Advice for prospective college music majors

ByBret Pimentel
Photo, Surat Lozowick

Planning on being a college music major? Good for you! But if you’re like I was as a high school senior, there are some things you haven’t thought of yet. Now that I’m on the other end of things—a college music professor, teaching music majors—I have some advice that I share with potential students (and that I’d like to send back in time to my younger self). I hope these tips help you get off to a good start on your own college music studies.

  • What you need the most right now, before starting college, is a good private teacher. If you’re not already taking lessons, it’s time to start. (Note that if you have your sights set on a top-tier school, most of the people auditioning will already have years of serious private study under their belts!) A good teacher can help you choose some possible schools, prepare audition material well, and get a sense for what advanced music study is like. Oh, and sculpt you into a fine young musician. The money you spend on lessons will pay off when scholarships are awarded.

  • Get into a good practice habit now. It’s common for music majors to have practice requirements of 3 or more hours per day. It will pay off, but some students find it hard to get used to at first. Start a program of dedicated practice now, and you’ll hit the ground running.
  • In a lot of ways, the most important factor that will shape your college music education is your studio teacher—the professor who will give you lessons on your instrument. The best way to get the education you want is to pick a great teacher, and then apply to the school that they teach at. Most will be happy to meet you while you’re still in the process of choosing a school, and maybe even have a lesson with you. Seize that opportunity!
  • Find out about the different types of music degrees. The most common are BM (bachelor of music), BME (bachelor of music education), and BA (bachelor of arts, with music emphasis). I’m including a few thoughts below about what kinds of career paths they correspond to.
  • Plan to start college with your trusty old instrument, mouthpiece, etc., and hold off on purchasing anything new until after school starts. Your new studio teacher may have specific requirements, and at least will be able to help you avoid costly mistakes. Likewise, hold off on buying etude books, sheet music, etc. until you’ve asked the studio teacher.
  • Know in advance that a college major in music isn’t like having high school band class all day. You’ll participate in ensembles, but you will also need to be ready to do face any fears you have about solo performance. You will also have to make your peace with music theory and music history, and get comfortable singing a little and playing the piano a little. Oh yeah, and keep up with your general education requirements: math, science, English, and so forth.
  • One more thing: being a music major isn’t for everybody. Even some very bright, capable, and talented students decide that a music degree isn’t the right path. And that’s okay.

I loved my experience as a college music major, all the way through three degrees. It’s challenging, but fun and rewarding.

Here’s a  nutshell view of the most common undergraduate-level music degrees:

The BME (bachelor of music education) has the clearest career path: when you finish your degree, you will have the credentials you need to apply for jobs in your university’s state (and possibly some additional states) as a band director (or orchestra or choir director) at the high school level and lower. You will study music, plus things like educational psychology and classroom management. You will probably need to do at least one solo recital, and your studies will culminate in a semester of supervised student teaching.

The BM (bachelor of music, sometimes referred to as a “performance” degree) is focused on playing your instrument, and doesn’t qualify you to teach music in the public schools. In fact, you could make the argument that it really doesn’t qualify you for anything specific, since you don’t need a college degree to be a professional musician (although if your goal is play well enough to make a living at it, college-level study can help you along that road). The most solid reason to choose a BM degree (as I did) is that you have your sights set on a career in college-level studio teaching; remember that this pretty much requires continuing on to a master’s degree (2+ years) and a doctoral degree (4+ years), and then entering a very competitive job market. As a BM student, you will likely put on several solo recitals, and participate in chamber music groups as well as large ensembles.

The BA (bachelor of arts) with an emphasis in music is a more broad-based degree, generally with less rigorous music coursework but with other requirements that might include things like philosophy and foreign language. Like the BM, the BA doesn’t have a particularly well-defined career path, but a BA degree may be appropriate if you have a career plan that would benefit from knowledge of music but doesn’t require high-level performance ability or teaching credentials.

In many ways, the most practical approach is to dive into the BME degree, as it comes the closest of any of these to guaranteeing you a job right out of college; plus, if you change your mind and are talented and hardworking, you may be able to transition into a master’s program in performance and work toward college teaching instead. But if you’re sure (as was I) that middle school or high school teaching isn’t your thing, then a BM or BA might make more sense. And there are some less-common music-related degrees that you can research, as well, like music therapy, music business, or sound recording.

Have additional advice you would give to prospective college music majors? Please share in the comments section below.

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    ByBret Pimentel

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    The teacher might have instructions for you to show up with something prepared to play, or not. Usually I personally don’t expect them to have prepared anything for their first-ever lesson, and instead we will spend that time getting oriented and assigning materials to prepare for the next week’s lesson. (Returning students usually know what will be expected, and should show up with some scales, an étude, and the repertoire piece we picked out at the end of the previous semester.)

    If you have previously taken lessons or have worked on études or repertoire pieces on your own, make a list of those.

    The day of your lesson: If you can possibly squeeze it into your schedule, find a practice room and warm up a little. Pick out a good reed if applicable.

    Gather your materials:

    • Your instrument and all accessories
    • Your list of previous repertoire, if you have any, and your copies of the most recent ones you worked on. Your teacher may find this helpful in evaluating your level and deciding which materials to have you work on next.
    • Something to take notes with. I personally don’t mind if you use a digital device for this, but some teachers might prefer that you don’t have your phone out during your lesson. Bring a notepad to the first lesson just to be sure.
    • A pencil. In fact, stock your instrument case, backpack, etc. with pencils. Keep one in your pocket or purse. You will need one for every lesson, practice session, and rehearsal. Pencil, not pen.

    Lesson time: Show up at least a few minutes early, with your instrument assembled and ready to play. (You may or may not actually play in this first lesson, but it’s good form to come prepared.) If you feel nervous, take a few deep breaths. Use the restroom. Mute your phone.

    Some teachers tend to run a little late, and they might be finishing up the previous lesson when you arrive. Unless they have instructed otherwise, I think the best thing to do is go ahead and knock right at the stroke of your lesson time so they know you are there. Give a real knock that they can hear, not a timid/quiet one they might miss. Then wait patiently if they take a few more minutes to finish up with the previous student.

    Call your teacher by their academic title (like “Dr. Pimentel” or maybe “Professor Pimentel” if you’re not sure), unless they tell you to call them something different. You might be able to figure this out by reading their biography on the university website, or by checking to see how they sign emails they send to you.

    Don’t try to write down everything they say, but taking a few notes might be appropriate. If you need another moment to write, or you’re afraid it will be rude to look down at your notepad, you could try asking, “Do you mind if I write that down?” Definitely write down what they assign you to work on for next time.

    Depending on your teacher’s personality, the teacher might dive right into lesson stuff, or may want to spend some time getting to know you.

    After the lesson: Review your notes and edit/clarify if needed while it’s still fresh in your mind. Make a practicing plan for the week to make sure you prepare your assigned materials as best you can for next time.

    If your teacher asked you to purchase some repertoire or other materials, do this right away! I usually try to help my students out with a photocopied page or two so they can get started while they wait for their own copies to arrive, but some teachers may expect you to get it on your own and be prepared by the next week. (Tip: if you’re at a large music school, the university library might have copies of some materials, which you can use until you get yours.)

    If, during the week, you realize you are unclear or have forgotten something, visit your professor during their office hours (probably posted on the LMS and/or their door) or send an email. Much better to ask for help while there’s still time to practice, than to show up unprepared at your next lesson.

    Make friends: You will hopefully be meeting some other students who play your instrument and take lessons from your same teacher. (If you arrived on campus early for marching band camp, that’s a nice advantage.) Those people remember what it was like to be brand new, and if they are nice (they probably are!) they won’t mind answering some questions about the teacher, giving you a few lesson tips, and maybe even loaning you an old étude book while you order your own. Sometimes the students know the processes and procedures (signing up for classes, getting your ID card, logging into the LMS) better than the professors do.

    Have a great semester!

  • Auxiliary instruments and college study

    ByBret Pimentel

    At the small, regional university where I teach, it is common for incoming instrumentalist music majors’ entire previous musical experience to be limited to junior high and high school band. Few have had private instruction prior to entering college. (Although this has obvious disadvantages, I’m not complaining: our program isn’t trying to position itself as a highly-selective conservatory, and our new students generally arrive eager to learn.)

    One thing that seems to surprise some prospective students is that we have different views about what I consider “auxiliary” instruments. For example, it’s common for prospects to identify themselves as bass clarinetists, or as tenor saxophonists. Some of these students have never even attempted to play a B-flat clarinet or an alto saxophone, and sometimes show little interest in doing so. They started on bass clarinet or tenor or baritone saxophone as beginners in the public school band and haven’t played anything else.

    At the university, I don’t have bass clarinet “majors” or tenor saxophone “majors,” but neither do I have majors in B-flat clarinet or in alto saxophone. I do have majors in clarinet or in saxophone—that is to say, majors in the whole clarinet family or the whole saxophone family.

    photo, Carst van der Molen
    photo, Carst van der Molen

    Since most of my students don’t have prior exposure to serious solo pieces and are taking a less-performance-heavy degree path like our major in music education, I like to focus on core repertoire. For clarinetists, that means probably 95% B-flat clarinet repertoire, perhaps with a few pieces for A clarinet done on a borrowed school instrument or played in a transposed arrangement. The idea of a “primary” member of the saxophone family is a little sketchier, even for classical study, but certainly a large majority of the central repertoire calls for the alto. For a student who has a strong affinity for an auxiliary instrument, I am happy to make sure they get to do a little extra solo repertoire or ensemble participation on that instrument, but at this point it doesn’t make sense to me take them through a four-year degree playing, say, nothing but bass clarinet.

    A large fraction of our student population is made up of first-generation college students, and many depend heavily on financial aid and part-time jobs to meet tuition and housing costs, so blithely “requiring” them to buy professional-quality instruments immediately upon matriculation generally isn’t a feasible solution. And I obviously can’t expect high school band directors to steer all their students toward “primary” instruments in the event that they decide to study music in college. Ideally, those students would all be taking lessons while in high school, and those teachers would prep them on what to expect, but that isn’t a reality in this area.

    It’s tempting to draw a hard line—nobody blinks when a professor at a top music school insists that his or her students meet specific equipment requirements—but certain of my students genuinely cannot afford to buy another instrument within the timeframe of college acceptance to college graduation. The university serves an almost exclusively regional student population, and is generally more focused on boosting enrolments than on tightening down selectivity.

    At this point I don’t have a great solution to this problem. I try to make sure that prospective students understand the situation as early as possible and encourage them to start saving. I tell them that I can work with them now or after they arrive on campus to help them find a good deal on an acceptable instrument. I try to spread the word to high school band directors so that they can start dropping hints to students who seem bound for college-level music study.

    I welcome some discussion on this. Am I old-fashioned to expect my saxophone majors to play mostly alto and my clarinet majors to play mostly B-flat, especially if they are headed for public-school band directing instead of performance? How firmly can/should I insist? Are there ways to better serve and accommodate (but also educate and challenge) college music majors who see themselves as “bass clarinetists?”

2 Comments

  1. Those are all great pieces of advice. I have a few more to add.

    1) As far as choosing schools goes, looking for a great teacher is definitely good advice, but I would not just go by one person’s opinion or suggestion of a good teacher. I would look at the history of the studio and seeing what graduates (recent ones and ones from a while back) are doing to earn income, where they’re living, try to hear recordings of them, etc.

    Also try to hear people in the current studio. Having great players in a studio to gain perspective on what you need to work on, to play next to you, to help you out, etc. is incredibly valuable. While all these things might also be the result of good recruiting, in addition to a good teacher, I know from personal experience how valuable a great studio is and how much I have improved because of it.

    2) Get ahead of the game on theory, ear training, and piano skills BEFORE you show up on campus as a freshman! Be comfortable reading both treble and bass clefs, learn all your major and minor scales on piano (and possibly some easy pieces). Learn all your intervals and be able to identify basic chord qualities when they’re played on the piano. These kinds of things might be able to get you out of the first level of theory, ear training, piano, etc. Even if it doesn’t, it will give you an edge in the class and you’ll have an easier time understanding.

    On that same note, if you’re in any IB or AP classes in high school, by all means take the tests seriously! Passing these can get you out of a few general-ed classes, which also lets you get ahead, gives you more time, etc. You can definitely use all the time and free credits. If you end up adding a minor or double major, or if you end up wanting to take some classes outside of your required ones, this is extremely helpful so won’t have to stay extra semesters!

    3) Show up to your classes, show up on time, and do your best to form good relationships with teachers and ensemble members. Showing that you care and you are interested in doing well (even in the midst of frustration) is important. Unlike a lot of majors, you will have many of the same teachers and students in your classes again and again. These people will, in many ways, be like your family away from home. They’ll also become your sources of networking and recommendations in the future. Having a good attitude and showing that you’re responsible can and will help your grade, make people more likely to want to play music with you, and make people more likely to recommend you for desirable positions or gigs. These habits will transfer from school to the professional world.

    Great article! I hope my additions are helpful. They are based on direct experience and observation.

    Reply

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