BFlinch83

Lately, after already having a BM and almost an MM in trumpet performance, the thought of practicality has sprung into my brain and lodged firmly in my consciousness. This art that we all love so much is also a business, and obviously a tough one to crack into. Of the options, orchestral playing is the most sought after in this country due to the job security of not being a freelance player/soloist/chamber musician/teacher. But even with this "security" getting the job is practically impossible, numerically speaking. Chance and "who-you-know" play a huge role, whether or not we'd like to recognize it as such. Solo/chamber careers are fewer and farther between than orchestral, especially in the USA. Teaching offers more jobs, but money is often not great and one needs a DMA to get any type of large teaching job now.

In the business world, putting as much time, effort, money, thought, and passion into whatever job one might have would yield many things in return. You'd be at the top of your game putting in all that extra effort to be great, so money would be comfortable at worst, amazing at best. Hours need not be terrible, though sometimes that would be problematic I'm sure. Sure, you would deal with politics and jerks anywhere you work, but having that associated with business and not art might make more sense (at least to me).

So my question: is the trumpet (sub any instrument) performance degree a joke/myth/legend/nightmare? Shouldn't we all get degrees in other things to ensure a normal life and then practice and see what happens? At Peabody, the chair of the brass department proposed that each performance major be a double with something else, thus increasing their worth to society and helping them get jobs in the future. He was shot down immediately by administration. Do we all like living under this veil of hope even while realizing how false it is for many or most?

I'm sorry for the negative tone of this post. Please follow with two tablets of Lexapro as needed.

ecarroll

Brent,

Great topic. Thank you VERY much.

Your concerns are obviously shared by everyone in academia at the moment -- students and faculty alike. I've recently had to face this question head-on as both a parent (cha-ching) and professional when my oldest son announced that he wanted to go into music as a trumpet major. Our solution for undergraduate study was to gain a spot at the new conservatory at Bard College http://www.bard.edu Bard doesn't only offer a double degree -- they REQUIRE it -- and students who complete their unique offering end up with both a BM and a BA. Leon Botstein, the director of the American Symphony Orchestra, is President there and is a visionary man.

That said, good music schools shouldn't, in my opinion, be thought of as vocational training academies. We teach art, not simply skills, and the very best have always seemed to find ways to make a living practicing their art. It's a daunting proposition, isn't it? That said, I shudder when I see marvelous musicians like Gareth Flowers, a member of the 2006 class at Chosen Vale, coming up short in auditions in San Francisco and Montreal. As many of us know, this guy can REALLY play and I honestly believe that if he were a member of my generation he would be a household name in our community and making a very comfortable living (assuming whatever orchestra he joined remained solvent -- a topic for another day).

Perhaps it can be said that the quality of education is waxing in our country as culture is waning. Will this trend continue? I certainly hope not, but the new generation will need to drop their cell phones/iPods and become involved in active music making again to turn things around. I remember a comment that Wynton made at Dartmouth a few years ago: "this music was from a time that people not only played the piano in their home but could REALLY play it". Active music-making has has blossomed in Venezuela http://www.trumpetmaster.com/vb/f146...tra-36315.html (Venezuelan Youth Orchestra) and, perhaps, it can happen everywhere. . .

Best and watching this huge topic with great interest,
EC

cornetguy

Even the music education degree doesn't ensure a job. i have one and right now am working with low functioning mentally retarded junior high boys with violent behavior problems. because of the state budget cuts. having said that i woudl encourage the music ed degree because there is at least the chance. i also would rather see undergraduates go to a school that has a really good liberal arts department so they are well rounded. i am with mr. carroll i really resent the attitude today of so many people that college is a glorified vocational school rather then producing graduates that know something about culture and have been exposed to the classics in music, art, literature, drama and (hopefully ) can think and reason for themself.

rowuk

Great topic,
If we measure the success of education as how much we give BACK to society, we discover that there is little competition for music degrees. If we measure the success of education as how much money we can earn, we have to hit a moving target. It is up to each one of us to judge where we want to see ourselves.
Judging from what I have heard coming out of renowned music shools, it seems that they were not designed to give the players the skills to succeed at an audition. All of the pieces of the puzzle seem to be in the box, but the expectations are that the orchestra will put that puzzle together.
Regardless of the major, the people with the biggest picture are the ones that can most easily focus on what is necessary to get a job. We have the same problem finding good IT people, sales people or whatever.
Just maybe the last generation or two have through our affluence, forgotten how to "see" what is really important in life and rather concentrate only on "realizing" themselves. A generation of unemployed may change this focus in life.

Stile442

I am currently finishing up a BM for trumpet performance at Stetson University in Fl. with plans to then get my MM and work in the industry. However I recognize how hit and miss the music industry right now, The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra was recently locked out because the management wanted to lower rates and health care. Stetson held a benifit concert on Tues. to help raise money for them. I'm glad to say that the lockout is over.

With this current enviroment, trying to find work is very difficult. As much as I want to play for a living, I have begun to build my own IT business as well so that I will have something to pay the bills.

et_mike

Stile442,
Well put! Personally, I think this is the key... the ability to do what you love, but remain realistic. If you look at the history of society over a graph type format, you may notice that, as a society, we tend to make major swings from positive to negative and back again from generation to generation. This includes economy, crime, religion, style, art... and the list goes on. Chances are good that anything that is at a low currently, ie. live-music performance and the arts in general, will swing to a high in the not-to-distant future... creating abundant opportunities. The trick is to be able to support yourself in the mean time. Unfortunately, this means that some of us will be forced to do things we may not enjoy or even loath in order to survive, you know, like, joining the military! No, seriously I love the Navy and would do it all over again if I had too! I do think that any Music Major out there reading this thread should give heavy thought to a second major. There is not going to be an easier time in your life to do so than while you are already in school. Take it from me, someone that is currently trying to go back to school after having 9 years off, it is hard to motivate yourself once you are out for a while. However, I don't at all agree that schools should make it a requirment to double major... I enjoy the, dare I say it, freedom of choosing my career path. The government is already too deep into what we can and can not do in our lives, the last thing I want is someone telling me how to make money. (illegal choices not with standing) At the same time, I think schools should make the proposition easier on the student. We all know that a BM or MM is a very time consuming and involved process, much more so, in my experience, than a MBA or Computer science degree... I guess I want my cake... and I want to eat it too!!

Khora

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~

ecarroll

Sandy,

You make interesting points. Thanks for a thoughtful post.

The most compelling reason that I can put forward to pursue a performance degree is not for the lessons, course-work, and ensemble training that one receives, but to be surrounded by peers with similar skills and similar career aspirations. I suppose the same might be said about most any undergraduate degree. That said, a Juilliard degree (I have 2) hanging from the wall is useless. It's what you know, not where you trained.

Conversely, we both can name icons in our field that didn't study music in college and have done wonderfully. I suppose that it's safe to say that there are as many paths through life as people walking them.

Young trumpeters on the cusp of professional training should take a long, hard inward look and HONESTLY decide what's best for themselves. Bud suggested the same of me when I was a kid, citing the same traps that we see before ourselves today. It worked out ok for me (he says, nervously).

By the way, for those of you who mentioned them, I'm a BIG fan of music education degrees, but not as a fall-back. In my humble opinion, those who choose to teach should be encouraged on every level, and they must be the type of person that will follow it with single-minded passion if we're to regain a cultural foothold.

Apropos to the discussion, a quick story: my best friend in high school and during my 2 undergraduate years at Northwestern went on to become the bass trombonist at the MET and, later, the Minnesota Orchestra. He left the orchestra in mid career, became an Outward Bound trainer, a bartender, taught a bit, and later went to law school. He passed the bar in Cook Co. and is now a practicing attorney in Chicago. I think that he still practices his trombone as well. He should -- he's great.

Following my own path to Montreal in the AM,
EC

ecarroll

By the way, I REALLY like the above.

E

timothypierson

I think for most of us, we need to be a jack of all trades in the music business. Currently I am pursuing a degree in Music Education and Performance at the University of Oregon. I enjoy teaching but I also enjoy performing. The idea that one can't do both is nonsense. I tell my wife that when I start teaching, our girls will be in band even if they play cowbell so I can keep an eye on them :).

I'm learning a lot from Brian McWhorter and the University has had near 100% job placement for it's Ed grads for the last 10 years. My long term plan is to get my ed and performance degrees, get a MM in trumpet performance. After that teach and hopefully make a regional orchestra and freelance for supplimental income. I really think the trick is to be open to doing many different things and be creative.