Question about pursuing music as a career

[Catherine]

I am still home schooling my youngest, a 12 yo seventh grader. I have 2 older sons, one in college and one in high school. Both left home schooling to attend high school, one came home after one year to finish HS at home, one stayed and is a junior now. In both cases, I am not completely satisified with how high school went. The oldest was harmed by my inexperience and his sometimes difficult and self-defeating behavior. The middle is having a miserable time in school, even though he is bright and goes to an excellent school. So I'm a bit anxious about this transition.

 

My youngest has some mild LDs-he struggles mightily with math and reads slowly with not great comprehension-though he is definitely bright. Compared to average students, he is definitely more capable, but school work is challenging for him. As I make this decision, one option I've considered is the arts high school in my city, which has a good reputation. Ds plays piano. What I'm wondering is whether to even offer this as an option. He practices with either one reminder, or none. He chooses pieces to learn on his own, and works hard on them. He generally practices well without any supervision from me. His teacher has hinted to me that he is her best student, though she hasn't said that explicitly.

 

My question, and I do have one, is: would you encourage an audition for a student like ds? The competition is fierce, probably particularly for piano. I think he is self-motivated, for a 12 yo boy, but he does not spend hours a day practicing. It is not a big passion for him, yet, though he certainly enjoys it and works at it independently at times.

 

I would especially love to hear from anyone whose child pursued piano at the college level and where they were at his age in terms of commitment and interest. One concern I have is that ds, because academics can be challenging for him, will go with the arts school because he thinks it will allow him to avoid intense academic work.

[Dmmetler]

Not a pianist, but a former music major and college faculty adviser.

 

How is he at written theory? I've seen a lot of music majors who were amazing performers crash and burn when it comes to theory, and end up kind of floundering for what to do at the college level because they never thought out a plan B. Music history is often writing intensive as well, especially if the program is trying to prepare people for graduate school.

 

Personally, I wouldn't send a child to college for a music major who can imagine doing anything else but music and who doesn't eat, sleep, breathe, and dream it. It's a hard path, and it's one that is, financially, not the most stable after graduation. However, if your performing arts magnet is like the one here, it's more a regular high school where fine arts aren't subservient to sports, so the arts classes offered are more numerous and of higher quality. Those can be a really good setting for a child who enjoys music and who finds social connections through it. However, I will add a caveat-the roles for a pianist to play in such a campus, compared to a singer or an orchestral or band instrument player are likely to be more competitive and fewer. If he doesn't have a 2nd specialty, he may find it hard to find his niche in such a school.

 

 

 

 

[Catherine]

Thank you so much for your insights. Our arts school is one of the very best so I'm confident that it would provide a good exposure for him. But your point about the second specialty is a good one and something I hadn't thought of. And he definitely doesn't eat, sleep and breathe music...not yet at least.

 

Please tell me as I'm not a music person...what IS written theory? I suspect he knows almost nothing, as I've not heard of it!

 

Any thoughts, anyone else?

[CrystalAnne]

Written theory means his ability to read notes, understand rhythms (counting them), and understand different key signatures (scales).  I teach orchestra in a school, and majored in violin/upper strings and music education.  

 

At his age, I would pursue music in the schools as an option, because then he will get that arts outlet during the academic day, and the teachers and other students will value that interest.  A lot of students I teach really thrive and need the instrumental time I provide instead of sitting at a desk all day focusing on academics.

 

I also would not worry about him pursuing music in college at this time.  The study of music really leads to kids who are strong in several academic fields (science, math, computer science) and I've seen strong musicians follow both paths in college.  At this point though, if he really thrives with piano, it would be great to allow that to be a part of his school day.

[Catherine]

I suspect his written theory skills are average. He chose, printed and taught himself Maple Leaf Rag by reading the notes and listening to a recording, if that gives any indication. Not an area of high interest for him though.

[srs]

My husband and I are part time professional musicians with music degrees. I wouldn't worry about a career at this point. An arts magnet school sounds like a great fit for an interested musician, even if he majors in something else in college.

As for me, I didn't hit my stride musically until high school, when the expectations for practice increased and I discovered self motivation and rose to the challenge. My husband (piano) was focused a bit younger, but we ended up in much the same place. He also took up trombone so he could play in band, and he is a much better musician for having the large group experience. It is a common pianist problem to have a hard time keeping a good internal rhythm, because most of the time piano plays alone. Being in the band improved his piano playing.

[FO4UR]

Music theory is like a high level math.  It's more than just being able to read music.  It's understanding, analyzing, composing, etc...it's learning systems and working within the systems.  It's academic work, by far the most difficult class I've ever taken (and I've taken calculus and Latin and physics).  

 

 

A 12yo who can learn The Maple Leaf Rag by reading the music for himself has potential.  What does he want to do?  Music can be a very narrow field.  (Ask me how I know. :huh: )  Where does he want to live?  (Big cities are better for starving musicians.)  Music makes a very good minor, and accompanists can make some good money as a college student. (Again, ask me how I know. LOL....b/c I paid many!!!)  Playing an instrument with excellence is a worthy attainment, and will benefit him in ways you cannot predict right now.  The music school might be a fantastic idea even if he doesn't make his future living as a concert pianist.  

 

If it's not an area of high interest, I'd not push it.  I will say, not many kids will sit down to learn a new piece without a great deal of intrinsic motivation.  Ragtime is fun.  I'd want to see that kind of interest branching out for the sheer joy of the challenge.

 

 

Regardless, I would not push written theory past what he's playing right now.  I would be pushing ear training and sight-SINGING...not just sight reading.  If written theory doesn't weed em' out, ear training will...and if ear training doesn't do the trick, sight-singing will narrow down the few.  I've known several wonderful musicians, much more talented than myself, to drop out of a music program b/c they couldn't do the academic theory work, they couldn't translate what they hear into that theory work, or they couldn't sing well enough to match intricate pitches.  (Doesn't have to be pretty singing....just gotta be accurate!)  The attrition rate for these classes was 50% every semester....x6-8 semesters of theory.  Those who graduate with the degree are a small%...and then have a narrow field to work within.

 

 

 

[Crimson Wife]

I would be pushing ear training and sight-SINGING...not just sight reading.  If written theory doesn't weed em' out, ear training will...and if ear training doesn't do the trick, sight-singing will narrow down the few.  I've known several wonderful musicians, much more talented than myself, to drop out of a music program b/c they couldn't do the academic theory work, they couldn't translate what they hear into that theory work, or they couldn't sing well enough to match intricate pitches.  (Doesn't have to be pretty singing....just gotta be accurate!)  The attrition rate for these classes was 50% every semester....x6-8 semesters of theory.  Those who graduate with the degree are a small%...and then have a narrow field to work within.

My brother attended a specialized music college and did a music technology/audio engineering program there. Even though he wasn't a performance major, he still had to pass a Solfege class. He said that it was HARD!

[Doodlebug]

Hmm.

 

It doesn't sound like he's passionate about piano. But, that could be driven by other factors -- a positive/ affirming school experience, teachers who excel in their field, and friends with similar interests could flip that around.

 

My concern would be that by your description, your son seems to like piano and feels good at it, but it's not something that drives him. Placing him in music because nothing else seems obvious isn't necessarily a bad thing... But it's not great either. I'd rather leave his time open so he can find and pursue what he excels in.

 

Since it's a "bird in the hand," I'd encourage the audition process. Nothing to lose in trying. And if in the process you learn he doesn't want to pursue music, you've still gained some info you didn't have before!

 

Stella

[ailysh]

My brother attended a specialized music college and did a music technology/audio engineering program there. Even though he wasn't a performance major, he still had to pass a Solfege class. He said that it was HARD!

It just depends on if they already have a good ear. If the OP's son is learning music at least partially from recordings he likely has a good ear for music. Sight singing was by far the easiest music class I took just because I had a naturally good ear. Atonal music theory...now THAT was hard, lol. And piano literature, because my crazy professor made the piano lit students memorize thousands of pieces by sight, by audio, and by library call number. Ridiculous. :-)

 

The thing with piano is that, if you want to major in it, you have to prepare very early. He can always prepare and then change his mind and still have benefited in other ways from the training. But if he doesn't put the work in early, he can't decide later on that he'd rather do music. It just doesn't work with piano. My piano prof said they get lots of students auditioning who just decided to take up piano in high school, not realizing how much training you have to have even to be accepted.

[Catherine]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded. His ear training is excellent. He's a suzuki student-which I know is bad, bad when it comes to piano. But it's what our family has done and it has agreed with us so far.

 

I think that I will at least broach the subject with him and his teacher. Who knows where it will go. No, he is definitely not driven by it, but he does acknowledge that music, along with science, is his favorite "subject". Once I've had a chance to find out what he thinks, I'll talk to his teacher and take it from there.

[rainbird2]

Personally, I wouldn't send a child to college for a music major who can imagine doing anything else but music and who doesn't eat, sleep, breathe, and dream it. It's a hard path, and it's one that is, financially, not the most stable after graduation. However, if your performing arts magnet is like the one here, it's more a regular high school where fine arts aren't subservient to sports, so the arts classes offered are more numerous and of higher quality. Those can be a really good setting for a child who enjoys music and who finds social connections through it. However, I will add a caveat-the roles for a pianist to play in such a campus, compared to a singer or an orchestral or band instrument player are likely to be more competitive and fewer. If he doesn't have a 2nd specialty, he may find it hard to find his niche in such a school.

 

I have a music degree, and I can tell you that it is a hard world for the pianist.  Not to scare you or your son, but he needs to be prepared to put in some hours, and I mean hours, of practicing.  And when he's done practicing (for hours) he needs to read and read and read and read music history.  And ear training.  And sight reading.  It doesn't end. Theory is paramount for the pianist, so I would encourage you to ask his teacher to make sure he is more than prepared for the h.s. magnet.  It's even difficult there.  I cringe when I think about the hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of scales, etc..  You're almost like an athlete...I had to soak my hands in hot water after many practice sessions.  I will stop with the horror stories, but know that he isn't getting into an easy field here.  The music world is hard and can be very cut throat.  My professors were Tiger Moms x a million. 

 

I'm sweating just thinking about those days.

 

He needs to love music more than life itself if he wants to venture into the music world.  I was one of those kids who loved music, and I STILL wasn't prepared enough for college.  Preparation now will make or break him.

[IsabelC]

Agreeing with a lot of what's in the above posts.

 

I would make sure that your son is aware that music can be studied as a degree, and then drop the topic unless he chooses to pursue it. Also, having a frank discussion with his teacher is a great idea, because she will be able to offer an unbiased professional opinion.

 

Also, you only mentioned piano. Does he do another instrument? I don't know about the arts college you're considering, but over here the pianists studying at tertiary level have to take another instrument or do vocal training. 

 

[Bree]

It couldn't hurt to pursue if that's what he wanted but I will say at 12 you will have a wide range of crazy talented kids to awesome kids :) It may not hurt also to expose him to other instruments as well. I went through a couple and landed on the bassoon and my mom the cello. I will say if you are good you can get some nice scholarships too, and my mom was paid to get work on her doctorate :) I have known some professionals who have also not found their nitch until college too, so you never know, but the piano is a tougher instrument to make it on.

[Catherine]

As far as other instruments-he wanted to learn viola and took lessons for about 15 months. Like piano, he worked hard on nit and made good progress, but decided to drop it. He has wanted to play flute, oboe, violin, and drums at different times but we had to draw the line somewhere : ) I will gently explore it with him.

 

He has also asked me many times about teaching beginners, and about accompaniment. $$ is another favorite subject of his. LOL.

[Bree]

I do have a friend who got her bachelors and masters from UT Knoxville and works some as an accompanies at a smaller University here in TN and does decently and there is always private lessons too. I have no idea how much she makes though :)

[ailysh]

I cringe when I think about the hours and hours and hours and hours and hours of scales, etc..  You're almost like an athlete...I had to soak my hands in hot water after many practice sessions.  I will stop with the horror stories, but know that he isn't getting into an easy field here.  The music world is hard and can be very cut throat.  My professors were Tiger Moms x a million. 

 

I'm sweating just thinking about those days.

 

He needs to love music more than life itself if he wants to venture into the music world.  I was one of those kids who loved music, and I STILL wasn't prepared enough for college.  Preparation now will make or break him.

 

Here here! I was so stressed out in those days. At one point I had my days scheduled down to the minute, even including bathroom breaks, in order to fit everything in. Hours and hours, and it was never enough. I can honestly say that from a practical standpoint, it was not worth it. Job scarcity, intense competition, and a general waning interest in classical music training made it very difficult to make a living teaching afterward with my piano performance degree. My music ed friends hardly fared better. Sadly, the arts programs are often the first to face budget cuts in public schools. I don't regret it, because I met my husband at school, but sometimes I think about going back to school for a more practical degree.