Yesterday turned out to be pretty decent. I got the first of my financial aid checks, totaling about $2700, and another $2025 in Pell is due to arrive at the end of the month. I plugged the figures into my new accounting app, iCash, and crunched some numbers. After the loans and rent, I have more than enough for the new horn... no screw-ups! I'll likely call Ferguson Music today to see if the 'bone of my choice is in stock.
I also popped into the theory lab last evening to check out their new iMac G5's. 1.8 GHz clock speed and a gig of RAM. Sleek. Speedy. Impressive. I connected my iBook via firewire to one of the iMacs and made some acquisitions. Now if only there were a way to access the theory lab server remotely, I could do my theory homework here! I think I'll ask about that.
After band I'm going in to see Harry J, the head of the music business program as well as the bass professor. Tuesday he counseled me to think carefully about switching out of the music ed major, but I've thought about it well enough. I just don't want to be here another three years. There's too much going on for me back at home to be stuck out here for eight months a year.
10:52:03 PM... I spent seven and a half hours playing various instruments today. Here's the break-down:
• piano 10-11:00 AM,
• trombone in concert band from 1-3:00 PM,
• beginning string bass from 4-5:00,
• trombone (again!) in all-college band from 5-6:00,
• trombone in conducting from 6:30-8:00
So it was quite a busy day, playing-wise. As you can see, I played in ACB, my reject band from last semester. I ran into the director in the hall, who happens to be the assistant trombone instructor, and he roped me into playing in ACB since they only have two trombones. Christ.
Also, my talk with Harry J was fruitful, methinks. After talking with me, he concluded that the music business wasn't my best option after all. He suggested that I go for a BA in applied music, possibly with a minor in business. I'd have to take a bunch of lessons and do a graduation recital, but that doesn't sound so bad, really. At the most I'd be sentenced to another two years here, but there's a good chance I could reduce that if I'm crafty and I work hard. No more secondary instruments, no more foundations courses. And I'd be in a good position to go for my masters degree in music. He even said that colleges tend to do shortcuts for masters candidates in music ed to get their certification quicker. Not too shabby.
So that's where we stand. And tomorrow it's off to two classes, a quick trip to the registrar's office, and then I'm off like a prom dress for the weekend.
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2 comments:
I have to ask.. are you considering switching majors because you don't want to teach, or is it all a time "issue"?
The way I see it, if it's just a time issue then maybe you should look into summer classes to help cut some time off the back end. And I know that SUNY Brockport offers something like a J-session during winter break where you can squeeze in a class that also counts toward making your time in college a little shorter. I'm sure SUNY Fredoni offers something like that.
Sure, you probably could go the applied music/biz route, but if you're truly serious about teaching music, maybe it just means a little more effort on your part to sign up for classes and pass them in a tighter time period.
It's neither strictly a matter of not wanting to teach nor a time issue, as I just described in today's (sunday) post. Also, there are a couple reasons not to take summer courses... one is that they don't offer music courses in the summer, or at least none that I need. Also, I need to keep my class load at 12 credits minimum every semester in order to keep financial aid, so given how many credits I already have, it's probably better to leave classes for the school year.
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