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I asked before if anybody knew anybody who went to college for a double major in music and something else. Now I come to see where colleges offer it. So, can anybody tell me colleges they have come upon that had students that double majored. I think now I will try to double major in Tuba Performance and Physics. Feedback, anyone?

Water Music wrote:I asked before if anybody knew anybody who went to college for a double major in music and something else. Now I come to see where colleges offer it. So, can anybody tell me colleges they have come upon that had students that double majored. I think now I will try to double major in Tuba Performance and Physics. Feedback, anyone?

Almost anywhere with a music program (with a tuba instructor) and a physics department, if not all, I assume? I don't see how they won't let you do it if you are qualified.

I guess that makes sense. I mean, come on, I'm paying for it, why not let me do it?

I will repeat what my teacher's freind (who happened to be a Johns Hopkins doctorate setting up a comp sci department) said to me:

"All you really NEED is one degree. After that, if you want to go on, everybody's requirements are different, anyway. But by all means take the courses you want to, and I'm happy to recommend; they're called 'electives' for a reason... "

I am a double major in journalism and music...I would not recommend any route other than a double major, in any discipline. This is not because I believe a degree in performance to be a worthless document but because I would hate to be totally immersed in one area, regardless of what that area was. That's just me, but I am a real live college student.

These are two paths I love, and I have my heart set on doing one or the other, but I can't give one up for the other. I'm willing to go through the immense workload to get both degrees.

BTW, without a degree in Music (Perf or Ed), can you get into Graduate School for Music? Because I was thinking maybe go for the 2 degrees, and go to graduate school for Music Ed. if I want to continue studying in music, or go for my masters in Physics if I want to go that path. Maybe I'll want to go both, who knows, time will tell, but I can't give up either subject, and I am confident in my ability to complete both.

If I'm going for a Performance degree, jobs are scarce for Perf majors, so Physics is what I can fall back on.

That sounds like a great idea. Thanks!

Water Music wrote:These are two paths I love, and I have my heart set on doing one or the other, but I can't give one up for the other. I'm willing to go through the immense workload to get both degrees.

BTW, without a degree in Music (Perf or Ed), can you get into Graduate School for Music? Because I was thinking maybe go for the 2 degrees, and go to graduate school for Music Ed. if I want to continue studying in music, or go for my masters in Physics if I want to go that path. Maybe I'll want to go both, who knows, time will tell, but I can't give up either subject, and I am confident in my ability to complete both.

If I'm going for a Performance degree, jobs are scarce for Perf majors, so Physics is what I can fall back on.

A friend of mine was a biology major and music minor (not in the US) in college, he didn't have problem getting into Eastman's MM program (performance, not music ed.)

Mr. Watermusic,
Are you the guy with the propane tank and fire tuba act?
If so, are you going to take your propane rig to school with you and fire it up for the gang?
That is so cool!

Some of the conservatories have double-degree programs, either within the larger school they are a part of, or in partnereship with another school.

I got a BA in English and a BMus in Trombone Performance at Oberlin in 5 years, and several other schools offer similar programs.

When I think of "opposite" majors, what comes to mind is Mortuary Science and Pre-med.

harold wrote:OK, here it comes:

1. A music degree - unless it is a music ed degree AND you are planning to teach in a school system is a totally worthless POS.

2. For most jobs - other than those educating new tubists and contributing to the overpopulation problem - they don't care if you have a music degree or not.

For the most part, you are correct. one of the important things you gain from going through a musical course of study is the knowledge of the material you would need to use as a musician. In reality, you can learn the information of any discipline on your own, but I think we can agree that a structured course of study is helpful. I am not so sure we can rightly say a music degree is useless, even in performance. The information learned during that program will be useful to the student. Who cares how many people are out there with performance degrees? Only the best will survivve, anyways.

Universities are not responsible for policing who can or should study music. If my dream or goal is to try to learn tuba and play it professionally, in a free country, I have the opportunity to do that. I do not want anyone to tell me I can't even try. Like it or not, over saturation of the market makes for better quality players in the professional field because it is much more competetive. if there were only two schools in the country, the competition would be to get into the schools, not out of them. This would kill the level of artistry, and I wouldn't want to see that, either.

And speaking as someone who does not have the degree, the above statement is close, but not entirely true. There is a perception out there that places competentacy with level of degreed study. Without the degree, you have to prove yourself. This world respects education, and the degree matters. Get it. Not having it closes doors, and a performance degree is a degree, so it is not useless. Does it mean you can play? NO. Does it mean you will get a chance to play in a big orchestra, or even have the skills to be asked back? NO. But it does start you off with credibility. The rest is up to your skillz!

All prospective high school students: Follow your dream. Choose your path and go down it. When you discover that it is not the path for you, go down another path. But start your journey. Yes, It is a good idea to double major.