Anonymous wrote:A school with 88% acceptance rate still might only have a 20% acceptance rate for music.

No. Just no.

West Chester is excellent for music ed.

Shenandoah University has a good music ed program. It has an audition and interview, but the audition for music ed has specific skills to demonstrate that are more generalist. He should explicitly express that he wants to be an elementary school music teacher (and has some background to support that interest like you suggest) which is an advantage because there is greater need for them and more people in music ed want to be HS band directors etc.

A school with 88% acceptance rate still might only have a 20% acceptance rate for music.

Most music schools are probably safeties if you’re a good musician. They are desperate for your money.

Anonymous wrote:Look into Susquehanna. 88% acceptance rate and students must get into SU before scheduling an audition (audition is still required).

A friend of mine graduated from their music ed program (10 years ago). She is an amazing teacher, but will be the first to attest she wasn’t the strongest audition-wise at 17. She had the passion and drive for it, though, which the music department must have seen in her.

There are lots of schools that have that two tier process, where first you're accepted to the school, and then to the major. But it means that the 88% acceptance rate doesn't reflect kids who did or didn't get into music. Susquehanna might be a safety for my kid, in that he could get in as undecided or English or something, but because of the audition it's not a true safety in that there's no way he'd go if he didn't get auditioned.

As someone mentioned, it's tricky because at a small school like Susquehanna there might be one very part time teacher for his instrument who has 4 spaces for private lessons. So, he's competing for a very small number of spots against the kids who want to be performance or composition majors. And while he's a strong musician, his music experiences and extracurriculars are more varied than those of someone who wants a performance career. Future performance majors might spend all their free time practicing one instrument to get as good as possible. My kid realizes that what he needs is variety, so he's practicing his primary instrument, but also taking piano lessons, and teaching himself guitar, and singing in the choir, and teaching little kid lessons, and volunteering with Special Olympics, because obviously a teacher would use all those skills. But that means that he's competing for a spot with an individual teacher in his primary instrument against kids who have many more hours on their primary instrument than he does.

Columbia College Chicago.

https://www.colum.edu/academics/fine-and-performing-arts/music/

Muhlenberg?

Look into Susquehanna. 88% acceptance rate and students must get into SU before scheduling an audition (audition is still required).

A friend of mine graduated from their music ed program (10 years ago). She is an amazing teacher, but will be the first to attest she wasn’t the strongest audition-wise at 17. She had the passion and drive for it, though, which the music department must have seen in her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Music education can be very competitive, as they will be competing with performance majors during most auditions. If they want to have an easier time getting in they should learn a more obscure instrument that won’t have as much competition.

No, he won’t. Music Ed majors and performance majors have separate admission requirements. They often take classes together and play in ensembles together, but the auditions are judged differently because of course they are.

I am not aware of any music ed programs without an audition, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t safety schools out there.

The issue you have is that a professor will only accept a limited number of students each year. They will accept performance, general music, and education majors. Yes the requirements are different and technical expectations might be higher for performance than education or general music but the number of spots is finite. They are all competing for the same spots. The number of spots open will depend on how many are already in the program.

Anonymous wrote:Music education can be very competitive, as they will be competing with performance majors during most auditions. If they want to have an easier time getting in they should learn a more obscure instrument that won’t have as much competition.

No, he won’t. Music Ed majors and performance majors have separate admission requirements. They often take classes together and play in ensembles together, but the auditions are judged differently because of course they are.

I am not aware of any music ed programs without an audition, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t safety schools out there.

Music education can be very competitive, as they will be competing with performance majors during most auditions. If they want to have an easier time getting in they should learn a more obscure instrument that won’t have as much competition.

OP's kid is almost certainly going to pass the auditions. Music education is not a competitive major.
He just wants something more guaranteed to calm his anxiety.

Anonymous wrote:Music ed isn't a performance major, but we can find performance majors that aren't auditioned.

He's happy to audition, he auditions all the time, but he wants to go into this process having identified a safety. He's planning a career teaching elementary music. That's not a field where auditions are a huge part.

Maybe VCU? Their overview page doesn’t seem to require an audition although you must complete the degree program with “a primary instrument of wind band or orchestra tradition.” (https://arts.vcu.edu/academics/departments/music/bachelors-of-music-in-music-education/music-education-bm-instrumental/).

I’m in the RVA and don’t personally know of any local music ed teachers from VCU but know, despite my other reservations about the school, they indeed have a fine Fine Arts programs, including music. Bless your son for wanting to do elem music ed and that he will inspire kids to seek out a musical outlet. Our elem music teacher was awful (no clue where she came from) but MS (Longwood grad) and HS (JMU grad) have been nothing short of amazing.

Anonymous wrote:Music ed isn't a performance major, but we can find performance majors that aren't auditioned.

He's happy to audition, he auditions all the time, but he wants to go into this process having identified a safety. He's planning a career teaching elementary music. That's not a field where auditions are a huge part.

Teaching is a very public-facing profession, and his work will be on very public display every semester (or at the end of the year) for his students' concerts.
So better do the auditions. You're telling me that UMBC is not a safety for him? It has an 81% acceptance rate... if he can't get into that sort of college, is he ready for a career as a teacher?