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Take a look at our article, “What Can You Do with a Music Degree?”. We encourage you to read it and also to click on any relevant careers/jobs (highlighted in red) for more information. Note that keyboard skills will be required for all music majors but unless you are a piano major, you’ll only need to take a minimum number of piano classes to provide you with the proficiency all music majors need to continue on in music as a career. We also encourage you to take a summer music program – and if there’s a school you’re particularly interested in, see if they’re offering one in voice. Our 2023 Summer Music Camps & Programs page will be adding more options over the next few months but take a look at it now to get started. Wishing you well in your musical pursuits!

A lot depends on your finding a skilled teacher to work with who can help you create a steady practice schedule with healthy vocal technique. It will be a lot of work. But why not go for it and see what happens? You also have time this summer and next to take summer music programs where you can focus on vocal technique, get lots of practice in, learn about what it would really be like to major in voice and/or songwriting, and even meet people who teach these programs at colleges universities. Start your summer program search here: Summer Music Camps & Programs.

Look at the classes you’d be taking in programs that offer these different majors. Vocal Performance is typically a classical voice major. The curriculum typically includes a focus on diction and literature, including English, Italian, German and French repertoire. Foreign language study is typically required.

Commercial Voice refers to popular music, often a singer/songwriter focus, and a focus on working in the music industry as opposed to opera and more classical settings. Lines are being blurred more and more but this will hopefully be a good way to differentiate.

We don’t know of any schools that would allow you to major in both – double majors are typically in music plus a non-music field. Take a look at the audition requirements for voice programs and musical theatre programs. Also look at descriptions offered by schools and the curriculum for each major. This should help you gain a clearer sense of the path that will fit you best.

Here are some suggestions: A vocal performance degree coupled with pedagogy training or a music education degree focusing on voice should set you up to do the work you want to do. Let schools you’re considering applying to know of your goal, and see which program would best meet that. ALSO get entrepreneurship training on how to set up a private studio, market, network, etc. More and more college-level programs are offering this, but you have to make room in your schedule for it since it’s typically not mandatory (yet). Consider joining a college student chapter of NATS (they’re actually called “SNATS” – google to learn more). Get lots of experience rehearsing and singing solo and in ensembles. Find a great voice teacher who is also a good mentor.

A vocal performance major typically studies classical and operatic vocal music. A popular music major typically studies songwriting and contemporary music. But every school is different and they don’t necessarily call their programs by the same name. So look at what you want to study, find schools that say they offer that, look at the actual curriculum at each of those schools, and then contact the schools if you still have questions (use the school forms on our website if the schools participate).

Based on what you say, unless you get sufficient voice training between now and the beginning of your senior year, you will not be sufficiently prepared to audition for university and conservatory programs. Liberal arts colleges are less demanding when it comes to prior musical training, so consider liberal arts schools with good music programs. We highly encourage you to take voice lessons and summer music programs so you can see whether this is really the right path to pursue.

I’m a freshman in high school and I’m taking music theory right now. But I want to major in like the vocal part of it. But I haven’t ever taken choir but I know the basics of music and I play piano. Would it be hard to get accepted to a college if I want to major in the singing part of it if I only take music theory? Because I really want to be a recording artist. I hope my question makes sense

It all depends on the school you go to and the type of program you get accepted to. We suggest that you look at the websites of schools you’re interested in and see if you can find their required courses for voice majors. It sounds like you might not be very happy in a classical performance-oriented major, where your technical training and required foreign language classes would be opera-oriented. As a popular music major, your focus and ensemble work would be very different and you might focus on songwriting and technology as well as performance, but you would still study music theory, history, and receive technical voice training.

Read our articles on popular music to learn more. Schools we work with that have popular music programs are linked on the side of those articles to make it easy for you to learn more.

We assume you mean you’ll be graduating next spring and applying to schools this fall for admission the following fall. So first and foremost, review the application and audition requirements very carefully on the websites of each school you’re interested in applying to. Make yourself a spreadsheet or use the Application Table here on MajoringInMusic.com so that you can track all of the important information. Don’t assume that any two schools will ask for the same audition! Start preparing for your audition as soon as possible, with the help of a teacher who has a strong track record of working with students with similar proficiency as yours. Be aware that some of the schools you’re interested in will require a recorded pre-screen that will determine whether or not you’re offered an actual audition.

Also, remember that schools are interested in accepting students who are already strong musicians who they can train and bring to higher levels of proficiency. You’ll want to be able to demonstrate your passion and great interest in vocal performance as well.

We’re glad to hear your daughter is passionate about music and science. As she continues through high school, we hope she’ll have many opportunities to check out her interests and even explore others. As for the music part of it, we highly encourage her to look at attending summer music programs. You can find an excellent selection right on MajoringInMusic.com under “Summer Music Camps & Programs” (big orange button). Some of these are full by now but others aren’t. We encourage her to look and apply as soon as possible. She can do this in conjunction with taking a science summer program as well to explore that interest.

We also encourage you and your daughter to read this article: Dual Degrees, Double Majors, and Music Minors.

We do offer individual and family consulting to help explore all of this more in depth. Let us know if that’s something you’d like to pursue.