Do You Take Any Real Classes?

As a student of the Hartt School, I get asked this question frequently. A vast number of people seem to think that majoring in music is a cakewalk. To these people I'd say, "Can you write me a four part chorale in e minor, in 9/8 time,using a passing 6/4 progression, and a deceptive cadence?" The average person would probably look at me like I was speaking a different language. What people don't seem to realize is that being a music major takes a severe amount of time, energy, patience, focus, perseverance, and hard work. As a vocalist in particular, we get even more of a bad reputation from instrumentalists for being unable to sight read or our lack of the ability to count a piece of music. Now these stereotypes do have some truth to them, but in our defense, we haven't necessarily been taught to read music ever since we started singing. Singing is something that's just natural for everyone. An average 10 year old wouldn't be given a brand new piece of music and asked to sing it through without ever hearing the song before. Also, our instrument is our body, which as we all know, doesn't always function the way we want it to. Along with this unpredictable factor that is the human body, vocalists have to be able to hear a pitch in their head before they sing it which isn't really necessary for an instrumentalist who can see a note on a page, press down a key and voila; music. I, myself, think that vocalists have to work harder to learn these skills and beat the stereotypes we've been given. Getting back to the route question, "Do you take any real classes?" my answer would be that I consider all of my classes "real". To be a musician there are several skills and subjects that are imperative to be studied. For example, my schedule consists of Music Theory (where we learn how music works and study the language and notation of all music), Ear Training (where we work on our ability to read and sing a piece of music on sight, and our ability to hear and sing intervals), Piano (learning basic piano skills), Diction (where we learn how to sing properly in languages such as English, Italian, German, and French), Choir, Opera Stagecraft (where we learn the ins and outs of opera, develop acting skills and stage presence, and learn how to tech. a show), RPW (standard English requirement), weekly Voice Lessons (where we work on vocal technique and work one on one with a private teacher who coaches us through new pieces), Paranov Performance Hour (where we get to see and participate in various performances by all sects of the Hartt School), and Vocal Seminar (where we work as a class with a mentor to talk about the music business, technique, and work on a class recital). This schedule of classes, albeit extensive and overwhelming, is not all we have to do in order to succeed. Classes such as Piano and Ear Training require hours of practice. On top of all this, we also have to practice voice every day. There is so much that goes into being a music major that it's just mind boggling to hear someone say "So do you just sing all day?". No. No, I do not 'just sing all day'. This major is not just what I do for school, it's my career path and my lifestyle. To be in this major takes a lot of work and resilience. I didn't choose it for the easy grades, because they're not easy in the slightest. I choose to be involved in music because it's my passion, my desired career path, and it's what I want my life to be about. So the next time you hear someone say that musicians are lazy or they don't do any work, take some time to think about all of the things you read here and just how much effort we put into our majors.

Also, this link is hilarious and it sums up exactly what I'm trying to say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib2prWo49Sc