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Music degrees

Has nothing to do with production, but out of curiosity, has anyone here gotten a music-related degree? I'm a freshman in college, I started majoring in Music Business but I'm transferring to a university that doesn't offer it, so I'll probably major in music composition and minor in business.

I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with a music degree, I just know it's the only field I have an active interest in, and if nothing else, I can fall back on a business background and keep it as a hobby.

So, did anyone else go for music in college? Was it worth it? And what kinds of opportunities become available with a major in music composition?

cryophonik did.

school will only provide the time and facilities to learn. I have Bmus and Mmus. Was it worth it ? I could of learned everything on my own i suppose but it does force you to work. I also went from knowing pretty much nothing to being able to write any sort of music in any genre convincingly. I still think most music schools suck despite going to some of the best in NA and alot of teachers are teachers because they have to be but as long as you understand this and make the best of it ...

I personally wouldn't do music unless you really have an interest in classical music as classical pedagogy is still somewhat established thus there is a structured way to learn. One thing I will tell you is that going to school kills music in a way. Everything just sounds cliche and overdone and nothing surprises or excites you. There isn't a classical piece you could play that i couldn't tell you the chords, transpose it in my head, orchestrate it for any instrument set .... I suppose that is why i yearn to do electronic music again as it is actual new music.

Yes, I did get a BA in Music Theory/Composition, but that was 20 years ago when the market was much different and there weren't the same sorts opportunities (and competition) that there is today. For example, I don't recall there being anyone in any of my courses who would have been considered a "bedroom producer" - most of them were actually performance majors. This is just my perception, but it seems that the programs and curriculum have changed drastically since then because of the diversification of students, but I haven't really paid too much attention to it, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on job opportunities, competition, expected salary, etc.

I'll try to keep my own long and boring personal experience short here, but I essentially decided to major in music with the plan of getting a PhD and going on to teach at the collegiate level. But, when I was 3.5 years into a 4-year degree, I started taking a hard look at the job market and things looked pretty dismal. So, I decided to take a year off to reconsider - 6 years later, I went to back to school to get a BS/MS in biology and I finished my last semester of music classes along the way. I don't regret the experience one bit, but I'm much happier that I took the route I did. I played in a lot of bands, did a lot of session work, and earned a very decent income from music for much of my life, but now I like having music as a hobby to come home to after I spend 9 hours analyzing data and writing reports (and posting on TA!).

The last thing I'll add is that, of the few music classmates that I kept in touch with over the years and my numerous bandmates that were also music majors, as far as I know, none of them are working in the music industry (aside from one or two who work at music stores part-time for the discounts). So, hopefully, that doesn't sound too discouraging, but again, I stress that my experience is probably much different than what a college freshman would be facing today.

Hopefully, some of the others who have gotten more recent college experience can give you a more relevant response and maybe my response was somewhat helpful!

to add some balance,

most of my colleagues from school all work as professional performers. I do think the caliber of school you go to makes a huge difference. There are some schools that have absolutely awful programs and professors. There are programs that have more challenging bachelors than other school masters programs.

But if you plan to go study composition. You will basically study composition from the classical to the "atonal" era. You won't look at anything new. It all depends on the schools.

Also, be very wary of very specific degrees. They are almost always schams unless it is for medicine and health care. Why music business ? Why not study business. It is something that can be applied to all business. Same with music. I would be very careful for any program dealing with popular music.

quote:

Originally posted by RichieV to add some balance, most of my colleagues from school all work as professional performers. I do think the caliber of school you go to makes a huge difference.

That's a great point. The schools I went to (major universities in Michigan) are great schools and have good music programs, but wouldn't be considered top-tier music schools or come to mind when people are mentioning music schools.

but then again, it really isn't what the schools are teaching so much as the acceptance rate. If you have a really prestigious school , you will get the best musicians going there so they do tend to fare better. It is really hard to judge the actual value of what is taught. Most learn on their own anyways so i sometimes wonder if it isn't so much the school but the concentration of great minds that make the difference.

For composition, it is essential that the school has a strong performance program so that people can play your orchestral compositions.

So, hopefully this question doesn't hijack the thread, but I think it's relevant and worth the consideration of anyone considering an arts degree:

Do you want your favorite hobby to become your job?

That's the question that I found myself asking over and over when I was deciding whether or not to continue with my music degree, but I don't think I gave enough consideration to it before enrolling in my music program.

There's no right or wrong answer, but I've seen over the years that people tend to fall pretty squarely onto one side of the coin or the other. On one hand, you have people who love knowing that they're getting paid to do something that they're so passionate about and they've achieved their dream job. On the other hand, you have people who find that the pressure of deadlines, forced creativity, dealing with difficult clients, etc. take all the fun out of music for them.

That's something to give some serious consideration to IMO.

No, because music as a job would almost inevitably involve performance of some kind and that does not really interest me. I want to stay a recluse dreaming up new sounds in the privacy of my bedroom or a studio if I ever manage to get one.

:-)

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles No, because music as a job would almost inevitably involve performance of some kind and that does not really interest me. I want to stay a recluse dreaming up new sounds in the privacy of my bedroom or a studio if I ever manage to get one. :-)

Yeah, but no groupies!

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Originally posted by cryophonik Do you want your favorite hobby to become your job?

From what I've seen, most of the current crop never considered it a hobby anyway.

Recognition + money > art

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Originally posted by hexadecimal From what I've seen, most of the current crop never considered it a hobby anyway. Recognition + money > art

Yeah, that's probably true for the guys who are pursuing "making it" as a performer, but that segment only includes a very tiny portion of the careers available in the music industry, and most of them didn't get there by majoring in music. The far more abundant music jobs are less glamorous, but more realizable (e.g., teaching, writing for commercials/jingles, music software development/sales/etc., etc.).

I double majored in school. Music and Computer Science. I learned about music AND I have a job.

quote:

Originally posted by palm i dont want my mind to be polluted by some conservative old music-teacher telling me about rules of chord-progressions, syncope-shit and stuff etc etc, so no, i have no degree.

You also have no clue.

you will be just fine as long as you don't venture into a form of work that requires you to write ever sort of music. If you are making EDM , you don't need music school.

quote:

Originally posted by palm i dont want my mind to be polluted by some conservative old music-teacher telling me about rules of chord-progressions, syncope-shit and stuff etc etc, so no, i have no degree.

no really, you have no clue

Thanks for the responses.. maybe it's just me but I really don't know what to make of any of them. In response to RichieV, I went for music business because it's basically like majoring in music and minoring in business, but eliminates part of the business curriculum that would be completely inapplicable to the music industry.

I just know there's no other area I want to study for 4 years, but I know the music industry isn't known for its financial stability.. ehh. Whatever, I guess I could just work at Guitar Center and busk in Chicago on the weekends if nothing else works out

quote:

Originally posted by palm i dont wants to be lernin' me none of dat compleekated edumacational shiet

FTFY.

Re: Music degrees

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora it's the only field I have an active interest in, and if nothing else, I can fall back on a business background and keep it as a hobby.

Now days it doesn't really matter what you you to school for, if music is what you like the most, then pursue your dream.

HI,

I have a BA in Music Technology from the London school of music and i have to say it was a waste of time.

I could have learned everything on my own through smaller more defined courses via the internet (and for a lot less cash).

Maybe in a few years the courses will be better but they seem to still be taught by old fuddy duddies who are locked into 48 channel mixing desks and live recording. Their idea of music technology is a AD/DA converter.

My advice, pay for a small, targeted course which specifically teaches that which you wish to learn, degrees are too long, too outdated and non specific and FAR TOO EXPENSIVE !

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by SoundMagus HI, I have a BA in Music Technology from the London school of music and i have to say it was a waste of time.

Their website looks pretty dodgy and the programs are 1 year long. I think it is pretty obvious what kind of education they provide.

I'm doing a degree in music technology at the moment. I did the same course at college before as well. Enjoying it so far. Lots of nice equipment to use which is nice. Not sure what i'll do after though.

RichieV - no idea what site you where looking at but its obviously the wrong one and you cant get a BA over 1 year, its got to be over 3.

This is the course i done.

http://music.tvu.ac.uk/index.php/lc...-tech-spec.html

Probably my fault as i put "london school of music" when its actually "London college of music"

quote:

Originally posted by palm theres nothing complicated about music. try study thermodynamics, heattransfer and fluidmechanics instead. thats what im doing atm.

Heat transfer = two words
Fluid mechanics = two words

They'll go over that on your first day of school. Don't sweat it, everyone gets it wrong at first.

A good music eduction will first teach you the rules, and then teach you to break them.

quote:

Originally posted by palm theres nothing complicated about music. try study thermodynamics, heattransfer and fluidmechanics instead. thats what im doing atm.

You're talkin' to an electrical engineer/systems designer here bro, your l33t science razzamatazz won't work on me.

But while we're on the subject, science and engineering is another highly creative field, at least for some; think about how much sense it would make for someone to eschew formal learning of, well let's say thermodynamics, on account of it being a bunch of unnecessary conservative "rules" or "laws", which presumably would only serve to hinder one's efforts toward building a free-energy device.

I really don't want to start another argument about this nonsense, but there's always something complicated about everything. It's a fact of life. Whenever you catch somebody saying that "it's easy", it usually means that they find it easy because they've never attempted to do anything beyond the mundane and are in fact so ignorant of the depth of the subject that they don't even realize that the subject has any depth.

I could just as well say that there's nothing difficult about, for example, biking. And there isn't, if you define the term as merely riding on a lightly-traveled paved road from point A to a point B about 5-10 minutes away. Racing, mountain biking, dirt biking, or bike marathons, on the other hand, are all subsets of the same activity but far more involved, with all kinds of special training and gear.

Music production is effectively like that. There's nothing difficult about throwing together some samples and melody riffs in a mostly trial-and-error process, copying whatever formulas are most commonly used by other producers. But that's hardly all there is to the subject.

The first obstacle to learning is always obliviousness. If you find yourself unwilling or unable to get past that, it's not something you should brag about.

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