Are you thinking about majoring in music? Pt. 1

Some advice that I wish was given to me when I first made the decision to major in music. This is the introductory video in a four-part series for students of music. Please visit www.tooldsforlearningmusic.blogspot.com and www.ponderingmusic.blogspot.com for more information and discussion. As always, comments and video responses are very welcome.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Bachelor
• degree
• music
• major
• theory
• dictation
• transcription
• sight
• singing
• playing
• reading
• auditions
• school
• history
• aural
• perception
• symphony
• philosophy
• bach
• piano

[lobyte]

Thank you for the video. I went to take a look at a music school i wanted to go to and they told me i had a chance to be accepted (they only accept 5 people each year) and technique wise (with speed in mind) I was definitely safe. It's just that some of my favourite muscians who play in bands havent majored in music, so this left me wondering if i should continue to practice music on my own and go to a university and follow a regular major in which i only have a shallow interest. What a dillema

[wholegreaterthansum]

@lobyte if only we all had your problems! (I kid) In your case, you sound like someone who has worked very hard at their music, I imagine you will be successful in whatever path you choose. Regarding musicians who didn't study music in school; I think it is important to note that college is not the only place to receive a music education many people are master performers from studying with other masters or through hard-knocks touring and playing - in the end though they all worked like crazy :-)

[ZeusOfDubstep]

Oh and I haven't prepared myself at all I just decided this my sophmore year..

[wholegreaterthansum]

@ZeusOfDubstep if you go for audio production, two years is more than enough time to prepare and many community colleges offer Associate Degrees in audio.

[ZeusOfDubstep]

I'm a senior at my high school and I'm trying to be a music producer.. I basically just want to become a dj.. And I want to produce dubstep. Do you really think it would be smarter for me to go for two years to a community college, and two years to a state college majoring in music?

[wholegreaterthansum]

@ZeusOfDubstep Hi, thanks for watching - its always hard to say what would be "smarter," - this video series was really geared towards musicians on a more classical bent. Not to say that a dubstep artist shouldn't major in music (my recommendation would be an audio production program) but your preparation would be learning programs like Reason and Logik, getting familiar with signal-flow, software synths and using mics - not really the stuff I talk about in these vids.

[lobyte]

@wholegreaterthansum

Thanks for the wise words :)

[ZeusOfDubstep]

@wholegreaterthansum Awesome thanks

[wholegreaterthansum]

@Mi2990 buried not Berried

[wholegreaterthansum]

@Mi2990 I'm not sure how well I can advise something like that - basically though, you have to consider cost vs. potential income. Berkleemusic-dot-com and Full Sail both offer online programs, but they are both very costly. On the other hand, you will learn a lot, but on the other hand still, you don't want to be berried in debt. I believe the technical college you are at currently offers a degree in audio production though.