Should I pursue a Music Education major as a HOH student

College Majors Music Majors
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I am a hard-of-hearing high school student and have hearing loss (that is what being hard of hearing is), and I wear hearing aids to help me hear better.

I have been involved with the music program at my high school since 9th grade; freshman year I joined the Steel Pans group, for those who don’t know what steel pans are, it’s a metal instrument originating from places like Jamaica, Cuba, etc. Anywho, I’ve been involved with it ever since, I also had a music cycle class for a couple of months before going on to a different cycle class. After 9th grade, I joined band, and I have been in band for two years now. I also do some chorus on the side.

I play the trumpet, and the drum kit, along with Steel Pans. I would say that I am good at the trumpet given the fact that I only started in 10th grade, compared to most other kids who either play the trumpet/ other instruments that started in middle school (or even elementary).

I know how to read music, and I can recognize the notes pretty well (some intervals are wonky for me). I wasn’t taught music theory but I can ask my BD about it.

I really want to teach music, and I have a passion for it! Once I started I never looked back, it has become something more than just playing music for me.
My parents (specifically my dad) isn’t fond of the idea of me pursuing any music majors, even education. But I believe, and know that I can do it, and I am aware of the challenges and the hardships I will face.

I want people’s opinion, and I want to know from experience music teachers/ BD what is it like with the auditions, college, etc. I have talked with my music teacher and he says that he thinks I can do it, but he also tells me that it will be hard, but not impossible. I would also like to know any good suggestions for colleges, and what should I do NOW if I am considering to pursue a music education major.

Thank you, and please take this in consideration, I would love to do this!

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A requirement in every music ed degree is theory and aural skills. I think it would help you to try a theory 1 and aural skills class of some kind and see how it goes for you. Are your challenges with hearing at a level that would prevent you from being able to teach others to understand the relationships between sounds? I’d suggest challenging yourself in this area and seeing how it goes. There’s many aspects of music that I’m sure you can engage with at a high level without full hearing. Rhythm, technical instrumental skills, composing, history, etc. Music educators do need to be able to teach all aspects of music to their students and you may need to push yourself a little further before you know whether your ability to discern pitch, etc will be too much of a challenge or not.

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Thank you.
Are you talking about a high school class? My school doesn’t (as far as I know) have a music theory or an aural skills class. I could ask my BD about teaching it to me instead if that works. My hearing level would be able to teach others to understand the relationship between sounds, my BD has taught us some intervals in the past, I could ask him to teach more about it or to do a review on it.
Are there any good websites or lessons on those topics so that I can figure out if my ability to discern pitch, etc would be a big challenge or not?

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You may be able to find a class at a local community college or an online offering. There are various ear training and music theory apps- I’ve used Musicate.

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If you are hard of hearing, are you aided? It’s possible that your hearing is OK for this purpose. Any chance you could ask your audiologist about this?

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Okay, thank you! I appricate your advice!

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Yes, I am. I wear hearing aids, and it does help me a ton! I will try to talk to my audiologist about it, thanks!

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I’m including some first person accounts (I’m a speech language pathologist not a music major/teacher), as those may be helpful.

This article below is a first person account by a musician and music educator with hearing loss who graduated from FSU and has been teaching for many years.

Same for this article (and looks like a video interview too?), another first person account by a middle school music teacher with hearing loss:

I’ve included this research article (different field - STEM - but may have similar themes across disciplines as to how college level teachers can work to meet the needs of students with hearing loss):

I second @thumper1 that your audiologist is a valuable resource for you as you plan from high school to college.

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Thank you! That’s awesome, my BD also showed me some articles about deaf music teachers from other places. This helps me feel more confident in deciding what I want to do and that there are actual deaf music teachers out there!

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