Music programs: switching between different categories?
Generally speaking, how easy is it to switch between different types of graduate music programs--such as between performance, composition, history/musicology?
My problem is that I'm sufficiently good at performance to stand for myself, but I'm somewhat more interested in composition and musicology than performance. However, I have little work to show for either of those--I've got a few works, and a ton of unfinished compositions, mostly for piano (since that's the instrument I play), and a ton more musical ideas I haven't written down. As for history/-ology, I'm interested in analysis of popular and videogame music, and I've done some of that on my own informally, but no scholarly-level research (such as writing formal papers complete with references and book research and such).
Should I try to forcefully produce work, or try to apply to a performance program and then switch? Given time and opportunity (i.e. not having to deal with the hassle of homework and such),...
+ I could produce pretty complex compositions, but mainly for piano--I haven't messed around enough with that many other instruments to get a feel for orchestral or oligo-ensemble*, so I don't know my orchestration. (Currently thinking through plans of arranging Mozart's F major Sonata (the F A C A Bb G F E E one) for string quartet...)
+ I could also probably produce pretty thorough analysis of stuff such as an entire videogame soundtrack, analyzing use of tonalities, leitmotifs, etc., but I don't think I'd know where to start with "research".
(I kinda suck at "research", where by "research" I'm referring to the whole deal of looking up packs of other people's papers and figuring out what's going on. Then again, my only "research" experience is with science/engineering literature.)
My problem is that I'm sufficiently good at performance to stand for myself, but I'm somewhat more interested in composition and musicology than performance. However, I have little work to show for either of those--I've got a few works, and a ton of unfinished compositions, mostly for piano (since that's the instrument I play), and a ton more musical ideas I haven't written down. As for history/-ology, I'm interested in analysis of popular and videogame music, and I've done some of that on my own informally, but no scholarly-level research (such as writing formal papers complete with references and book research and such).
Should I try to forcefully produce work, or try to apply to a performance program and then switch? Given time and opportunity (i.e. not having to deal with the hassle of homework and such),...
+ I could produce pretty complex compositions, but mainly for piano--I haven't messed around enough with that many other instruments to get a feel for orchestral or oligo-ensemble*, so I don't know my orchestration. (Currently thinking through plans of arranging Mozart's F major Sonata (the F A C A Bb G F E E one) for string quartet...)
+ I could also probably produce pretty thorough analysis of stuff such as an entire videogame soundtrack, analyzing use of tonalities, leitmotifs, etc., but I don't think I'd know where to start with "research".
(I kinda suck at "research", where by "research" I'm referring to the whole deal of looking up packs of other people's papers and figuring out what's going on. Then again, my only "research" experience is with science/engineering literature.)