[rockin_amigo14]

As a high school student, it's not too soon to start to think about college. Or maybe it is and I'm just weird. Regardless, I'm making a thread.

Music is the one thing I've had a perennial interest in through my life. I play the sax in my band at school and am an all-state band member.

I know that being a professional musician is not exactly lucrative unless you are both forunate and EXTREMELY talented, of which I am neither.

So I ask, is there many positions in music worth pursuing? I've done looking around, but most sites ask a fee before they will help at all.

So any suggestions on possible careers in music you might be able to think of would be very much appreciated, along with any other advice you might think helpful.

 

[Uncle Erik]

The only way you'll support yourself (reliably) with music is by teaching it. I was very much into bass clarinet when I was around your age, and even got encouragement to go further. I took a look around and decided that it wasn't such a good idea. I still have the bass clarinet and still enjoy playing it. Sooner or later, I'll get into a community orchestra and get back into it. I'd like that.

To get to the point, though, I had a lot of music major friends in college who were vastly more talented than me. However, their careers usually ended up with teaching. Several played at theme parks, because they do hire musicians full time. One plays professionally in a rock band. One other joined the Marines and played in a military band. (Tough, by the way, but a great gig if you can get it.) And all the rest got teaching credentials and teach. The teachers are mostly happy with it. They get to play and teach music, and they're not bad off by any means. They can feed, house and clothe themselves and I envy the time they get off.

I suppose you could go that route, too, if you wanted. You'd get to work with music all the time and could support yourself. But I don't regret not pursuing it. I'm glad I went off to grad school and did what I did. Music is still tremendously important to me, and I'm happy with my career. You can still be very connected with music, yet not have a job related to it. Think about some of your other interests, too, since your career might be down one of those paths.

And you should absolutely go to college. No question about it.

 

[Asr]

...or you could think about composition, if you're good at that. Composing is invariably more lucrative than performing. You can get a job literally anywhere, and if you develop it enough you could break into TV, film, or games, which would probably be a lot of fun.

 

[antiant]

* musicology
* ethnomusicology

 

[ooheadsoo]

Don't do either of those unless you want to get a masters or phd and either write, research, or teach. Take it from a musicology major.

Oh yeah, and be prepared to be bored out of your skull unless you go to a school that teaches new musicology.

 

[Head Creep]

I have an ear for music (at least I like to think I do) and absolutely no talent instrument/singing-wise. So, I'm going to take my shot at becoming a recording engineer (maybe even a producer on down the line). It seems like the perfect match, an audiophile recording and mixing music.

 

[nabwong]

1. Teach - Private studio, Band, College
2. Arts Admin - Orchestras, Schools
3. Librarian - Orchestras, Schools
4. Performer - Orchestras, Bands, Soloists, Freelancing like broadway musicals
5. Repair Tech

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Head Creep I have an ear for music (at least I like to think I do) and absolutely no talent instrument/singing-wise. So, I'm going to take my shot at becoming a recording engineer (maybe even a producer on down the line). It seems like the perfect match, an audiophile recording and mixing music.

bingo! and to the OP, get heavily involved in your college radio. start out as a DJ, then get to be the station manager. learn a little about the biz, taking in promos, deciding what to play, juggling the DJ timeslots, etc etc - you might like the management side, or producing, or recording (tons of soundbites needed for public announcements and such, you'll be on that soundboard a lot) and you can still tell your folks it's just your hobby if they're freaking out. in the meantime, get out there and get exposed to the local music scene and scour away at the huge library your radio station probably has to educate yourself on cues from the past. if nothing else, it's a very rewarding way to pass four years!

 

[NightWoundsTime]

Just stay away from a college that supposedly teaches you to be an engineer/producer. Aman may be able to comment more on his school in NY which may be different from my experience. (I think he's in for the same basic purpose)

I went to University of Miami's well known Music Engineering school. Got a full ride scholarship based on piano performance and SAT scores. The major was basically Audio Engineering combined with a heavy minor in music. For scholarship purposes I had to participate in "ensembles" which for a piano student meant accompanying instrumentalists from the Music programs.

The course load per semester was 18 at a bare minimum, up to 22 or more depending on electives. The program was sold to me as THE best way to become a working engineer and possibly producer. The idea behind the program was that someone with both a technical background and music experience would be much appreciated in the recording environment.

So I was baited, then came the switch. Part of my course schedule was a hellacious 8 AM Friday forum that was worth ZERO credits. It still got "graded" by attendance and showed your dedication to the department. Each week in this large classroom environment they invited an industry expert to speak. More often than not they were graduates of the MUE program. Invariably each week they came in and gave us their stories of doing 6 months or so in a recording studio. They hated it, worked insane hours, dealt with horrible people, and still didn't make any money. Also invariably each one was there really representing a pro or consumer audio company. Sony, AKG, Pioneer, Tascam, and many more. The overwhelming opinion in this forum was "don't be a recording engineer, be an audio engineer".

So WHY THE HELL am I doing up to 22 credits by the time I work in music theory, lessons, and ensembles? If I'd been smart I would have dropped that major like the dead weight it was and joined my roommate in the major simply known as "Audio Engineering", which yielded the same career choices as the MUE's seemed to go to. Without the necessary instrument practice times he was way more free than I was.

The problem was I still REALLY wanted to be a recording engineer and prove all those people wrong who were really just whining about how hard and thankless a job it was. I saw myself working into a niche market much like a Steve Hoffman and really enjoying it. I quickly burned out though, got extremely depressed and had to drop out. My college experience never really recovered after that. I'll take blame for a most of it, I just wasn't motivated anymore.

Soo, umm, yeah. Now that I've scared you (or not, maybe you think I'm just a lazy idiot, and you're partly right), I hope you can find something involving music that will make you really happy. For me I'm glad to keep it as my #1 hobby, so I'll never again be disillusioned by the behind the scenes BS that goes on.

 

[micaela]

Here's one noone has mentioned.....music therapy. Basically it is using music as a tool to help people in various settings. Many therapists work in schools/facilities with special education. Some work in the psychiatric setting - similar to art therapists. Another area is with geriatrics (older people). Sometimes music is used in combination with physical therapy -- for example, if someone has injured a hand they might use a musical instrument to exercise rather than traditional exercises - can be much more enjoyable for the patient - especially those with multiple injuries where recovering can be painful - music can provide relief on many levels. The area that I worked in the most was with stroke patients. They had lost the ability to speak due to damage to portions of the brain. However, because music functions are in separate parts of the brain, many of these people could still sing even though they could not speak. So we would use music to help people communicate & sometimes regain speech abilities. It is fascinating work. Maybe you're familiar with some of the famous singers who stutter when speaking but can sing completing free of the stuttering -- Mel Tillis was one of those more famous performers.

The University I attended only offered music therapy as part of a double major - in music education and music therapy. I think they were trying to protect us in case we weren't able to find jobs in the therapy field - it was pretty new at the time. I ended up teaching rather than working in therapy. At the time I wanted to continue what I had done in my internship program with stroke patients and there was no insurance support in this area. Now the professional organization for music therapists regulates the number of universities offering the degree & the number of people entering the field so that it is not flooded & graduates are more likely to find jobs. I think in recent times music therapy as well as all of the art therapies have become a little more standard fair in a lot of venues so that is a good thing.

 

[iluvcans]

several say that you should go into music "professionally" only if that's where your "main talent" lies.. b.s. perhaps. a true and sincere musician is one that is serious about his craft. there are lots that are not serious and end up in another career.. also, lots that just didn't get their break and are doing something else beacause it just didn't work out for them.

this is an individual decision for you. don't listen to any posts here-- rely only on what your heart and soul tell you to do and bust you butt to the fullest-- if you do decide music (you'll have to do a lot of this!) until you've reached your goals.. think long and hard about your future family life-- as this may be the biggest balance for you in the future.

 

[Head Creep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NightWoundsTime Soo, umm, yeah. Now that I've scared you (or not, maybe you think I'm just a lazy idiot, and you're partly right), I hope you can find something involving music that will make you really happy. For me I'm glad to keep it as my #1 hobby, so I'll never again be disillusioned by the behind the scenes BS that goes on.

That's not exactly what I was hoping to hear, seeing how I'm going to begin recording engineering school on September 25th. I guess I'll give it a shot and see how things go for me.

 

[britishbane]

Where is Aman when you need him? Doesnt he go to a music school where he is learning the recording side of the business?

 

[NightWoundsTime]

Yeah Head_creep, PM Aman up and see how he's doing. I haven't talked to him much about what he's doing, mainly because I don't want to know that some other choice of school would have better and how awesome things are up there. He probably has a good read on the recording industry and how to work into it, being that his department is named after the one and only Clive Davis *shudders*.