<p>A B.A. degree usually takes up about 1/4 to 1/3 of a student’s total academic load, while a B.Mus. (a professional degree for those aiming at a career in Music) takes about 2/3 to 3/4. It appears to me that B.Mus. degrees in musical performance consist of a core of 10-12 Music courses (just like the B.A.) to which is added 30-40 additional hours of (primarily) instrument lessons. If a serious musician also has a broad range of other interets, would it be the same thing to earn a B.A. in Music at a college at which there is an instructor willing to provide the applied performance lessons (non-credit) and ensemble activities on the side? If so, one could get a much bigger academic bang for their buck while preparing to go on to a Masters-level Music program and performing career. What would be lost going this route instead of the traditional B.Mus.?</p>
<p>Gadad: I’m not sure I can answer your specific question, but I can say that after almost two years of consideration, my daughter (a junior in HS) has decided to go the BA (vocal music) route. She was originally all about a BMus, but as she continued her high school classes, she realized that she has other interests she wants to explore. Or as she put it, “I’m more than a set of vocal cords.” She now hopes to do a double major as opposed to a double degree.</p>
<p>The key, IMHO, is finding the right BA program. Many that we’ve looked at seem more like music history/music appreciation programs, and my daughter is definitely looking for a program that is more like BMus-Lite. She wants the theory, the aural training, the sight-singing, and the performance emphasis. The key difference we’ve found between a BA with a performance emphasis and a BMus is in the number of required electives and the required number of lesson hours. </p>
<p>I don’t think she actually loses anything by going this route, but that is in large part because she is a female vocalist…her voice will be developing and maturing for quite a few years yet. If she were going the instrumental route, which was a possibility for her until some health issues came into play, I think she might have lost some of her “edge” by not being as completely focussed on her instrument. However, I also think that has much to do with the individual and their level of commitment; my daughter is far more disciplined with her singing than she is with her French horn. But another student might be able to maintain their practice time without the intense structure of the BMus program.</p>
<p>You might want to take the time to wander over to the musical theatre thread (now a sub-forum under “Majors”) and do a search for Doctorjohn’s BA vs BFA quiz. Although he designed it with MT in mind, my daughter took it, and it really clarified her thinking on whether to go BA or BMus. </p>
<p>Also keep in mind that there are a (very) few double degree programs available. Lawrence University has a great one; Eastman/U of R offer the option although the two campuses are separated; and Bard’s new conservatory requires a double degree. There are some other schools where a double degree is possible (Oberlin comes to mind), but from what I’ve been able to learn, possible and practical are not always the same thing.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Gadad, here’s the link for the BA/BFA quiz: <a href=“Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos”>Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos;
<p>I don’t think there would be a huge problem with this, depending on what teacher you end up with. If you do any research at all you will soon discover that the common wisdom for music people is that is not so much where you go to school but who you study with. And unless you are incredibly gifted, you usually cannot get in with the best teachers if you are not a performance major. It also depends on the students goals and what they hope to accomplish. That being said, there are number of professional musicians that I know of that did not major in music, even at the BA level. But the folks I know were already exceptionally accomplished before they started college and were able to continue to study with top teachers during their undergraduate years. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the pursuit of music as a career is extremely time consuming. My son, who is in a B. Mus program practices 3-4 hours each day, has 2 hour orchestra rehearsals 3 days a week, and rehearses with his chamber groups several times each week. On average he plays his instrument 6-7 hours a day. This is necessary for most people who aspire to be good enough to get into a good grad program. It is people like my son that students who pursue a BA will be competing with for grad school. That is not to say that the program you describe would not be successful for a dedicated student. But that student needs to realize that in an program that offers both B.M and B.A programs, the B.M candidates will almost always be given preference for teacher and performing opporunities.</p>
<p>From what I can see in artists whose degrees are displayed, or easier to find, faculty members of various colleges , it does not seem to make that much difference. Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to make that much difference where they went to school either. Just check on the websites for faculty info as to who is teaching at good arts school, specifically in your daughter’s instrument. </p>
<p>From my experience with kids in college, by the time they get to that 3rd year with all of their changes of mind and changes of direction, you are not going to care what the heck the degree says. You want them out. Out so you don’t have to pay another year of that infernal tuition, out so they come to some competion in the matter. Especially if they are at an expensive private college. If they want to take some more courses in education for teaching purposes or to broaden the background, they can take it at a state school after they get that degree. </p>
<p>My understanding is that a BFA is a terminal degree, and so if a MFA is in the plans, a BA or BM fits better. But in the long run, I don’t think it makes that much difference. The audition is really key for performance and trumps all.</p>
<p>Thanks for the excellent feedback; I should have noted that my D is a classical soprano - in fact, except for the French Horn thing, I’d guess that Mezzomom and I are sharing the same daughter. Shennie, your point about pecking order in getting top teachers and performing opportunities is well taken. I’d think though that the distinction between the BA and BM would be mitigated in the case of vocalists, whose instrument does not mature until their mid-twenties and could not withstand 6-7 hours of work a day? If my D chooses a BA program it would be at a school that doesn’t offer the BM - the concern isn’t about committing to a BM but to being limited in college choices to those schools that offer BMs.</p>
<p>gadad - I do think it is different for vocalists and instrumentalists. In many voice programs you can’t do much performancewise until grad school anyway. As long as she had a good teacher and was able to get the kind of training she wants, I think a BA program would probably be fine.</p>
<p>Gadad,</p>
<p>I’m going to use my own college experience as an example of how BM and BA compare. I attended a large state university. I began as a BM piano performance major with a minor in violin. I took piano lessons for 3 hours credit per semester and violin for 2 hours credit. By the time I finished my sophomore year, I had decided that I really wanted to pursue music theory in graduate school rather than performance. I switched to the BA program at the beginning of my junior year. There were very few BA students in the School of Music. Most music majors were either BM performance majors or BMusEd majors. The only thing that changed when I switched to the BA program was that I dropped from 3 hours of piano lessons to 2 hours per semester. That meant I had less practicing to do. I remained with the same private teacher. At my particular university, students were not assigned to teachers on the basis of who was a BM, BA, or BME. I took a large number of graduate level music courses while I was an undergraduate and a fair number of graduate level courses outside of my major. I graduated Phi Beta Kappa. The BA program was not considered to be a lesser degree than the BM at my school. In fact, the BA was sometimes suggested to students who planned to go to graduate school to study either musicology or music theory and composition. I took as many or more academic music courses than the performance majors. After switching to the BA, I continued to play 1st violin in the school’s major symphony and I continued accompanying. </p>
<p>I would think that it would be very possible for your D to take 4 years of private voice lessons for credit and to participate in ensembles at many, many universities. All music degree programs require a certain number of credit hours in private lessons. I’d venture to say that most of them require 4 years of lessons. The issue of not being able to study with the best private voice teacher would be a concern primarily at a major conservatory. However, I would think that if your D wants to go the BA route and study many courses outside of music, the university route would be a far better option anyway. You should know that at many universities, BA students must audition, just like BM and BME students, in order to be accepted into the music program.</p>
<p>You are correct that your D cannot sing for 6 or 7 hours a day. Vocalists cannot practice the same number of hours as instrumentalists. You are also correct that singers’ instruments do not fully mature until the late 20’s or the early 30’s. That being the case, if your D goes to a school that has a graduate music program, the plum roles in operas and oratorios will go to the grad students. In an undergraduate only program, the solos in choral works and major roles in operas will go to the strongest singers. There are many programs that will not discriminate on the basis of what degree a student is pursuing. The parts will go to the best singers. Again, using my own university as an example, some of the most talented musicians were working on BME degrees. They, like the BA students, took private lessons for 2 hours per semester. These students elected not to work on a BM because they could see that there were far more jobs available teaching K-12 than performance positions or college teaching positions. </p>
<p>IMHO, your D needs to find a BA program that will allow her to take 4 years of private lessons. Just as for any music student, her relationship with the private teacher should be a primary consideration. She needs to find a teacher with whom she has a rapport. You may want to visit programs you are considering and try to set up sample lessons.</p>
<p>Great input everyone - and on a topic that seems to appear in print nowhere else! Many thanks.</p>