# What do you think about music schools?



## alsupis (Sep 10, 2016)

I'm attending a public university and getting my bachelors in cello performance. I was wondering what you all thought about the format of music schools, whether they are private colleges, conservatories, public universities or more unique formats. I wasn't at the level on my instrument to get accepted into a top conservatory and I knew that going in. I hoped to get as good as I could for 4 years and hopefully get into a great program for my masters. I have a wonderful teacher that has been very motivational and encouraging. But I find some things strange about the class setup here. I'm required to take lots of music related academic classes such as music theory, history, aural skills and piano. With no piano experience going in some of these classes were awfully difficult. I sometimes spent 4 hours banging on a piano just to pass. I don't feel these classes really helped me in any way, especially because I had no experience coming in, which seemed to be expected. On top pf the musical academic classes I also have university credits to complete. So in short, I'm in class a lot doing work I don't find helpful. The second thing I noticed is that there is such a wide variety of degrees at a public music school - jazz, composition, commercial music, education.. that being a performance major was almost rare. There are also a good amount of people getting performance degrees with no intention to ever perform as a career. So I often felt that it was rare to be trying to fit 4-5 hours of practice on top of the other degree requirements. I just wanted to share my experiences and I was wondering if any of you have any opinions on how music at the collegiate level is taught in the US


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I too came from a public university for my undergrad, and I'm once again in one for my grad degree, but this time is different. This is no ordinary state school, since it actually has a history of being a conservatory before joining the university it's currently affiliated with, and its standards did not go down.

What do you want to know exactly? How I "got through it"? How I managed doing university courses alongside musical ones? Being performance major surrounded my non-performance people? First off, what year are you?


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## PresenTense (May 7, 2016)

I wish I could study in a music school. Here in Guatemala it is pretty difficult to do that in a classical way. Plus, I'm poor af so I have to learn by myself. At the end, do we need to go to music schools? Is it impossible to learn by yourself?


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## pcnog11 (Nov 14, 2016)

alsupis said:


> I'm attending a public university and getting my bachelors in cello performance. I was wondering what you all thought about the format of music schools, whether they are private colleges, conservatories, public universities or more unique formats. I wasn't at the level on my instrument to get accepted into a top conservatory and I knew that going in. I hoped to get as good as I could for 4 years and hopefully get into a great program for my masters. I have a wonderful teacher that has been very motivational and encouraging. But I find some things strange about the class setup here. I'm required to take lots of music related academic classes such as music theory, history, aural skills and piano. With no piano experience going in some of these classes were awfully difficult. I sometimes spent 4 hours banging on a piano just to pass. I don't feel these classes really helped me in any way, especially because I had no experience coming in, which seemed to be expected. On top pf the musical academic classes I also have university credits to complete. So in short, I'm in class a lot doing work I don't find helpful. The second thing I noticed is that there is such a wide variety of degrees at a public music school - jazz, composition, commercial music, education.. that being a performance major was almost rare. There are also a good amount of people getting performance degrees with no intention to ever perform as a career. So I often felt that it was rare to be trying to fit 4-5 hours of practice on top of the other degree requirements. I just wanted to share my experiences and I was wondering if any of you have any opinions on how music at the collegiate level is taught in the US


I do not have a music degree or went to music school. However, I do some coaching for young people at work. Often one has to ask oneself, what do you want to achieve in life. After reading what you wrote, I think you will have a bright future in music if you have the breadth of knowledge with the curriculum you are going through. Consider for a moment and try to look at the bigger picture of what avenues in music could open up to you when you graduate. Cello is a great selection, you do not need to go to Juilliard to be successful. Many cello musicians at most symphony orchestra come from public university music schools. I understand the challenges you are facing with study, practice and life. However, many students doing other degrees outside music are facing the same. I am confident to say that, one day you will look back that the hard work you put in during the days in music school, you will say it is worth it. You see, university education do not just educate us on technical knowledge, they train us on our character, persistence, perseverance, leadership and transferable skills. Maybe one day when you perform, I am in the audience. All the best!


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

I do not have a degree in music either ... but I did study privately for nearly 14 years (piano then organ) and secured my first church organist position in my first year of private organ study. The rest I learned by doing. 

I felt that I was given enough guidance that I did not think that I needed the formal wall hanging, not that I'm against higher learning and people getting degrees in their profession ... sometimes it's a necessity for a job requirement for a particular position. I've done well over the years without and still playing professionally for the past 55 years. 

I also feel that the university or academy does not "make" the person into a professional ... that happens only with blood, sweat and tears, by each individual. He or she only gets out of the education process what they put into it in during those years. 

Kh


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## PresenTense (May 7, 2016)

Krummhorn said:


> I do not have a degree in music either ... but I did study privately for nearly 14 years (piano then organ) and secured my first church organist position in my first year of private organ study. The rest I learned by doing.
> 
> I felt that I was given enough guidance that I did not think that I needed the formal wall hanging, not that I'm against higher learning and people getting degrees in their profession ... sometimes it's a necessity for a job requirement for a particular position. I've done well over the years without and still playing professionally for the past 55 years.
> 
> ...


Interesting. I can't afford a good music school so I will continue to do it by myself.  Any book recommendations?


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I've written in other posts about my experience with public university. Mine was not a good one.

Thanks to good supportive teachers in high school, I got a good education in theory, counterpoint, orchestration & form. My first attempt at college failed because I had a completely different agenda going on subconsciously. When I finally got around to attending a public university and majoring in music, they started me at the very beginning again, giving me the feeling I'd been sent back to kindergarten. They made no effort to find out about my personal starting point because it was easier for them to start everybody at the beginning. I was angry enough to want to file a lawsuit against them, and told them so, but never did. 

I got my degree in composition, but quit composing a few years later. It was a big waste of time and money.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

alsupis,
What you are experiencing is what one must (generally) expect in a public university music department. The training they offer is designed to be a suitable basis for anyone seeking a career in music or a music related career, including education, criticism, specialized librarianship, graduate study, composition, arranging, arts management or performance. Even conservatories require the music course work you are doing, or most of it at least. There are conservatories that have artist diploma programs without course requirements (or with minimal ones) for the most promising students. If you feel you have what it takes to make it in performance and that the course work you are doing is a debilitating obstacle to getting there, you have the option of getting out of university and studying privately, devoting yourself entirely to performance and trying to get into an artist diploma program or conservatory at a later date — or even aiming directly for professional auditions without any further academic training. I think the risks in such a course are obvious — you end up without a degree and with no basis for most other music related careers.


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

QuietGuy said:


> When I finally got around to attending a public university and majoring in music, they started me at the very beginning again, giving me the feeling I'd been sent back to kindergarten. They made no effort to find out about my personal starting point because it was easier for them to start everybody at the beginning.


The music schools I know gives assessment tests to new students to determine where to place them. Did your school not do this?


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## Varick (Apr 30, 2014)

I think it all depends on what you want to do (as some have already mentioned in this thread). If you want to go into a field of music that requires a degree from an accredited college, then by all means, you have to go to college. If it is more of a personal passion/pursuit, then I wouldn't waste the money. The state of college education has become deplorable. They are brain-washing seminaries and campuses have become the least free areas in the country. Colleges seem to suck every ounce of common sense you may have once had and they have become moral, critical thinking, and wisdom-less wastelands. There is knowledge there, but that's about it. They used to teach you how to think, now they teach you what to think.

I went to school, received a degree in music and went into the music business. My intention was to make contacts in the music business, go back to law school, go into entertainment law and use my connections to advance my practice. After being in the music business for over 10 years (I toured all over the world with rock bands and orchestras as a tour manager - awesome experience btw), I realized I didn't want anything to do with the music business. If I could have made a living in classical music mgmt in the USA, I probably would have stayed, but alas, I live in a culturally illiterate society.

If I had to do it all over again, I would either have gotten a degree in engineering or not have gone to college at all. I think that unless you plan on pursuing a career that necessitates a degree in order to break in (most often in the natural sciences or teaching in the education system), college is not necessary.

V


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