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Colleges + Music Programs
- Thread starter AzN_F15h
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Megafoo Chavez
I love EGM
i'll bite. who is your agent? have your people call my people.
Richard Cranium
Member
Cal State as in the Cal State system or will any public school do? I started college as a music major at UCLA.
DePaul University for me. Best trombone studio in the midwest, led by Marc Fisher (who in my opinion is the best tenor trombonist in the midwest) and Charlie Vernon. Its a really great place for me to learn as a musician. For example, the last few months I've been playing in a trombone trio with a kid who was the runner up at Juilliard two years ago and the bass trombone runner up at Curtis this year. The talent in the studio is really amazing.
karasu said:
If you just want to take lessons, you can always pay someone to give them to you, but in most colleges you can't take them for free (or a reduced rate of $125 a semester, in my case) unless you're a music major or a minor in an area with too few students. Music students usually teach for cheap, though. I only have one student, and I charge her $10 for an hour lesson.
You can find competent instruction for a very low price, like sonarrat said. It might be a good idea to pony up and pay $150 - 200 for a lesson with a very good musician every six months or so. The difference between a symphony caliber player and your average music teacher can be absolutely huge.sonarrat said:
Litigation Manuel
Member
What kind of music programs should I look into? I am looking into music performance or composition, something I can apply directly to creating music. I've played guitar 6 years and have a basic knowledge of music theory (7 main modes and such). Any recommendations?
Litigation Manuel
Member
17. I mostly play something similar to rock, though no rock chords or distortion, a lot of jazz inspiration. Mostly improvising and a lot of jazzy chords. I would like to perform music for a living, hopefully with a band, and yes I know how difficult that will be to make a living. I've been writing songs for about 5 years or so, though in the past few years improvising has taken up a larger amount of my time.NLB2 said:
It sounds as if your best bet would be to study jazz guitar. Some really good schools for jazz guitar are Berkley School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School, DePaul University, and probably a bunch of schools in California - maybe sonarrat will know about those. If jazz composition is your thing though, all of the schools listed above are good except for DePaul (and Juilliard, which I'm not sure about).Litigation Manuel said:
Litigation Manuel
Member
Thanks, I know I don't want to play Jazz for a living, but I'm sure what I would be taught would help me expand my playing and general creativity. Jazz seems to be the most experimental and creative of the genres. Also, how in depth do a lot of the theory programs go? I think it would help to learn more of that, but I know a lot go far too deep into it, way beyond practical use in song writing. Do other courses provide a more practical approach to it?
First of all, you are right - jazz performance will most certainly help in every aspect of playing rock guitar. The chord changes in a jazz chart are much more difficult than your average rhythm guitar in a rock chart and the jazz soloing technique, while not exactly like that of rock, will help with rock technique.
But as far as what type of theory you learn in school, most schools mandate around two years of classical music theory. They basically make it neccesary for all students to have an understanding of theory up until the 20th century and 20th century tonal theory. Schools offer much more advanced theory classes but these are generally elective courses, this is the same with jazz theory (all though jazz theory really isn't all that different from classical theory, nor is rock theory that different from jazz or classical). And theory is generally pretty easy for everyone (at least everyone I know at many different schools. What's hard is music history, which is a complete bitch s and is pretty damn worthless to a jazz major.
But as far as what type of theory you learn in school, most schools mandate around two years of classical music theory. They basically make it neccesary for all students to have an understanding of theory up until the 20th century and 20th century tonal theory. Schools offer much more advanced theory classes but these are generally elective courses, this is the same with jazz theory (all though jazz theory really isn't all that different from classical theory, nor is rock theory that different from jazz or classical). And theory is generally pretty easy for everyone (at least everyone I know at many different schools. What's hard is music history, which is a complete bitch s and is pretty damn worthless to a jazz major.
Litigation Manuel
Member
Thanks, that was very helpful. One final question: my dad keeps preaching about Indiana University's music program, do you happen to know what kind of music education they excel in? Would they be something to consider for jazz theory/composition?
Star Power
Member
Hm... I've only been playing guitar for about a year. I know a small amount of theory, but I have a great teacher and I'm progressing pretty nicely. I'm current;y a junior in HS and was thinking of majoring in music (or having a double Music/Philosopy major) in college. I guess I'm not experienced enough 
Star Power
Member
Beezy said:
Eh... it isn't particularly hard, just takes a lot of dedication if you want to be really good. As for which kind to start on... it's up to you. Starting on an acoustic will strengthen your fingers moreso than an electric, and once you get the grasp of the acoustic you can easily switch to the electric, but not vice-versa.
I don't know much about Indiana as far as jazz goes. I do know that the school is absolutely gigantic. They have something like four orchestras and seven bands in the school, this is opposed to a school like Curtis that only has one orchestra and no bands. As far as classical music is concerned, Indiana has one of the best vocal departments in the country and, if you're a grad student or an incredibly talented undergrad student, it can be a good place to go because the level of the top players there is very high. I would assume most of this holds true for jazz. I've got a friend who goes there for french horn, I'll send her an email and ask her what she knows about the jazz program.
Beezy - perhaps Litigation Manual can answer your question regarding the technical aspects of learning the guitar but I'll give you the answer I give to anyone who asks about the comparitive difficulty of instruments - It doesn't matter how difficult an instrument is, because if it is easier to learn than another instrument, it is just as much easier to learn for your competition on that instrument as it is for you.
Beezy - perhaps Litigation Manual can answer your question regarding the technical aspects of learning the guitar but I'll give you the answer I give to anyone who asks about the comparitive difficulty of instruments - It doesn't matter how difficult an instrument is, because if it is easier to learn than another instrument, it is just as much easier to learn for your competition on that instrument as it is for you.
Litigation Manuel
Member
The hardest part about playing is staying committed and practicing often. If you can handle that, it's not too hard. Within a few weeks you could probably handle very basic songs and chords. Most people also seem to do okay with teaching themselves, considering the vast amounts of online help and books. Also, if there is a music store near you, there is bound to be a reaonsably priced ($10-$15 a half hour) teacher. The playing itself is not very difficult, it takes a little to build up callouses to play. Within half a year or so you'd probably be decent enough to play most chord based songs and fool around with creating things of your own.Beezy said:
Litigation Manuel
Member
Thanks again, you've been a big help. And your last statement is true, the easier or more popular the instrument, like guitar and piano, the harder it will be to create something new and innovative. Kinda wished I knew that before starting guitar, but so far I'm making good progress in an individual sound and style.NLB2 said:
I have something to add here: the California Institute for the Arts or CalArts for short, a school funded by Roy Disney, also happens to be the single biggest hotbed for experimental music and musicianship I know of. A guitar curriculum there can cover jazz and classical, of course, but can also cover every other style that's playable on a guitar. Rock, bluegrass, and the like are not left out. Nor are the sitar and other stringed instruments.
If you're really interested in becoming a complete guitarist, combining composition and performance, I don't think there is a better option on the planet than CalArts.
If you're really interested in becoming a complete guitarist, combining composition and performance, I don't think there is a better option on the planet than CalArts.
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