably do it earlier in your academic career rather than later. In the meantime, though, it seems like you also want to indulge your love of math, and a University will give you a chance to do both. Maybe you’ll end up not doing either.
The bottom line is, if you can play music well enough to get into a conservatory, and if you can do math well enough to major successfully in it, you are capable of doing just about anything you want. I think a good University would provide ample oppurtunities to explore your interests and maybe find new ones. The only downside would be that there would be distractions if it turned out that music is what you really wanted to do.
I graduated in 1993 with a B.M. in performance with a concentration of Music Business. I still perform with a band, as well as working in a corporate gig. The performance training has helped me out in my other job, directing and performing in a successful improv troupe (I’ve had no formal stage training, but I took to improv very naturally.)
As long as you don’t define yourself by the degree you hold, you can pretty much do anything that you set your mind to.
Thanks a lot for the helpful responses.
Well, we wanted Quonk to know that he’ll find help here, and that Dopers would never treat him like number two. You’ve got to make wise career decisions, or else you’ll end up just getting a job laying cable, making soft serve, or as a chauffeur having to drop kids off at the pool. Sure, he (or she) could go read some magazines with career tips, or talk to his guidance counselor sitting on his throne of command, but that’s too impersonal. He shouldn’t have to strain to squeeze out long, solid answers from real people on the Straight Dope board who’ve been in the same boat, people who can give him useful advice that’ll keep him from flushing his future down the drain. The SDMB should be available to anyone with a question, whether it’s how to shed a few pounds or the best way to see a man about a horse.
Hey, at least I waited until after there was a legitimate answer!
That’s a much better than I could have given. I was just wondering if I’ve been violating some professional code of ethics by doing my business without the proper papers.
I’m really hoping that scott evil’s abbreviation is the one that’s commonly used.
That is all.
B. Mus. (History and Literature), graduated in 1991.
My instrument was voice.
Though I have a BM, I didn’t attend a conservatory. I went to a regular university with a really great music school. I think it was a good path, because I ended up a little more well-rounded academically than my friends who went to conservatory.
On the other hand, I work as a Business Systems Analyst (I write tech specs and translate business requirements for the programmers) at Bose.
In retrospect, I may have done better with a B.A. with a concentration in music since I didn’t end up following the musicology path to grad school. The B. Mus. isn’t very well-respected outside of the music industry/community. My resume lists “Bachelor of Music, Music History and Literature.” I’ve gotten some odd questions, like “Did you have to take real classes?”, and “Is that a real Bachelor’s degree? I thought the only real ones were BA and BS.”
scott evil, I knew I liked you.
Not me Frankd6
I have the best use of my B.M. to be wiping my ass after a B.M.
Not me Frankd6
I found the best use of my B.M. to be wiping my ass after a B.M.
Ah, and there it is. Thank you, KidC, I’d been waiting for it!