Music Technology and Higher Education - An Emerging Trend

Music schools are now becoming more diverse by expanding their course offerings and majors to include music business, musical genres and especially music production and technology. Among these music schools, one of the hottest trends in music education is in contemporary music and modern music production.

Why? Music schools are looking for new ways to open their resources to a wider range of students. Especially in the aforementioned area. Technology is changing the way many of today's leading musicians compose, perform and produce. It is also changing the way in which music reaches audiences both in the recorded and performance mediums.

The country's leading music programs and even traditional conservatories are taking notice. There is a reason for this. Schools are finding it necessary for their sustainability to train students for the careers that will exist 20 years from now. This includes going beyond the traditional classical curriculum and picking up on ideas that have led to the emergence of non-traditional music programs such as Berklee College of Music and Musicians Institute. Many of today's jobs a few years from now will have been replaced by other things. Other careers in music will beinvented or explored. What these jobs or other careers will be, only time will tell. But colleges owe it to their students to make sure their needs are being met and that they are truly prepared for a career in music.

Traditional distinctions among types of music schools are becoming less prominent as schools increase their offerings by adding more academic and technology programs. For instance, Chicago's Columbia College just recently launched the Contemporary Urban and Popular Music Program and awards a Bachelor of Music degree for students that are interested in producing, composing and performing modern music. Ironically, this is the same degree awarded to students for classical composition.

Many schools which started as traditional conservatories are now offering degrees in Music Business, Music Industry and Music Engineering Technology. Berklee College of Music and the University of Miami's Frost School of Music were the among the pioneers in these non-traditional fields of music. Schools are offering these programs designed for modern music production which are essential for sustainability and are using modern methods in order to reach current and future students.

Music has been deeply affected by the enormous change evolving in all forms of media. Every branch of the arts has and will be affected for years to come. It's important that we embrace the future and what technology has to offer in the field of music. With new ideas come new possibilities and exciting opportunities. This emerging trend has not gone unnoticed and many music schools are now getting involved. Music colleges owe it to their students to meet their current goals as a musician and lead them in directions they may never thought existed.