Parent & Student Handbook
Music Careers
While it is not the primary intent of the band program to churn out college Music Majors, one of our goals is to have band students participate and enjoy music over their entire lifetime. While there is a tremendous difference between the two, having music as an avocation over one's lifetime, some students may feel a need or desire to make music their vocation.
Music is probably the only field where serious preparation and study MUST begin at an early age (Middle School to early High School) to be successful in the field. It is nearly impossible to succeed in music when that decision is made in the junior or senior year of high school.
Certain specific steps should be followed in order to prepare for a career in music. First, a student should be motivated to and enjoy practice, most serious music schools would expect music majors to practice about three hours a day. This is practice time, not just playing time; a distinction must be made on this point. High school age musicians planning on a career in music should at the very least be practicing between one and a half and two hours a day on their particular instrument.
A student planning on a music career should seek out and privately study with a full time working professional musician on their particular instrument. There are a lot of musicians who teach outside of their area of expertise, avoid these teachers. Piano lessons and the subsequent acquired skills are essential to all students planning on a career in music. Most music schools require that no matter what your major instrument may be, piano will be your minor instrument of study.
Voice study or at least experience in singing is also crucial to your success. All music schools require singing as a major part of their regular curriculum.
Perform in as many different venues as possible, play in a church group, join a string orchestra, start your own band, look for a chamber group to play in, play in the pep band and jazz band, play in the pit orchestra for a musical, call the local university music schools and ask them if they have any special groups for high school students. Every performing experience is a learning experience, even the bad ones. Play whenever possible in public.
Attend a wide variety of concerts and don't limit yourself to your favorite type of music. The Post Gazette Weekend supplement and Sunday Magazine are an excellent source of upcoming concerts. There are a lot of free or reduced cost concerts available for students. Listen to all types of good music; once again, diversity is the key.
Seek out other students who have the same goals as you, you can help each other with ideas on achieving those goals. Try to attend a good summer music camp, even if it's only for a week.
Talk to Mr. Riffle and Ms. Kadar as soon as you think you may want to enter the field of music as a career, we can help steer you in the right direction. And finally, be realistic about yourself and your goals, everyone wants to be a star, but very few have the dedication to achieve that lofty status. It is guaranteed that you will only achieve your goals by extremely hard work over a long period of time. No one ever succeeded just by accident!