The problem with going to music school…should you go?
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- Опубликовано: 21 июл 2024
- I get people asking me "Should I go to college for music" multiple times a week, so I decided I would finally make a video about it. I've never been one to sit down and rant in front of a camera for 30 minutes (I also don't feel like that's useful). So I decided I would ask a bunch of professional musicians in my music scene what they think about a college degree in music so you can hopefully decide for yourself if it's worth it. There is no "right" path in this field, and I hope that through all of these perspectives you can find the "right" answer for you:)
Check out all of these amazing musicians:
Bryce Rabideau - brycerabideau.com/
Anne Celedonia - / anneceledonia
Eli Alfieri - / wildblueyonderjams
Clint Bleil - / cmb8481
Scott Boyer - / smb3434
Joe Herndon - / joeherndon.joe
Dan Sawyer - / dansawyer1
Anton DeFade - / antondefade
Jason Raflak - / jasonrafalak
Patreon: / foolishfrankie
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:37 Bryce Rabideau
4:54 Anne Celedonia
6:36 Eli Alfieri
8:22 Clint Bleil
13:10 Scott Boyer
15:20 Joe Herndon
18:23 Dan Sawyer
20:29 Anton DeFade
23:55 Jason Raflak
29:10 FoolishFrankie
#musician #musicianlife #college
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I did a cheap (i.e. $5000) Diploma of Music alongside a more job-friendly Bachelor's. Did many jobs, including Military bands, but eventually won an audition for a professional orchestra in my early 30s. Every professional move I made was low-risk, high-reward. I recommend my strategy to my students who are not extremely wealthy ;)
Smart!!
Based on this video and what I've heard from people who went to really high end music schools is that the upside for the high end schools is being surrounded by people who are extremely motivated on doing that stuff, which then also fuels your own growth perhaps more than it otherwise would've. Though I've only heard from people who have had full or nearly full scholarship, so the debt aspect hasn't been quite as bad as it could've
As a saxophonist in my junior year in high school, this video is extremely helpful. It’s helped me realize that although I enjoy learning music theory, music school is probably not the best option for me and that its perfectly okay to just have a teacher and fully immerse yourself in a local scene and improve that way. Thanks for the insight Frankie!
I’m happy it’s valuable to you!! Thank you so much for watching🙏🏻🙏🏻
I really like how you covered so many different angles and situations here! I was lucky enough to have financial support from my parents for my Bachelor's in performance and then took out loans for my masters in Music ed. Luckily I've always wanted to be a music teacher so it's never felt like a "backup" job. I've been happily teaching for 6 years with health insurance and the money I make from gigging on the side is an additional bonus. If I had to take out massive loans, or was considering performance as my only source of income I would definitely reconsider going to the school that I went to. Love your videos, keep up the great work!
So I went to music school as well. I graduated in 2000 so the environment now is very different than it was back then especially when it comes to finances. I got a degree in Music Education. I tried to be a pro gigging musician for awhile and I was doing ok but I eventually felt that the lifestyle wasn't for me and I pivoted to a different field and eventually landed in IT. For awhile I was still able to work and keep playing but eventually family and career demands made that impossible. I am starting to get back into but it difficult to get going without the contacts that I used to have from my pro days. I feel that going to music school was right for me but wouldn't be right for everyone. I was lucky in that I got a partial scholarship and was able to graduate without taking on any student loans (I also went to a state school). This financial flexibility allowed me to take my time post school trying different things and figuring out my path. Some of my colleagues are still struggling with student loans to this day so it is a big decision. I would not have achieved the level of musicianship that I did if I had not gone to music school. The music scene in my area is smaller and getting into the scene through my contacts in school was essential to get started. Also, having a college degree helped me when I pivoted to a different industry. Some people saw my "unconventional" degree as an interesting quirk that got their attention and that got me opportunities I might not have gotten otherwise. The friendships I have from college are still a big part of my life so that in itself may be worth it.
Yes!! Uploads return!! 🎉❤
My dad once told me: don’t spend $100 to earn $10. So I went straight into gigging and learned along the way.
50 years ago, I thought about playing professionally in SoCal. Already, players were being cut in favor of recordings for shows & live performances. People hire DJs for parties.
School doesn’t train ANY student to think about the labor market, the performance market, advertising, and return on investment. Every student needs this knowledge before selecting a major.
I didn’t choose music.
thank you so much frankie! i’ve been considering going to music school very heavily right now and this information is really helpful to also consider. haven’t made a decision yet, but this is super helpful!
Of course I'm glad it's helpful!!
An honest review of experiences and benefits is exactly what I needed.
Hope it was helpful!
I love this type of content ❤ thanks for putting in the effort
Much love🙏🏻
Hey! I’m applying to UNT for a DMA! Thanks for the video! I’m sure tons of people will find this very helpful.
Ahh that’s awesome!! I hope it is. Thanks so much for watching🙏🏻🙏🏻
I never realized you’re in Pittsburgh! I’m an hour and a half away, in Morgantown, WV. Great content, keep it up!
Ahh that’s awesome, I go to Morgantown for a bluegrass jam every now and then! Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
holy shit your conclusion is so insightful
Thank you I'm just trying to provide people with the insight I wish I would've had when I was considering school!
In my opinion, if u want to go to music and be taught by some of most skilled musicians in the world and be around a ton of musicians by all means do it
I had the opportunity to take a master class on trombone by a retired musician who was a bass trombonist in the military band and it was probably the most fun yet challenging and insightful hour and a half I’ve had in awhile
I came out of it feeling so good about my bass trombone skills
Wow 💥🔥 this is inspiring... While in school get involved in the music outside...
Yes!!
Interesting to near Bryce Rabideau say he went to Dusquene. As a tuba player, one of the greatest mentors and tutors I studied with (Jim Gourlay) is on the staff there. I know from personal experience that studying with him will bring a great deal of benefit and probably also start a life long friendship.
In my opinion, if you want to be a professional player, you don't necessarily need to go to music school. However, you DO need to take lessons consistently with master players so that you can learn the important elements of becoming a great player on your instrument. I personally went to music school because I benefit from structure and having a consistent schedule, as it helps me to get things done and make more progress, but not everyone needs that; it also helped to surround myself with the musicians in the program who were better than me so that I wasn't only learning in the classroom, but that I was absorbing information from them all the time. I will say that I don't think it's necessarily important for music programs to teach "wedding songs" and stuff like that as you mention, because going to music school will give you the tools necessary to listen to most wedding songs and figure out the horn parts pretty easily, even for more complex tunes. The greatest benefit I gained from going to music school was not simply the knowledge I gained, but the people I gained it from and the relationships I built with those people.
As someone who is currently undergoing a computer science course, it was interesting to hear dan's take on this.
Yes!! I thought it was good to include people that still play music professionally but have a stable 9-5
It seems like one of the biggest benefits to going to music school is the connections that you make. One of the things that it might be nice for the music community to do rather than relying on school for that is having more community groups where you can go to to form those connections, rather than just trying to find other musicians in jam sessions. But of course, who has time for that?
Great video!
Thanks!!
I want to become a music therapist, so I’ve decided to apply to both a college and university for music. The college is affiliated with the university so I can go from a music performance degree into third year BA in music then take a year to get a certificate of music therapy from that university. The good thing with going to the college first is staying at home, and the college has music business courses that are mandatory. I’ve met many of the staff at the college, and it seems like a great school overall! The university isn’t in my hometown, so I think it’s smarter (and cheaper) to stay at home first.
Jason Raflak in the full video did music therapy!
As a violonist who ended up with a music business degree, if I had the choice to go again, I don't think I'd do it... especially not at an arts school like Berklee.
My biggest let down is posh jazz musicians who only plays standards
That doesn’t have to be you!
Regarding 30:30 of having a private lesson with a professor-- that's actually possible without going for a degree! Some colleges have "community music schools" and their faculty give private lessons to people from the college's county! I didn't know about that until WAY too late. lol
that last guy was pretty cool, he seems like he would be a good youtuber
nah he sucks
next month I'm starting my first year and I'm scared as hell. I'm still scared as hell after this video but thanks for putting it in perspective
That’s normal no matter what!
If there is a doubt about whether studying music at university is good or bad, it is probably because it is not very good. When things are really good, there is no doubt (like for example that this channel is really good). Very nice video ^_^
PS: Sorry for my English 😂
LOL, well thank you Kinto! Your english is great:)
Or, you could say that most everyone would do it if the costs were low, therefore you could say that it is "good".
Only thing I got from this is the money struggle. Im fortunate enough that it wont cost me a dime (school doesn't in my country). I was more after, is it a waste of time or not
Not a waste of time if you really love it imo. You can always change career paths later in life. But it becomes much more difficult to to the reverse
@FoolishFrankie Awesome vid. This is a clinic for those people ready to jump into the college music track. Nice interview with yourself 🤩. Question) Did you answer your questions prior to or post asking everyone else? Did hearing everyone else answers change your thoughts about your experience?
I filmed mine after hearing everyone’s responses! But I pretty much knew what I wanted to say before I even started making this video because people ask me this question a lot!
Uploads this as I’m going through a school of music audition process dilemma 💀
Oof🫣
Any musician who goes into music for money is a fool; if your end goal is money do something else.
In any career, contacts are everything. If you go to music school do it in a happening city. Many of my contacts are people I went to school with and not just performers; engineers, composers and especially contracts and producers. Not only will a city provide this, but the studio teachers at many excellent schools In urban areas will also be on faculty at less expensive state schools.
Today I make a very comfortable living and live in an excellent suburb. Do I have the biggest house? No. Nicest car? No. Do I get to make music everyday and perform with extremely talented people? Hell yes!!
13:50 What law says you can't reach without going to music school?
In some states to teach full time at a public school you’re required to have an education degree
But you can definitely teach private lessons without it
Learn a trade, carry on playing music.
But what about Boating school?
definitely go
I need a whole separate video for that
Well... imagine living in America where you have to really pay to study...
In Germany you have to pay like 200€ a year... 😂😂 but you get so many benefits, you gain more than that.
But less people are moving to Germany to study music. I do think school should be much cheaper though
While tuition is free in many countries in Europe, you still have to pay for living expenses and many people do take out student loans for this. Granted, it is many many orders of magnitude cheaper than any American school and you can easily pay it off even with a music related job after you graduate.
Hey Frankie, As a life long musician and college grad BS music ed, I am wondering why a terrific player like you isn't teaching public school. Think pension! Tom
Hey! I have no desire to teach, and am building pension-like sources of income through social media:)
I do appreciate the kind words and for you watching!!🙏🏻
It's unfortunate that the downside is mostly money
can you say hi to me pls, im an alto saxophonist and love your vids
hey thanks for watching:)