Program Profile: Music Theory and Composition	Home	Español	Activity
		Informal perspective about a program of study.

How I Got Started: I hated the piano lessons that my parents insisted that I take. For over a year it was nothing but scale after scale, up and down, hour after hour. The repetition of learning was monotonous and I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. Then one day I was warming up before my lesson and my instructor asked me what I was playing. When I told her that it was something that I made up she said that it was very good and suggested I make the tune into a song. From that day on all I wanted to do was write my own music.

What I Want to Study: I chose to attend a liberal arts college, though most of the colleges and universities in the U.S. have music composition and theory programs. During the first two years of my program I will study the history, theory and analysis of music. In my junior and senior years I will concentrate more on composition and production of music, spending time in the studio creating my own work. In general, the people who make a career out of music composition and theory obtain a graduate level degree. A masters or even a PHD can take two or three additional years of school.

What I Can Do In The Future: Teaching is the most popular career that music theory and composition students enter. There is a need for teachers in middle and high schools, and one can develop a cliental to give private lessons. Many people with a degree in music seek careers in the fields of teaching or performance, but many other possibilities may be considered. I could find a position with an advertising agency working on the music for commercials or in a music studio producing the work of other musicians.