Music

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What is Music?

Music is a form of art which can express any human emotion, blend with the rhythm and tune harmoniously to express the hidden talent. Since, the dawn of civilisation, music has been considered as an inborn talent of the man, which can be vocal and instrumental. Music is sung or played for self-expression, self-satisfaction, offering worship and entertaining others. The instrumental music refers to the music produced by instruments like guitar sarod, sitar, piano, keyboard, tabla, flute, violin etc. Students who wish to take up music as a career, can pursue a course in Fine Arts which can help an individual make their dreams come true.

Music is a performing art which is widely used in drama, theatre, dance, cinema etc. In India, there are several institutions which conduct undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in vocal and instrumental music. Here at Shiksha, we have tried to incorporate information about music courses in India.

Eligibility Criteria to pursue Music Course

To be eligible to pursue Music Course, the candidates are required to complete the basic course in vocal or instrumental music. There are three undergraduate programmes: BA (Hons in Music), BFA (Music) and B.PA (Music). Besides, to pursue three years’ undergraduate course, the candidate must have passed 10+2 board examination with minimum 50 per cent marks in aggregate (45% marks for reserved category candidates). Those who have appeared for 10+2 Board examination are also eligible for the course but have to submit their final mark sheet at the time of admission in the varsity.

To pursue a postgraduate course, the candidate needs to have completed an undergraduate course in music (either vocal or instrumental).

The eligible candidates would have to sit for a national level admission test for the purpose.

Skills required to pursue Music Course

To pursue a course in music, candidates must incline towards music. Moreover, they must have a basic knowledge of music. Interested candidates should be creative, innovative and willing to work for hours. Here, we have listed down the skills required to pursue a course in music:

Knowledge of music	Must have completed the basic course in music
Inclination for Music	Should have a special inclination towards music and can devote hours to pursue music
Creative and Innovative	Must have a creative frame of mind and can come up with new tunes
Rhythmic Sense	Should possess a sense of rhythm
Hard worker	Ability to work for hours
Team worker	Ability to work in a team
Discipline and punctuality	Should be disciplined and punctual in the professional field

Admission Procedure and Fees

The admission to the undergraduate course in music is granted based on the score in the entrance test. Most of the universities grant admission on the basis of a common entrance test. However, candidates will have to follow a procedure starting by registering and applying. The admission process commences after the publication of common entrance test results. Candidates who clear the entrance exam, will have to produce all the required documents at the time of counselling. Final admission is granted based on merit. Once all the formalities have been completed, candidates will have to pay the fees and secure admission in their desired course.

Music Course Structure and Syllabus

Music being a performing art requires years of rigorous training and practice. To excel in music as well as to take up music as a profession, candidates are required to acquire in-depth knowledge and hands-on training. The syllabus for a full-time undergraduate course has been tailored to disseminate knowledge and training both. The three years’ curriculum covers all the concepts and nuances of music. Candidates are also provided chances to attend seminars and workshops to hone their skills further. Here, we have tabularised the syllabus content of music in the three consecutive years:

First Year	Second Year	Third Year
Appreciation of Music	Concert Singing	Laws of Acoustics
Bada Khayal and Chhota Khayal	Different Gharanas and their history	Musical Sound, Wave Motion, Frequency, Pitch and Volume
Brief history of Bharat Natya Shastra and Sangeet Ratnakar	Evolution of Notation system	Music & Literature
Classification of Music	Forms of Light Music	Place of Music in Fine Arts
Concepts of Ragas and Tala in Indian Music	History of Indian Music	Role of Music in Multi-Media
Classification of Ragas	Importance of Music Festivals/Seminars/Conferences	Taal Study
Vocal and Instrumental Music

Job and Career Scope in Music

A degree in music course fetches a plethora of job opportunities to the candidates. Apart from being singers and instrumentalists, they can work as music composers, songwriters, music arrangers, transcriber, music sequencer, choir director, and producer etc. They may also begin a profession as music teachers and devote time in preparing young talents. As they accumulate experience, they may set up their own academy and train students. In an age of electronic media explosion, they may also take online classes to teach students.

Like any other profession, the salary of the musicians remains low at the beginning but with years it increases and may reach to Rs. 8-10 lakhs per annum. Here in the table, we have charted down the salary drawn by the musicians per annum at the initial stage of their career:

Job Profile	Average Salary per Annum
Music Composer	Rs. 2-3 lakhs
Singer	Rs.3-3.5 lakhs
Band Leader	Rs. 2-2.5 lakhs
Lyricist	Rs. 2-3 lakhs
Sound Engineer	Rs. 2-3 lakhs

Popular Music Colleges in India

Following are the most popular Music Colleges in India. Learn more about these Music colleges (Courses, Reviews, Answers & more) by downloading the Brochure.