Thinking of Majoring in Music? 15 Questions to Ask Yourself.

I knew I wanted to major in music when I was 9 years old. I was like Rory from the TV show, The Gilmore Girls, who had Harvard paraphenalia all over her room. Instead of Harvard though, I had Juilliard stuff all over my room.

I had this glossy image of myself majoring in piano. Everything was wonderful, but the story didn’t go past that point. I gave little thought to what it would be like AFTER the degree.

It was only when I got into my music degree and I was a year away from graduating that I realized, “Hey…you’ve really got to figure this stuff out!” I loved music, had talent, had practiced hard from the age of 5, but hadn’t yet narrowed a focus down. It took time to figure out what I wanted to do.

And, over the years, I’ve defined my career focus in music even more with a lot of soul-searching.

Below are the questions I myself have had to figure out whether in recent or distant past and what I would ask one of my students or clients that was considering majoring in music (or pursuing a career in music.)

1. What does music mean to you?

Does it light you up like nothing else you do does? Do you believe music to be so worthy as to devote a major chunk of your life to it? What is the purpose of music in your life and why do you want to share music with others?

Don’t just skim by these questions. Take the time to really think about your answers. Write them if you can.

2. Are you talented?

Harsh, but unavoidable. And it’s not all about innate talent.

I believe talent is 80% sweat + love.

The other 20% though is magic. It’s your natural brilliance. You can have a career with just the 80%, but you’ll really fly when you’ve got the other 20%.

We all have that 20% in something. If yours is in music, beautiful. If not, keep searching for what lights your fire. The world needs your 20%, whatever it is.

3. Does working hard feel exciting?

This is a big one. Often, the more talented a student I see, the less encouraged they are to work hard. Of course, that’s not always the case.

However, the smart and talented can get easily discouraged when things don’t come easily to them.

Are you able to congratulate yourself on your diligence and perseverance more than just what comes easily without much work?

It’s one thing to go towards what you’re naturally best at. It’s another to hold yourself back because you see working hard and trying again as a sign of weakness.

4. Are you entrepreneurial?

This is HUGE. Even the more “steady” careers, in say academia, predicate a need for entrepreneurial activities, whether getting music published, creating and publicizing concerts, imagining performance groups like trios or combos, making a name for yourself, etc.

This is what The Composed Musician is all about.

Soulful entrepreneurship for musicians.

It’s about knowing who you are, what you do, and how to get about the business of getting to those who want what you do.

5. Do you have a specific career goal in mind going into the degree?

Can you see a specific activity/job you would love doing everyday? Maybe more than one? Having a goal focuses your education. Sure you can change and modify along the way, but don’t major in music “just to see what’ll happen.”

YOU make things happen. And that’s the fun in it.

6. Are you able to take criticism in stride?

You’re going to get a lot of criticism and critique.

Can you not take musical critique personally? Can you see it constructively?

And do you have the confidence to toss out criticism that doesn’t feel right?

7. Do you see all experiences as an opportunity to learn and get better?

This is a defining behavior for all musicians. Will you be able to see your experiences, even the awful ones, as an opportunity to learn about music and yourself? Or do you tend to see experiences as either an opportunity to show off or the opposite, failure.

If you can see that there really is no failure, only crappy experiences that teach us even more than the good experiences, you’ll be ahead of the game.

8. Can your body physically withstand hours at your instrument?

Are you prone to injury? Have you already be diagnosed with issues like carpal tunnel, etc…? If so, it doesn’t mean you should not major in music, but it does mean what you do and how you do it need to factor in to your decision.

9. Are you willing to put the time and money into upkeeping your body?

I consider things that upkeep the body, like massages, a necessary expense as a professional musician. Would you expect a professional athlete to forgo bodywork? A musician uses their body just as much as an athlete. Granted, it’s in very different ways, but the fact that playing an instrument or singing is a physical process can’t be avoided.

Upkeeping the body also means good nutrition, exercise, etc… Good musicians attend to self-care.

10. Are you willing to invest time and money in yourself?

Music-making isn’t cheap. There are instruments to buy and repair, sheet music to purchase, collaborators and instructors to pay, classes and summer programs to attend, special wardrobe to buy.

It’s all an INVESTMENT. Scrimping pennies doesn’t cut it. However, investing in yourself pays off. You sound better and you’ve put skin into the game, which, well, only serves to UP your game.

11. Is music in your zone?

This is related to #2.

“If poetry does not come as naturally as leaves to a tree, then it better not come at all.”-John Keates

“Your most valuable currency is what comes most naturally to you. Cash in.”-Danielle LaPorte

If you’re thinking about majoring in music, ask yourself, “Does music come most naturally to me? Am I really in the zone when I’m doing music?”

Does talking up a particular aspect of music, a composer or piece light you up like nothing else does?

What can you not ever get enough of your hands on? Is it related to music and the kind of music you want to do?

When do you feel your most amazing? THAT’S what you’re meant to do.

12. Are you willing to take risks?

Whether professionally or musically, being a successful musician means having the cajones to take risks and being ok with sometimes looking like an idiot/newbie/weirdo.

13. Are you able to bounce back from rejection?

Sure it stings. Sometimes it hurts A LOT. But it’s what you do after the hurt that defines you.

Will rejection discourage you? Or will it teach you?

14. Do you believe you have to be a starving artist?

If so, either get a lot more confidence and know-how about being an entrepreneurial musician or go down another path.

As I wrote here, it’s our job as musicians to teach the world the value of what we do. YOU control whether you’re the suffering artist archetype or passionate “musicpreneur”.

15. Are you willing to grow as a person?

Who you are in life is who you are in music.

Sometimes your biggest strides in music-making will happen when you have grown as a person.

Are you willing to take the time to actualize in whatever way resonates with you, whether through faith, counseling, meditation, yoga, reading, workshops, etc…?

Talk to me

What other questions do you think prospective music majors should ask themselves? Would any of these questions have helped you?