The Button-Down Mind of Carl Lindquist

More Music Majors?

2009-03-08T19:54:00.013-04:00

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune noted the proliferation of music school applicants, despite the current economic trends. I was intrigued by this phenomenon given that earlier in the day, the NY Times had a story about the difficulty new PhD's, particularly in the humanities, were having in the job market. You never have to look too far to find dire predictions for the future of the arts, but the MET just put up their Chagall murals as collateral on a loan. As endowments and donations have taken a tremendous hit, how does one account for a dramatic increase in music majors?

I'm rather certain that university endowments and the state of the markets were not a concern of mine at age 18. A great many worthy endeavors would never have been undertaken were it not for the ignorant courage of youth. Things that would paralyze you with fear when you're 30 with a mortgage are surprisingly easy when you just don't know any better. Anyone with one or more degrees in music performance (almost all of my friends) certainly had plenty of people telling them, in high school, that this is not a great idea. Some were well-intentioned teachers trying to prepare you for reality, while others were the jerks who asked you if you were practicing, "would you like fries with that?" yet. And none of us listened, because we knew exactly what we were doing...

So while my first response to the Tribune article was to caution these students, they wouldn't listen anyway. They cannot be dissuaded any more that I could have been, nor should they be. One potential upside to the feeling of professional vulnerability that such an economy brings about, is that it compels us to reflect on our choices and where we might go from here.

We are a nation of specialists. I like what Nobel Laureate Murray Gell-Mann wrote: "Unfortunately, in a great many places, including academia, prestige accrues principally to those who study carefully some narrow aspect of a trade, while the big picture is relegated to cocktail party conversation." This sounds like my education. I felt that any time spent in the library, not practicing, was time I would want back at the next audition when someone else was better prepared. When you are trying to carve out an identity for yourself at twenty, the prospect of excelling deeply within one field is more attractive than moving broadly across several disciplines. But this comes at a steep price when, personally and as a society, we need the flexibility to adapt quickly to a rapidly changing landscape.

The study of music has the great potential of instilling in students this ability to move deftly among different cultures, styles and historical periods. These assets would be invaluable to many different industries, but the overwhelming majority of music schools don't fully exploit this potential. Freshman year we separate the performance majors from the composers, musicologists, education majors, etc. This creates artificial boundaries that are difficult to permeate.

I'm not suggesting that everyone just major in liberal arts. This is still America and if you want to uber-specialize on the oboe, you should be allowed. That should be the mission of the conservatories and the fine apprenticeship programs like New World Symphony. Students should be provided this option, but we should ask ourselves whether specializing to an excessive degree as a college freshman is really in the interests of the majority of students.

Music schools should encourage greater interaction between their departments as well as other colleges within the university. Make it easier for students who so choose to move more easily around campus. And address the culture that looks down on this option as "jack of all trades, master of none."

As a student, you may or may not be in an environment that sees your education the same way you do. Ben Stein's Old School Advice for the College Bound is fantastic- many days I wish I had read it earlier. In today's professional world, flexibility will be increasingly important. The time spent developing multiple interests might make you feel less boxed-in later on.

If this all fails, my plan is to head to Chick-Fil-A and start a really sweet funk band.

Babies 'R Us

2009-01-24T08:05:00.001-05:00

One of the first things I noticed about being a new parent was how quickly the edifice of composure, that you have tried to maintain since early adulthood, falls apart. This realization came in the now-ubiquitous Babies 'R Us.

First of all, it's very unfair to send a man into this place without some sort of warning or tutorial. The man who, 2 weeks ago, could move seamlessly through a Best Buy or Bass Pro is suddenly rendered useless, thoroughly out of his element. Matthew was about 3 weeks old at the time, so I had been here enough to basically know my way around. Cathy knows me well enough to know that I need very specific instructions- I was here for milk storage bags and burp cloths- I was all over it. As a stood looking up at this wall of baby paraphernalia, another man, in much worse shape than I, walked up. It was instantly obvious that he had not been prepped or coached for this trip. He had on dark blue sweatpants, a white undershirt and workboots. This was not a planned outing. While knowing very little myself, I felt obligated to at least steer him in the general direction he needed.

"What's on your list," I asked him. First answer, "bottles." Now I knew he was totally screwed. None of the classes prepare you for this. I would have said, "Dr. Brown's, Avent, Evenflo- and what size nipples?" But he probably would have started to cry, and I couldn't have that- I was hanging by a thread of my own. I mean, who knew that Matthew would have developed, at three weeks old, the same distaste for Evenflo bottles that I have for Bud Light. Women out there- give him very specific instructions.

As we began to piece our way through the list, an all-too-eager employee came over to help. She was well intentioned, but wasn't aware that new dads can't be that animated at 9am. "Take it down lady." What we needed was a big guy that reminded us of our dads and was wearing a red polo shirt with one of those Home Depot-style lower back supports. You know, for that giant case of diapers you're about to buy.

We got through it. And this is one of joys of being a green parent- you can empathize immediately with someone who, days earlier, you would have had nothing in common with. For all the impersonal transactions that we each experience throughout a day, I can say this of Babies 'R Us- it's personal.

The Next Emily Post?

2009-01-23T16:01:00.001-05:00

"Carl, can I poop at your house?"

This was actually said to me by our friends' three-year-old daughter. I used to think that etiquette was something learned- you get a birthday present and your mom prompts you to say "thank you." But it's highly unlikely that our friends would have taught her this.

I'm quite impressed, really. Her manners, however unorthodox, are innate. She was genuinely concerned for how her actions may impact the lives of others, which is what manners are all about. Some of my coworkers could learn a little something here. While we try to teach our children as best we can, quite often they are teaching us. Thank you, Kate, for the reminder.

I said yes, by the way.