TrumpetMaster - View Single Post - The performance degree...myth or reality?

Khora · 01-26-2008, 07:17 PM

To be honest, it doesn't really make much difference at all what degree you earn. I know know many highly successful musicians whose degrees are not in music. I also know many people with BM degrees who have become highly successful doctors, lawyers, heads of corporations, etc.

NO degree is a guarantee of a job. Earning a degree only means that you have met a set of minimum requirements as outlined by some group of teachers and administrators.

The degree on the resume might make it easier to get an audition or an interview, but it is the recommendations of those who have worked with you and how you present yourself that get you a job. How well you do whatever you are asked to do, and how well you work with others is what lets you keep your job. How much you offer beyond the requirements is what moves you up once you've found a job you really enjoy.

Overall, I think it is far more important to be well-rounded and knowledgeable about a variety of subjects than to have any specific degree. That may be easier for some people in a liberal arts program. Boundaries between fields are less clear than in the past, and the most successful people are those who can create their own careers. Music has the ability to connect with so many fields - don't limit your thinking to what other people are doing, or what schools suggest! Use your imagination to create what enables you to share your passion with the world.

By far the most important thing - in any field at all - is how much effort you really put into what you are doing. ANY degree is a time-consuming process if you really take it seriously and delve into it beyond the minimum requirements. What is really valuable is the discipline one learns by focusing on a subject or several and giving it 100%. Many employers in fields well beyond music recognize the amount of discipline that a BMus requires, and respect that. But in general, they are far less concerned with what your major was than whether you can work on deadline, under pressure, complete assigned tasks, and work within a group to achieve a common goal - whether it be an orchestra or a banking firm or a gas station.

Just my humble opinion, anyways~

01-26-2008, 07:17 PM	#7 (permalink)
Khora Pianissimo User Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New York Posts: 164	Re: The performance degree...myth or reality? To be honest, it doesn't really make much difference at all what degree you earn. I know know many highly successful musicians whose degrees are not in music. I also know many people with BM degrees who have become highly successful doctors, lawyers, heads of corporations, etc. NO degree is a guarantee of a job. Earning a degree only means that you have met a set of minimum requirements as outlined by some group of teachers and administrators. The degree on the resume might make it easier to get an audition or an interview, but it is the recommendations of those who have worked with you and how you present yourself that get you a job. How well you do whatever you are asked to do, and how well you work with others is what lets you keep your job. How much you offer beyond the requirements is what moves you up once you've found a job you really enjoy. Overall, I think it is far more important to be well-rounded and knowledgeable about a variety of subjects than to have any specific degree. That may be easier for some people in a liberal arts program. Boundaries between fields are less clear than in the past, and the most successful people are those who can create their own careers. Music has the ability to connect with so many fields - don't limit your thinking to what other people are doing, or what schools suggest! Use your imagination to create what enables you to share your passion with the world. By far the most important thing - in any field at all - is how much effort you really put into what you are doing. ANY degree is a time-consuming process if you really take it seriously and delve into it beyond the minimum requirements. What is really valuable is the discipline one learns by focusing on a subject or several and giving it 100%. Many employers in fields well beyond music recognize the amount of discipline that a BMus requires, and respect that. But in general, they are far less concerned with what your major was than whether you can work on deadline, under pressure, complete assigned tasks, and work within a group to achieve a common goal - whether it be an orchestra or a banking firm or a gas station. Just my humble opinion, anyways~ __________________ Sandy