What careers do music majors from top music schools like Juilliard pursue after they graduate? From what I've heard, very few are able to get performing careers or even find a job in music. How true is this and what do they do instead?
Well I just graduated from the New England Conservatory and I'm unemployed, unable to get a job at Starbucks. Most of my friends just stay in school. Some of us get jobs, but I'm looking into grad school and trying to get a day job, supplemented by freelance work. Almost none of my friends have win jobs. I haven't taken a real orchestral audition yet because I'm too inconsistent in my playing. I still hope to someday get a job, but most of us won't.[UPDATE] I wrote this when I was very down on my luck. However, as I mentioned in the comments, I’m happy to say that I won a full tuition scholarship to return to school across the country. I also already made it on to several sub lists for the big orchestras in the area of my new school. I’m getting the chance to continue practicing, develop a trumpet studio to start teaching, and do some serious freelancing. So I’m packing my bags and starting fresh.The life of a musician is hard. We can’t expect to get a job as easily as other professions and most of us can’t get one at all. A lot drop out. I’m one of the only three brass players from my graduating class at NEC to continue pursuing music at all. The best tools we can possibly have in order to be successful is creativity, passion, unwavering dedication, and a rock solid work ethic. We also have to be down to earth enough to not only be able to recognize problems in our own work, but recognize that sometimes, people just aren’t cut out to do it. That’s why I’m planning on using my scholarship to its full potential and take classes in some sort of computer programming or software development on the side just so I have someplace to fall if my big dream fails.
What are some colleges that have a good music education program?
Providence College - Providence, RIThe ensembles at Providence College are absolutely fantastic! They are beyond technically skilled, and the expectations of their program is demanding, but very rewarding. I have sung under the direction of the director of choral activities when he comprised an auditioned ensemble called The Chamber Singers of New England. He was beyond knowledgeable and his teaching skills were almost second to none. You will truly learn a lot, perhaps skills and techniques not taught elsewhere!The Hartt School of Music - Hartford, CTThe Hartt School has a great faculty, ranging from the former president of the ACDA (American Choral Director’s Association) to those with 1st chair in prestigious ensembles and philharmonic orchestras. They mainly focus on music as the major and do not require many gen-ed credits. You may also be eligible to obtain a bachelor’s degree in music education and a degree in conducting at the same time. I took an audition (which includes a basic exam of musical theory and terms, an interview, and an audition in front of a panel of 3–4 adjudicators), and ultimately decided not to make the commute from RI to CT.Ithaca College - Ithaca, NYA teacher I had in high school took a leave of absence to pursue his doctorate in music at Ithaca and said it was one of the best experiences! Not sure if he solely meant the post-grad program. I would say it would be worth looking into!I wish you all the best! Good luck!
Why shouldn’t I major in music education?
You shouldn’t major in music education if you don’t love teaching. And I don’t mean the, “I love teaching when my kids are good!” You have to love to teach when the day is good, when it’s bad, when you’re tired, and when you’re ready to take on the day. If you don’t, I wouldn’t recommend music education. ALSO, if you don’t love MUSIC all the same, then I would strongly advise against it. You’re going to take classes that you don’t necessarily think are useful or that you don’t want to be taking.Secondly, the courseload is generally quite hefty. You’ll have to balance practice time, lesson planning, portfolio updating, resume updating, teaching methodology research, lesson plan adaptation, individual practice time, ensemble music practice time, eating, sleeping, and a social life. Sounds like a lot, right? It is.Thirdly, you have to be willing to give up a lot of things to make the above schedule work effectively. All that practicing does you I good if you can’t stay awake during class, or you can’t focus during a lesson, right?Having said all of this, I would say if you even REMOTELY enjoy educating the next generation and showing them the joys of music, flippen go for it. I wouldn’t trade my experience studying music education for anything. It was 100% worth it, and if you need any help in your journey, should you choose to accept it, please do not hesitate to reach out to me, or any of the other people that have posted on this thread :)-Bobby Berg, Army MusicianPost Script: Be ready to stay ahead of the curve with social media. Whatever the kids are using, you’ve gotta be right there with em. If they’re all over Instagram, you’d better be too. I used social media as a tool for our band, and it was wildly successful. Remember, stay with the times :)GOOD LUCK!! :)
I want to major in music, but I play Bass Clarinet.?
You can major in music with bass clarinet as your primary, it's just that the number of places you can do so is more limited than soprano clarinet. In fact, some have outstanding bass clarinet studios. Most simply have "clarinet" and expect you to play them all while concentrating on soprano. If you're planning to do music education, academic music, or general music then your principal instrument isn't as critical as it is if you're planning to do music performance. In the latter case, it's probably not the greatest idea unless you are among the best bass clarinetists in the country. There just aren't an awful lot of jobs in the world for a professional performing bass clarinetist who doesn't double on something else. Traditionally it's soprano clarinet but it could be saxophone as easily. In fact, the pit orchestra and jazz band book that has bass clarinet in it is the baritone sax (reed 5) book. Add: if you're planning music education then majoring in clarinet with the understanding that you play bass is plenty acceptable. Most studios wouldn't have a real problem with that though you might also need to do some soprano playing in lessons. My principal instrument was flute and I never once played flute in a major ensemble, I played big clarinets in the main ensembles. As an ed major (or general music) your principal instrument is really a formality since you're going to be learning to play everything anyway. Speak with the clarinet studios where you'd like to go and see if they're receptive to bass clarinet as a principal. You might be surprised how many would like to have a real bass clarinet player for a change. PS: in most Music Education programs you don't major to become "HS Band Director" - the certification is K-12 Music and includes all music at all grades.
What degrees do you need to be a music teacher?
Speaking as a former Music Teacher/Band Director, you would need a Bachelors Degree first and foremost. It varies per state between some degree in music or specifically music education. Many music education degrees on paper simply read “music education.” However, your degree program will typically gear you towards a specific area such as instrumental, vocal, general, etc at various grade levels. Mine was specifically Instrumental Music Education with classes that exposed me to General Music and Choir so that I could teach that if need be. However, I would never have purposely pursued a specific General Music or Choir position outside of Band. The state I was in, when you passed the Praxis, you were licensed K-12 Music. The same license would allow you to teach any grade level, along with teach any music class.In short, you need a Bachelors Degree preferably in some form of Music Education. You then need a license to teach within your respective state (with the exception of Private Schools). What you study in your degree program is what makes you qualified for the specific position, in my opinion.
What can you do with a music performance degree?
Here's my fancy $30,000 Master's DiplomaYou can recycle it to be environmentally friendly.You can decorate your apartment fireplace with it.You can heat your apartment with it.You can confuse small adorable animals with it.And if you're REALLY desperate, you can use it as an alternative write-in candidate instead of this guy because literally ANY inanimate object would do a better job than… wait this was supposed to be a joke about using it for toilet paper, my bad.In all seriousness, like everyone says, it's not the degree that matters, it's the skills you get. To some extent, that's not true, because a degree from Juilliard will get you into more auditioning doors than a degree from Average University. But that's mostly because graduates of those degrees are assumed to be more skilled anyways, not merely because of the name itself.I personally know several Performance Majors who are working in the “Pershing's Own” Army Band, the “President's Own” Marine Band, the LA Philharmonic, the Florida Symphony, Houston Symphony, Virginia Symphony, etc etc. And that's JUST people I personally went to school and just for brass instruments, off the top of my head.So there ARE success stories. And not just orchestral. I have a 3rd degree connection with an upstart violin soloist.But for those who end up in less “traditional” performance careers, they are private lesson tutors and freelancers, conductors, jazzers, university professors, band directors, orchestral admins, church music directors, horn salesmen/businessmen, etc. Pretty much you name a job in the music industry and there's a highly trained instrumentalist with a performance degree in it.Beyond that, there's tax preparers, lawyers, nurses, school teachers, journalists, insurance salesmen, somelliers, and probably much much more. Again, that's just from the people I went to college with.Point is, as far as I have seen, being a poor starving musician is not a stereotype you can apply to Music Performance Majors. They're all a talented, smart, and especially hard working bunch, and turns out that's a valuable, and marketable, commodity in the work place.
What is the difference between having a BM in Music Performance and having a BM in Music Education when applying for a job?
A BM in Music Performance depending upon where it's from should certify the person holding the degree has reached the minimum level of musicianship that a professional musician who plays that instrument for pay should have. A Music Education degree again depending upon where it's from should certify the degree holder, regardless of their personal performance level abilities on their instrument is a competent music teacher and able to work with the beginner up to a minimum of high school level musician. The degree may be specific to teach for a certain instrument, such as piano or family of instruments. The band director would be able to teach the common brasswind, woodwind and percussion instruments and rehearse and conduct the band in performance. Likewise for an Orchestra conductor, though orchestra conductors may have a string instrument, wind instrument, or keyboard background. If the education degree is in voice, then obviously the teacher should be able to work with vocalist of both genders, but some vocal teachers limit the genres they will or won't work with. This is a very brief overview. Visit a local school of music and talk to a music school representative about the differences in the degrees they offer. Also there is a difference between a music department at a college and a School of Music at a college. A School of music has to pass a tougher certification process than just a music department. Tubist, retired US Army Bandsman