What I love -should I pursue it?

Parents Forum
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<p>Your basic assumptions are quite flawed
Life is not about fitting a bad stereotype
(I will either be a starving concert musician or a eccentric math professor, complete with Einstein hair.) </p>

<p>The world is increasing about crossing over, blending two or more areas of expertise
(e.g. music + Comp sci = making music for video games)</p>

<p>I have a sister who is a very serious musician
she travels, preforms, sells her music, has a family and owns and operates a retail store as well.
My older brother is a accomplished, serious musician and a highly
compensated computer programer. His music has helped his work and vice versa. Think different, not stereotypes, for example, have you seen the Google Guitar Doodle?
[Download</a> the Google Guitar Doodle | Music to Play on the Google Guitar ? Webscopia](<a href=“http://webscopia.com/2011/06/download-the-google-guitar-doodle/]Download”>http://webscopia.com/2011/06/download-the-google-guitar-doodle/)</p>

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<p>I agree with gojack, good post!</p>

<p>You can major in music at a college (not a performance major, usually) and play in ensembles/orchestra, if you love music. That would include theory, history, composition, ethnomusicology and so on.</p>

<p>If you did a performance major, you would also do a lot of the same classes, meaning music history, theory and solfege, score analysis, that kind of thing.</p>

<p>Or, you can major in something else entirely and continue with the bass on the side (or minor in music).</p>

<p>Or, you can do a double major in music and something else.</p>

<p>Whether you major in academic music, major in performance, double major, or major in something else entirely, you can still study with someone, practice, and perform.</p>

<p>The most basic question is whether you want to go to a music school/conservatory (BM) or a college/university (BA). You would audition for the former, but probably not for the latter (at least for admissions purposes).</p>

<p>At the undergrad level, you can just pursue what you love. A BA in anything will gain you entry into all kinds of internships and jobs. You have a lot of areas of interest. You can go to college without knowing what you want to do, and explore a bit. But keep practicing and playing too!</p>

<p>(It might interest you to know that I have read that as a group, music majors have the highest rate of acceptance into medical school, actually.)</p>

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<p>Most jobs do not require specific training in college. Therefore, you can major in music and try to be a musician. If it doesn’t look like it is working out, you should be able to choose a different career without too much trouble.</p>

24

<p>gojack, I am not going by stereotypes at all. I am going by what I see. I personally want a very traditional orchestral career as a musician, I don’t want eccentricities -but that is just what I want. Am I being the one making the restrictions? Yes. But I choose to and acknowledge what I am doing.</p>

25

<p>“I don’t know whether my living should fund my playing or my playing fund my living.”</p>

<p>amazing how responses to your thread differ from the usual “follow your dream” dogma. and you’re even giving off a vibe that your parents are affluent and maybe aren’t cautioning you against the la-ti-da approach. could this reserve on the part of certain respondents have to do with recent bad press about expensive college educations that don’t result in a job, much less ability to pay off 50 grand in loans? </p>

<p>so what’s the difference between your wanting to major in music, and the many many kids who have previously started similar threads about their passion to major in philosophy, history, anthropology, etc - and been encouraged right here in the parents forum to go for it!!! yeah, do the passion thing while you’re still young like i (wish i?) did.</p>

<p>so here’s my view - no matter what the medium the really talented somehow make their way. others make very appreciative members of the audience. ask yourself which you are, and that could be the best answer you’ll get to the very critical question above.</p>

26

<p>One option to consider might be pursuing another major that would let you work with orchestras or within the music industry, but without necessarily being a concert musician. For example, let’s say you wanted to pursue law, maybe you could also try to get an internship or two with the business office of a symphony or orchestral group. Then later on, you could try to get a job working on the business end of the symphony. A lot of symphonies and other organizations need lawyers, accountants, marketing experts (especially ones that are good at social media and can help them reach younger audiences), etc. in order to keep the symphony running. Jobs like that can come with some good perks, like free performances, and you still get to remain connected to what you love, and in fact, you get to help preserve what you love for future generations and help people access it in new ways. </p>

<p>I had a friend who is passionate about the work that historical museums do. But she was concerned about the bleak job prospects, especially for people without Phd’s, in that museum field. But she was also very good with numbers and is now strongly considering getting a graduate degree in accounting and then trying to get a job in the business office of a museum. </p>

<p>As others have said, you don’t have to be quite so black and white about it. If you love music, you can continue to study and perform in college even if you neither major nor minor it. I had a college friend who was a very talented musician, but majored in pyschology and now is going to grad school in a totally different, health related field. However, she played and took music classes all through college, performing with our college’s top ensembles. And after college she joined a local symphony and even joined a band that fuses rock music with traditional instruments. They’re going to put out an album soon, and while they’ll probably never be on the billboard charts, she’s gotten to keep playing and practicing while also pursuing other things that she loves. </p>

<p>This is not to say that you shouldn’t at least put yourself out there and try to audition if that’s what you want. But keep in mind that it doesn’t just have to be one thing or the other. There are lots of ways to do what you love and stay connected with it. And if you really love music, as it sounds like you do, you’ll keep going with it in some capacity, even if you’re not a professional musician.</p>

27

<p>Did I miss something? What do you play?</p>

28

<p>Eastcoastcrazy has given the best advice thus far…take heed to it…unless of course you are filthy rich, and can afford to do whatever you want…</p>

29

<p>A couple of things come to mind:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How do you feel about teaching? Most people I know who have made careers out of music have teaching as one of their major professional activities.</p></li>
<li><p>How do you feel about piecing together a living from multiple professional activities? Except for people who teach music, full-time, in a school, most people in musical careers seem to do a little of this, a little of that, and maybe even some non-musical things to earn enough money to support themselves. This is a comfortable situation for some people but not others.</p></li>
</ol>

30

<p>Most of the really serious musicians I know basically tell me they can’t do anything else. They just can’t. They HAVE to play 6-10 hours a day, or they are unhappy. Period. It isn’t even a question. They will endure every hardship to do so. </p>

<p>My daughter was a concert pianist. Played concerts on both coasts in her mid-teens. Scholarship to an international music festival, where she was the youngest person. But it was clear very early that this wasn’t to be her career. There were simply too many other things she wanted to do, wanted to see, wanted to experience. (And also clear that the idea of sitting in front of a room of people for 90 minutes without talking to them was an absurdity - she would have made a great Liberace, if she could figure out the shtick.)</p>

<p>Fast forward - she is working on a career in international accounting/international development - and plays jazz every chance she gets.</p>

31

<p>Marian:
1.) I do not have a problem with teaching. I actually think I would enjoy it!
2.) That is where my hangup is. I don’t want to work many, extremely varied jobs. I would much rather specialize than be a jack-of-all-trades musician. I CAN play other styles, but I really want to be a traditional, orchestral bassist. This is the problem -because it isn’t reasonable to EXPECT a job like I want. I just don’t know :(</p>

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<p>Well, it seems like the best course at this point might be to prepare the best audition you can for college, and see where it leads you. If it leads you to the top top schools, that’s great. If not, you’ll have a better idea where you stand and be a better musician for having worked hard enough to prepare the piece. Don’t worry so much about whether or not you’re good enough, just try to make yourself as good as you reasonably can. Whether that’s good enough for other people is beside the point. The effort can be it’s own reward. </p>

<p>But keep your options open. a 3.72 GPA is nothing to be ashamed of. Apply to colleges with good music programs that can also support other interests you’re likely to develop. Keep in mind that you’re still pretty young and you’re going to discover things as you go along that you can’t even imagine at this stage. You might even discover something that you like more than, or at least as much as music. </p>

<p>And as others have said over and over, if you can’t get into a conservatory program or get the auditions that you want, you can still be involved in music, either professionally or just as a personal pursuit. If you love it, you will always find ways to make it a part of your life. </p>

<p>So don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and prepare your audition and go for it. Just make sure to have a back up plan in mind. It’s good that you’re already pretty sensible about the challenges that professional musicians face. Keep that in mind as you’re making choices about schoolwork and music.</p>

33

<p>Getting a high quality professional evaluation may be easier than you think. Prepare a solo piece, make a video, and post it on youtube or similar video site. Find the colleges that would have a bass performance professor (Barry Lieberman does double bass performance here at UW), email and ask for honest feedback.</p>

<p>I’m not sure if there is a message board frequented by professional bass players, but if you can find it post the question there. For trumpet players (my son played trumpet in a local youth symphony until this year) the the best message board is trumpetherald.com. It is very active with a number of professional trumpet players offering advice and always willing to help.</p>

<p>A friend of mine went to college, majored in music performance and performed fairly regularly until about age 35, when he transitioned to a 9-5 job in the computer field, no regrets. If you are passionate about performance and are encouraged to pursue it, you should major in performance and all else would have to become secondary.</p>

34

<p>I am actually pretty active on THE bass forum on the internet haha -but I really don’t know what deserves my focus. The more I think, the more I feel that I can’t justify “putting off” school work for music for a chance at getting into a school that provides a miniscule chance of getting a major orchestral position. I know I’m oversimplifying, that I’m pigeon-holing etc. but… I dont know anymore.</p>

35

<p>I think your main problem is that you’re not being very flexible. Your approach to this seems to be very “all or nothing”. Either you become a full time orchestral bassist, or you don’t play music professionally. Either you get into the best music school, or you don’t bother training for a professional audition. Either you do well in school, or well at music. When in reality, nothing is that black and white. You can do both things, if you’re willing to be a little flexible. I think you’ve gotten a lot of good advice here about a wide array of ways that you can make music and academics work together, both in college and in your future life.</p>

36

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<p>My youngest told me wisely that when she thinks about those things that she regrets in her life, it’s usually things that she DIDN’T do, not the things that she did do.</p>

<p>If you don’t follow your bass dream to see how far you can take it, it sounds like you’ll be the kind of person who will regret it for the rest of your life.</p>

<p>So do what you need to do to make this happen. Conservatory? Indiana University School of Music? Do it.</p>

<p>And if, after giving it all you’ve got, you don’t come up a winner and get an orchestral position–well, then move on. You’ve given it your best shot. Then go on to plan B–have music be part of your life; cobble together jobs and do all those things that you don’t want to do now.</p>

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<p>Smithie, you’re right. I am not being flexible but that is because THAT is what I want. I dont want THIS job or THESE jobs, I want THAT job :wink:
And the to the black and white bit: it makes things easier to discuss in an internet forum when things are portrayed that way.</p>

38

<p>I’m not sure what year of HS you are in, but another alternative–assuming that your parents could afford it–would be to apply to some high quality summer music programs that require audition tapes. Interlaken in Michigan springs to mind as one of the most well-known. If you get it, it tells you something. If you do well once there, it tells you more.</p>

<p>I’m mostly familiar with programs in the northeast, and mostly string quartet stuff, but I’m sure there are parents in the music forum who could make suggestions for your region, or at least the southeast.</p>

<p>If you are a rising senior, I suggest you plan to apply to some audition-only music programs at universities, such as the Tisch School at NYU, as well as a couple of conservatories (Peabody, Eastman, Julliard, Oberlin, et al) and regular academic programs where you would have the opportunity to pursue music seriously. A schools like Tufts, for example, has a cooperative program with the New England Conservatory, but even if you weren’t in that program Boston is replete with excellent musicians and teachers from whom to learn. The same is true of New York and other cities that have a major orchestra.</p>

39

<p>Apply to the University of Rochester, where you can take lessons in the secondary program at Eastman which generally has excellent teachers. Take those lessons, practice two to three hours a day (this will mean that you can’t afford to “waste time” like some other students), join ensembles, etc., while you take other classes. They will let you give recitals if you want, and you will have juries. After a year or two, see how good you are and if you still want to pursue music. If you do, you can do the “Take Five” program (fifth year of college is free) and double major with a degree from Eastman and a degree from U of R. In other words, if you take this approach, you don’t even have to decide right now.
Black and white thinking: it is very normal and typical for students of your age to gradually transition from black and white thinking to shades of gray.</p>

40

<p>@OP – Well then, as I said. If you want to be a professional musician, you have options. If you want music to be a part of your life, but maybe not your total profession, you have options. If you only want to be a full time orchestral bassist who is supported solely by that work with one orchestra, then you’re missing the forest for the trees. In any business, if you focus more on the position than on the work, you’re going to run into a lot of disappointment. If you focus on the work, and how you can stay in contact with the work, you’ll find you have a lot of chances to be successful.</p>