General Music

Types of Degrees General Music Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general music graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	7,446
Master’s Degree	1,644
Associate Degree	1,024
Doctor’s Degree	567
Basic Certificate	190
Graduate Certificate	62
Undergraduate Certificate	24

What General Music Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to general music and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for General Music Majors

General Music majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for General Music Majors

When studying general music, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for General Music Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a general music student include the following:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a General Music Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with general music:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Musicians, Instrumental	6.0%	NA
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320
Singers	6.0%	NA

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in General Music?

Roughly 48% of the graduates are women, and 52% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of general music majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	385
Black or African American	637
Hispanic or Latino	1,196
White	4,437
International Students	235
Other Races/Ethnicities	556

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in General Music, too. About 3.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Music

Some degrees associated with general music may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to general music have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	4.0%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	7.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.3%
Some College Courses	8.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	41.9%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	6.4%
Master’s Degree	20.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.8%
Doctoral Degree	6.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.0%

Online General Music Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	15	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	243	3
Bachelor’s Degree	15	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	193	10
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	62	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to General Music

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to general music.

Major	Number of Grads
Music Performance	7,240
Music Technology	1,763
Music Theory & Composition	1,236
Other Music	1,126
Voice Performance	747
Stringed Instruments	622
Jazz Studies	589
Keyboard Instruments	566
Music Pedagogy	450
Music History	186
Woodwind Instruments	175
Conducting	167
Musicology & Ethnomusicology	148
Brass Instruments	120
Percussion Instruments	42
Sound Arts	33

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.