I've decided that majoring in music tends to take all of the joy out of it. Or at least majoring in voice, since that's all I can speak about from experience. I guess I can't say that, I still love music and all that, but all of the crazy hoops, which are part of life but seem to be even more ingrained in the world of the music major. Of course there's also the politics, but it's more than that. It's more the constant, never ending stress about it. There's always something you need to memorize and get ready for the next midterm for the next jury (gag me) or, when it comes time, the Junior and Senior recitals. Then, of course, the theory classes, having to learn piano as well, and well enough to pass a jury on that too. Then, as the politics drive you even more insane (though I realize of course, they're a part of life in general) you also have to do song studies, and deal with a very, very angry teacher when you quite obviously have not practiced, (my fault, I know) and after majoring in music, can you ever just simply enjoy singing just for the fun of singing? And hearing a performance? Heh, screw that, you're busy analyzing and critiquing.

Okay so I'm not going to drop voice (unless I can't keep up with my other major, which is marketing, because that takes precedence) because despite all of my gripes, I do still love it, but it really does seem that music majors were designed with the specific purpose to kill all of the joy in it. Does anyone in the discipline agree, or barring that, does anyone have a similar experience, or does it seem to be just a music thing?

competition causes politics in every venue in life. get used to it. if it is too stressful, it would be wise to climb down a rung or two to where your stress levels are managable. it does suck though.. i mean your passion for something gets ripped out by *******s that care only about *** kissing and backstabbing.

my love of physics was ruined by doing a course in it.

I gave up, and turned to my primary skill, art.

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elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
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I would have majored in music were it not for hearing many storys of all that stuff you just said.
A friend of my at my school recently changed her major from music to art for most of the same reasons.
although I do think she kept a music minor, not sure, but anyway.
Good luck with it.

i think majoring in music kills all the unique character you'd develop in your field. i've been learning guitar on my own, and i have most of the theory a music graduate would have, but none of the "lick #89 from book 2" disease all trained players seem to have. still i've been teaching for over a year and my students love my approach, and it keeps them interested.

my friend did a music major at the Alma college, got all the knowledge he needed, then dropped out on his second year. you don't need a paper to prove you're a musician. just play well and it's already a long way done. he did just that, was evaluated by Celine Dion's touring guitar player (a jazz fusion wizard) who actually got up, shook his hand with a little pat on the back and said "good job, you're hired" and now he's a session player.

he scored a stable gig with marie-mai, a big pop name around here. got the contacts he needed to keep working on his band, and he's soon about to enter recording, without a single fee or binding contract. he pays his bills with the pop touring, and fills his craving for originality with his band, Silent Soul. sounds like a successful career to me.

I know that, in my time as an animation major, I've had similar feelings about my own field. I think it's something that affects art majors a lot, but from what I've heard from other (former) music majors, music seems to be the worse. I think it has to do with they try to "formalize" the process, which is incredibly easier wth music due to its similarities in mathematics. Don't get me wrong -- being taught the formal elements of art and the like is a necessary part of learning for your major, but it's definately a significant aspect of the basic "work kills play" feel.

I'm going to take a stab and say that, if you hold out, you'll probably find it easier. Even if it only gets progressively more annoying, you can graduate having gleaned what you wanted and ignore the rest, going back to the fun. That's what I intend to do in any case... well, as much as I can, as my art-stuff will likely be my livelihood too. We'll see.

To be honest, I feel exactly the opposite. I thrive on performance, and on bettering my skills. Juries have never been a big deal for me. My senior recital is a week from Saturday, and I'm not the least but nervous. Maybe it's the instrument. We trumpet players tend to be very egotistical. But I loved the whole music major experience. Theory was fun. History was kind of dull, but I still enjoyed it mostly. And I practice like nobody's business - usually about 3 (sometimes more) hours a day. Though, I do admit that sometimes it is bothersome to pay more attention to every little detail of a performance than to just enjoy the music, but you learn to turn off the musical knowledge after time.

But I do hate piano.

I had been thinking of taking some music courses... thanks for changing my mind.

Actually, that's precisely why I did not major in music. I work with a guy who first went to school on studied music mixing and all the aspects that go into it. He said he absolutely hated it. You would listen to a song so many times, that when you left work you wouldn't listen to anything as you were sick of music in general.

Seeing how music majors at my school are always complaining about their major - and then criticizing music, I felt I should do what feels right when writing music.

I enjoy writing music that has power and emotion in it. I don't care if its technically simple to an 1860's piece - it works. And unfortunatly, so many music majors I know can't admit that.

They almost become SMUG about their music knowledge and how they listen to everything.

So I'm majoring in Accounting, hope to get a normal job, and do music/clubs on the side

It really depends on what you wish to get out of taking a major in voice. Since marketing is your major for a job, it's unlikely having a degree in voice will be considered in any job you apply for in the future. I know that a lot of my reason for majoring in animation, apart from having a degree for job application, is because I'm just too lazy to learn and do the stuff on my own. If it starts to wreck your life, I'd say stick with extra-cirricular activities and the like...

Like I said, you have to figure out what you want out of your voice major, and then remind yourself about your goals as needed.

i think the goal of music formation is to turn musical instinct into technical skills. but only hard headed people suceed in not being assimilated by the "right way" to do things, according to your teacher.

I've had one of my students copying my technique, he's a great player even after just a year and a half, but i'm almost afraid he'll copy me too much and not develop his own sound, though I'm always telling him to let go and try to find new ideas. maybe it'll sink in after a while.

it's a wierd thing. some people wouldn't get this good without musical education, while others kick *** even learning on their own. it's something people are born with i think.

though if you're going to make a living out of music, better be prepared for alot of hard work and dealing with alot of assbastards. but if you're passionate and just love playing/singing/writing you'll make it. either as a performer or as a techie, you'll still make a living in the musical field. and being a techie doesn't stop you from being an incredible player too. you get contacts this way. and eventually maybe you'll be a performer too.

like every job field, you need to know the right people in order to go forward. either that or you need to make a great impression to the right people at the right time.



Simple music is the basis of even the most technically complex stuff. it all starts from a simple progression, and then it all depends on how you decide to approach it. (in guitar terms) either strange chord voicings, arpeggiated notes, a frenzied scale, or a fingerpicking run, in all of these a chord progression is still implied. then there's the countless arrangements you can add as a band to fill in the gaps.

Too much harmonic content is just overwhelming for your casual listener, and eventually ends up being "music for musicians" which is just strange in itself. there's a reason why the most simple songs are so memorable, and why so many technically insane bands go unheard even if they have incredible talent ( Sun Caged? Theory in Practice? heard of those? nope? they're insane. but also hard to listen to when you're not used to that type of music)

I realize i'm rambling a little but music is such a vast field and i love it so much i tend to get carried away. sorry!

HEATHEN.
The piano is by far my favorite art/music form, and this is coming from someone who also sings and dances in both a show choir and in theatrical productions.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that I play the clarinet.

Okay sorry, I'm just really kind of stressed about a bunch of things, including the terror of being murdered by my voice teacher and having a concert while I'm drowning in phlegm, (lovely, I know) but while there's a lot of crap things about music majors, I wouldn't give it up unless I really had to, because while in some instances it kills it, you do get another kind of joy. I was just frustrated beyond belief last night.

Massassi: it's just one big livejournal for us geeks.

I'm studying for a BA in jazz performance (in year two of five) at Humber College in Ontario. I know how you feel, sugarless, so here's what I think:

Some university programs are harder than others, and I think music is very difficult at the post-secondary level. I chose English as my non-music elective, and it's a freaking cakewalk compared to my easiest music course. What makes it even harder is if you've got the talent but not the background...it's frustrating when I see someone my age (or younger) who's really got it together and sounds great because they had all the advantages (say, lessons from a young age, going to an arts high school, etc.). You just have to keep going, knowing that you'll sound pretty good too when you've got ten or fifteen years experience under your belt.



I feel for ya. Music education is sort of wierd that way, because you really need to focus on only a few things at a time in order to get them down and make some progress, but you'll have ten or twelve courses that need attention. What my ear training teacher said (and I think this is the best music school advice I've ever been given) was to decide on five or six courses that you want to get A's in and concentrate your effort there, and then put other stuff on the back burner. Don't let yourself fail, but devote most of your time to the courses that are important to your future. But I can empathize - they're teaching me piano too.



It depends on your school, really. If you go to one with a lame program/bad teachers then it's going to suck. There are A teachers and there are F teachers. That's just how it is.



I completely, one-hundred percent disagree. Spewing licks is the result of inexperience or lack of talent (or practise), not the actual music education.



If you want to get better, you don't nessecarily need courses. "transcribe and then go jam" works (that's what all the old bebop players I look up to did back when there were no jazz schools). *shrug* If you know exactly what it is you want *and* have a competant teacher, you'll get something out of lessons and courses. If not, you'll probably waste your time and money.



You have to accept that people like different kinds of music. I'd rather listen to John Coltrane than Steve Vai, or Jim Hall than Joe Satriani. It's just what I like. As far as this relates to music college, you seriously have to love what your studying, not just "music" in general. If you go to jazz college but you don't like bebop, you probably won't have a very nice time. If you go to classical college but only like rock tunes, you probably won't get much out of it.

sugarless: are you doing a double major or are you a marketing major taking music courses on the side? Because the double major seems like an insane amount of work.

Anyways, that's my thoughts. I think music education is definatley worth it, but it isn't for every guy who ever picked up a guitar.

No, they insult any genre of music that's not in their field of study as it is too 'simple'. I used to work with one...

Piano + Cello + Violin + Guitar > *

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elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
  do other babe}
else{
  do a dude}

I guess I missed your point. Yeah, some people are huge Nazis for no reason.

I think a lot of people try to take a hobby and make a career out of it, only to have the fun taken out of it as a result.

I should have said that I hate having to pound out stupid scales and that stuff on piano. I love listening to a good pianist. And I like to play what little I actually can.

I got a keyboard a week ago and i'm already far better than when I took lessons many years ago.

When it comes to learning in a school/college/university, i've noticed people generally enjoy it most when they're studying something related to their passions but they aren't studying their passions themselves.

If you want to be a singer, don't just study singing. If you want to play guitar, don't just study guitar. Just choose something close enough to be useful.

Tracer, while i want to agree with you, it also seems the majority of newly educated players around the metal scene are just way too eager to do the licks they heard their idols playing. it's mindless criticizing but i,m just outlining the stuff i prefer hearing over other pre-hashed stuff. i guess it -is- the same for everyone in different senses, maybe the lead guitar and all strikes me more harshly because it's the frequencies i'm used to picking out.

and listen to Avenger's wisdom.

Tracer - well I would have to say that I did have advantages before I came here. I was always in the music department in High school and I took voice lessons for 3 years in HS, but it was always a very relaxed thing.

My problem at the moment was that aside from having been really sick lately, I'm also taking 17 credit hours (and fencing) and work study and I have several different things all demanding to be my "priorities," and so it's not uncommon for a music major...or just me maybe, wandering around muttering "I hate music"

That's a lot to be doing in a semester, especailly as a freshman.

if you love it. don't give up. that's the best advice i can give you. it's not easy to be a musician. but don't give up.

I still can't believe you're taking so many credits. You're insane. You know, in case you weren't sure...

I think you're going a little overboard with all the stuff you're doing. The most I've ever taken was 19 hours in CECS, but that was with nothing else like work clogging my semester. I still wouldn't recommend it.

Once I realized this semester that I don't have to graduate in 4 or 4.5 years, I've been much more relaxed. I'm taking 5 years for two degrees, plus staying for graduate school for another 1.5. I'm going to take it pretty easy (no more than 16 hours, which includes research), and I'd recommend doing the same. Especially if you're doing two different degree programs, like marketing and music, it's a lot less stressfull if you decide that you don't care whether you spend 4 years or 6 in school.

true, but financially, it would be better if it only takes me 4 years, and work is only 7-10 or so hours a week, it's not like it's anything major. Besides, I go to a school where most people have pretty big workloads.

I'm also a music (performance!) major, being a trombone player. At my university, if you want to get out of the music department in 4 years, you have to take no less than 20 credit hours a semester. It just really doesn't work otherwise.