Is It Worth It To Study Music In University?

Is It Worth It To Study Music In University?

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Many prospective students interested in music production, composition, or performance may be thinking about enrolling in the music department of a major university, but it is worth carefully considering all of your options before making such a big decision.

The benefits may seem clear: you will receive lots of instruction from qualified professors and professionals, you will have access to high quality facilities, and you will be with many other students interested in the same thing and make many contacts. This all sounds great, but there are other considerations. A music school will harp on these advantages. Let’s take a look at the disadvantages.

It would be silly to first talk about anything except cost. A major four year university is going to cost a lot. If you don’t have the money for it, and most do not, it is going to require student loans which allow you to pay for the education but end up making it cost even more in interest. Add to this the overpriced books and other amenities pretty much required on college campuses and you are looking at what can be a staggering amount.

The question for you must be whether it’s worth it. Remember those advantages. Are they worth it?

Well, first of all, the great professors are available outside of universities for the most part. Performers and composers have a long history of individual mentorship and lesson-giving that in many cases may prove even more effective than the normal education of a music major, and it would certainly cost less.

The facilities in most music departments are going to be better than what you have access to personally, but remember that you are indirectly paying a lot to use them. You could easily rent time in a professional recording studio or performance space at a fraction of the cost. Not only that, but many aspects of music technology are getting to the point where anyone can afford them.

Finally, what about all the like-minded people you meet at university? There is no reason you cannot meet them through other means if you think about it. Try a site like meetup.com and get together a music playing group. Look for people to jam with on craigslist. Go to local music venues and see what the scene is. Colleges are not needed to bring people together. There are a million ways musicians can meet each other and form lasting friendships.

It is also worth mentioning that if you go to college in another state you will most likely see much less of the people you knew once college ends and you or they move away.

The only other defense of university music departments may be that you just need a degree sometimes in this world, love it or hate it. There’s some truth to that, but this still does not discount other options. Many music teachers became well known and regarded performers and got in that way. Not all university music professors are PHDs.

And why couldn’t you start your own private music school if teaching music is your goal. Wouldn’t you want some autonomy to advance your own music philosophy rather than be subject to the changing academic fads in the arts and the bureaucracy of it all? Why not give private lessons? Why not start a music website to teach from?

There are a ton of creative ways to make a living with music, but universities do not really try to foster any of these because then less people would go to them, and their income would dry up.

In today’s world, there is not nearly as strong a reason to go to school for a music degree, and many other degrees as well. Think about getting started on your career now, without the debt, without the limits, and without the time and money spent on things which may not prove to be worth it. Above all, make sure that you consider a view point that does not have a vested interest in the matter.