Music Degree Programs for Singers, Performers, and Composers

Music is the soundtrack of daily life around the globe. We wake to music of our digital alarms clocks, shower to tunes on the radio, commute to our jobs listing to music on car radios of MP3 players, work to background music, have lunch where music is played in the café, and so on into the evening when we may go dancing, to a concert, or simply relax before bed with the stereo on.

Everybody marches to their own tune. When you pursue a career in music, there's no reason why you can't find the calling that best suits your talents, tastes, and aspirations.

Finding Your Place as a Musician

Music schools can introduce you to the wide range of music careers and specializations, deepen your appreciation of music in all its forms, provide you with theoretical and performance training, and assist you in finding the song your heart wants to sing.

Consider the amazing breadth of these musical careers:

• Music Composer/Conductor. For the would-be composer, there are career niches in arranging scores for bands, jazz quartets, choral singers, orchestras, rock bands, video and film soundtracks, advertising jingles, or for other musicians in the recording industry. You can work as a transcriber, copyist, or music librarian. As a conductor, you can lead in recording or live performances for school, religious, university, community, and state-level orchestras, concert bands, quartets, choirs, and percussion ensembles.
• Performer. You can work solo or with additional musicians in presenting live or recording music in a wide array of niches, including classical, fusion, jazz, rock and roll, choir, and theatre. Work as a session musician for the entertainment field, a floor-show musician in hotels, resorts, and cruise ships, a free-lance performer for weddings, private parties, corporate events, bar mitzvas, in churches and synagogues.
• Music Teacher. Work for a formal music school or academy, or teach privately to individuals of all ages at your home, studio, community center, church or other locale. If you earn a teaching credential, you can teach music to elementary and secondary school students.
• Music Therapy. You can combine your talents and knowledge to use music to assist persons suffering from disabilities or challenges with emotional health. You may work in private practice or through hospitals, nursing homes, schools, mental health treatment centers, or correctional facilities.

Music: A Diverse and Rich History

Arguably, Memphis, Tennessee serves as the birthplace of Rock 'N Roll. Sun Records, founded by Sam Phillips, discovered the likes of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and more. Its partner to the north, Detroit, Michigan is home to Motown Records, founded by Berry Gordy. From Smokey Robinson to The Temptations, the Diana Ross to Stevie Wonder, Motown Records has been a consistent player in the world of music.

Outside of Tennessee and Detroit, other musical landscapes include Austin, Texas, Los Angeles, California, and New York City, New York.

Join The World of Music

From opera to hip-hop, classical to jazz, bluegrass to country, the world of music is diverse, eclectic, and exciting. While mainstream stars such as The Rolling Stones and U2, Celine Dion and the Kings of Leon, 50 Cent and Placido Domingo may enjoy time at the top of the billboards, millions of lesser-known composers, singers, and teachers enjoy satisfying careers.

Whether you're at home in Nashville, New York, or Nogales, there are music degree programs that get you started on your career in music. Depending on your commitments, you may want to consider enrolling in an online music degree program, where you can study and learn on your own time, balancing work and life.