I am doing an Essay about careers we want to be and I am writing about being a musician. I had a question that I could not find anywhere on the internet: What type of degrees there are in music? I am writing about being an orchestra musician (I say this because there might be a different set of degrees you can achieve in college). What degrees there are how to get them and if you have time maybe the pay of that degree. The instrument I would like to play is: the trombone (also might be serpent
2 Answers
For performance, you can get a Bachelor of Arts in performance, or you can get a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in performance. The former is more general, the latter is more rigorous. At the master's level you can get a MA or an MFA. At the doctorate level you could get a Ph.D. or a DMA (doctor of musical arts).
There are also degrees in music education, music therapy, music theory, musicology, and music history, to name a few.
To an extent it's dependent on where you are in the world. Having a degree in music is not the key to becoming a member of an orchestra. It's probably far more about being known as a good player, good team member, reliable, knowing a fair bit of theory, good reading skills, experience, etc. All of which you won't get from 3 or 4 years at Uni. Although in U.K. degree exams can be taken without resorting to attending uni., but a great teacher is pretty well essential.
Looking for degree courses - there are plenty in U.K., but I suspect you're not from there. A good start is most likely find a teacher, try some exams,(not degree level!) and practise, practise, practise.
