“What do you do with a B.A. in English?” rhapsodizes a character in Avenue Q. While English is the smallest and most stereotypical of the humanities majors, its subject matter still tropes on life. Reading is a way of experiencing without doing—the poems, plays, and novels on course syllabi depend on references to real things, real life, and the world at large.
The same is not true for music. Especially as taught at Columbia. With its emphasis on classical theory, music is a hermetic and self-contained discipline, closer to the liberal arts ideal of studying something for its own sake than English or Philosophy could ever be.
So: what do you do with a B.A. in Music? Music major Anton Glamb, CC ’07, plans parties, DJs, produces other artists, composes, raps, and sings. Yet his experience has not been typical, nor has it had anything to do with the music major.
“The major kind of preps you to think that there is a right and wrong in music that is based off of mega old school classical music. It trains you to think in a certain way,” he said, but added that this way was antithetical to his strain of music. “Its concept of music is based primarily on harmonic changes, when I really think that rhythm is what drives music that people connect to today.”
According to Glamb, the music major is very conservative. It is also one of the largest and most restrictive programs at Columbia. Students must take 40 credits, encompassing a two-year theory sequence, a two-year ear training sequence, a one-year music history sequence, and a course in keyboard proficiency, among other requirements.
What seems obsolete and pedantic to Glamb also seems that way to some professors, though calls are more for reform than revolution. One commented on how “ridiculous” the way ear training was conducted at Columbia, while acknowledging the value of having such a series of courses.
The program is geared towards classical music. Yet there is no performance requirement, which leaves prospective musicians in the lurch. Maryam Parhizkar, CC ’09, plays the viola and is thinking about “getting a music degree,” but has decided to major in English. “Part of why I didn’t major in music is that it’s pretty academic here,” she said. “I realized I didn’t want to be a music major when I was spending more time doing part-writing and analysis in music theory than getting any actual practicing done.”
What is part-writing and analysis good for? “A good handful of them [majors] probably go on to graduate programs in musicology and maybe even composition,” said Parhizkar. Michael Skelly, who teaches piano, cited a student who “ended up going to Penn for grad school a few years back.” Professor Aaron Fox, who chairs the department, said, “I know several who have ... gone on to work in the commercial music industry.”
Another common thread among music majors and affiliates was that of the music-major-for-music-major’s sake. Perhaps there isn’t meant to be a direct correlation between the major and the career. It is, after all, a liberal arts degree: at once useless and versatile. As Fox said, “My guess is most of them go on to some sort of professional school—I think law and medicine are not uncommon.”
Skelly cited the example of Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij, CC ’06, the most famous music major in recent years. “He was pretty serious about the music major thing, and I don’t think he was imagining it was a ticket to being a rock star,” said Skelly.
Though the music major is flexible, placement programs are sparse, as they are in many other departments. “We don’t have any formal initiatives for placing students,” said Fox. “It’s something I would like to do though, at a more formal departmental level.” He said, “I don’t really know what happens to the ‘average’ music major.” Skelly echoed this, saying, “You know, I really don’t know what happens to most of the majors once they leave.”
The major is large, geared towards the academic study of classical music, and filled with requirements taken almost exclusively by majors, but the department also offers electives in fields ranging from ethnomusicology to computer music.
Glamb said of the major, “I just have to kind of forget everything I was taught and try to go forward without trying to emulate bogus styles.” He described the Computer Music Center’s program in opposite terms: “That program is rad, really open ended in exposing you to a fuckload of material and giving you freedom to choose how you want to apply it to your own musical projects and passions.”
His last comment on the major? “I’m not mad that I went through it.”
Comments
We're looking for comments that are interesting and substantial. If your comments are excessively self-promotional or obnoxious you will be banned from commenting. Consult the comment FAQ and legal terms.