Music - wondering if it's worth it.

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My dd has started her first year of a music degree full of hope and keen to get involved.

She's only be on campus for three weeks and is now having to isolate, so already face to face instrument tuition and small ensemble work has stopped. There will be no orchestras and the opportunities to perform look non existent.

With such a performance based subject I'm starting to wonder whether it's even worth her completing this year, or should she just cut her losses and go for it again when restrictions have been lifted. I know it's early days though and a lot can change over the three years

How are others finding their performing arts based courses? I'm keen to hear other's experiences and views.

Hmm ... Musicians' lives are precarious anyway, even without a global pandemic. Only a tiny proportion stumble into the sort of fame and glory that provides for a lifetime after a handful of years. Most have to be ready to turn their hand to anything to survive as musicians.

So over the last few months countless soloists, quartets, orchestras or portions of orchestras have forced themselves onto YouTube and zoom, offering tuition and workshops, rehearsing and performing remotely, etc, etc. I'd be surprised if no one at her university / conservatoire is doing these things (on top of flipping burgers or selling kitchens or whatever to pay bills).

How would her position be improved by not being there this year? Even without face to face teaching and performing she currently has the benefit of being plugged in to a network of connections, tuition and shared endeavour. How would she propose to maintain and develop her practice outside of academia? Presumably she would have to get a job? (Even if you were happy to keep her she'd need something on her CV.)

But I notice it's you doing the wondering? I hope your daughter is even now finding ways to exercise resilience and demonstrate the proactive approach she'd need for a successful career even in the best of times.

I'm surprised everything has stopped, to be honest. Presumably that's just while she is isolating so will be a temporary measure and things will improve once she's out of isolation. We're the first three weeks ok? If so, I would stay, accepting that things are not ideal.

At the music school near me 1:1 lessons started in September with perspex screens between teacher and pupil (previously done by zoom). My quartet started playing again in the summer when lockdown ended - initially outside but now we go inside but just make sure that we sit at least 2m apart. My choir has also started rehearsing in person rather than by zoom. Again, we stay 2m apart from each other.

I can see that performance opportunities are limited, but fingers crossed that will be for only one year out of three and I imagine it's better for them to be curtailed in your first year than in your final year.

As I was still wide awake after lecturing you last night, OP (sorry! ) I started reading the Sunday Times. There's a tremendously hopeful article - illustrated with a photo of a Chinese orchestra - comparing the current "post-covid" situation of the Far East and Pacific Rim countries to our own. Essentially (apparently) they're now all back to living their lives.

As my more distant family is quite widespread I'm beginning to think escaping for a few months to somewhere with a better quality of life would be a good idea, especially for the family teens. If your daughter (rather than just you) is really in despair about this academic year, might she consider relocating to, say, Singapore or New Zealand (quarantine dependent of course) for work and performance opportunities for a year?

PoulePoulette - I am assuming you haven't bothered to look and see that even if FCO advice allowed her DD to travel to those places you suggest, those places have not even opened their borders.

I didn't mean right now. Just once it's possible.

Why so hostile?

I'm surprised to hear that all tuition and small ensemble work has stopped. Is nothing happening online? My DD is not studying music, but is rehearsing with her university wind band, who are having online rehearsals so that they can learn new music and be ready to perform when it's possible. My other daughter is still at home but is having instrument lessons via Skype.

Having said that, I also know a music student who is having real problems with instrument practice due to self-isolation and grumpy neighbours.

I suspect this will be a year of muddling through, focussing on the theory and finding creative ways to do the practical stuff. But that is potentially still better than being at home and not doing those things.

Yes my dd's quite realistic about her future prospects as a musician and is content to teach, she's already spent a couple of years employed by a county music school and enjoyed the experience. From conversations with her this is more where she sees herself as opposed to seeking fame and fortune as an international superstar

You're correct that these wonderings are coming from me and not her. I'm pre-empting any future conversations where doubts creep in for her and I'm thinking through what stance to take. I appreciate she needs to demonstrate resilience and in a normal year I imagine I would be encouraging her to stick with it, I just really don't know if it's worth it this year. I certainly don't intend sharing my worries with her as she hasn't expressed a desire to leave the course (Though she is saddened that there's no orchestra and the societies she was looking forward to join aren't running) - she seems quite happy doing TikTok dances and watching films with her flatmates to pass the time. But if there comes a time when she realises it's costing her and us thousands for the privilege I'm trying to weigh up if what the uni is able to offer is actually worth it, also whether she has the the right mindset and self discipline to push herself forward in these times - and quite honestly I'm not sure she does.

It's interesting that you say about going overseas as I have another dd who is doing a year abroad in Sweden on a non music degree, yet she's managed to join an orchestra and her uni experience seems to be little affected by the pandemic. She's actually getting more performance exposure than the one doing the music degree. I think this may be what's triggered my concern as this is exactly what the music degree dd should be experiencing.

Having spent the last few months encouraging her to take her place at uni and not to defer, that it will still be worth it etc etc - I'm just not sure that I believe it myself now. It's so different to normal times.

I guess this post is just me musing over the worth of the current performance arts degrees, I'd still like to hear from others who have dc's on other performance based courses to hear what their experiences are so far.

Sweden isn’t the same as here. They have been more relaxed re Covid.

I think this is so sad. I’ve no pearls of wisdom to offer except to hope that it gets better. My DD is in a choir and misses it so much. They are a small chapel choir so nothing has started up again and they are now tier 2 so it won’t for a bit. It’s truly depressing for everyone.

DS is at Conservatoire, in his second year. He does a 'slightly more niche' course (ie not mainstream classical) where performing in small groups is absolutely the norm, and the college has 'bubbled' the students in such a way that they can not only play with their 'small teaching group' but also with about 50% of the other students on the course. No larger groups, and all lectures online, but simply the freedom to have in person lessons and play with others is a HUGE improvement on being at home.

DS has 2 more years after this. His hope is that the bigger ensembles may be running again for next year (though competition will be fiercer than usual) and that he may emerge into a world where there are a few performance opportunities opening up once again. However it is genuinely rare for anyone from his course to 'make a living as a performer', and he has always known that 'a portfolio including performing' is a best case scenario, with treating it as a general degree with performing as a hobby probably more likely, so his views even pre-Covid were realistic.

The thing is with DS that he loves his type of music, and his instruments, with a truly over-riding passion. He practised 4-6 hours a day throughout lockdown, without any lessons or any external input, and with no playing with anyone else (wind instrument, therefore specially deadly). Doing his course is not in any way a 'rational' decision, but one based on 'doing what he loves and seeing what happens afterwards' - and it has been this way from the moment he presented his 6 preferred courses, in order, with rationale and all the hurdles he had to jump, the summer he completed his GCSEs. In many ways, we're really lucky.

It's a fantastic degree, terrible career for most.

My DD was involved in music to a high level while at school and considered studying music at Uni. She decided against it and did something else. She says that this year has confirmed that she made the right choice as so many of music friends have had their careers stall suddenly and with a uncertain future.

DD loves music, but it's always going to be her hobby and she's going to make her living with something more stable.

Moominmammacat - most of the people I know who read Music as undergrads went on to postgrad study in Composition and are now composers - so I have a slightly different perspective on the usefulness of a BA in Music. (Though I do inevitably know some practising musicians as well!)

My son is doing a btec in music and everything is face to face at his college but we were talking yesterday and he sid that if he were starting uni he would more than likely have taken a gap year as for him, the contact and face to face nature of studying music is everything.

Dd is in her final year of musical theatre and so far she's on a slightly reduced timetable and has had 14 days off due to a case in a different halls of residence but that affected a lot of other students and staff. She came home during that time due to th difficulties of doing zoom dance and singing classes on zoom.

Incidentally dh and I both have music degrees. Both of is have had careers in the industry and related areas though I am now in an unrelated field.

DS is playing weekly in an ensemble bubble of 30, the orchestra is still going and the quartets will be starting when they collectively get their acts together. I doubt very much that they will be performing publically this year but that's just how it is, they didn't have a huge number of pubic performances in normal years. DS is in his third year and isn't complaining about this year's set up. His social society is still running, I don't know whether they all are but for him it's business as usual but with lectures from the comfort of his room.

My son did a Music degree and is now a composer, making a good living. Every one of his friends at uni is now earning a living in music in one way or another. The thing is that they've had to be absolutely focused and determined, because they're all self-employed. That's as important as talent, really.

My children's father read music (and is an organist, FRCO etc and PGCE - I met him at a cathedral when I joined his choir). Although he has had a good career mostly teaching he did wish h is businessman father had pushed the boys into accountancy or some other better paid career and he sees year after year musicians who are very very good ending up teaching at his schools for not much per hour.

however I know lots of lawyers who read music at a very good university and are now lawyers and it is a good degree for lots of careers - you don't have to stick with music after if you don't want to.

As for the daughter as covid might be an issue for 5 years+ I cannot see the point in starting again next year . Just stick it out and if nothing else see it as a means to an end - to get a very good degree.