music or college dilemma

K

Ksane

New member
Man I'm feeling to unsure on what I wanna do lately. I've done 1 year, with 1 year left at college (highschool in uk) and feel like im wasting my time. I wanna write music too, but I keep telling myself I should finish to stay on the safe side. But then, if you're playing on the safe side, it doesn't seem worth it? You have to take risks dont you? If I left college, I won't have the qualifications to get in to university, which is what you need to get a decent job, and then my family is going to look at me in shame. Then it will be either do or die in music. What do you guys think?
 
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Finish school; study for a degree in a field that you are good at and take music on the side - work hard and retire young and then pursue your musical ambitions with money behind you.

Sounds like a sell-out, huh?

However, pop music is a mugs game, as everyone wants to be the next big thing and there are only so many spots that can be filled by inexperienced, uneducated individuals.

The rest of the opportunities in music require that you know stuff and that you know someone (or have the money to open doors first). That learning can take place over time or as part of a degree in composition and sound design. Getting the money behind you is more difficult to achieve without bankable skills and knowledge.
 
As always, Band Coach has provided a thorough and well-reasoned response...
All I was going to say was-- How well do you like eating? How about sleeping indoors?

GJ
 
rhythmgj said:
As always, Band Coach has provided a thorough and well-reasoned response...
All I was going to say was-- How well do you like eating? How about sleeping indoors?

GJ
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im sorry but your response is retarded lmao. i live in my parents home, and what makes you think I can't do part time work and do music at the same time. thats what most musicians did at one point.
 
You are still young and have shown it with your response. There will come a point where your parents will either be unable or unwilling to support your endeavours, unless of course they have money to burn. Also, being able to eat at your parents table may not allow you to eat what you want. Sleeping in your parents house may not allow you to do what you want in said bed.

My initial response was targeted at getting you to realise that being a professional musician is more than just sitting down and making beats in a pirated copy of fl.

To further highlight the issues:

Selling in a flooded marketplace means having something special (a creative vision that is different from the masses) as well as well as having mixing, orchestrational, arranging and compositional skills. Add in the need to master your music (best done by a professional until you have acquired the skills over at least a 10 year period or more) and you start to realise that most of your time is spent chasing money rather than making money: you chase money to pay for training and external services.

Having performance skills on one or more instruments also helps in the long run, as you are creating from an informed perspective - i.e. you know what is possible and what is not when it comes to writing for real instruments and are less likely to make mistakes like having horns playing too high or too low (their playing range is F[sub]1[/sub] - F[sub]4[/sub], yet often we have parts written for them an octave lower or an octave higher; the former is only possible for select pedal tones; the latter are only available to highly skilled players).

Having a bankable degree in something like software engineering or finance or economics or chemistry or civil/mechanical/electrical/electronic engineering means that you can make money quickly and easily. It also brings with it the potential to work for yourself at some point in the future if you come up with a great idea and can exploit it.

Note on Octave numbering
Middle C = MIDI note number 60 = C[sub]3[/sub] in most daws = C[sub]5[/sub] in FL and BiaB, i.e. add 2 the octave number if you are using fl
 
You wanna do Music. Period.

If you wanna do something to be safe, then trust me, its not what you wanna do.

What you need to do is drop out of college and start getting an education in music.

You wanna align yourself with someone that's great at what you wanna do. Be their assistant, sleep on their floor, make them coffee. Just get into the environment you wanna work in. Absorb everything, be humble like a kid. Work on your skills, stay open for opportunities and strike when they arrive.

Trust me, I know many people in their 50's who hate their job and say that if they could go back 20 years they would choose the less safe option that would've really meant something to them. You don't wanna be the 40-50 year old guy, working a Job you only took to please your parents, hating what you do, then getting replaced by a younger kid who's in the same damn misery. Life's too effin short to throw it away like that.

We live on a giant ball of matter levitating in a universe so big, our planet is merely a sand corn in the ocean in comparison. Don't fear people, their judgement. So many people died miserably because of what the neighbors thought. Don't be scared to die giving every minute of your life to how YOU want to live it. You think life's a biatch now, but what no one tells you is that the real biatch comes along when you're 80 and realize that you threw everything away...because of some parental or societal pressure.
 
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Bandcoach and DJPolair just gave you the extreams on both ends of your dilemma...... if your as young minded as to boldly Persue your own destiny, subconsciously risking everything, your parents way of living, for one that you merely are just imagining.....Expect many downfalls, you must remain focused and never doubt your faith....Hunt for "food", instead of being "fed". Anything can happen.


But, If you choose to be patient... and develop a secure path for a greater probability at obtaining what ever you choose (STACK UP!!!!!!!!) You become more in charge of situations compared to the alternate route.... In the beginning....

I'm currently in my second year at college, and live with my parents... I have a part time job, and I'm currently starting to get my name known in my city. (for Production!!!) I suggest asking your self what are your priorities, and are you doing anything that negatively affects them.... Find a balance bruh...
 
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Maybe I read wrong...but it's just 1 more year of school, right? Finish school, you "sacrifice" a year for a fall back plan. The entire year you can still do music on the side. Seems like a no-brainer.

I don't think ANYONE should waive school or any sort of foundational education to pursue a music career UNLESS they're facing down a lifetime opportunity(like someone offering a deal, or a spot on tour). Why quit school to sit at your moms house crossing your fingers to 'make it" like the billions of other "aspiring" musicians sitting in their moms homes? At the least, a year of school later you could have the means to take care of yourself while hoping to make it.:cheers:
 
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My response was not "retarded," son, it was real. "Stated."
You have the two choices before you (or as has been pointed out, whatever mixture of the two you decide on). Only you can make these choices. It's good to seek outside opinion, but ultimately, you will bear responsibility for your own choices.

GJ
 
I agree with those that said finish college and stay on the safe side. Do your music on the side. Sometimes you have to sacrifice.

I'm in college like you and listen to this story:

Like, you I produce music and go to college, but one day my school invited a group of singers and one of them had a story. The guy said that he went to college and wanted to be a lawyer, but he also liked music. He pursued both of them, while keeping steady focus on his college work. He was ridiculed for it. People wondered why he was pursuing two ambitions. As far as people were concerned they thought he should have drop one ambition and go with the other. Even professionals thought he should drop either his music or his college ambition like if it was a choosing game.

Well, long story short, he focused well in college, while gripping music and now he is a music lawyer and he goes around doing tours singing with a group of singers. He said if you have more than one ambition and you're going to college, hang on to it until the end.

That is what I'm doing to this very day.

---------- Post added at 10:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 PM ----------
DjPolair said:
You wanna do Music. Period.

If you wanna do something to be safe, then trust me, its not what you wanna do.

What you need to do is drop out of college and start getting an education in music.

You wanna align yourself with someone that's great at what you wanna do. Be their assistant, sleep on their floor, make them coffee. Just get into the environment you wanna work in. Absorb everything, be humble like a kid. Work on your skills, stay open for opportunities and strike when they arrive.

Trust me, I know many people in their 50's who hate their job and say that if they could go back 20 years they would choose the less safe option that would've really meant something to them. You don't wanna be the 40-50 year old guy, working a Job you only took to please your parents, hating what you do, then getting replaced by a younger kid who's in the same damn misery. Life's too effin short to throw it away like that.

We live on a giant ball of matter levitating in a universe so big, our planet is merely a sand corn in the ocean in comparison. Don't fear people, their judgement. So many people died miserably because of what the neighbors thought. Don't be scared to die giving every minute of your life to how YOU want to live it. You think life's a biatch now, but what no one tells you is that the real biatch comes along when you're 80 and realize that you threw everything away...because of some parental or societal pressure.
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This guy is right to a degree. Yeah, take risks... Life is about making mistakes and learning from them, so you can do better the next time, but they call it risk for a reason. With risks, you can either fail or win, so it's not just about taking risks, it's about taking SMART RISKS. E.g. Would you go to Las Vegas and gamble all the money in your bank? It's a risk! Why wouldn't you? SEE WHERE I'M GOING WITH THiS?

Ok, this guy is in college. He has only 1 year left. I have been in college for 2 years, I have 2 years left. Like you guys, I produce music too. What I'm trying to say is, just let the guy finish college. It's one more year! After that one year, you're free to do what you want. You can get a job or not get a job, but now, you can make music and have a degree that comes in handy when you need it.

Get your steady income, then you can take SMART risks so you have something to fall back on.

PS - that steady income can back up your music career!
 
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@dahtrump: college in the op's context is High school in yours - i.e. he is in the same situation djPolair was in early last year, with only a little bit of time before high school was done - back then I told djpolair to stick out with only months to go it was stupid to pull out for nothing other than sitting at home to concentrate on making music.

My response to ksnae is pretty much the same: finish high school and start tertiary education in something other than music so that he has a way of making money alongside his passion for music.

Your story is pretty much reminiscent of most of the Mighty Five Russian composers who were mostly professionals at something other than music: Balakirev was a freelance teacher of piano, a musician and composer; Cui was an army officer and taught fortifications; Mussorgsky was also an army officer and later a civil servant; Rimsky-Korsakov was a naval cadet and later Professor of Practical Composition and Instrumentation; Borodin was a doctor and a Professor of Chemistry.

I'll say it again: finish school and get a degree that will allow you to make money easily whilst pursuing your musical dreams on the side: when you have the leisure to exploit and pursue these dreams you will be forever thankful that you took that course of action
 
It's all about time management; if you cut down on the amount of time wasted then there is more than enough for you to do everything you want to do.

I'm still unclear whether OP is in high school or college; if you're still in high school I don't see what the big deal is. I'm in college and I have a job which has the potential to consume my life, but I still find time to make beats and manage my musical network.

To put it differently from everybody else; its a hobby. Unless you have no other options music should be considered a hobby. Play the cards you have before you lose them. I have a friend that dropped out of college to try and become a rapper and now he's frustrated because no one is paying any attention to him. You have your whole life to make music - you only have one shot at school.
 
bandcoach said:
@dahtrump: college in the op's context is High school in yours - i.e. he is in the same situation djPolair was in early last year, with only a little bit of time before high school was done - back then I told djpolair to stick out with only months to go it was stupid to pull out for nothing other than sitting at home to concentrate on making music.

My response to ksnae is pretty much the same: finish high school and start tertiary education in something other than music so that he has a way of making money alongside his passion for music.

Your story is pretty much reminiscent of most of the Mighty Five Russian composers who were mostly professionals at something other than music: Balakirev was a freelance teacher of piano, a musician and composer; Cui was an army officer and taught fortifications; Mussorgsky was also an army officer and later a civil servant; Rimsky-Korsakov was a naval cadet and later Professor of Practical Composition and Instrumentation; Borodin was a doctor and a Professor of Chemistry.

I'll say it again: finish school and get a degree that will allow you to make money easily whilst pursuing your musical dreams on the side: when you have the leisure to exploit and pursue these dreams you will be forever thankful that you took that course of action
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I'd have to agree with finish the degree and educate yourself in something other than music that you'd be interested in and can support your future lifestyle. To me though, if you're going to college for ANY of the arts, you're wasting your time, but that's just my opinion. I noticed that you can teach yourself the arts. You want to learn music theory? Hire a piano teacher or a teacher for your favorite instrument. They can teach you all you need to know, if not, hire one that does (trust me they're out there, I've had a few piano teachers who taught me music theory when I was very young and they're cheaper than college tuition).

I've read on this forum once about people here going to college for audio engineering and got disappointed because they figured they can learn it themselves and even went as far as claiming to sue the school for their money back. Also, I know another guy who's doing pretty big right now and he went to college for audio engineering in canada, and while he learnt a lot, he ended up mad and said the education wasn't worth it or very handy to his music career and now he owes a lot of money to his school. (He's still doing great musically though)

The only time I think college is good for the arts, is if you're building connections and networks with people that can certainly help you in the future.

Again, this is just my opinion.
 
DAHTrump said:
The only time I think college is good for the arts, is if you're building connections and networks with people that can certainly help you in the future.
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I highly agree with that notion. I'm pro self teaching when it comes to the arts. How is someone gunna tell you ur work isn't art n give you a D.... DAFUQ!!
 
CurryBeats said:
I'm still unclear whether OP is in high school or college; if you're still in high school I don't see what the big deal is.
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the problem is that of language - one culture (British and to a lesser extent Australian) refers to the last years of high school as college whilst another culture (USA) refers to the first few years of post high-school education as college

the OP makes it quite plain in their opening statement that they are still finishing high school

Ksane said:
I've done 1 year, with 1 year left at college (highschool in uk)
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Dj Richmix said:
I highly agree with that notion. I'm pro self teaching when it comes to the arts. How is someone gunna tell you ur work isn't art n give you a D.... DAFUQ!!
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And that is the problem - the grade is not about whether the work is art or not, but whether you have displayed mastery of the requisite skills and techniques - i.e. it is about providing you with feedback on your learning of the craft of the art, not on the resulting artwork itself.

If you look at what that means in terms of developing as a composer/creator/producer then you can begin to understand why it is important to pursue such studies.

Not everyone can create great work without training, and those that can may still not achieve/realise their full potential without studying some aspects of the craft of music and production.
 
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The following is a repost of something I wrote last year. Take from it what you will:

I'm going to share what I've learned over the years. BTW - I'm in my forties and I've been making music for eva'.


I've been doing this music thing since I was a teenager and the only regret I have is I wish I would've pursued it full time when I was younger. I chose to do the safe thing and the safe thing turned out to be not so safe at all. Trust me, I've been there. If you treat music as a hobby, you will only have "hobby" results. If you have a fall back plan then you are planning to fall back!


Your parents, family, mentors, etc ... will tell you to build a career and work on your music later or as a hobby. THEY ARE DEAD WRONG! I can not stress that enough. They mean well but they are wrong. I think it's safe to say none of them have built a successful, life long, career in the entertainment industry. They can only tell you how have to have a successful every day life. There's nothing wrong with that. But, if you want to be a successful musician, the only rule the two have in common is hard work. Everything else doesn't apply. Think of it like this; would you listen to a waiter's advice about law enforcement? If you're smart, I don't think you would.


You are only young once. Everything else will still be there later. Give yourself a fixed period of time, say 5 years, to make a name for yourself in music. Don't get any girls pregnant, don't get strung out on drugs and make music your top priority. Eat sleep and breathe music within that time. But, be firm about your time line. If it doesn't happen by the end of your allotted time line, go on about your life with full knowledge that you gave it your best. Trust me, there is nothing worse than reaching middle age and wishing you would have taken your music more seriously. Think about it; what do you have to lose? If you fail epically, you can always go to school, or whatever it is you want to do. But, if you make it, you are set for life and you can take care of whatever wife and kids you may acquire. And, you can do so in grand style. But, you have zero chance of making that happen if you don't put yourself out there.


1.The only thing that won't be there later is your youth. And believe me, it's easier building a music career when you're young and you're in touch with what's going on. You will never, ever be as innovative and musically relevant than you are now.


2.You will never have as much energy and drive as you do now.


3.You will never have the opportunity to singly focus on your creativity like you do now. Wife, kids, career will always take precedent over your music.


4. Any woman who does not want you because you don't have a career/money at this point in your life isn't the kind of woman you want. Trust me on this. I've had money and I've been broke. The women you meet while you're a struggling musician are the best ones in the world. I kick myself over the good girls I let get away when I was your age selling plasma for money to pay for studio time. These girls never cared about money, they would bring me food and believed in my dream. Fast forward a couple of decades and most of these women have turned into great wives and mothers who put their families/husbands first. You are a man. You have no biological clock. You can always have a wife and kids. You are better equipped at thirty to have a good marriage than you are now. Take advantage of this time in your life and follow your dream.

Lastly, be honest with yourself about your talent. Do you truly have the gift or are you just curious? If you don't, the only person you are fooling is you. The only time you are wasting is yours.


Try music first. Give it your all. Move to a location where it will be easier to get your musical career started if you have to. What ever you have to do, do it. Get it done. Everything else worth having will be there when your done. This time in your life is fleeting. Take advantage of it while you can. Good luck.
 
theres no money in music unless ur beats contain 4 note melodies and a fast hi hat pattern and even then u have this small issue which is the fact that every 3rd "producer" makes those kind of beats

finish college, do music on the side, thats what i hopefully plan on doing

if this were the 90's or early 00's id consider even dropping out of high school to make beats, but people dont pay 10-20 grand for a hip hop beat anymore so gotta hit the books
 
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Luka95 said:
theres no money in music unless ur beats contain 4 note melodies and a fast hi hat pattern and even then u have this small issue which is the fact that every 3rd "producer" makes those kind of beats

finish college, do music on the side, thats what i hopefully plan on doing

if this were the 90's or early 00's id consider even dropping out of high school to make beats, but people dont pay 10-20 grand for a hip hop beat anymore so gotta hit the books
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If that's the case, I refer you to this cat's thread. There's a whole world of music beyond Hip-Hop. Why sit behind a desk when you could be making money creating music?


https://www.futureproducers.com/for...obody-gives-shit-about-your-rap-beats-452809/
 
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