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✝ The Tales of the Creature ✝: Music Education Major: My Rant.

musiceducators:

zmetalangel:

I am a musician, I love music. Music flows in me, and it is one of the ways I use to express my soul. Key word: expression. I am currently a music major in a community college (cheaper! :D) so I could end up being a choir teacher, maybe professor, who knows. However, ever since I began this as my major, I have began to despise it. Have to take four music theory courses, all of them learning these myriad of rules that are needed to know and be applied in order for us to get a grade, pass, and then break the rules. I personally find it obnoxious. I used to make music from my being, now I have to follow this subjective rules. In order to get a paper statement I am qualified to make music. I am seriously considering switching my major to linguistics, or something else I know I can do. Because music is not the same it was for me anymore. Not my escape, or way to express myself. Now I have to watch out for parallel fifths, and instead of feeling the music, I hear the chord progressions.

Well, music is one of those things that you need to learn the rules in order to break the rules.  Please don’t tell me you’re one of those “Photographers” who take poorly framed pictures of lawn chairs.  Look, if you really love music, then you have to learn about its inner workings.  You can’t go on pursuing a career in a field that you’re ignorant about.  If you want to properly direct an ensemble, then you need to know theory.  For example, I was singing in a chorus for Tosca.  The bass was singing the wrong note at some point.  The chord was a C dominant 7th and he was supposed to go down to a Bb.  He kept going lower and I used my theory knowledge to tell him that he was going to the G below it, which is a more stable part of the chord.  After letting him know, he was able correct his error.  Sure, if your ensemble is absolutely perfect and NEVER makes an error, then fine, theory is useless to you.  BUT, even the NY Philharmonic makes mistakes.  If you really can’t stand theory, then music just isn’t for you.  You need to dedicate yourself to music and if you want to change majors because you think you’re too good for theory, then you really don’t give a shit about music and the world would be better off without you educating our kids.

/endofmyrantbitch!