Perhaps it’s time to have a discussion about what goes into studying/majoring in music!
The most often thing I hear when I say “I major in music” is, “Man, I wish I could do something that easy” or something along the lines of it not being a real major or a legitimate study.
First of all, in a lot of schools/academies/programs, before you even get to think about auditioning you have to maintain a GPA and a good record like everyone else in the world. Then, if you manage to pass an audition, you then have to maintain that GPA (in both music AND general ed classes, but we’ll get there in a minute) in order to stay enrolled in our major. I.E: C+ or better is a common standard. I would guess that the confusion comes from the idea that majoring is music is like taking music appreciation or marching band in high school.
On the contrary, college level music majors are expected to have been playing/singing their respective instruments for numerous years before their auditions. Rather than learning how to play/read/sing music, we are majoring in order to become masters of instruments we have already dedicated most of our time to learning!
“Music classes aren’t real classes!”
Actually, they are! On a standard music major curriculum, you will find not only your general studies (English Comps, Public Speaking, Maths, Sciences, History, Literature, etc.), but also a full and required music curriculum. Many will be general-study-like classes such as:
Music Theory - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_theory Mechanics, functions, and structure of music.
Ear Training - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_training Being able to sing/play/repeat/dictate music using only your ears/without looking at sheet music.
Sightsinging - Being able to play/sing music upon seeing it for the first time without hesitation. For anyone that wants any kind of a career in the music field, this is a surprisingly high demand skill.
Music History - No link for this one as it’s pretty self-explanatory. This class is just as expansive as European or American History classes, and involves learning from the very creation of music to the modern music you hear on the radio today. A lot of these classes also involve “listening tests”, in which a piece of music is played and you must be able to identify the composer, the name, and sometimes the mechanics of it. Why? That’ll come later.
Piano - Every music major, regardless of what instrument/voice part they play/sing, are required to have a basic knowledge of piano. Enough to know the technique and play intermediate pieces fluently.
Ensembles - On top of your general studies AND music studies, you are required to learn the skills of responsibility, commitment, and teamwork by joining one or more school ensembles. These can include orchestras, jazz bands, choirs, marching/concert/symphonic bands, and multiple other small ensembles. These often meet for more than two times a week, and are expected to be managed with just as much attention as your other classes as they appear as grades on your transcript. These particular grades come from concerts/rehearsal attendance which is mandatory unless you’re on your deathbed.
Applied Lessons - Here’s the big one! Universally, in order to be a music major, you must profess at least one instrument (sometimes two are declared, one being the major and the other being a minor). In lessons, you work together with a teacher/teachers who have already become proficient in your instrument and have made a career out of it. It is their job (as a mentor) to help you with technique (everything from stage and audience etiquette to physical, mental, and emotional technique when it comes to approaching both your music and your instrument), and your job (as a protégé) to use that information and apply it to your classes, ensembles, and all around musical career. Sometimes we keep practice journals, and are sometimes even required to report the number of hours we practice a week. With music coming from our applied lessons professors, ensembles, and piano proficiency, practicing 1-3 hours a day, 20+ hours a week is not unusual. Just like grades, practice time must be handled with priority.
Recitals/Juries - Here’s where most people have a misconception about music classes in general. Just like other majors, we are tested with written midterms and finals in both our general studies AND music classes. On top of that, we have examinations called “juries” at the end of every semester. A jury is an exclusive performance for the music faculty of the school, and is an opportunity for you to display what you have learned while working in your lessons. This makes our programs far from an “easy A”, as failing these classes, exams, and juries is a very real possibility. Instead of simply repeating classes, failure can some times lead to a drop from the program, requiring a student to reaudition and prove themselves once again. Recitals are public performances for classmates/parents/the community, and are a grade as well.
Concert Credits - Many programs have another requirement known as “concert attendance”, in which we must attend a required number of school/local performances such as symphonies, recitals, musicals, plays, etc. It’s somewhat of a “field experience” task, allowing us to see professionals apply the knowledge that we are currently perfecting in school.
So let’s add this all up so far, shall we?
A full load of general studies courses.
A full load of music studies courses.
Seems like a lot, right? We aren’t done yet!
That whole list up there is for just a bachelor’s degree. In order to move on, there are more auditions to be had for graduate schools, in which we will repeat this whole cycle again with more advanced coursework, dissertations, etc. There are also other degrees to be had with different requirements. If someone would like to get a degree in music composition, they will manage all of that as well as conducting classes, orchestration classes, and much more.
Going back to the whole listening test/outlandish amounts of exams thing: becoming a music major is an all encompassing job. We must learn and be aware of everything that happens in our field, because rather than be building on other people’s work, we will be using theirs as foundation to create our own! It is our job to become masters at what we do so we can pass down the knowledge and keep this field going!
Besides: when we graduate, even those with doctorates STILL have to audition for the rest of their careers.
The fun thing about music is that until you retire, you are in a constant state of auditioning. University professors, orchestra members, Broadway musicians, composers, singers, and everyone else must keep practicing, keep studying, and keep on their toes if they expect to be able to compete in our industry.
What goes into an audition? A lot of times, everything on that list. All of that studying listed above ends up being VERY useful, because auditions often include sight-singing, aural (ear-training) tests, proficiency in your scales and warm-ups, AND orchestral excerpts/whatever material is being used by the ensemble for which you are auditioning.
The important thing about this is that I am aiming to dispel the “Music is an easy A” or “Music is for people that couldn’t hack science or math” myth. We aren’t any better than the rest of our peers in college, but we work just as hard, if not harder at what we want to do in life.
People call us crazy because we follow our hearts instead of the road that was laid out for us. Upon becoming majors of music, we all had to accept a harsh reality that doing what we love would consume most of our lives, and that we will always be fighting for what we want. The truth is that the industry is competitive and if you want something, you might have to sacrifice everything to get it.
And there is an industry! Music degrees are far from useless. Plenty of research can indicate that jobs such as conducting for an orchestra, designing music for tv/film/video games, and even music therapy can pay up to six figures in salary!
Think twice about belittling a music/art student for what they study. We take our mid-terms and finals just like you, as well as balance a whole second academic career’s worth of classes on our shoulders. I have met some of the most awe-inspiring, passionate, amazing people through music, and I can’t say that I regret it for even one day.
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