coffeedude,

Oh my, you sound similar to my thought processes when I was in college. Concordia College is a Lutheran College if I remember right?.....great for music & especially coral conducting & vocal performance.

I started off at a junior college as a music major (flute). I actually got my AA degree in music. I enjoyed the performing & took many coral conducting courses, & the music theory & history are soooooo time consuming because they added to that composing music. I had been around music all my life performing piano & flute from the time I was 5 years old. Music ran in the family with my 3rd cousin was the head of the coral department at USC...so it seemed like the direction to go in.

I agree with you thoroughly....the music major takes so much time because it isn't only the class work, but the practicing for performing/singing takes hours daily. The course work takes so much time learning the theory & the musicianship on top of the performing.

I transferred to a 4 year university (Northridge) where I planned on continuing my music. I passed the proficiency testing & started taking flute lessons with one of the accepted flute instructors (who had studied under Rampal herself). I was finding that I was practicing 8 hours a day on top of trying to do the courses. I felt like I hit a level & just couldn't improve. Frustration hit & I was working doing data entry to pay for going to school on top of the school work & practicing. I started to think about other options & computers & accounting came into my mind to look into. I had always been good at math & loved working with computers. I observed some of the programmers & what they did while at work. I started realizing that the only place for me in music would be a school music teacher & I never wanted to work with children. I had taught lessons but didn't enjoy that very much either. I knew that I would never be able to compete with the performers in the symphonies so really had to sit back & analyze my abilities.

I ended up choosing the Computer Science/Accounting information majors....& dropped the music courses (couldn't do both...no way). I ended up getting my BS in Computer Science & Accounting information systems & had a wonderful paying job lined up before I even graduated.....& then ended up getting into the aerospace engineering. I enjoyed it so much & worked in that field for 15 years. While having my engineering career, I enjoyed my music abilities. I played my flute all over the place.....there were many demands for flute in different groups & churches....I also got a chance to use my coral conducting at church also when I took over the conducting of the church choir & coordinating the songs with the sermons. There is a flute choir where I live & performed in that for many years....then several of us put together a professional group. I got a chance to do a few recordings (nothing for sale). I have since gotten away from my music for many years now, but am hoping that when I retire within the next year, I will be able to move somewhere that my music can be back as part of my life.....I do miss it. On top of music, I am able to enjoy my love of animals with my breeding of my american eskimo dogs & my horses. It is great to have many things in life that you enjoy & want to be involved with.

I guess what I am trying to say is that, no matter if you change your major to the spanish & psychology, you will always have your talent & be able to use it in places you may not now realize.....but once you end up with your career.....you will be able to find a place for the music you so love.....You are not really giving it up. It is something you will always have & be able to enjoy. Don't feel bad about changing majors.....sometimes we have to figure out the career we really have a passion for but it doesn't mean that music will be thrown away.

Debbie