Students’ Motivations for Considering a Career in Music Performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons why undergraduate music majors pursue a career in music performance. The authors surveyed music majors at seven institutions and asked them about the main reasons as to why they were considering a career in music performance. Participant responses yielded qualitative data that the authors coded, through a grounded theory approach, into the following four themes: enjoyment, ability, usefulness, and identity. That is, students reported that they enjoyed playing music, they had the ability to succeed, they believed that music performance was useful, and they viewed themselves as musicians. The authors examine these results through the lens of three psychological constructs (i.e., affect, expectancy, and value). To better understand the implications for best practice in music career education, the authors compare the results of the present study with the results of prior studies investigating the reasons why music majors choose a career in music education.