First I need to give you a little back history on myself. I am a kinesthetic learner with Attention Deficit Disorder. I grew up feeling stupid. It wasn’t until my mid 20’s that I discovered I wasn’t as dumb as I had felt growing up. I always found my place in music. Skillsets came easier for me than they did for most other students in band. It felt like the advantages other students had on me in history class were the same advantages I had on them in music classes. As an adult now I realize this is because I learn differently and not incorrectly. I will cover this in more detail in a future blog post. Moral of the story, I was never a strong academic student.
I recently did an AMA on Reddit. For those of you that aren’t savvy to Reddit terminology that means “Ask Me Anything.” This is where people in unique careers offer themselves up for Q and A’s. There was one question that struck a nerve with me.
“What would be your advice to new music education majors/ what is something you wish you had been told before starting your music education degree?”
Here was my response.
“Alright... I’m going to shoot this one to you straight. A good chunk of music school is NOTHING like the job. It starts to feel like half of the college degree is a waste of your time and money. It’s just the way it is, and this isn’t exclusive to music. There are barriers of entry in every career and major. In med school that’s organic chemistry. In law school it’s the bar. Hoops that you must jump through start to make you second guess your choice in career path. DO NOT LET THEM.
Stay passionate by going to watch other master teachers teach. Give private lessons at the nearby music store. Find the teachers that make you passionate about music. For me that was my director of bands Barry Houser, my music education professor Danelle Larson, my percussion teacher Jamie Ryan, and my electronic music teacher Mark Rubel. Lean on these teachers and make them your mentors. Steal as much information from them as you can. Find out who they learned from and start learning from their teachers. These people will become your tribe and will help you secure your first job.
More than this though... when you get your first job these people will help bail you out when you don’t know what the heck you’re doing (you won’t, trust me, no one does). Invest your time and energy into these people and NOT into your gen eds. If you’re not careful your one off science class will take away from the time you should be spending practicing and learning from your mentors.
Don’t misread my message though... You need to get good grades in your general education classes. Those classes mean scholarship money down the road if you decide to go on to grad school. Just think of your energy as being finite. Find creative ways to give less of that energy to the classes that aren’t going to help you reach your goals. Some classes will surprise you. That creative writing class or sociology class you think is going to be stupid might end up being a big help.
Heads up... Your 2 most important classes are your instrument methods courses, and instrument repair... <<<——- if you take anything from this post take this. Next it’s your ensembles and private lessons (how do your teachers schedule and handle logistics? Part assignments? Concert programs? Schedules?) If you’re not a marching person spend 4 years in the marching band. If you’re not a jazz person spend 4 years in a jazz band. Next in importance is aural training/theory/score study... think of these classes as a module that work together. Don’t blow off piano class. Take guitar if it’s available (it might just be what gets you your first gig).
Last... It’s the best career in the world. Lots of people think about changing their major at some point in the process. It’s usually when you make friends with a communication major that doesn’t have class on Mondays and Wednesdays and never signs up for a class before noon. You’ve got class every morning at 8 am every semester all degree long. That’s your barrier of entry. Keep going.”
I do have one addition to my response on Reddit and that’s what comes next after you graduate. Once you finish your degree and get your first gig it’s time to start taking private lessons on an instrument that you’re not comfortable with. This will help you remember what it’s like to be a beginner on an instrument and will keep you grounded when you go to teach beginners who are in the same boat!