bandcoach
Zukatoku - Mod Scientist
sorry; sounds more like the future of ignorance......
Music school?.. IS THERE A POINT???
- Thread starter JaxBeats
- Start date
sorry; sounds more like the future of ignorance......
ThaRealKapone
...Only Kapone
You know, Im not hear to sway you in either direction but I'll tell you all the facts and stories I know:
I've had friends that have went to music and engineering schools and not learn a damn thing as they STILL can't make a coherent track or mix (and are now thousands of dollars in debt due to school fees) and I have had some friends that learned alot and are doing extremely well from what they learned (one of my friends got to work with Kid Ink and a few other cats through jobs Full Sail got him). A close family friend who is one of the chief engineers at Realsongs personally told me that engineering and music schools are a total waste of time and that you learn better out in the field. The great thing about music though is that there are a million ways to skin a cat, there are few right and wrong answers, there are alot more that work better or worse depending on the situation. My opinion, get it how you live it mayne, if school seems like the right route for you, try it. If it doesn't seem like its worth the hassle, don't. Your main goal right now should be learning and getting an education but there is no one way of doing that. Another thing to consider is taking on an internship at a studio or under a producer, engineer, songwriter, etc that you feel can teach the things you want to learn and show you things you NEED to learn but might not know you need to know (if that makes any sense lol)
I've had friends that have went to music and engineering schools and not learn a damn thing as they STILL can't make a coherent track or mix (and are now thousands of dollars in debt due to school fees) and I have had some friends that learned alot and are doing extremely well from what they learned (one of my friends got to work with Kid Ink and a few other cats through jobs Full Sail got him). A close family friend who is one of the chief engineers at Realsongs personally told me that engineering and music schools are a total waste of time and that you learn better out in the field. The great thing about music though is that there are a million ways to skin a cat, there are few right and wrong answers, there are alot more that work better or worse depending on the situation. My opinion, get it how you live it mayne, if school seems like the right route for you, try it. If it doesn't seem like its worth the hassle, don't. Your main goal right now should be learning and getting an education but there is no one way of doing that. Another thing to consider is taking on an internship at a studio or under a producer, engineer, songwriter, etc that you feel can teach the things you want to learn and show you things you NEED to learn but might not know you need to know (if that makes any sense lol)
H
/hessian
Guest
Nowadays there is simply an incredible wealth of information available online for those who have the patience to find it and the self-discipline to learn without being taught.
Platinum Ear Drum
New member
I think you should find a community college to go to instead. I went for two years and I dont regret it. I studied commercial music business. It emcompasses everything from musicianship to label structure to legal information.
The one thing that makes school for music worth it to me is the environment. You have people that talk your language so it's easier to stay motivated and creative. Not to mention the opportunity for some local exposure.
I don't have anything against Full Sail or any similar schools. It's only for individuals that are fairly experienced in what they do. In that case it's essentially them paying to get their foot in the door. Also people that attend hopefully already know music theory.
What if you take out a loan and paid a professional studio the same amount that you would pay this school? If this were to work then you would be getting hands on experience one-on-one. Just something to think about.
---------- Post added at 11:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 PM ----------
The one thing that makes school for music worth it to me is the environment. You have people that talk your language so it's easier to stay motivated and creative. Not to mention the opportunity for some local exposure.
I don't have anything against Full Sail or any similar schools. It's only for individuals that are fairly experienced in what they do. In that case it's essentially them paying to get their foot in the door. Also people that attend hopefully already know music theory.
What if you take out a loan and paid a professional studio the same amount that you would pay this school? If this were to work then you would be getting hands on experience one-on-one. Just something to think about.
---------- Post added at 11:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 PM ----------
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GrizzlySquad
New member
If full sail is just to 'get your foot in the door' , then I must ask ; Why go to a community college ,when you said yourself that what you paid for was to be in the company of others that had music in common with you.
By that logic , work at taco bell until you can afford some gear - and be active on futureproducers. And learn to market online , as the world is much bigger than your local community.
Just playing devils' advocate here , but if that was the point of going to a music school - I would personally side with no , it's NOT worth it.
By that logic , work at taco bell until you can afford some gear - and be active on futureproducers. And learn to market online , as the world is much bigger than your local community.
Just playing devils' advocate here , but if that was the point of going to a music school - I would personally side with no , it's NOT worth it.
Platinum Ear Drum
New member
I qualified for financial aid bro so they paid me to go. I'm not saying you absolutely have to go to school but people are less critical in person. It's easy to tell someone they suck online.
There are alot of music educators out there that don't get appreciated because people want to do it their way. It's better to risk the chance of some debt if you really belive in yourself rather than take 5 years to learn basics on your own. Everyone is not cut out for music and the classroom will show you that first hand. Begin the semester with 45 students and end it with 12. I haven't made it big but out of the 12 that stayed in school but 5 of us did. One of my class mates is working on the Jay Leno show, one helped engineer for the 2011 Grammy's, one works for Disney, the fouth went on tour with Brandy and the fifth got a major song placement. Our instructor was directly responsible for all of those outcomes. Mind you, they were already exceptionally talented. But my point is, they would still be in stuck in Compton if not for that motivation and opportunity.
How many A&R and executives does a manager at taco bell know? And for that matter, how many A&R's and execs eat at taco bell? The instructors at Full Sail and AMI know half of the music industry. It's not for BEGINERS. It's for true talents to get their foot in the door.
Maybe my instructor is just one of a kind. He taught me about more than music. He taught me about life. He taught me how to see where music is going before it gets there. Rather than taking 15 years or more of my life to figure it out myself. Go to school, learn fundaments, learn theory, learn copyright law, learn label structure. Then ask yourself if you want to label yourself an artist/producer or a lawyer, a label owner, a publisher.
Plus like I said, the environment of a school whether it be a Full Sail or a community college is very condusive to creativity and inspiration. Online people get to be arrogant, shoot down your ideas, be overly critical of your questions. In a classroom the same thing occurs but in a more positive manner. The reason situations like that work is the same reason the best songs are made with the artists in the same studio: Chemistry!
For years I've had to listen to criticism for wanting to do music. After school I was able to fully explain my plans. But why is it that my fellow music heads bash education? Were all trying to persue a passion. Why deny educators theirs?
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OC_Swervin
New member
It's all about what you make of it mang. If you go and good off it wont be werth it thats fersure
MalcolmStylez
New member
i thought about going but i never made the step towards going i hear full sail was good though
GrizzlySquad
New member
How 'good' you are and how well you do are not dependent on your resources ; Simply your desire to be great and your willingness to sacrifice time and money.
To some this means going to school to get the knowledge they need from those selling it , to some this just means using the internet to it's full potential. Nobody is bashing education , but not everyone qualifies for free school and the thread is 'is it worth it' - plus I've been to several music production schools and I was less than satisfied. Personally I would rather get a respectable degree in an instrument and also a business degree.
To some this means going to school to get the knowledge they need from those selling it , to some this just means using the internet to it's full potential. Nobody is bashing education , but not everyone qualifies for free school and the thread is 'is it worth it' - plus I've been to several music production schools and I was less than satisfied. Personally I would rather get a respectable degree in an instrument and also a business degree.
H
/hessian
Guest
Does anyone know (roughly) what Full Sail's fees are like? I'm assuming it's expensive. :|
Edit: Never mind I looked it up - Whoa.
Edit: Never mind I looked it up - Whoa.
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deepfryguy
New member
story
Lemme share a bit on this,
I would agree that one can learn engineering and mixing craft on one's own...as much of this comes down to getting to know the tools. So the merits of a school like Full Sail may be mixed..
However, as far as music school is concerned.....One should attend if you are going to seriously pursue music.
I have a very good friend who is a composer for film and television. He was educated at Oxford's school of music (who knew Oxford has a music school, huh?)...
He makes quite a bit as a film composer...hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and works on pretty big films....we're talking anthony hopkins, tommy lee jones and stallone films. He composes all sorts of music, much of it classical...but much of the television soundtrack music he does is a broad range...Dance, hip hop, drum and bass, EDM, rock, world etc..... I once asked him how he composes without his computer, he told me that he can simply score on paper and in his head using and musical notation. Not only does he have the ability to compose music that is contemporary, he is able to write music for large orchestral arrangements...that means that he can without aid of technology write music consisting of many musical parts for up to 50 musicians. As well..he's pretty good on the keys and can improvise complex chord progressions as accompaniment to other musicians.
Now how many of us self taught "producers" can do that???...how many of us self taught musicians can do that?
If hip hop and whatever else becomes less lucrative as a muscal genre...watchu gonna do?
I love Dre as much or more than most...but I would be a fool to think that I was going to walk the same path....very rarely does personal drive coincide with opportunity like it did for Dre. More often that not it is, drive + opportunity + flexibility that leads to longevity and prosperity.
Music school allows you this flexibility...I say this as an entirely self taught "hack" of a musician.
Lemme share a bit on this,
I would agree that one can learn engineering and mixing craft on one's own...as much of this comes down to getting to know the tools. So the merits of a school like Full Sail may be mixed..
However, as far as music school is concerned.....One should attend if you are going to seriously pursue music.
I have a very good friend who is a composer for film and television. He was educated at Oxford's school of music (who knew Oxford has a music school, huh?)...
He makes quite a bit as a film composer...hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and works on pretty big films....we're talking anthony hopkins, tommy lee jones and stallone films. He composes all sorts of music, much of it classical...but much of the television soundtrack music he does is a broad range...Dance, hip hop, drum and bass, EDM, rock, world etc..... I once asked him how he composes without his computer, he told me that he can simply score on paper and in his head using and musical notation. Not only does he have the ability to compose music that is contemporary, he is able to write music for large orchestral arrangements...that means that he can without aid of technology write music consisting of many musical parts for up to 50 musicians. As well..he's pretty good on the keys and can improvise complex chord progressions as accompaniment to other musicians.
Now how many of us self taught "producers" can do that???...how many of us self taught musicians can do that?
If hip hop and whatever else becomes less lucrative as a muscal genre...watchu gonna do?
I love Dre as much or more than most...but I would be a fool to think that I was going to walk the same path....very rarely does personal drive coincide with opportunity like it did for Dre. More often that not it is, drive + opportunity + flexibility that leads to longevity and prosperity.
Music school allows you this flexibility...I say this as an entirely self taught "hack" of a musician.
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GrizzlySquad
New member
Right ; Music school , and schools like full sail are different.
The emphasis on music is a legitimate investment , not that you have to go to school to be able to compose music ? lol I've been writing scores since I was like 13 , but it's nice that you admire your friend.
You can get a tutor if you are studying music , I studied with a University professor for years. But your success is never dependent on one factor , such as a school or a connection. Success is a result of RESOURCEFULNESS , not resources.
The emphasis on music is a legitimate investment , not that you have to go to school to be able to compose music ? lol I've been writing scores since I was like 13 , but it's nice that you admire your friend.
You can get a tutor if you are studying music , I studied with a University professor for years. But your success is never dependent on one factor , such as a school or a connection. Success is a result of RESOURCEFULNESS , not resources.
deepfryguy
New member
WORD! word! word! on being resourceful.
I also agree on private music lessons training...great investment and very effective.
13! wow! that's remarkeable! I wouldnt know where to begin writing classical music
I suppose my story was directed at a certain musical myopia I sense in this thread and around the forum....perhaps my own myopia played a part as well
Platinum Ear Drum
New member
Really, I'm just glad to have this conversation. Seeing where everyone is coming from has helped me to open up my mind. My main goal in joining this site was to share ideas and collab.