This is the first of what could become a series of postings aimed at the parents of musical children. In particular, it is intended for those parents who are not musically inclined themselves and may not know where or how to start the process of finding the right school, the right degree program and the right teacher for their child. I know that there are several other parents of current or intended music majors on this forum, and I hope they will share their perspectives here.
By way of background, we are a very musical family. Although I have a couple of engineering degrees, I spent more time in concert halls and practice rooms than I did in labs and libraries during my undergraduate years. My wife came at things the other way, starting with a degree in music education and then learning about computers so that she could support her music habit with a well-paying day job. Between the two of us, it is rare for a non-summer week to go by without one or both of us performing for a concert, a wedding, a corporate party, a school assembly program, a pit band for a show, or some other gig. We easily participate in 40 or more such events a year. I sing for the most part and dabble in a variety of odd instruments. My wife plays and collects anything even vaguely related to the flute. We specialize in early music and Celtic folk music, with excursions into the worlds of opera, operetta, and the music of 20th and 21st century composers.
The first thing I would like to do is to point out several excellent essays that appear on the web site of the Peabody Institute. They are available at
http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/787 and
http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/692 and are worthwhile reading even if your child is not interested in Peabody or classical music.
In future postings, I plan to describe the experiences that we had over the last several years that led to my daughter's enrollment at Oberlin as a double degree student working toward a BM in performance on double bass and a BA in mathematics. Along the way I hope to pass along a few tips, share some observations, stimulate some discussion and answer some questions. If there is a fair amount of interest in this topic (as shown by your responses,) I will try to add about one new article a week and answer any questions that may come up in between.