Comments on: Planning to Major in Jazz? 8 Top Considerations

By: Austin

Austin — Tue, 04 May 2021 17:32:52 +0000

Very informative!

By: MajoringInMusic

MajoringInMusic — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 00:41:07 +0000

In reply to Stephanie. We’re glad this was a useful article for you! Teaching requires pedagogy training, which is typically part of doctoral programs for teaching on the college level or, for K-12, music education programs. Those who teach also need to be highly proficient and active performers as well - they need to be good models for their students as well as stay fresh with the genre. They will also be better able to support their students who want to pursue jazz performance.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 18:19:04 +0000

This article was very informative on planning for a career or education in jazz music. I found it interesting that like with most programs or goals, that one of the first steps was to choose a direction or have a goal. Having to take classes on how to teach jazz I would assume to be completely different than performance classes.

By: Nancy K

Nancy K — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 22:16:23 +0000

I’m right in the middle of this process with my son who will be a jazz performance major in the Fall. Several of his auditions were nothing at all like what the College had indicated in terms of song selection, band or no band, group or solo audition, etc.

So, travel thousands of miles, prepare for the audition as requested and then have it switched up.

It didn’t phase him too much, but as a parent I’m wondering if this was done on purpose to see how he would adapt, or through lack of planning, personnel or resources.

The lack of feedback from the Colleges where he either wasn’t accepted or didn’t even get to audition after submitting a prescreen video, was disheartening.

By: John Spencer

John Spencer — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 15:41:11 +0000

Great article, but there is even more. Idealistically, music is an art. Practically, it is also a business. Organizing and leading a successful band, for instance, may not require non-performance skills, but your chances of surviving and succeeding grow dramatically if you can manage, negotiate, plan, budget, market, sell, read and revise a contract, invest, save, teach, relate and make friends of people you may not like or respect but might need — among other things. Today, more than ever, a successful career in jazz (or any performing art) means going beyond music. Too often, the successful musician or ensemble is not the most artful at playing, but the most adept at these non-musical disciplines.