How do I begin finally making music on the piano?

Best Music Schools for Late Starters?

• I had a kind of complicated question (at least for me it is) that I am hoping to get some opinions on. Bottom line up front, I am looking for a career change and I have made the decision to work on becoming a College Professor in music. I am wondering which schools (in the US) would be good to look into for a BA, MM, and DMA in Piano Performance, that are kind to people that aren't child prodigies or having started in music before they could even write. But it should also be decent enough to give me a reasonable chance of landing a job as a music professor at a college/university (doesn't have to be a top 10 school, just a decent one). Audition requirements at schools all seem to vary greatly and I am having a hard time making heads or tails of what schools to apply for and which ones to not waste my time at. I am much more familiar with Business schools than Music ones. Also, for college level teaching in music departments, I hear it is better for your degrees to be more performance based than music education based, is that true? I'll be graduating with an AA in Piano Performance from a local community college next spring (currently have a 4.0). Because there was no audition requirement, I was able to get in with very little piano experience (I've been playing drums for nearly 18 years self taught though, so I am not new to music. I'm 29 now). Also, because I already have a bachelor's in business, I've been able to focus solely on music courses the whole time. In the spring, I'll have 2 years of formal college level piano instruction under my belt. I am aware that 2 years is no where near enough time to compete with all the kids who started early. But at the same time, I am playing recitals with them now at my school and I don't see how I couldn't reach their level after a couple more years of dedicated practice (with the exception of a couple highly talented ones). In some cases, I am even playing better than them. I have been approached by several professors, including my own, who have asked how long I've been studying and most are astonished when they hear I've only been playing a couple of years. I don't say this to gloat, but just to give an idea that I have some skill and I work very hard at closing the gap on where I am and where I want to be. I am prepared to have to take a couple more years of private lessons to prepare if necessary though. But I would much rather continue on if at all possible since I have many years of schooling left to finish the Doctorate degree. I am not interested in hearing all the reasons why I shouldn't do this. Music has been the one consistent force in my life and I am obsessed with piano. I love teaching and learning and collaborating with like-minded individuals as well and can think of no better way to do all these things than be a music professor. I have no interest in being a concert pianist (although I do want to perform when I can) and I have more than enough life skills and work experience to keep food on the table, so please don't waste my time and yours with giving me a lecture on how it is too hard and I should abandon this idea and go be a computer programmer (Note the statement above about a career change, been there done that and can't stand another minute of it).

• Answer:

  First understand that "Music" isn't what those professors are hired to teach except at the community college level. They are very specialized. What they teach is dependent on what they did their graduate study in. An MM or DMus in Piano Performance will qualify you to teach piano and little else. Your question about education majors - an MME or DME qualifies one to teach music education (teacher certification) but not the academic music courses or studio. The degree required to teach studio (such as piano performance) is the MMus in performance though many schools would much rather have a DMus or abd for that position. The real secret to getting those jobs is professional performing/recording experience. What you might want to do is thoroughly explore the various undergraduate degrees in music that are available. They aren't the same. The BA in Music is a general music degree for those planning academic music subjects in grad school or for community/church work. The BME (Music Ed) is for people that are planning teaching in public schools. Within the BMus (BM) there are specialties and only one of those is performance. A performance major is for people that are planning, and have a shot at, professional performance careers. We draw studio teachers from those performance majors (concert pianists) because they're the people who understand about the profession. At that level it's not hobby music anymore and is incredibly competitive. If you want to be a professor (it's usually an instructor/lecturer position) of piano then you'll have to become one of those concert pianists first. And a good one. There are other music professors though - theory, history, composition, conducting, ensemble directors, technology, business, etc... and they all specialized in their area for their graduate degree. A BA Music or BMus (piano) grad will NEVER have trouble finding work. And some of it is pretty sweet work indeed. Private piano teachers and church music directors don't come cheaply and every town has at least one of those jobs sitting open right now. Becoming a professor of music is a bit harder path though - all of those child prodigies want that job too, they can get paid for practice time. If you were asking about clarinet performance or some such, that'd be a different story though. Worry about the bachelor's degree first. Get it from the best school you can get into. Expect that your age will not exempt you from anything in the department but that there exists a reality that "musicians don't have an age" -- you can either play or you can't and that's all anyone cares about. They'll expect you to hold your own with the youngsters. note: PE sometimes forgets that everyone doesn't need one of those "jobs" the poor people get stuck with and some of us get to play on the street corner just for the fun of it. But, if you'll be needing a real job - you might want to chat with some musicians before you head in our direction.