Two Bachelors of Music anyone?

StupidBrassObsession · Veteran Member Joined: 25 Mar 2012 Posts: 341

Here is an idle pondering I've had for a while now.

Has anyone got two Bachelors or two Majors for the same Bachelor area?

For example a Bachelor of Music in Performance & A Bachelor of Music in Composition.

A friend of a friend of a friend is apparently doing something along these lines, but I believe they are doing a second Bachelor of Music (Performance) just on a different instrument.

I'm trying to work out how this would work?

Anyone done this or have any idea?

Cheers!

p.s. You might think to yourself "Why the heck would anyone do that?"
It's something I would consider if you didn't have to do the entire 3/4 years and all the same subjects, and you could choose your electives quite freely. In which case I would probably do a minor in a language like German or French instead of the usual course work... Provided I could get some form of scholarship.

mrsemman · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 4:05 am Post subject:

Depending upon the college or university, some institutions will grant a dual core degree. For example, in my first graduate program at Webster University, I applied for the Public Administration program; and took all my electives in the Human Services Program. That way, the student needs only to take core courses for both programs, and gets a dual degree.

Gary
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crzytptman · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 6:25 am Post subject:

So, do you now administer the public or serve humans?
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DaveH · Heavyweight Member Joined: 20 Nov 2001 Posts: 3587

It's been a long time since I was in school, but if I remember correctly, double majors were fairly common. You would simply major in two different areas, as long as you met the requirements for a major in each. The end result would be bachelor of whatever, with a dual major in whatever and whatever...

Crazy Finn · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:48 pm Post subject:

Are two degrees with marginal employment prospects better than one?

Hmmm....
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RandyTX · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:58 pm Post subject:

I'm with Crazy Finn on this one. Seems like you could learn to double while in a single music degree plan, and spend your "double major" hours on something that could be pay the rent if needed.

I can't imagine you'd find a job easier because of having two music degrees, both being bachelors.

StupidBrassObsession · Veteran Member Joined: 25 Mar 2012 Posts: 341

Well as to what Crazy Finn said... I disagree.

The point of education is not a piece of paper, it's being educated. The paper probably wont change much, but the time spent studying with a one on one teacher, playing in orchestras and other groups, learning that second language, etc would probably help if you're ambitious.

If you get a free-ride scholarship like a I mentioned, then why not?

ConnArtist · Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:28 pm Post subject:

When I was a young undergrad, I studied aerospace engineering b/c I wanted to learn why airplanes fly. I had been fascinated by them and built countless balsa-wood prototypes to test out as a kid. Then half way through my 3rd year of college I realized, "I don't want to design and build fighter jets for a living! I just wanted to understand how exactly they all work!"

I was naive, and realized almost too late that college is trade school for kids who are good at making grades (unless you're just a living off a trust fund and have no intention of earning pay or doing anything for society). I ended up finishing out the degree and going to grad school in something I *was* interested in doing for a living, because I determined that was quicker and cheaper than changing majors that late in the game. It would have taken me about 2 extra years just to earn a B.S., when I could finish a B.S. in the one more year, and earn an M.S. in two more. Waaaay more hireable.

But I wished somebody had given me a bit of a clue about how the world works and what a college education is for when I was younger. Would have saved me a lot of time and grief. Whenever I was offered opinions by elders, or observed mistakes people made, I typically made it a point to learn from others' mistakes and wisdom to avoid making those same mistakes myself.

You've got some elders right here offering experienced opinions based on a question you asked of them. Might be a good idea to listen.
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mrsemman · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:53 am Post subject:

Education is a tool. Nothing more and nothing less. What you do with that tool is up to you. You decide as to what you can do with it.

For me, I received my first graduate degree while serving in the Army, as part of my GI Bill. Later, while being a cop, I went on to get my second graduate degree in Criminal Justice, which was still paid for by the GI Bill. Then, while working in the corporate world as a Training Coordinator in the semi-conductor field, to company paid for my third graduate degree in Business Management, and also for an Advance Graduate Certificate in Micro-Technology and Computers.

I retired at 58 years, with a newly built house on 13 acres of woodlands; and which the mortgage is already paid. My neighbors are a retired stone mason; and a construction supervisor, and a machinist.

You do what you have to do to survive. However, no one can ever take your education and experience away from you.

Gary
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DaveH · Heavyweight Member Joined: 20 Nov 2001 Posts: 3587

PH · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:28 am Post subject:

If you are able to and interested in doing a second major in a non-music field, I say go for it. Just don't let your second major cut into your practice time or gigging opportunities even a little bit.

As far as doing a second MUSIC major, my advice is to finish a single undergraduate music major more quickly. Then, focus on a second area for your master's degree (i.e. do music ed for undergrad and theory for MM or do jazz for UG and composition for grad). A second undergrad major will undoubtedly increase the number of semesters you are an undergrad (unless you do the unthinkable and reduce your practice time to accommodate the additional course work).

One advantage of this plan is that you will have two bonafide degrees, not one with two majors. You will also likely be eligible for more financial aid and student loans under this scheme.

Also, examine which undergrad degree at your school will give you the most diverse, flexible and practical set of musical, academic and employment skills (this will vary by institution). At many schools, this is the jazz degree.
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StupidBrassObsession · Veteran Member Joined: 25 Mar 2012 Posts: 341

Matthew Anklan · Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:19 am Post subject:

StupidBrassObsession · Veteran Member Joined: 25 Mar 2012 Posts: 341

thadjones1213 · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:24 am Post subject:

In my opinion any degree you are deciding to pursue needs to open more doors once obtained. This can happen because of a piece of paper which qualifies you to apply, or because the degree allowed you the 2-3-4 years to develop the abilities to compete for the gig.
I know many great players that have a BA in music or performance or comp that develop a teaching studio and play out as often as they can as they work and develop how they want to. I often hear them say this after a few years “well I think eventually I will go and get a masters to continue developing….” This in and of itself is not a bad thing, but you can do the same thing by studying with a great teacher.
I also know a lot of people who get into grad school and find out that it was not all they hoped it would be. This is in part to all the requirements that are not specific to your desired focus. These requirements are meant to qualify you for teaching in higher education. These classes and topics unquestionably add to your overall musical mind, but you will have to find that balance of time invested as you share two mistresses (degree requirements and trumpet pursuits).
Advanced degrees are two things, time to develop, and credential building. It really depends on what door you are knocking on. If it is an institutional setting then the advanced degrees allow some (although this is getting more difficult due to the numbers of people with advanced degrees) to walk through that door. If you need time to develop with the right teacher, and experience playing in laboratory ensembles to learn the repertoire and build your mental game, then school is a great avenue to learn the craft.
If I had a way to make an income and lived in Bloomington Indiana for instance, I would see if PH had any time to squeeze me in as a private student and would develop that way. Now if he was too busy because the studio there is so full and competitive, then I would work to get accepted for a performance certificate/diploma that allowed me to do what I really wanted to do which would be to study with Mr. Harbison and perform as much as I could.

All the best

noamiller · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 1:07 pm Post subject:

I was considering doing a double major of music performance and music therapy (both BM), both require the same basic GE stuff like music theory, sight singing, music history etc. It would have ideally taken me total of 5 years to finish.
Well it would have been a cool idea if I also had the time to practice. I started off as a Music Therapy major, but now I switched to performance since with all the practicums and preparations and working part time, I had very little time for my trumpet. So Now I'm just doing music performance and a minor in psychology.

A lot of music education folks do a double major with performance, it's do-able, you just need really good time-management skills.

Thing is if you want to do grad school, check what requirements you have to meet to get in, sometimes you just have to take a few classes in the subject and a bachelors. Or if performance, sometimes it doesn't matter what your BM is, as long as it's a BM.

AJCarter · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 2:43 pm Post subject:

I know plenty of people who do it. Performance/Education, Perf/Comp, Performance/Biology, Performance/Performance/physics...

Just need to have dedication. Education was not for me, so I went only with performance. Now i'm doing dual Masters in performance and in chamber music.

StupidBrassObsession · Veteran Member Joined: 25 Mar 2012 Posts: 341

swthiel · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 3:54 pm Post subject:

Some solid advice above. It must be synchonicity or something, but I have recent had to have similar discussions with undergrads interested in grad school. I did want to respond to one point in particular:

Nicky Musser · New Member Joined: 08 Aug 2012 Posts: 1

So, I'm in the advanced stages of planning an anthropological research project on the music scene in Mumbai, and I was just wondering if this would be the best location. Would another city in India be a better bet? I've heard that Hyderabad has a lot of live music, but I haven't really been able to get any more information on that.

gurjeetguri