Help with being a music major?

Here are my honest thoughts - probably not what you want to hear, but you asked for advice!

I'll answer your last question first. Majoring in music is risky. There are hundreds of music majors for every available job, and you're very likely to end up with a job that has nothing to do with music, and the only use your degree will have is so that you can say you graduated college. A lot of people will tell you to pursue your dream, and if you want to do music nothing should stop you, but you have to be practical, too. You may love music, but in four (or five) years, if you graduate with $60,000 of debt and no job prospects, you're going to regret it. You might not want to think about that now, but better now than later.

The first thing you need to do is be absolutely 100% sure you want to major in music. You have to not only like it, but absolutely be in love with music. I know quite a few people who got burned out in the first year or two and ended up hating playing, hating orchestra - because they just weren't that into it.

You have to not only be good at it (singing, playing an instrument, whatever you do), but be really, really good. Just being the best musician in your high school is probably not good enough - you need to be outstanding. If you want to teach at the college level, you need to be good. Not necessarily New York Philharmonic good, but good enough that you can teach college students of all levels. Most music majors I know (who actually got jobs in music) wound up going back to their high schools to teach band. Not a bad job, if that's what you want to do, but it certainly wasn't the choice of most of them.

Regarding music colleges - it's hard to say. I'd recommend going to the best one in your state. You'll save a ton of money by paying in-state tuition, have a better chance at earning scholarships, and hopefully still get a great education. (Northeast US is full of good universities, so whatever state you're in should have something).

With all that said, I wish you the best of luck. Music is a wonderful thing, and if you really are talented and dedicated, then go for it. Just make sure your decision makes sense in your head, and not just in your heart! If you have any other questions, feel free to message.