calling all music majors....?

Question

I love music, but I don't know if I should major in it.
What should I think about before deciding whether I should major in piano performance?
I'm currently taking classical piano lessons, and I don't practice that much since school and stuff dominate my life right now, but I do like the concept of practicing like two hours per day.
I've talked to my piano teacher and one musician about it, but I'd like some more advice.
I'm applying to Notre Dame, U of Chicago(maybe), Villanova, Dominican, IL Benedictine, UIC, UIUC, Washington U in St Louis (maybe), Converse, etc.
(Which program do you recommend-i'm also interested in science (specifically physics, psychology, pre-med, language, philosophy, and polisci).
I think I'd like to be a piano teacher, because my piano teacher is awesome and I'd like to be like him, but I'm not sure if it's the right career for me.

what would I be doing if I was minoring in music? I've played in hotels in europe a few times and that's what I enjoyed the most. I would have thought that college would offer more time for me to practice because I would be focusing on music and have fewer hours devoted to being in class. I tried out the concept of teaching piano a few years ago but the kids I talked to weren't interested in learning and I wasn't creative or patient enough the one hour I was trying to teach my nephew-mainly because my sister was there trying to help him learn too and I just got frustrated. I would like to try teaching again this summer...but the problem is I'm going to be going to college-who wants a teacher for three months? It's not practical. I'm mainly considering majoring in music because for me it's all or nothing. I don't want to just do it in my free time. I'd rather do it full time. But i'm probably not good enough to be a concert pianist. What's at stake now is finding a new hobby...

and it's also a really personal, state of mind thing for me....I want to be an artist-like the artist prototype from absurdism. Like the classic image of the starving artist, I want to be good at something; I'd like to be different from other people but have something to blame it on...I'd like to be like Beethoven or something....I haven't really related to other people at the basic levels for a while even though I'm learning this year that people who I expected to be one way can actually be a lot like me, which has brought me back down to earth a little. :) And now I'm ranting. :P Basically, how else do I achieve this mentally if not through piano? I'll put this under psychology later if no one can really understand what the heck i'm talking about (since I barely do).

and another thing...I don't think I care about the money. I live quite simply now (dress simply, eat simply, have a 12 year old car, etc.), and I don't think I'd mind living the way I do for the entirety of my life. I do like being able to buy clothes, eat in a restaurant once in a while, and have a pretty good selection of reading material, but I don't think I'm very materialistic. I know I'm sounding very arrogant right now, but tend to value ideas, etc more than what I should buy. If I became a doctor, I would probably start working for Doctors without Borders as soon as I'd paid for college loans, etc.

Answer 1

I used to be a music major. I'm now a math major/music minor.

I thought I wanted to major in music education, but it turns out I really liked performance more. I don't have the ambition to pursue a singing career (my instrument was voice).

I think you should only pursue piano performance if you just can't picture your life as complete without it. It's tough trying to make a decent living as a performance major.

If you are interested in Science, I would suggest going that route. It will provide you with plenty of money to pursue your musical interests.

Personally, I originally chose music education over performance because I thought the career path was more secure. Turns out, other colleagues who went the education route are having a really tough time finding jobs.

Talk to other performers about WHY they are performers. I mean, I love music, but performers really LOVE music. They sacrifice for their art. Are you up for that sacrifice?

If you want to try teaching, you should try it as soon as possible, even if it would be for only three months. Teaching does require a LOT of patience (that I personally don't have). It's better to know this NOW than waste time and find out you didn't really want to do it in the first place. Why don't you want to teach for the three months? It's not "practical"? Being a music performance major isn't "practical" for life in general.

I can only imagine that about now you're probably feeling like "Why is everyone against me?" However, I also agree with cathrl69 that if you were passionate enough about it, you would already be practicing 2 hours a day, and even more on the weekends. You say that music is "all or nothing" for you (and it never has to be nothing, ever), but for performance majors, it really needs to be like "music or death!"

I'm also confused about what you really want. Do you want to perform or teach? Music performance and music education are two different majors.

What is the other "stuff" dominating your life right now? You're also kidding yourself if you think that once you're in college you'll have more time to practice. Your first four semesters are likely going to have music theory (each semester), ear training (each semester), private lessons (each semester), plus your basics (at least two classes each semester of either Composition, Science, Math, etc.). I don't know if you've already done this, but go to the websites of the schools you're considering and lookup "music degree plan" to see the classes you'll have to take.

I'm also not a very materialistic person, but it does take money to live comfortably on your own. I have a modest house, car, I go out to eat about once a week (which is mostly fast food, I only have nice sit-down and relax restaurant experiences about once a month).

I think it's very telling when you say you don't "think" you care about the money and you don't "think" you'd mind living very simply. You'll eventually have to replace your car, pay for a place to live (rent/mortgage, electricity, water), pay for groceries, etc. And I'm just curious, how are you expecting to pay for college?

Answer 2

I absolutely agree with q_midori. I, too, started college as a music major and switched out of it. I realized that teaching and learning were two very different things, and I really didn't want to teach my instrument, but to play it. Being a concert artist was not a consideration - I just wasn't that good. If I were in your situation now, I would think about a few things. Have you taught piano before? If not, you might try giving lessons to some local children. If you love it, great. If not, this is probably not the career for you. Secondly, how well does teaching piano fit the lifestyle you want? Only a few top piano teachers make real money; most of the ones I've known have been married to someone who made the major family income. If you expect to be self-supporting, you might want to think about it.

I worry when you talk about practicing two hours per day. You probably had more time to practice in high school than you will ever have again. You say that school and stuff are dominating your life right now, but why do you think that would change in college? Most of my college classmates were complaining because once they were in college, they had to cut back to five or six hours/day. It should really be an all-consuming passion if you want to do it well.

Answer 3

Finish the degree you are working on now first (especially if you only have a year left). I think that if you should plan to pursue music as a career, maybe you should minor in music. I have a very good friend I went to high school with who loved music. She played piano since she was a small child. Sang, played trumpet, etc. She went off to college majoring in music and within a semester, she changed her major. It turned out that she didn't like music anymore when it was her JOB, she liked it because it was a way to relax, etc. She ended up minoring in music and majoring in something like Political Science or something.

Answer 4

Sounds harsh, but...I don't think it's for you.

If you were cut out to be a professional pianist in the performing sense, you wouldn't be thinking that practicing two hours a day sounded a good concept. You'd be doing it. You'd have been doing it for years and years already. You wouldn't be able to imagine a life where you didn't do it.

Many people do this sort of practice just to be good amateurs. (I don't, I'm a less good amateur :) )

I'd advise you to go for science, and keep music as a hobby, even as a second on-the-side career. (My kids' piano teacher is a nurse who teaches piano in her spare time). It's a hard, not very well paid life being a professional classical musician, unless you are STUNNINGLY good - like in the top ten in the world at your instrument.

Answer 5

calling music majors