For me, I had no idea what I wanted to do when I graduated High school. Went into the Army and matured a lot during that time. Started an engineering track in college and switched to comp sci. It's been a rewarding career path ever since.
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I Still Don’t Feel Fulfilled
- Thread starter Jalen Fuller
- Start date
If you don't know what to do, get your base education requirements out of the way in the mean time and worry about that for now.
Well, open up those books and see if you're interested in them. It also can give you heads up.
Perhaps you may be moving in the direction of science and engineering, in which case your involvement in music can be a framework. Herbie Hancock was an engineering major I believe. He's an example of someone that moved the other way, yet his engineering background influenced his way of thinking about music. I think all musicians are also scientists in many ways.
A weird part of me can't give up majoring in music. I don't know if maybe I'm just going about it the wrong way and maybe have more of a chance then I give myself? Am I playing bass when I really should be playing guitar like I started on? I'm just searching
Majoring in music takes a lot more dedication than you can imagine, and even more practice. I saw a lot more students wash out of my school over the 5 years I was there than complete the program. After a year or 2 of being there, it got pretty easy to predict who would last past the first year. With the mindset you already have, you're honestly wasting your time doing this. I'm just being totally honest, because that's why you've asked us in the first place, right? Most of the people on here have not earned a college degree in music, so while the "you can do it" attitude is nice, I would've bet it all on you changing majors. And that's ok, you don't have to have a degree in music to be a great musician or be a pro. Unless you do a complete 180 immediately, you are going to drown as a music major.
Another reason I wanted to stick with it as a major is because I've already put so much money forth into it, heck I have a new bass on the way today
"You gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em". Money doesn't have anything to do with it. There are lots of college majors you can kinda skate by with half dedication and still graduate. Music is not one of them. As far as difficulty, it's up there at the top.
Being very good at bass is actually the easiest part. Wait till you have to pass 2 consecutive piano semesters with a B+ before you can move on. Wait till you fail the sight reading test in one jury and get set back an entire semester (or year in some schools). Wait till you have to do "drop the needle" tests in music literature classes. Wait till you get to your 3rd year theory classes and see the stuff you are expected to sightSING (not read), and the 2-hand piano dictation you will need to be able to successfully figure out on the spot. If you're having a hard time being motivated just to play the bass, you're screwed. That's the only fun part.
Look inside yourself. You have had hundreds of posts of encouragement from outside. Pick a compass direction and begin walking in that direction. Trust your heart. Stop thinking. Start playing.
I will, also it probably would've been helpful to mention I'm actually taking practical rhythm bass lessons with Yonti Spellman.
You've already got lots of opportunities (college + music teachers) that some of us never even had a chance at. Only you can decide if it you want it badly enough. The is no 'magic' that makes you desire it.
Oh yes ... I've been in a version of this, dis-inspiration, It was violin and I was at a very popular public school with ultra-competitive orchestral program. For me, it all clicked when a teacher told me to disconnect from what I was listening to, instead of the classical pieces he gave me Sonic Youth's NYC Ghosts and Flowers ... it was like someone took my brain out of my head and melted it with crayons. Instead of feeling like I had very tactile boundaries to my playing all of a sudden I fell off an instrumental cliff.
Maybe the instrument isn't the problem, maybe it's the boundaries you see ...
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,614
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
Yonit is good. How often do you have the lessons? How much do you practice? What are you working on?
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1. I have group lessons every Wednesday for the next two months
2. I practice every day.
3.We're working on 8th notes and 16th note rhythms with sheet music
I can 100% relate to how you're feeling.
+1 on what someone said about enlisting the services of a CBT therapist if you can afford to. Doesn't need to be forever, even 6-8 sessions can give you an insight into what's getting in the way.
I'll confess I have not read this whole thread, so am not sure if someone has already suggested this but... monster player and teacher Todd Johnson recommends a book called The Practicing Mind by Thomas M. Sterner. It's not long, and I've literally just read the first chapter but it seems to be really good at illuminating issues with the way some of us practice, and how to approach it in a more constructive way. Like focusing on the process rather than product, which is counterintuitive if we're used to chasing grades, money, recognition, etc.
+1 on what someone said about enlisting the services of a CBT therapist if you can afford to. Doesn't need to be forever, even 6-8 sessions can give you an insight into what's getting in the way.
I'll confess I have not read this whole thread, so am not sure if someone has already suggested this but... monster player and teacher Todd Johnson recommends a book called The Practicing Mind by Thomas M. Sterner. It's not long, and I've literally just read the first chapter but it seems to be really good at illuminating issues with the way some of us practice, and how to approach it in a more constructive way. Like focusing on the process rather than product, which is counterintuitive if we're used to chasing grades, money, recognition, etc.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
- Jan 21, 2006
- 16,223
- 7,614
- 76
- Disclosures
- fEARful Kool-Aid dispensing liberal academic card-carrying union member Musicians Local 72-147
That is true. At Stanford and San Francisco State, students who were music majors were way busier than the CS, EE, or Bio majors. Edit: At Columbia, I don't remember if we had music majors when I was there, it was in the late 80s.
Jeez, I hated those but survived. I'm still studying piano at age 70!
As an instructor, I loved those, haha! But thank heaven we didn't use actual phonographs by the time I was a grad student.
Dictation and sight-singing were my specialties as a teacher, besides counterpoint and harmony, LOL! Seriously, ear training is so important, yet is so poorly taught at most schools. Software is simply not enough.
True dat.
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There was one very good classical guitarist at my school who was in his 6th or 7th year there when I was a (5th year) senior, with all his classes completed long ago, except he just sucked at piano and could not seem to pass with the B+ required to graduate. He had to come back to school for an extra 2 years just for the piano course 2 days/week. He finally passed it and got to graduate with my class. I was terrified that would happen to me, but luckily I passed both semesters without having to ever repeat the course.
I never failed a jury, but i had plenty of friends who did. I was one of only 3 bassists in my class, and I remember during one jury the instructors forgot to bring something for me to sightread in bass clef, so they asked if I would read from treble clef and play it on bass. I didn't have much of a choice so I agreed. They must have given me bonus points on that one because it was the highest scoring jury I ever had, lol!
I never made it to grad school, but they were still dropping the needle on actual phonographs in '99/00 when I had my undergrad music lit. classes. Those damn 1 unit classes were the hardest classes I've ever taken! Me not being a classical musician, and having to know by heart, basically every phrase of every movement of about 40 hours worth of classical pieces was crazy (not to mention having to know the scholarly details of each piece - when and why it was written, what historical significance it had, etc...)! It was the only class in college I ever got a C in and I was proud of that C! I earned it, lol.
I was lucky to have an exceptional theory and composition instructor who really stressed ear training hard. I agree, it's so important. I'd say it is the #1 thing I learned from music school, along with voice leading and chord harmony and function.
