High School is out and inbound college 1st years will be starting in a few months!

​Forbes.com recently published an article called "Ten Reasons To Let Your Kid Major In Music"

Are they accurate? Do you agree with them? What did they miss?


As per Liz Ryan (CEO and Founder of Human Workplace and author of Reinvention Roadmap) here are:

Ten Reason To Let Your Kid Major in Music (with our responses in bold)

1. Musical kids are hardy. They get that way sitting on a freezing bus at five in the morning going to a band or orchestra competition. They practice for countless hours. They compete, lose, compete, win and then compete and lose again. You think your hardy kid is going to be daunted by a tough job market?
   
   It's true that the music industry is a difficult one to crack and often times filled with infinite amounts of rejection.  Is being tenacious enough to make a "comfortable living"? Should a "back up career option" be discussed or put in place?
   
   
2. Musical kids know about focus. They know about giving up good things (time hanging out with their friends or playing video games, e.g.) to reach their longer-term goals. A kid who is good enough to get into music school and get through it will have no trouble reaching their other goals, whether they want to run a bank one day or create a whole new musical genre. Support their goals -- then stand back and watch them surpass them!
   
   Again, tenacity is important and yet there are so many unforeseen factors like being in the right place at the right time, knowing people in the industry, virality through social media, etc. How long should someone be "allowed" to go full force into music before taking a step back to reevaluate? Should parents be allowed to dictate when the "good fight" is given up if they're the ones paying for the education?
   
   
3. If you choose a program that you can afford without student loans, your child will have incurred no risk in pursuing their musical passion. If your child wants to work for a multinational corporation upon graduation or at any point in their career, they will get hired fast. Corporations know how smart and capable musical kids are.
   
   Studying music gleans way more than music proficiency. Discipline, ingenuity, and organization are just a few of the extra-musical skills one hones at conservatory.  That very well may transfer to a job outside of the arts and a minor/some experience outside of music never hurts!
   
   
4. If you worry about child being overwhelmed by the freedom and the social norms at college -- too much partying, for instance -- definitely let them major in music! They won't have enough spare time to go off the rails.
   
   In a classical conservatory, this may be plausible.  Even so, college is college and the person will regulate their own partying regardless of their major.  Major "shenanigans" called on this one.
   
   
5. Music instruction is all about patience and listening. Over and over, music students are told "Listen to your tone. Listen to this phrasing. Is that what you're going for?" They know how to tune in. They know how to make course corrections. If the kid doesn't land a plum job working for a symphony orchestra straight of of school --and they won't -- they know how to put one foot in front of the other and keep walking.
   
   True. Very true.  The best advice for any singer is "listen louder than you sing". Endurance is another skill honed by collegiate musicians along with interpersonal skills.
   
   
6. The real world favors confidence, tenacity and an entrepreneurial outlook -- three things every music student cultivates.
   
   If/when you are in music school, learn how to do EVERYTHING.  Even if you don't think you'll ever have to do it, you'll have to communicate and coordinate with people who do.  Furthermore, the more you know how to do well, the less you have to pay other people and then more things people can pay you to do.
   
   
7. Musical kids are scrappy. They know how to improvise when they forget notes, forget a piece of concert attire or lose a page from their sheet music. Managing a career these days is all about improvisation.  That is something all of us could learn from music students!
   
   This one is particularly true and Daniel Pink wrote an incredible book to prove this point called A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.
   
   
8. It is insulting to tell your child "Being a musician is a sure path to poverty." Some musicians are poor, and others are fabulously wealthy. Some musicians are unhappy, but so are vast hordes of cubicle dwellers. Let your kid figure out their own path to a happy, successful life that never puts a lower value on their health and happiness than on their financial well-being.
   
   Isn't this true for all people and professions?  What differentiates musicians in this argument?
   
   
9. When your daughter auditions, your heart will burst with pride. The love and anxiety parents feel as they stand outside a closed audition room listening through the door and praying for their child is a mighty force. When your daughter gets her acceptance letter, you will marvel at the fact that you raised a musician with the talent and proficiency to study under master teachers.
   
   Very true.  Confusing and a bit self-centered, yet true nonetheless.
   
   
10. When your daughter comes home on her first break you will be struck by the improvement in her playing. You will see her maturing before your eyes -- stepping into her power as a performer and a person making a mark on the planet. You can't do better for your child than to encourage her in that journey.
    
    Journey, not destination.  Always the journey!
    

What do you think of Liz Ryan's list?
Let us know in the comments below!

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