 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: clarlin2011
Date: 2011-03-27 23:46
Is it a good idea to study clarinet in college, and become an orchestral performer full time? or will I end up a bum on the streets?
Ever since i started playing clarinet, 7 years ago, I knew that this was what i wanted to do..forever. I graduate from high school in about 6 weeks, and I plan on majoring in music performance in college. My problem is now everyone is telling me things such as, "you will never have money if you chose to do that" or "unless you plan on teaching music also, you wont make it." Should i not chose to do this, and change my major? It scares me because clarinet is my life, im not good at anything else so there is nothing else i can major in. I dont want to teach music, but will that be the only way i will make it as a music performance major?
Im pretty decent at clarinet. This current year i made the all-state band on both clarinet and bass clarinet. (they ended up taking my higher score which was on clarinet) I made the all-district band also.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarlin2011
Date: 2011-03-28 00:05
well im good in science, but i dont want to be a doctor or anything. I appreciate what they do, but it doesnt interest me. I dont want a career where i will wake up in the morning and be like "ugh i dont feel like going"
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: DAVE
Date: 2011-03-28 00:13
Well, you could look into playing in an Army Reserve band which has minimal time requirements and will pay for your college education. After that you would be in a pretty good place to see if pursuing the clarinet is something that interests you. Of course there are many military bands out there and there is no shortage of jobs for clarinetists.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2011-03-28 02:22
DAVE is right. It's hard to get into the performance world. Teaching is going to be a good plan to do if you don't want to go into the military bands. You may end up subbing a lot in your first few years out of school, but remember that a lot of the people coming to the orchestral auditions often have masters and above, and a lot of experience elsewhere.
It's also very costly to get to the auditions and whatnot, and waiting for someone to leave an orchestra (especially local ones!) can take a while.
One thing I would also suggest is to look into how you can use your skills as a clarinetist in other fields. In terms of science, think about design aspects. Or look into working in quality control for companies like LeBlanc, Selmer, Yamaha, etc. Think outside the box is the biggest advice that anyone can give!
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: davyd
Date: 2011-03-28 03:06
"I don't want a career where i will wake up in the morning and be like "ugh i don't feel like going""
No matter what career you choose, you will feel that way now and then. No one is motivated 100% of the time.
In a competitive field like music, "pretty decent" won't cut it; you have to be "consistently excellent". You are better off going into some kind of scientific field, and continuing to play on the side.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Le9669
Date: 2011-03-28 03:58
I have the exact same thoughts as clarlin2011 and I'm more or less in the same your same shoes. From what I've noticed recently, skill and passion won't cut it. Luck is too crucial of a component to find an orchestral job( being at the right place at the right time and meeting the right people). For me, the idea is look forward to your training in college and get the best from it but have a backup just in case, may it be getting a teaching degree or something to do with sciences... Furthermore on this topic, the music business wasn't like it was years ago. In this generation, many young musicians and clarinet players are becoming a lot better and a lot quicker. Thus, standards keep rising. As a result, the demand for performers are declining. Although this may seem unfair, it doesn't hurt to be conscientious of the bigger picture... It may bring more food on the table.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-03-28 04:16
If you do decide to go for a performance degree, I highly encourage you to consider this angle:
Treat it as a time for training, exploration, and networking. The degree (the credentials, the piece of paper itself) is largely worthless, good only to get you into a masters program, then a doctoral program, then a teaching position (which you don't want). Really, it's also pretty poor in terms of training you for a job, as the only jobs it directly trains you for are extremely few and in high demand.
However, it does provide you with opportunities to do some really cool things really well. Look at every class you take as an accumulation of something you learn how to do. Keep a keen eye on the local and global world, and make note of opportunities where your skills and experience may be useful or wanted or fun. The most fruitful of them may not be in the context of playing-classical-music-on-clarinet, but in other angles that this experience provides. Look at places where you can create your own livelihood.
When you graduate, your head should be so full of ideas and plans that you have crazy momentum and can start playing immediately outside the academic context, and ideally will already have been doing so for some time. If you're hoping someone will come by and offer you a job or expecting to win an audition, you're lost.
Going through college with "professional orchestral clarinetist" as your sole focus is a much lousier gamble than "professional football player." Hundreds(?) of football players are hired every year, at nice salaries. Maybe one or two clarinetists are hired annually to performance-only jobs that can even pay the bills.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-03-28 04:27
Also, sciences aren't the only option for non-music. High school provides a pretty narrow view of the world. College offers majors, fascinating majors, that you may have never considered or even known existed. Grab a catalog from your soon-to-be university, read every page of every program, and look to see if any of the classes sound really cool. Wander around those departments, look at the projects, talk to people, chat with advisors, sit in on a couple classes. You may find something really great.
Some fields, you might not even consider interesting until you've had a class in them. I double-majored in computer science and music composition. My last year (of 7), I took a general bio class and fell in love with it. Would have declared a minor if I wasn't on my way out. I still lament never taking linguistics courses, though I'll probably have some back-to-school mid-life crisis in a couple decades, so it can wait until then.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: grifffinity
Date: 2011-03-28 05:37
Quote:
I graduate from high school in about 6 weeks, and I plan on majoring in music performance in college.
I may be missing something here but...have you gotten into a college as a performance major?
If that's a yes...here is my advice as someone who has a BM in performance and an MBA.
1.) The first year as an undergrad music major is by far the toughest. You will have more classes than any other major on campus. You will have less time to practice than you expect. My first semester freshman year I had 20 credits and about 11 classes (ensembles were worth .5)...I was burnt out in 1 1/2 years. Took 4 years off and completed my undergrad at another school.
2.) If I had to do it all over again...I'd get a bachelors in another degree which would free up more time to practice then take private lessons with the best teacher I could afford and join a few ensembles (in school or out of school). Then, audition for the best music schools for a Master's in music. From my experience, a Master's from a top music school carries more cache than a BM from a so so, no name school. As a Master student, you usually get better chamber music and ensemble opportunities at school - if you happen to attend a large music school. At the same time, a bachelor's in another field may open more job opportunities if performance doesn't pan out while also allowing you more time during your undergrad years for practice, work...and maybe fun.
All this being said...4 years out of my Master's, I've worked FT in arts admin, then FT touring...and now going into Education outreach, which is only possible due to my combined experience in music, teaching and business. If I only focused on one thing or the other, I wouldn't have had this particular opportunity.
You have no idea what life has in store for you...and the experiences of others may not be your fate. I will tell you, that the majority of young people will work many jobs in many different fields over the course of their lives regardless of what their degrees are in...unlike our grandparents or parents careers. It is another way of life...but work hard, be kind to others and watch your own back - you should be OK.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Bassie
Date: 2011-03-28 09:45
Yes, you will have to teach!
I say keep up the science. It's a big field, you're bound to find something that interests you eventually. Which bits are you best at?
[Disclaimer: professional scientist here]
Post Edited (2011-03-28 12:48)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: tedj101
Date: 2011-03-28 10:05
Ask your counselor to give you the Strong Vocational Interest Test. It will match you up with careers that should interest you.
Having said that, don't be put off by the categories. When I did it (lo so many years ago) I had a good counselor who explained that each category is based on certain factors of interest to you and the category should not be read too literally. (Military officer, for example, could also be read to include CEO.)
Regards,
<TED>
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-03-28 11:56
I'm an amateur musician and was never good enough at music to seriously consider a career in music, but based on my experiences as a former English teacher and present-day small press writer (another career choice that can land a person a nice job as a bum in the gutter), I do have one question coupled with a bit of advice. Have you ever worked as a teacher?
Before you make an absolute decision that teaching is not for you, please do give it a try. The experience of being a student does give an idea of what teaching is like, but your experience so far has been limited to the lower grades through high school. There are a lot of other options out there.
College provides opportunities to work as a teaching assistant with other young adults. Other schools and private learning centers often go to the colleges to hire assistants and substitute teachers at all grade levels. Some of these markets pay; others want volunteers. If you take as many of those opportunities as possible, you may get a pleasant surprise, along with some money for expenses. Then, if it turns out teaching really isn't for you, you'll *know* it from experience -- you won't be guessing or assuming. Another plus: temporary "starving student" jobs that don't work out are easy to quit in a flash, without making your employment record look spotty later.
It may be that you'll discover you can't stand teaching kids but you do find satisfaction in working with adults, for instance. (That's what happened to me, by the way. You couldn't pay me enough to teach kindergarten -- cue primal scream here! -- but I loved teaching ESL and adult literacy. The biggest surprise: I disliked like teaching college English, even though that was my original career goal.) The type of teaching I did never paid much. Over the years, I earned more as a stained glass designer-builder....
You see a pattern here? Artists end up in the gutter, too. So I'm the last one who should hand out career advice to anybody who wants a mansion and a Swiss bank account. But the fact is that by starting a kitchen table sign-painting business in junior high and then bumping around a variety of "Don't quit your day job" jobs ever since, I've gotten paid for enough of them to keep on muddling along over the years with very few "Take this job and shove it!" moments. College is a great time to experiment around with those possibilities.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2011-03-28 12:06)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-03-28 16:08
As far as teaching goes, music or otherwise:
There are different kinds of teaching. Among them are "teaching something you've been taught and subsequently passing on the information to the next generation" and "teaching based on a set of pedagogical techniques" or even the humdrum "teaching straight out of a book". However, there's also "specializing in something so thoroughly that you know it inside and out, and delight in sharing this information with others because it's something you find really fascinating and hope others can also appreciate." That last one is the circumstance under which I like to teach. To do that, it helps if you find something that is an absolute joy to you... it's a bonus if it's something unusual, so everyone and their dog isn't teaching it as well.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2011-03-28 18:00
Do you practice at least 3-5 hours daily? Are you a better player than anyone that you have come across in your age - and your scope is greater than just a State? Do you have a very high level clarinet teacher who thinks that you are the next coming? Do you have a patron who will pay your bills while you are pursuing that pipe dream?
Then probably not....
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Clare-net
Date: 2011-03-28 21:11
A perspective from my old clarinet teacher: when I was considering whether or not to pursue a career in music I remember him saying that, if he had his time again, he would study engineering and keep music as a hobby. He felt that the fact he was spending day in day out teaching (and before that playing professionally) meant that he didn't get the same joy out of music that he used to, and he felt that was a serious loss.
Everyone's different. And this board is testament to the fact that there are both many people who are able still to enjoy music as well as having it as their day job and many others who are able to enjoy playing to a high standard while pursuing a very different career path. It's just important to remember that there may be other ways of continuing to play the instrument you love and continuing to enjoy it without beating yourself up competing for very limited numbers of orchestral seats. [There's probably a pun in there comparing bums on seats (in the British use of the word) with bums in the gutter (in the American sense)....]
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarlin2011
Date: 2011-03-28 22:13
Everyone, thanks so much for the advice. I was looking at the programs offered at the university i got accepted to (@grifffinity yes ive already been accepted into their music program and offered a music scholarship) and i came across Music Therapy!! Is that a better option??
and then another thing im also interested in is making videos. Im just sooo confused with what to do right now. Everyone has been such great help though. Thanks:)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-03-28 22:19
May be a better option, may not. Use college, especially your first couple years, to try out as many things you might possibly interested in as you can. Don't feel like you have to make a decision right away.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
