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Music Degree
- Thread starter Womber
- Start date
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Hello Fellow Low Lifes
Just taking a survey. Many years ago I was a college student and newbie bass player. I was a biology major and was interested in minoring in music but decided that chemistry would be better for my career. Fast forward forty years and I am a more accomplished bass player and retired from a career in medical sales. I have always wanted to pursue that formal music education and said to myself, what the hell, contact your alma mater and inquire. So, long story short, on January 19 I start my quest for a Bachelors Degree in Music with a concentration in Music Theory. The reaction from friends and family are mostly indifferent to negative. I get comments about it being a waste of time and quite a few people asked the ridiculous question “What are you going to do with that degree?”
Not that it matters what anybody says because I’m doing this no matter what but I thought that I would ask my kindred spirits at TB what you all think about this adventure that I’m about to set off on? Way cool or crazy dumb?
Way cool, totally jealous.
I hope you have a blast man!
Hello Fellow Low Lifes
Just taking a survey. Many years ago I was a college student and newbie bass player. I was a biology major and was interested in minoring in music but decided that chemistry would be better for my career. Fast forward forty years and I am a more accomplished bass player and retired from a career in medical sales. I have always wanted to pursue that formal music education and said to myself, what the hell, contact your alma mater and inquire. So, long story short, on January 19 I start my quest for a Bachelors Degree in Music with a concentration in Music Theory. The reaction from friends and family are mostly indifferent to negative. I get comments about it being a waste of time and quite a few people asked the ridiculous question “What are you going to do with that degree?”
Not that it matters what anybody says because I’m doing this no matter what but I thought that I would ask my kindred spirits at TB what you all think about this adventure that I’m about to set off on? Way cool or crazy dumb?
I think what you are doing is wonderful and beyond cool.
My bachelor’s degree was in Chemistry and I was the bass player in our college jazz band. I had enough music credits to nearly have a minor, but did not have the time or money to make it official. So, nearly identical backgrounds.
I am a doc and my music skills have atrophied something terrible, but now that I have time, I’ve been woodshedding.
I am going to watch your posts with interest and I’m in the cheering section for you!!!
Kick butt!
Going to college for music isn't something I did to make money later. That's just not realistic. I got the degree so I could learn as much as I could about the mechanics of music, and how to apply that knowledge to bass and composition. It was to satiate my curiosity about the subject. If you want to learn about music just "because", do it!
It's true that society puts the highest value on technical and scientific education at this current moment in time - because, primarily, Capitalism. But a "classical" or "liberal arts" education was THE definition of what it meant to be a genuinely educated human for hundreds (arguably thousands) of years prior to this moment in time. If you wish to educate yourself in the arts for the mere sake of being educated in an aspect of humanity, it is your right as a human to do so.
Funny thing, this got me to thinking about how I would go about doing the same thing. I'm retired too, and the thing that sticks in my head is being the old woman in a class of young 'uns. I guess they are doing online clases still? That would lower the bar to entry for me
You’ll be more talented and accomplished. Go get ‘em lol.
I got curious and started looking into this for my area. Local community college offers an AA degree and has a pretty good reputation, but they don't allow auditing and have not got any sort of accommodation for seniors or returning students who aren't degree-seeking.
In order to apply I'd have to try to remember all the details about my high school diploma and the college credits I accumulated during various earlier phases of my academic life. I don't care about that and don't feel like tracking down all that info, which wouldn't be of any use to them anyway since it is all so long ago. I don't want the degree. I want the information.
That option is off the table. Online programs appear horribly expensive in comparison. Looks like I'll be a hack for the rest of my days.
In order to apply I'd have to try to remember all the details about my high school diploma and the college credits I accumulated during various earlier phases of my academic life. I don't care about that and don't feel like tracking down all that info, which wouldn't be of any use to them anyway since it is all so long ago. I don't want the degree. I want the information.
That option is off the table. Online programs appear horribly expensive in comparison. Looks like I'll be a hack for the rest of my days.
I suggest at least talking to an admissions counselor on the phone. At least in Wisconsin, my impression is that they want to get you into school and they're there to figure out how to make it happen.
Interestingly enough, prior to the modern age, math and science were considered to be liberal arts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_arts_education
For six grand I could do a four-course certificate program at Berklee, and I could customize it to meet my needs. There's also an eight-course version. But that's a lot of money! I wonder if I could find a similar program at a school that's not quite so prestigious.
General Music Studies Professional Certificate - Berklee Online
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I can't believe ANY school would turn down the chance to get tuition money, especially for a depaothat may not be full. And today, with so much information available on line, I would think they would do everything they could. Pick up the phone, or make an appointment.
Agree, speaking as someone who already has a music degree, I can say that for me the value in the experience was the constant playing all day long everyday with my peers and in the practice room, and getting to rub elbows and speak directly with some of the Giants of jazz history, and even play with them frequently. It's just my personal opinion but I think a degree in theory might be pretty boring if playing music is what your after. You're going to be mostly working with books and pencils and paper, writing reports and analyzing things, and I agree, with all the information out there online today there's probably nothing you couldn't learn on your own that you would want to learn from a theory perspective. It says it in the title, music in theory. I am personally interested in music in reality. Ie, playing music.
This is a local community college thats primary function is educating young people in-state for cheap. They're not interested in catering to the whims of the retired curious. They're pushing fresh-faced kids through the machinery as fast as they can.
College and Academic Regulations
I could talk to them but I'm in the process of cobbling together some relevant and mostly free stuff from Coursera instead.
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For me I get more than my share of that playing in the bands I work with and learning their repertoire. For most students you are probably right but the last thing I want on my plate is some sort of ensemble course.
When I decided to investigate getting another degree my first question to admissions people was will the core courses from forty years ago count? If they didn’t I probably would have decided not to do this. They already have all of my records so I don’t have to dig anything up or transfer transcripts.
The comments on TB regarding concentrating in music theory are valid and I have considered the fact that I will be spending time with a pencil in my hand more than a bass strapped over my shoulder. I want to have a balanced study of music - theory, composition, performance. I will probably meet with faculty and my advisor during my first semester to hash all of this out.
The comments on TB regarding concentrating in music theory are valid and I have considered the fact that I will be spending time with a pencil in my hand more than a bass strapped over my shoulder. I want to have a balanced study of music - theory, composition, performance. I will probably meet with faculty and my advisor during my first semester to hash all of this out.
A relative of mine did this with computer science. She took all of the CS courses, none of the core courses. The college said her college credits wouldn't transfer. She already had a masters degree. So she just skipped the core courses. Having one degree plus the credits required for another major will satisfy 99% of the uses of a degree.When I decided to investigate getting another degree my first question to admissions people was will the core courses from forty years ago count? If they didn’t I probably would have decided not to do this. They already have all of my records so I don’t have to dig anything up or transfer transcripts.
The comments on TB regarding concentrating in music theory are valid and I have considered the fact that I will be spending time with a pencil in my hand more than a bass strapped over my shoulder. I want to have a balanced study of music - theory, composition, performance. I will probably meet with faculty and my advisor during my first semester to hash all of this out.
When I decided to investigate getting another degree my first question to admissions people was will the core courses from forty years ago count? If they didn’t I probably would have decided not to do this. They already have all of my records so I don’t have to dig anything up or transfer transcripts.
The comments on TB regarding concentrating in music theory are valid and I have considered the fact that I will be spending time with a pencil in my hand more than a bass strapped over my shoulder. I want to have a balanced study of music - theory, composition, performance. I will probably meet with faculty and my advisor during my first semester to hash all of this out.
Can we get a play-by play? I’m looking forward to your story.
