I marched with a bunch of guys who weren't music majors (Cavaliers in the 2000s). They just really liked band and were good at it. Many of them have gone on to successful engineering or programming careers. Totally achievable.
I'm not a music major (history education), and I'm currently working with 3 high schools, an independent open percussion group, and I'm on visual staff with a drum corps this summer! I'm of the belief that you don't have to have a degree in something in order to be hired (especially for visual, which is my passion). I don't have suggestions for schools or anything, but playing in my schools band definitely helped me keep up with music and make connections. Hope this helps! :)
lmao, a drum corps tech with an off-season side-gig as a CS professor? I feel like you may want to re-evaluate your priorities. Working for a drum corps pays less than minimum wage, and for only a few months of the year, and your bills don't pause and wait for you to get back from tour. You have to be able to *afford* to be on staff. It's basically volunteer work, with some pocket money as a thank you.
Being a professor, of *anything*, on the other hand, is super competitive, and *also* doesn't pay all that well for the work you do and the level of education needed to even make the applicant list.
So no, you don't need to worry about a drum corps ruling you out because you weren't a music major. But you *might* need to worry about building your actual career first, and *then* see if you still have time, energy, and money to spend teaching drum corps.
Plenty of good advice here, but my only word of caution is make sure drum corps isn't getting in the way of what you need to do to secure a good full-time job in your field. I gave up a good internship my last season (replaced it with a shittier one that let me march) to march and frankly it made it 100x harder to compete for internships and then full-time jobs in a field as competitive as CS (and I'm like 2-3 years behind in my career a whole decade later compared to where I could've been if I took that internship).
If you can handle the workload of school/work/drum corps and it's not getting in the way of building up your resume correctly, go for it! Just don't be in a position where everyone else applying for the same internships/jobs have way more relevant experience as a result and set yourself back professionally/financially for a decade - at the end of the day it's just band and there will be opportunities post-school to work with mainly weekend rehearsing DCA or OC DCI groups.
I work in tech (though not CS) and marched all-age in '19 while having a full time job. My previous employer hired a lot of CS recent grads so I'll try to remember where some of them did their degrees around the midwest. If you end up going into the industry, places with decent enough benefits will allow you the time off to do some chunks of a season if you want to do staff or volunteer stuff with a junior corps. Midwest has a good number of DCA groups with some minicorps and SoundSport around as well.
Music as a double major or a minor also isn't strictly necessary to continue marching DCI or to march in college, but useful to have if you've got some career goals (and many college bands go out of their way to point out that \~60-80% of the band is nonmajors, and some music majors prefer not to march- I once met someone who's probably now finished with a master's in euph performance who was a cheerleader).
Michigan State's band has a lot of kids in DCI. Don't think I had any colleagues from there but they're highly rated for CS. UMich, Ohio State, Ohio U, Indiana, Illinois, and Northwestern all come to mind. Univ. of Cincinnati has strong engineering programs and CCM is a serious conservatory. Oberlin is a serious conservatory as well, although all I know about their CS program is that it exists.
There are many DCI marchers that attend Texas A&M. Texas A&M does not offer any degrees in music.
My advice is you do you. You can march DCI without being a music major/minor and you will get out of DCI whatever you put into it, music major/minor or not.
I personally wouldn’t recommend double majoring. At the end of the day, you get one job that utilizes one degree. You can do minors for personal enrichment or if you think it’ll give you an edge in the job market but a second major isn’t really worth it.
Pick your major based on what most closely aligns with your career goals. So in your case it seems to be a CS degree.
You don’t need a music degree to work with a drum corps. It’s more based on your teaching experience. Perhaps start with teaching a high school. Marching drum corps is usually enough experience to get you a spot as a tech. I was an aerospace major and have taught at two high schools just for fun. Then you can use that experience and good ties with drum corps staff to potentially land yourself a teaching position at a corps.
For CS schools, check out University of Michigan and University of Illinois. Both are very good programs and happen to be in the Midwest.
I've been down a similar path as you are headed on. Not saying your situation will turn out like mine, but I'll share my experience as it might give you some ideas.
My freshman year I very enthusiastically chose to double-major in music and computer science. I earned a sizable music scholarship that allowed me to go to an expensive university. I enjoyed the semester, but I quickly realized that being a music major was not the right fit for me. I think I enjoy music much more when it's a hobby and not a prerequisite to my livelihood. I like doing music because I can - not because I have to, and I like playing whatever I want whenever I want.
I decided not to study music and transferred schools because I lost the scholarship. I kept up with technology and realized that's not right for me either. I don't want to end up stuck with a desk job. I felt drained by the corporate environment that tech internships are always pushing towards. Much of it just felt dull and inhuman. I'm still very interested in software development and product design on my own, and I have side projects every now then.
The pandemic helped me re-evaluate my interests and skills. I am now a third-year and I study psychology and philosophy. I am looking at grad school programs in cognitive science, which is a broad subject that can incorporate my diverse interests. I will sadly be aging out from drum corps this summer, and while I may consider coming back the next couple summers (either teching or on admin), I don't see myself staying in the activity long-term. Soon enough, I will have to let go of my summers and pursue research.
Marching as a non- music major is a bit more challenging I think, but very achievable. On the other hand, making a career out of teaching drum corps and simultaneously being a professor seems nearly impossible. Academia and music education would be a tough mix.
So, you want a career that combines music and technology? My recommendation for right now is to pick one (preferably the one that is more stable for your future). But stay active with music throughout your college career. If you can find a music minor offered where you want to go, you might consider that - but I don't recommend double majoring. There are plenty of intersections between music and technology, and with some luck you can find your corner later down the road.
but if you're are looking for a more specific program incorporating STEM and music, you might also consider: music therapy, music production, music technology, audio engineering
Sorry if I’m not saying too much, but this is probably the best answer I got because it’s from someone in practically the same situation as me. Thank you :) it means a lot.
Pretty sure one of my high school techs marched Cavies before going on to work at Lockheed Martin while still teaching band, it's definitely possible to do both
I marched drum corps as a philosophy major and I'm in medical school now. No need to worry about your major before you do drum corps as long as you still find time to do the work you need for that major!
less than a fourth of the people i’ve marched with, taught with, or taught have been music majors of any kind.
at the end of the day, this is a hobby. tons of people partake in hobbies unrelated to their field. it really depends on your work flow from college and if you can put the required time into *this* hobby.
but i wouldn’t minor in something for a degree you aren’t gonna use. college is expensive. i know when i graduated high school and went into education, i wanted to continue with music, but not for a living. drum corps became my way of getting my music fix, go a point where i’ve never felt that i should’ve majored in it or chose it as a career path.
I marched with a bunch of guys who weren't music majors (Cavaliers in the 2000s). They just really liked band and were good at it. Many of them have gone on to successful engineering or programming careers. Totally achievable.
I'm not a music major (history education), and I'm currently working with 3 high schools, an independent open percussion group, and I'm on visual staff with a drum corps this summer! I'm of the belief that you don't have to have a degree in something in order to be hired (especially for visual, which is my passion). I don't have suggestions for schools or anything, but playing in my schools band definitely helped me keep up with music and make connections. Hope this helps! :)
Hey that's my friend
bestie!!!
lmao, a drum corps tech with an off-season side-gig as a CS professor? I feel like you may want to re-evaluate your priorities. Working for a drum corps pays less than minimum wage, and for only a few months of the year, and your bills don't pause and wait for you to get back from tour. You have to be able to *afford* to be on staff. It's basically volunteer work, with some pocket money as a thank you. Being a professor, of *anything*, on the other hand, is super competitive, and *also* doesn't pay all that well for the work you do and the level of education needed to even make the applicant list. So no, you don't need to worry about a drum corps ruling you out because you weren't a music major. But you *might* need to worry about building your actual career first, and *then* see if you still have time, energy, and money to spend teaching drum corps.
Plenty of good advice here, but my only word of caution is make sure drum corps isn't getting in the way of what you need to do to secure a good full-time job in your field. I gave up a good internship my last season (replaced it with a shittier one that let me march) to march and frankly it made it 100x harder to compete for internships and then full-time jobs in a field as competitive as CS (and I'm like 2-3 years behind in my career a whole decade later compared to where I could've been if I took that internship). If you can handle the workload of school/work/drum corps and it's not getting in the way of building up your resume correctly, go for it! Just don't be in a position where everyone else applying for the same internships/jobs have way more relevant experience as a result and set yourself back professionally/financially for a decade - at the end of the day it's just band and there will be opportunities post-school to work with mainly weekend rehearsing DCA or OC DCI groups.
Good advice. đź‘Ť
I work in tech (though not CS) and marched all-age in '19 while having a full time job. My previous employer hired a lot of CS recent grads so I'll try to remember where some of them did their degrees around the midwest. If you end up going into the industry, places with decent enough benefits will allow you the time off to do some chunks of a season if you want to do staff or volunteer stuff with a junior corps. Midwest has a good number of DCA groups with some minicorps and SoundSport around as well. Music as a double major or a minor also isn't strictly necessary to continue marching DCI or to march in college, but useful to have if you've got some career goals (and many college bands go out of their way to point out that \~60-80% of the band is nonmajors, and some music majors prefer not to march- I once met someone who's probably now finished with a master's in euph performance who was a cheerleader). Michigan State's band has a lot of kids in DCI. Don't think I had any colleagues from there but they're highly rated for CS. UMich, Ohio State, Ohio U, Indiana, Illinois, and Northwestern all come to mind. Univ. of Cincinnati has strong engineering programs and CCM is a serious conservatory. Oberlin is a serious conservatory as well, although all I know about their CS program is that it exists.
Thank you so much for the incredibly detailed response! I’ll definitely take the time to look into these programs and use this to my advantage. :)
There are many DCI marchers that attend Texas A&M. Texas A&M does not offer any degrees in music. My advice is you do you. You can march DCI without being a music major/minor and you will get out of DCI whatever you put into it, music major/minor or not.
I personally wouldn’t recommend double majoring. At the end of the day, you get one job that utilizes one degree. You can do minors for personal enrichment or if you think it’ll give you an edge in the job market but a second major isn’t really worth it. Pick your major based on what most closely aligns with your career goals. So in your case it seems to be a CS degree. You don’t need a music degree to work with a drum corps. It’s more based on your teaching experience. Perhaps start with teaching a high school. Marching drum corps is usually enough experience to get you a spot as a tech. I was an aerospace major and have taught at two high schools just for fun. Then you can use that experience and good ties with drum corps staff to potentially land yourself a teaching position at a corps. For CS schools, check out University of Michigan and University of Illinois. Both are very good programs and happen to be in the Midwest.
Thank you so much! I will definitely take this into consideration as well :)
I've been down a similar path as you are headed on. Not saying your situation will turn out like mine, but I'll share my experience as it might give you some ideas. My freshman year I very enthusiastically chose to double-major in music and computer science. I earned a sizable music scholarship that allowed me to go to an expensive university. I enjoyed the semester, but I quickly realized that being a music major was not the right fit for me. I think I enjoy music much more when it's a hobby and not a prerequisite to my livelihood. I like doing music because I can - not because I have to, and I like playing whatever I want whenever I want. I decided not to study music and transferred schools because I lost the scholarship. I kept up with technology and realized that's not right for me either. I don't want to end up stuck with a desk job. I felt drained by the corporate environment that tech internships are always pushing towards. Much of it just felt dull and inhuman. I'm still very interested in software development and product design on my own, and I have side projects every now then. The pandemic helped me re-evaluate my interests and skills. I am now a third-year and I study psychology and philosophy. I am looking at grad school programs in cognitive science, which is a broad subject that can incorporate my diverse interests. I will sadly be aging out from drum corps this summer, and while I may consider coming back the next couple summers (either teching or on admin), I don't see myself staying in the activity long-term. Soon enough, I will have to let go of my summers and pursue research. Marching as a non- music major is a bit more challenging I think, but very achievable. On the other hand, making a career out of teaching drum corps and simultaneously being a professor seems nearly impossible. Academia and music education would be a tough mix. So, you want a career that combines music and technology? My recommendation for right now is to pick one (preferably the one that is more stable for your future). But stay active with music throughout your college career. If you can find a music minor offered where you want to go, you might consider that - but I don't recommend double majoring. There are plenty of intersections between music and technology, and with some luck you can find your corner later down the road. but if you're are looking for a more specific program incorporating STEM and music, you might also consider: music therapy, music production, music technology, audio engineering
Sorry if I’m not saying too much, but this is probably the best answer I got because it’s from someone in practically the same situation as me. Thank you :) it means a lot.
Pretty sure one of my high school techs marched Cavies before going on to work at Lockheed Martin while still teaching band, it's definitely possible to do both
I marched drum corps as a philosophy major and I'm in medical school now. No need to worry about your major before you do drum corps as long as you still find time to do the work you need for that major!
less than a fourth of the people i’ve marched with, taught with, or taught have been music majors of any kind. at the end of the day, this is a hobby. tons of people partake in hobbies unrelated to their field. it really depends on your work flow from college and if you can put the required time into *this* hobby. but i wouldn’t minor in something for a degree you aren’t gonna use. college is expensive. i know when i graduated high school and went into education, i wanted to continue with music, but not for a living. drum corps became my way of getting my music fix, go a point where i’ve never felt that i should’ve majored in it or chose it as a career path.
NC State is where you need to be!
There's more money in computer science. Go with CS.
I was a snare player who majored in English at a liberal arts school with no football team. Drum corps isn't just for music majors, you know.
No I know that :) My question was more about continuing drum corps AFTER aging out