Music majors who want to obtain an Associate Arts Degree in Music have all the classes they need for it at Cerritos College.

Music instructor Connie Mayfield opened students’ eyes to majoring in music.

“The Music Department takes certain students to music conferences and concerts so they can move around in the world of music and get the feel of it.”

She was the dean of the Fine Arts Division until she returned to teaching music theory and music fundamentals courses.

Mayfield informs students on what classes to take and explains job opportunities for music majors.

“A combination of the students and the faculty makes Cerritos Music Department different from other colleges,” Mayfield said.

“The faculty here at Cerritos have very high standards for their music students because the faculty here are committed to their students and their success,” she continued.

Melissa Berland, a current student of Mayfield, has learned a few things about music thanks to singing classes at Cerritos College.

Berland explained what she learning in singing classes, “That it’s a lot more complicated than just singing. It goes a lot deeper than just singing with your voice. There are a lot of details involved.”

Mayfield also explained that having a major in music consists of a hard life. Students have to take very difficult classes such as, music theory.

Music theory looks at real music and looks for patterns and tries to explain how they work together.

“If you’re going to major in music performance, meaning that playing an instrument or singing is your specialty, you almost have to have years of preparation years before you come to college,” said Mayfield about obtaining a degree in music.

There are job opportunities for music majors such as teaching, producing, songwriting and singers.

“The music world is interesting but difficult to grasp. You really need to have a passion for music and be committed to spending your time in the music department or practicing for three hours on the piano,” Mayfield said.