Music degree?!


Question: I love singing.I've been taking lessons for a year now.I've been seriously considering getting a music degree in voice in about 2 years. What exactly do you do or what are you expected to do? Do you preform or...? Also do need to how to play piano?


Answers: I love singing.I've been taking lessons for a year now.I've been seriously considering getting a music degree in voice in about 2 years. What exactly do you do or what are you expected to do? Do you preform or...? Also do need to how to play piano?

This is a bit lengthy but worth the read....

As I say all the time, be careful of some of these posts. Some of them are helpful, some of them not. I don't care what conservatory or college you come from, if your performance level is not up to par, you will not make it. And the same vice versa. If you go to a decent music school WHETHER STATE OR NOT, and you had an incredible teacher, you will get just as many jobs if not more. There are plenty of famous opera and broadway singers who didn't use their degrees as a crutch to have a career. Yes, it helps, but if you don't have the performance to show for it, it doesn't matter. WHAT DOES MATTER is who you STUDY with and what you want out of the school. I graduated from a highly competitive state school who was in the top 10 percent of the nation for schools of music, ranking over a few conservatories. Just do your research. All schools are not created equal I must say, but there are plenty of excellent ones. See what school fits your personality, and don't fall into that "if I go to this school I will get jobs." In the real world that ISN'T TRUE. Trust me, I know. Your performance level, work ethic, and resume weighs more than what college you went to. I bet if you poll most of these students, many of them aren't working in their field. REGARDLESS of what the school is, its hard out there. And you are going to have to be a hard worker to make it. And to be honest, some of them didn't graduate and are famous....but most music educators don't want to tell you that. LOL! But in my opinion, you should get your degree in order to eat while you climb your way up in the industry.

Ok, now that I am done with that (LOL) I do agree with you doing some music theory research and I would suggest take some piano lessons before auditioning. I HOWEVER DO NOT agree that most voice students sucked at theory. Plenty of instrumentalists sucked at theory and ear training. Theory isn't about whether you can read notes, it is about mathematics. That usually makes or breaks any music student. So I would suggest reading up on that. AND YES, if you are at a good music school, you will be required to take piano lessons as a voice student UNLESS you come in with piano skills. Then you can place out of some of it. I placed out of all that beginning piano classes and it helped me graduate on time....which leads to the next comment.

Be prepared to take a bunch of classes while your other non music major friends skip around with just 2 or 3 classes a day. Most music major students have about 5 or 6 classes A DAY. This included choir, classes where you will be bored watching other students perform (LOL), corny classes that you are going to say "WHY ARE THEY MAKING ME TAKE THIS!" And if you want to be a Music Education major, it is gonna be MORE CLASSES a good music school! I opted to be a performance major, and took some music Ed courses AFTER I graduated. I wanted to graduate before I turned 55. LOL!

You will be required to do jury (where you perform arias and art songs in front of the voice faculty), you will have to take Italian, German, French, and English Diction ALONG with studying the language themselves as a performance major. Be prepared for music history classes. You will be required to take some opera workshop class along with performing in one.

And my parting words to you is the following. DON'T GIVE UP! I will say I went to a rigorous music school, and I watched many drop like flies who went from piano, flute, cello, voice, all type of talented students drop out because it is INDEED one of the hardest majors out there. And many don't see the pay off. BUT if you are willing to work hard, refuse to hear the word no and keep at it, keep pushing even when you think the classes are too much, you WILL graduate. Don't let any professor deter you (there are always some disgruntle music professor who is mad they didn't make it in the real world so they take it out on the students LOL) from your goals. So get prepared now. Take piano lessons, keep at the voice lessons definitely. Ask your teacher to show you some theory things so you can be ahead.

I know that is alot, but I want to see promising singers make it. I've seen many go into school with their eyes wide, but leave with all hopes gone. Don't be like them and keep pushing for your prize. And after you graduate, continue to push. Try hard to not fall into the trap of working at a store instead of working in your field. This is something even students in the finest schools have troubles with. Stand out from the rest, be better than the rest, and your work will speak for itself.

depending on what college you go for will let you know what the requirements are. Most singers play some type of instrument but they have been playing it for years and know how to play it and sing and do other things all at once. and Your expected to do the work thatz about it.

You probably need to audition first. I don't know a lot about vocal major, but I'm a piano major in a conservatory (doing a B.Mus degree of 4 years), and I've to take theory classes, ear-training, accompaniment, chamber music class, and of course my major study lessons and studio classes (where all my teacher's students get together in a sort of masterclass setting and a few of us play on stage and get taught while the others watch). Come year 2, I'll have to do music history as well. And in my senior years I'll have keyboard skills (improvising, score-reading, etc.), conducting and pedagogy also. We're also required to perform for masterclasses of visiting professors and help out in the orchestra when needed. I would think that it's similar for a degree in voice - except maybe the accompaniment class which you probably don't have to do. I'll also think that vocal majors will have to go for diction classes, language classes, chamber and choral singing, and acting/dancing classes (if you major in opera singing instead of doing a lieder course). Opera majors are usually required to participate in the school's productions as well.

As to whether you perform frequently, I think the difference lies in whether you choose to do a performance degree or a teaching degree. If you choose performance, obviously you'll have to perform frequently. I'm a performance major, and as a general rule we have to perform on stage at least once every semester, and we've to do a senior recital (full programme) in the final year to graduate. A junior recital in our 3rd year is optional (we can choose whether to do it or do a 'jury'). There are also yearly examinations in both written and practical aspects (the written ones are self-explanatory, the practical ones where you perform your repertoire in front of the faculty are called 'juries'). If you major in teaching, I would imagine that you don't perform as much, but you get a lot more 'music education' and pedagogy classes. Either way, every student (piano major or otherwise) is required to have some sort of keyboard proficiency, so yes you'll need to learn how to play the piano. The students in my school who can't or don't play well enough have to go for keyboard classes.

I'm also thinking of getting a degree in voice after I graduate from this course. Granted that I only started lessons a few months ago - so I'm going to need that time to achieve a degree of proficiency good enough to be accepted as a vocal major.

All the best!

First of all...what kind of singing do you do?
If you are interested in classical/art song/opera, then you will probably have the most options in terms of a music degree. Almost every decent music school will have a vocal program. You should do some research on what type of school you want and how rigoroous you want the program to be. A degree from a conservatory (Juilliard, Oberlin, Eastman, CIM, Peabody, etc) will probably look the best as a musician, but you will not have the option to switch to a non-music major if you decide music is not for you. In that case, some other good schools to look at are Univ. of Michigan, Northwestern, Carnegie Mellon, etc. There are also schools that offer music education degrees. This is more if you want to teach in schools...you would do less performing in this degree. If you want a more laid back school with less performance requirements, then I would look at a state school or a small liberal arts college. Keep in mind that a degree from one of these schools may mold less weight in the real world when you are applying for jobs...but it also depends on who you study with.

Now...if you are more interested in jazz or pop, you may want to consider a place like Berklee in Boston. Many schools do offer jazz...but pop will be harder to find and Berklee would be your best bet.

Assuming you want the classical performance route...you will of course need to audition. Most music schools require applications due in December and some also require a preliminary CD recording. Then, if they like your recording, they will invite you to audition sometime from Jan-beginning of March. Each school requires different repertoire for their audition so you would need to check all of the schools well in advance so you can prepare your rep. I believe it should be memorized and you may need to provide an accompanist, but the situation varies. You also want to be sure to do extensive research ahead of time into what teacher you want to study with. This often has a huge impact for music students on where they want to study. Ask your current teacher for advice on this matter and if you can set up a test lesson with a few of your top choices for professors, this is always a help. It can help you get a foot in the door and it also will give you an idea if you will like studying with them. It can also help when the teacher is making decisions on who they want in their studio.
Once you are in a music program, you will most likely need to perform 2 degree required recitals (for your bachelor of music degree) - a junior recital in your 3rd yr and a senior recital in your 4th year. You will most likely need to do what is called "juries" where you present material you have been working on in front of the vocal faculty. These are usually done either once a year or once every semester. You will also need to perform in various ensembles almost every semester. (It could be opera workshop, a vocal duo ensemble with a pianist, a choral ensemble, etc...it depends on what the schools has to offer). You will also most likely be required to perform regularly in front of your studio (this means everyone else studying with the same teacher). You will probably have to attend the studio class anywhere from once a wk to once a month...you probably wouldn't perform every time, but you would be scheduled on certain dates...it depends on the teacher). Also...many schools offer optional performing opportunities such as midday recitals that you can sign up for where you perform one piece along with others who sign up, or also non-degree required recitals.

As far as piano...you should not need any piano experience to get accepted, but most programs will require that you take piano as a secondary instrument. Your piano skills may be tested at either your audition or at your orientation. You will also most likely be tested in music theory and in sightsinging. These tests are most likely for placement purposes only and will most likely not effect your acceptance into the school.

All I can say is...PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!! In addition to singing, you should read about music history...read about theory...learn as much as you can. It will put you ahead of the game and you won't have to struggle as much when you get there. Many vocalists I have known have struggled with theory and sightsinging....it might be b/c they instrument is internal and they don't hear pitch the same way instrumentalists do. The sooner you start learning all the music basics...the easier it will be for you. I would even suggest taking theory classes. It will really put you ahead...even if you have to repeat some material when you arrive at school.



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