Choosing to become a music major, or allowing your child to become a music major, does not need to be nearly as hard as you may think.

Don’t believe what the world says about not being able to make a living in music.

Here’s the real truth; not only is it very possible to make a living in music, but you also have the option to choose to do something else with your life after being a music major too.

Plenty of music majors go onto successful careers in the arts, and plenty of others use the skills they learn in college for other careers they fall in love with.

I have a message for parents and for students…

Parents, if you know your child has a burning desire for music, and it is what they love to do all day, listen to the following…

If you tell them that they are not allowed to major in music, you are essentially saying to them, “I know you love it, and are fairly good at it, but you just aren’t good enough to make a living at it.”

Can you imagine how it would feel to hear this as a child?

For students, if you feel you want to do music more than anything else, however you are still allowing fear to tell you that your future should be in something “more stable,” you risk looking back on your life and saying “What if I went for it? What if I did what I wanted to do?”

Here’s another way to think about it…

How many people do you think are not doing something they absolutely love in this world?

The answer is clearly too many.

Is life really worth living if you are not pursuing the only thing that even matters to you?

Look, I’m not saying majoring in music, and having a successful career, is easy.

But, here’s the truth…

If it were easy, it would never have felt worth it in the first place.

Being a music major does not make you unemployable; in fact, it provides you with lots of skills foundational to success in any field.

Here are 10 amazing reasons you should major in music.


10. Music Majors Feel the Power of Focus

One time, Bill Gates’ father asked both his son as well as Warren Buffett to write down, on separate pieces of paper in separate rooms, what the key to success is.

Funny, these two mega-successful magnates both wrote just one word at the same exact time: Focus.

Walk through any conservatory practice hall, and you can be sure that the students you witness have been practicing those same scales…at the same hours…every day…for many years…possibly a couple decades…

Why do they do this?

It sharpens technique, intonation, musicianship, the foundations of excellence.

But it’s also an effort of improving focus.

This is the kind of discipline it takes to taste true success in the real world, be it a career in music or something completely different.


9. Music Majors Understand the Power of Groups

Music is indisputably a social art.

Musicians coordinate schedules, convey their needs to other musicians, work collaboratively with multidisciplinary artists, communicate with studio engineers…

They also have to play well with each other in their own ensembles.

And this is very challenging…

For the person who has never been trained in music.

You might be surprised just how powerful musicians can be when placed into groups.

And working well in groups…

This is important whether you plan to be a musician or go out into the real world in any profession.


8. Music Majors Develop an “Inner Tough”

Even though I was a music major, I am still amazed by students who:

Wake up at 7am everyday…

Practice 4 hours in a row…

Ace all their classes…

Thrive in school orchestra/band/choir…

Study for their music exams…

Win music competitions…

Travel for performances…

AND, still have healthy social lives…

Honestly, the non-music majors seem like major slackers in comparison to these studs!

All they have to do is study and pass their exams!

Being a music major means developing a certain sense of inner toughness, a skill that, along with focus and teamwork, are essential to success.


7. Music Majors Know What It Means to Feel Passion

Find me a music major who is boring.

Seriously!

Nearly every music major I have ever met has been a unique, interesting person.

This is the unique power of passion.

Waking up everyday, knowing what you want to do more than anything else, immersing yourself in your own mission…

Look, I’m not saying every music major ends up being a happy musician no matter what…

But, this is okay too, as letting yourself become a music major in the first place gives you a better sense of being surrounded by people who are imbibed with passion for doing what they love.


6. Music Majors Become Okay with Disappointment

I have never met a musician who was not turned down by someone.

We all have applied to competitions, colleges, scholarships, positions…

That we did not end up receiving.

And this, by itself, is one of the most important life lessons to learn.

People often mistake pain for something that is only bad.

However, the truth is that musicians who channel their disappointments into something productive that betters themselves ALWAYS win in the end.

And this is also true of non-music majors as well.


5. Music Students Are Not Stuck with One Thing for the Rest of Their Lives

I am about to get slightly metaphysical here, and perhaps controversial…

Money is not the purpose of life.

Money is simply a fuel – we need it to survive and to make some goals happen.

There are few careers offering more flexibility for a future career path than music.

For one, musicians who go to college can gain many skills beyond performing and working well in groups.

Students can learn about music business, music technology, playing in recording sessions, private & public education, conducting, recording…

Within the world of music itself, there are many amazing ways to make a career.

Compare this to someone who studies accounting…

You either become an accountant, or you go back to school for something else…

Music has far, far more flexibility and opportunity than most parents think!

Outside of music, students regularly go to graduate school for completely different majors.

It is not uncommon for students to go to graduate school for an MBA, a JD, or some other high level degree after music school.

It is also important to note – graduate programs don’t discriminate against students with music majors. In fact, many welcome this.


4. Musicians Have the Strongest, Most Supportive Community

It is amazing how every musician is connected to another musician through just one or two degrees of separation.

It is not uncommon to hear about how your friend met Lang Lang at Aspen backstage before your other friend turned pages for the Van Cliburn Gold Medal winner and later went to coffee with them only to then run into Maestro David Zinman who was on his way to conduct a local festival concert…

You get the idea.

This community breeds strength, and once you are fully immersed in a music degree, you will never run out of contacts and people in this industry.
Building relationships is essential to success in any field, and music hosts the strongest, most relationship-oriented community in the world.


3. Four Specific Music Majors Have Very High Employment Outcomes

Every music major allows students opportunity for making an extraordinary living, no question. I have seen music students make amazing careers in every possible music major.

However, I can think of four that stand out as having extremely good employment outcomes: Music Technology, Music Education, Collaborative Piano, and Music Therapy.

In our rapidly expanding world of technology, it comes as no surprise that music technology experts, be it in recording, mixing, mastering, programming, producing, etc. have significant employment outcomes.

Music Education, the study of teaching K-12 students music, holds a near-100% employment success rate at many schools.

No wonder it is the most popular music major in the country!

Music Therapy is the study of using music as a modality for healing. They are now frequently employed in thousands of health and recovery institutions worldwide.

And finally, Collaborative Piano, which is the art of accompanying other musicians (voice, chamber music, etc.) has an amazing outlook in either employment or a constant stream of freelance work.

If I were to add a fifth one, Music Business can also hold an amazing employment outcome for many students.


2. Mentorship

I cannot think of any other field in which a student spends four years developing powerful 1-on-1 connections and mentorship at the undergraduate level with some of the most powerful people in their field.

In my own practice, I have had students end up studying 1-on-1 with opera superstar Deborah Voigt at San Francisco Conservatory, classical composition with Pulitzer winner John Corigliano at Juilliard, Jazz saxophone with legendary musician Bob Mintzer at USC…

Can you imagine letting your kid study with a mentor of this level of success for four years?

Their work ethic, passion, and “success formula” is passed down to their students, who could be end up being your kid.


1. Letting Them Follow Their Dreams

How do you think your child’s life would be if you, as their parent, told them you felt they couldn’t make a living doing what they love?

At a certain point, letting them go into the unknown is an inevitable…

Would you rather them be guaranteed a “safe” job with a good income they have never been passionate about.

Or would you rather let them follow their dreams in music, allowing opportunities to come their way

The opportunities for becoming not just a world-class musician, but also a whole, well-rounded, loving person, are far greater when you follow what you love.

Letting your kid major in music is not just the right thing to do if it is their dream…

It is a vote of confidence that you, as the parent, have passed down to your kid.

And when you instill that level of confidence at such a young age…

You have already helped your child far more than any college degree in any field ever could.

***

FOOTNOTE:

This article was inspired by an article in Forbes published in 2017 with a similar title.

I decided that I liked the article so much, I would write a similar article with my own personal experience having personally guided almost 200 students find and get accepted into the music schools best for them in my 1-on-1 program.

Similar Posts