by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 01/18/2017 at 18:04
by "ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
Published 01/18/2017 at 18:04
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STARS: 15
Calvin nailed it.
"Phatboyphil" (justphil)
01/18/2017 at 18:11, STARS: 1
The biggest worry I have about going back to school is that I forgot how to fluff up papers. Surprisingly I’ve retained quite a bit of everything else lol.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
01/18/2017 at 18:45, STARS: 0
In academia. Can confirm.
Honestly, I spend a lot of time with my students trying to beat all that out of them and get them to write with concision and clarity. High school and college teaches them to fluff and primp their writing until it sounds important enough to turn in, but it’s torture for the poor slobs who have to read that crap.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/18/2017 at 18:54, STARS: 2
I have a doctorate in trumpet, and pursued a job in academia. I got three final interviews, but didn’t get the gig. In retrospect, I’m glad. I would not have liked academia as much as I thought I would. I’m happier playing and taking care of my kids. But yes, in HS it’s all about word counts and page counts. As you say, the challenge is clarity and concision, a difficult skill to learn. And there are many profs out there who still haven’t learned it.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
01/18/2017 at 19:00, STARS: 0
Academic music surely is a whole different world from straight performance. I had a number of friends who majored in music at my alma mater (most of whom transferred from engineering, if you can believe it) where the program was more focused on education than performance. Academic jobs in any field may be attractive because of the security they bring, but there is a price to pay in time spent doing stuff that has nothing to do with what you trained for.
"The Lurktastic Opponaught" (oppolurker)
01/18/2017 at 19:58, STARS: 2
Ow, my ego!
Professional science is a cruel mistress.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/18/2017 at 20:44, STARS: 1
There are different sorts of degrees in music. You can get a BM in either music performance or music education, with obvious differences in focus. You can do the same with a master’s degree. For the terminal degree, you can get either a PhD or a DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts, which is what I have). Both degrees make you eligible to teach college (you could get a college gig with a master’s, but it’s pretty rare these days), but the former is academic (music history, music theory, music education) while the latter is a performance degree. I had to write a dissertation, though more recent programs remove the requirement for a dissertation, which I think is bogus. It cheapens my document. In my opinion, the most serious problem with that is that people who get a DMA and go on to college teaching jobs will be reading and grading dissertations when they never had to write one.
"wiffleballtony" (wiffleballtony)
01/18/2017 at 20:56, STARS: 1
College in a nut shell.
"fhrblig" (fhrblig)
01/18/2017 at 20:57, STARS: 2
I feel like you need some business cards that say “Doctor of Trumpets”.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/18/2017 at 20:58, STARS: 1
I keep telling my wife, “Trust me—I’m a doctor.” But it doesn’t help. I rarely ever use the title. When I teach (taught, I don’t any more), my student’s would call me “doctor.” But outside of academia, it just sounds weird.
"loki03xlh" (loki03xlh)
01/18/2017 at 22:09, STARS: 0
As long as you have retained your keg standing skills, you’ll be fine.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
01/18/2017 at 22:23, STARS: 0
That’s really cool. I suspect your course of study still had its share of music history and theory as well.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
01/18/2017 at 22:26, STARS: 0
I have a PhD. My sister in law, a DVM, says people don’t think of us as RDs (real doctors).
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/18/2017 at 22:40, STARS: 1
Absolutely. There are classroom requirements, and, at the end, I had to pass comprehensive exams in music theory and two eras of music history. If you don’t pass the written exam outright, you have to take an oral exam, which is pretty tense. You got three shots at the comps and, if you didn’t pass after that, you were done, or had to start the program all over. I also had to give three recitals, one of which was a lecture recital, where I had to talk and play, which was a drag. After all that, I wrote a dissertation, which (thankfully) didn’t necessarily have to be on a unique topic, though it dealt with trumpet performance issues. The requirements can vary from school to school, but that is the traditional course of study for a DMA. In fact, you could find my dissertation on UMI, if you really wanted to. I haven’t looked at it 18 years.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
01/18/2017 at 22:47, STARS: 0
Don’t tempt me, ‘cause I’m the kind of guy who would read something like that. One of the cool things about music that I think most people don’t realize is that it’s all applied physics underneath. Where art meets history meets science is where you find geniuses like Da Vinci.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/18/2017 at 23:11, STARS: 0
Physics, math, it’s no wonder that music students might make the move to engineering. My teacher always talked about “organized thinking” while playing. If you read my dissertation, you would likely be the first person to do so in almost 20 years. I haven’t read it since my defense. I would probably cringe at the writing. It was all about excerpts from the opera repertory for trumpet and cornet. But I didn’t just write about the licks, I also wrote about the context of the story from which the excerpts come, what particular actions on stage are being highlighted, leitmotifs, etc. The idea was to help somebody who might be preparing for an opera orchestra audition. Interestingly, I’ll be doing one of those next month.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
01/18/2017 at 23:20, STARS: 0
See if your own advice stands the test of time!
And in case I forget, good luck!
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/19/2017 at 07:33, STARS: 1
Thanks. Unfortunately, only one of the operas I wrote about is on the audition.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
01/19/2017 at 14:05, STARS: 0
Do trumpet doctors get to write prescriptions?
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/19/2017 at 14:11, STARS: 0
Sadly, no.
"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction)
01/19/2017 at 14:15, STARS: 1
Well, you should print some up and at least try. It’s probably only a felony.