 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2014-11-03 03:06
"The only people who should be Musical Performance majors in college are those who show highly remarkable prowess in their playing and dedication to their instrument, and who can--or feel that they can--do nothing else careerwise with their lives."
This does not apply to Musical Education majors: much as arts education programs are being cut "right and left" to save money.
I've got plenty of opinions on this thesis on both side of the fence, so feel free to anihilate this premise if that's your inclination.
What's your opinion, particular as it relates to clarinet, and the far smaller supply of orchestral slots than might be available as compared, say, to a Viola player.
Post Edited (2014-11-03 22:58)
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Author: TJTG
Date: 2014-11-03 03:34
If you have the money, do what you want. More teachers should be willing to weed out the riff-raff from their studio rather than putting up with non-committal students. Alas colleges need to make money so they take what they can. Personally, I don't think there are enough committed, do-or-die, realistic, music majors, and even fewer should be called a musician.
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2014-11-03 06:28
"The only people who should be Musical Performance majors in college are those who show highly remarkable prowess in their playing and dedication to their instrument, and who can--or feel that they can--do nothing else careerwise with their lives."
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And even those are far, far too many.......
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: wanabe
Date: 2014-11-03 11:09
"The only people who should be Musical Performance majors in college are those who show highly remarkable prowess in their playing and dedication to their instrument, and who can--or feel that they can--do nothing else careerwise with their lives."
I absolutely disagree with the above statement. I'll just point out that although the cost of a university degree is unreasonable to the extreme and is even more outrageous considering the pittance that most musicians are paid, should a person want to learn music performance or any other discipline, and they can afford it, they should be allowed to do so. Furthermore, just who is going to decide which student is motivated and which student has to work two jobs to afford a college education or which student has natural talent and which student is just a slow learner? Just who do you propose to be the talent police and the motivation Gestapo?
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2014-11-03 17:44
This dictum is unlikely to be "enforced" by a school. But it is of some, maybe considerable worth to the student himself as he decides on a career path. As I read the quotation, it's something that a private teacher or a school music director might say to a high school student who is thinking about a career in music.
Karl
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Author: TomS
Date: 2014-11-03 18:21
If you listen to Prarie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor ... from one of their fake commercials: "... and all fruit is picked by the finest arts majors ..."
If you got the money and time, go for it! But, as a performance major, prepare yourself to do something else as your main gig. But, you might get lucky though, even if you are not Super-player with friends in high places.
The local flagship orchestra here in Arkansas has a plethora of of players from good music schools including Eastman, Julliard, and even one from Curtis. Many play a lot, but have the bulk of their income from unrelated ventures.
Not to worry too much ... as I've stated before , most good musicians are generally smart people, and can usually make do.
It's nice to have well trained musicians to fill spots in part-time (but often pretty good) orchestras. And, the financials look good for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, as I understand it ...
Tom
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2014-11-03 18:26
The quote sounds very much like something I wrote on this BB once. Therefore I agree with it. But I will defend to the death anyone's right to go out and try to make a living with a Music Performance degree in clarinet, even if they are not named Ricardo Morales.
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Author: GeorgeL ★2017
Date: 2014-11-03 18:48
The system may help the musician decide if s/he will be a performance major. Would music schools accept or retain performance students who do not exhibit "highly remarkable prowess in their playing and dedication to their instrument?"
While majoring in music was never a career choice for me, I have observed that performance majors who end up doing something else to earn a living make great additions to community bands.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2014-11-03 19:22
I know a lot of musicians, and a few of them don't have a day job.
Tony F.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-11-03 19:55
I think the Soviet Union tried that with a modicum of success.
There is NOTHING practical about music and yet it is pervasive throughout human history. I don't know if we'll ever know exactly why that is, or why someone would want to be a musician. But it is not within anyone else's power to choose what another individual wants to do or how they should think. This was somewhat the essence of President Obama's speech a few months ago at the U.N. where he argued that the challengers to Democracy pose set backs through history but in the end it is Democracy that will rule the day because the human spirit requires freedom (and music one might rightfully argue).
.................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2014-11-03 22:54)
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Author: Nessie1
Date: 2014-11-03 21:01
Whilst I'm from the UK, where the system is somewhat different, a couple of points occur to me -
There are plenty of careers you can go into with any kind of degree behind you if the music doesn't work out/you don't get lucky.
Also, even at university/conservatoire entrance level, there are those applicants who may not have had access to top teaching or opportunities so far but who show potential, passion and dedication. It is my understanding that some entrance assessments will make some allowance for this, though quite a lot may depend on the instrument being offered.
Partly following on from this, at 18-20 it may still be early to judge how a performer will develop in the next few years. I was at school with a flautist who was good but not considered one of the best in my school but she went on to get a principal chair in a decent orchestra.
Vanessa.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2014-11-03 22:24
Read the article "Follow your dream" on my website, I cover that pretty well and seveal teachers have asked me permission to use it in the class.
The bottom line is for a person to be honest with themselves and be realistic. I've often wrote that there are far to many colleges and universities that now have a performance degee and every teach goes out to recruit so they can fill their studios. At least when I taught at Peabody I was honest with my students and their parents. My first studio class of every year was about what to expect of yourself and in the future. What's available to you as a performance major and what else to do to possibly make a living in music if they can't get a playing job. I cover it pretty well in my articles.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Bubalooy
Date: 2014-11-04 01:59
It seems that part of the problem here is when people think that a university is job training. I got my performance degree knowing I'd never make a living playing classical music. I'm glad I did. I wanted the education. It is essential that teachers are honest with students about what's out there. I wasn't delusional, I just wanted to study music. I still play a lot. I'm happy. So, what advantage would there have been to someone prohibiting me from getting the degree?
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2014-11-04 08:05
It's interesting that you exclude Music Ed majors from this advice. One of my pet peeves is that the distinction in American universities between education and performance majors tends to badly shortchange the education majors in the area of music application. Most programs I know of are so loaded down with "ed" courses that there is substantially less time for studying those things that make a good, highly skilled musician. And a music teacher who is not a skilled musician is a much poorer teacher.
It isn't necessary to be a virtuoso player to be a good music teacher. But it is, IMO, necessary to have a firm grounding in music skills. In my experience as a teacher and later as an administrator in a public school music program, I was often actually astonished at what some of the teachers in my department didn't know and couldn't do musically.
I was a performance major as an undergraduate and my Master of Music was also a performance degree. When I came to the decision that I was temperamentally better suited to teaching than to public performance at a high enough level to provide a comfortable family income, I had a far better skill and knowledge base in music than the mus ed curricula at my college (Temple U) would ever have given me.
The bottom line is that being a performance major isn't necessarily about having a career in performance or having nothing. Even if the performance major finally decides that the lustre of a career as a performer has worn off, the experience and knowledge and skill he's developed in the performance program will make him (or her) better at almost any music (or arts) related endeavour he chooses to go after - if only he has the flexibility to realize it.
Karl
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2014-11-04 12:34
It's impossible to say what will happen in the future to young to musicians who either show "remarkable prowess" vs those who do not.
Firstly, define Remarkable Prowess?
In any case, anecdotally, I've seen colleagues from both camps be both a musical success as well as some who just don't play anymore. One of my best friends in college was very realistic: she knew early on that this career wasn't for her. She finished her degree because she loved music, then went on to study something else. In some ways I'm jealous!
For me personally, it was music performance or nothing. It is not for me to say whether I displayed Remarkable Prowess early on, however I don't think I did. There's a lot to be said for hard work, dedication, and incredible focus.
I'm one of the lucky ones, I earn 100% of my living from playing the clarinet, even if it isn't in the way I thought I would (of course I wanted to be in an orchestra).
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