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Studying music at postsecondary school is not very common; at Western, for example, music undergraduate students make up approximately 2% of the student population. Being at such a low number I was interested to find out why so many students choose not to study music in university or college. I interviewed three friends of mine who are not music majors in attempt to discover what, if anything, deterred them from pursuing music in a formal learning setting.

Firstly, I talked to my friend Emily who is in her first year at the University of Toronto and is studying arts and humanities. I have known Emily since I was six years old when we started school together, so having the chance to talk to her about experience with music was especially interesting. She described her involvement with music throughout middle and high school - all of which was a positive experience - and how her teachers were passionate, helpful, and overall inspiring. What she said she did not like was the process of learning music; the teacher at the front of the classroom explaining how to play a specific note or teaching the how to tongue staccatos. She would have preferred it to be a more individual experience and less structured than a formal music learning setting. In the end, however, Emily chose not to pursue music simply because it was not her passion.

Secondly, I had a conversation with my roommate Delaney who is also in her first year at Western studying arts and humanities. Delaney did not grow up in a musical family, nor was there ever any significant exposure to it until she reached grade school. She also explained how she only participated in music learning while it was mandatory and dropped all forms of music learning in high school. I was curious to hear what was deterring her from continuing with music in some way, shape, or form in high school. One interesting thing she told me was that she loved the music community, making music with her friends, and always loved singing. This made me wonder what made her not keep up with music in any kind of learning environment. She then explained that in middle school she was forced to be a part of the school’s marching band, something she did not enjoy. Additionally, she felt as though being in marching band restricted her from doing fun things with her friends, such as being in the cheering section at football games, for example. I asked her if, had marching band not been mandatory, she would have considered staying in her school’s concert band, to which she replied with a confident “yes”. This was interesting to hear and I began to notice a slight commonality between those who do not continue on with music learning; the more something is forced upon someone or made mandatory, the less inclined people feel to willingly participate in it.

Finally, I talked to my friend Ian who is in his first year at Western studying actuarial science. I was particularly interested to hear what he had to say because of his heavy involvement in music throughout his childhood and teenage years. Hearing about Ian’s substantial involvement in music learning in both formal and informal settings made me wonder even more why he chose not to pursue an undergraduate degree in music. Part of the reason Ian decided against going into music was that he knew it was a big commitment which involves hours and hours of practice, time, and work. This was relatively unsurprising to hear; a great deal of young music students do not want to put in the work are intimidated by the amount of work that is required in order to be successful. He also mentioned something I had not considered; it can be difficult for musicians to make a steady income or a significant amount of money. While this was not a make or break factor for me, it definitely is for some people; especially if that person is not brought up in a musical family to begin with.

Talking with non-music majors about their experiences with and views on music learning was very intriguing. As a musician, it can sometimes be difficult to understand why some people choose not to pursue something that brings so much joy to one’s life and it can be easy to forget that not everyone has the same experiences and positive outlook as most music majors and musicians in general. In conclusion, the interviews were incredibly informative and fascinating to conduct.