leave college for music dream?

Question

so this is definitely a generic question. how many kids have you come across that have asked the same thing - should i drop out of school to pursue a music career?

i have been focused on music my entire life. i started playing the piano when i was in 1st grade and have been singing since i can remember. i have taken up guitar in the past few years, too. i've done recitals, talent shows, played at churches, performed at conventions with a praise band that i sang back-up for, sang for church dinners, and solo songs for concerts. i have a strong interest in writing, though i haven't written too much. i have the music dream, you know....the becoming-famous one. yeah i know, real cheesy. i think about it everyday of my life. i wake up and think about it, think about it throughout the day, and go to bed and still think about it. 

i'm a dedicated person. i try to do my best in everything. i graduated high school with a 3.8 GPA and now in college i am making As and Bs. i don't party that much. i realize that school is very important. in today's world, you pretty much need to get a degree of some sort to have a better chance of job placement. not saying that you wouldn't get placed somewhere good if you didn't, but it will increase your chances. 

i come from a broken home, and i live with my grandparents. they don't know that much about music, and don't really take too much of an interest in my music or what i would like to do. come on, they're in their 80s, can you blame them? it hurts sometimes, but whatever. since i lost my mom when i was 3, i began receiving payments from the government every month until i graduated high school. they saved them up, and that is what is paying for my college. 

i am a music business major at my college. however, it is not a REAL major - it is only interdisciplinary, meaning that it is like doubling majoring in music (piano being my instrument), and then in business . i'm worried that when i graduate i will not be placed where i want - in the music industry - and will regret spending my money on my private college. at times i feel like i should stop school and think about the best way to utilize my money for this. sometimes i think, well maybe i should be spending it on studio time? an agent? something like that. it's obviously a lot to think about because after it's gone....it's gone for good. 

at times i feel silly wanting to drop out of college just so i can have a chance to start this music thing. it's hard to balance the college life and music. i am involved in a sorority which demands a lot of time from me, a desk sitting job (i do a lot of my homework here), a couple choirs, an honors society and a music fraternity. 

i've already signed up for classes this semester, so i'm going to continue school for now. i'm trying to figure out where i can get more performance opportunities so i can gain more experience and exposure. i'm really not sure what to do.

honestly...i can't imagine myself doing anything else. i know that if i let it slip away, it'll be one of those things that's like..."what would have happened if i had just followed my dream? where would it have taken me?"

i need to get off on the right foot....any advice is welcome =)

Maybs · Accepted Answer

We just had some professionals come by our school and they said a lot of their income was teaching.  That was in a classical wind ensemble though, nothing contemporary, so I'm, not sure how useful that is. With a college degree you can always fall back on teaching when you don't get a gig or whatever.  It's a good mainstay, apparently.

But hey it's your life, and none of the advice here is ultimately going to help you.  In order to go pro you have to want to play music all day, every day.  If you truly have that desire, go pro, because if you know you have the talent, you'll always regret it if you don't.

alizee · Answer

When I saw all of this written I wasn't even going to read it and write anything down like"YES",but I changed my mind and I read this because you reminded me of my crush =)

When I read that you had a 3.8 GPA in high school my first thoughts were that you should just stay in college.I don't even know you but you should just keep on with your college life and all those performances that you already do. I can't tell you any lies like "yeah go ahead and drop out of college and get a record deal"....because I am not sure that it will happened soon. I think that if you are really talented then you will succeed and become a famous music artists. It seems that you are very committed to your  community and churches so Im guessing you're a very nice guy. If you know how to play the piano since you were in first grade and you know how to play the guitar and you're familiar with how to perform on stage then you will be fine when you achieve all of this.I am sorry to hear about your mom,but I think your grandparents did a good job raising you because you sound very polite and educated.I know that it may be tough to handle the music thing and college life at the same time but if you've done it since you were in high school then I see no problem in continuing with it. I have very lame advice for you but just continue until you are done in that private college you go to and finnish with your music business major.I am sure that in some point in your life anytime soon there will be some opportunities for you to get into the music industry and persue  what you want in being famous. I wrote a lot but it was worth it..and if my advice wans't useful then sorry for wasting your time.

Jon C · Answer

How many semesters have you already completed? How many left to go? If you only have a year or two to finish college, definitely finish college. Having a degree will help you no matter what you want to do.

If you passion is music then you should pursue it, but there are a lot of ways to go about it. You can be a performer, or a producer, talent scout, etc. You can use your business degree to get into the industry. Whatever you decide, start networking now. Good luck

pcgamer3k · Answer

Advice is think A WHOLE MESS ABOUT THIS. This can be crazy. If your super amazingly talented, like everyone wants you to play your music then maybe but college is still important. It helps things like your back up jobs and carrears. Don't really listen to me, i'm not old enough to help someone with a decision, and even less like a decision like yours. -edit- sorry didn't read it all. You should see if there is any tricks or things you dont know for piano. You also need to get very good habits. You already have some but bad habits like practicing at the dead line, not trying hard, etc. can be very bad.

Anonymous · Answer

Horn players have a fairly easy path to college, as many will give scholarships if you'll play in their orchestras. So you've picked the right instrument, at least. Practice hard and get good. You probably don't have to start out at Juilliard right at the bat, but you'll want to attend one of the top music schools (like Indiana, Eastman, etc.) at the masters or doctorate levels for sure. You'll probably have a good idea at the close of your Bachelor's degree as to whether you have the stuff to play in a professional orchestra or whether you should focus more on teaching and take a music education degree at the masters level. Oh, and take a music performance degree at the Bachelor level. You can always switch to education later, but it's harder to go the other way.

incandescent_poet · Answer

A BA is the new High School diploma, and a Masters is the new BA. To get a good job in the new economy, higher education is a must. Graduate, graduate, graduate.

Being a student is a great "in" with a studio if you e-mail around asking about internships. I did this last year (not with a music studio), and the three that interviewed me all accepted me. I then told them I couldn't accept without it being a paid internship and that I needed to be making at least $*/hr. The one that said they could pay me was the one I accepted.

Anonymous · Answer

I also have been in the same situation as you. My father died when I was two and i got govt checks till i was 18 and i was raised by my grandparents. I also started music in church and dropped out of college to pursue my dream as a musician(and i ran out of money for school). The music thing hasn't worked out for me since then ( im 29 now) but i still play in a band and i love it.  I am now finishing a degree in criminal justice. I think you should go for it, do the music thing cause you can always go back to college, but you need to be young to be successful in main stream music. If you can make the listeners feel half of what you feel when you play you can be a success. good luck.

▫□ █ ▄ ▀Square▀ ▄ █ □▫ · Answer

first of all, i play the piano too, so cool. i am getting good but i have no creativity in me at all so writing music is out of the question lol. anyway here is what you should do. finish college, get a degree as a backup. until then, you should maybe start writing your own music, to build up on. once you graduate, you can search for any job in music that interests you, and if you find it, great! if you can't find it, then you have a backup plan

cody a · Answer

Stay in school.  You'll never regret getting an education, as only good things can come from it.  Music will always be there for you, but the opportunity to finish colllege might not.

chilldude · Answer

finish school and pursue career? =)

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leave college for music dream?

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