Much has been discussed and written related to the problems of the music performance major in colleges and universities. Presenting an argument for the performance major based on employment statistics is futile and it is the responsibility of parents, counselors, advisers, and teachers to be clear on the job prospects of making a living in the area of musical performance. While it is difficult to examine the data, most studies seem to point to less than 5% of performance majors succeeding in their field beyond college. As small colleges seek to define their degree offerings, it must be noted that large conservatory type of experiences are also recognizing the job futility of the music performance major. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, it begs the question why the degree exists at all. Yet there is more to the story.
A college degree was never intended as a vocational training certificate for employment. Although there is plenty of justification for such a concept and many opportunities for such training, a college degree, particularly in classic liberal arts environments, is intended for broad-based philosophical experiences leading to white collar positions of leadership, teaching, medicine, sciences, writing, and the list continues. Granted the performance degree is considered more of a professional degree than it is a liberal arts degree, the delivery of the degree falls within the scope of most liberal arts institutions in that the requirements include a General Education core of classes outside of the music offerings. A student learns how to perform on a given instrument or voice but also learns basic other knowledge applicable to a variety of careers.
Given the economic challenges of employing the sheer number of performance majors that exist in our colleges and universities today, how can we continue to encourage or even justify the pursuit of such a credential? There may have been a time in history when the number of performance majors only slightly exceeded the number of full-time positions available, but that time is in the far past and to claim otherwise is to be unaware of the current musical dynamic. This does not mean there are few positions in music available after graduation, but, sadly, most of them are not within the design of curriculum pursued in the performance major. In other words, students may be preparing for a world that no longer exists, at least in the forms of the past. Why do we have the degree?
The answer lies in the rather nebulous but certainly valued concept of discipline. The pursuit of excellence in any field requires discipline that is relentless, unswerving, focused, and directed. In the military, discipline is demanded through cleanliness, precision, timing, and expectations. In sports, individual discipline serves the team through reaction time, perception, dedication to the goals, and the ability to make quick and decisive decisions. There are few skills more applicable to all areas than is the skill of discipline, fortitude, and stamina. It is through discipline that we learn to excel, to grow, and to achieve at a high level, reaching great heights of success and battling through the difficult and often bumpy road of life.
The pursuit of musical excellence demands personal discipline that includes individual practice, collective rehearsals, and cognitive study. Practice involves hours each day for many years in order to reach a level of excellence that is both competitive with other performers and expressively satisfying to listeners. Such achievement requires complete mastery of all technical demands such as notes, rhythms, dynamics, articulations, phrasing, and musical sensitivity. The hard work demanded from performance majors takes on significant proportions in relation to many other majors. While we all enjoy hearing a great performer on a stage, we must also be mindful of the years of dedicated effort to reach such musical artistry. Such mastery does not come easy and musical accomplishments, while mixed with talent, are the result of disciplined application of excellence over a period of many years.
But ability aside, and knowing the difficulty of earning a living as a professional performing musician, how does the performance major benefit the person? The answer lies in the pursuit of excellence through discipline as being transferable to other areas and professions. The act of total dedication to excellence, working out difficult passages, blending artistry with technical challenges, learning large amounts of literature, and preparing for performance forces a person's will and stamina to work together for a goal. For some that results in opportunities to perform in public and to make a living as a professional musician. For others that could mean using the fortitude it took to master a skill and turning that ability into something in business, medicine, law, the sciences, while maintaining the love of music.
In a recent graduation speech, Jim Carrey encouraged students to pursue their dreams and love what they do. In contrast, another speaker disagreed, admonishing people to pursue a discipline where they can find success. Somewhere in both these ideas, lies the truth for most people. Here are some links arguing for each side:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3026272/leadership-now/the-secrets-to-career-contentment-dont-follow-your-passion
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cal-newport/follow-your-passion-is-bizarre_b_4350869.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/andreessen-whatever-you-do-dont-follow-your-passion-2014-5
http://elitedaily.com/life/motivation/the-10-reasons-you-should-follow-your-passion-and-not-the-money/
Follow your passion completely but keep a plan B in mind that will still allow you to use your love in some kind of way. Mostly, apply yourself fully to the task and use relentless discipline to achieve excellence in all endeavors.
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