Support NeoGAF

[Dice]

I've been trying to decide which direction I want to go in music, and I decided that while I enjoy performence quite a lot and I'm good at it, I'm more of a composer. So I'm trying to figure out a school that would be good for learning composition, and ideally also good for production since I'll probably be producing/recording music in my home.

Really high-class schools probably aren't going to be an option for me since I haven't had the most fortunate upbringing. I'm actually spending 2 years at a community college to bring certain parts of my education

Spoiler

math

up to par after a somewhat lacking homeschooling. I'm not fully sure what type of music I want to make, I enjoy all kinds. I may end up getting what work I can while developing various projects from home.

 

[ronito]

That all depends on what kind of music you want to make. Popular music? You'll most likely want to steer away from the big traditional universities. Classical music? You can't really go wrong with NYU, or Juliard...if you can get in. Several universities in California also have great teachers. There are also several conservatories on the east that have top quality programs. However, if you go this route you'd better be up to snuff. Having taken a few college level classical composition classes I can tell you they can be brutal.

 

[dave is ok]

Berkely in Boston is a well known music school, not sure how good the programs you would be interested in are though.

 

[Dice]

Yeah popular music is what I'm thinking. Classical is important and has it's place, but it's ike an entirely different scene. I think they've built some sort of intangible yet somehow incredibly structured idea of what music should be rather than view music theory as a tool for creative artistry. I may end up doing some project that's like Max Richter, but I'm not looking to be the next Gershwin.

Music these days blends so many elements and can be so many different things, I'd like to go to a school that could ready me for that and open up my potential as an artist. I mean, listen to The Flaming Lips and you'll think "wow, that's a lot", but you can make that stuff in your home. I actually have a ton of experience in ministry, so my career might end up being a music director at a church or a college campus ministry, and really a standard degree is good enough for most of them if you have a good reputation (which I do).

It is kind of concerning that the most likely path that I'll find my career in is laden with such awful music, but then some good things are beginning to happen and I could be a part of that.

 

[ronito]

Well for popular music I can't help much as I was exclusively on the classical side. However there is much to be said for getting a classical composition education. All classically educated composers can write popular music, not all popular music writers can write classical stuff.

 

[teruterubozu]

Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA has everything you need.

My friend graduated from there a while back and got his studio engineer degree. He's worked with everyone from U2 to Britney Spears to Santana.

Some Berklee graduates (and drop-outs):

Quincy Jones
Steve Vai
Keith Jarret
Melissa Etheridge
Dream Theater
John Mayer
Kevin Eubanks
Aimee Mann
The Cars
Diana Krall
Bruce Hornsby
Melissa Etheridge
Branford Marsalis
Donald Fagen
John Scofield

Check them out. They're not limited to just people who play instruments. They have degrees for a wide range of professions in the music business. They also share many classes with students from The New England Conservatory of Music just down the street.

Another school I've heard that's pretty good is the University of Miami School of Music. Like Berklee, they also focus on the more modern aspects of the biz.

 

[Dice]

Oh my, the Music Synthesis program at Berklee sounds wonderful. It may be a challenge to get in, especially since I'm only starting on piano, but it sounds like what I'm thinking. I'm definitely getting an info package from them...

 

[ronito]

Oh my, the Music Synthesis program at Berklee sounds wonderful. It may be a challenge to get in, especially since I'm only starting on piano, but it sounds like what I'm thinking. I'm definitely getting an info package from them...

Don't let the piano thing beset you though. As long as you have one instrument that you can play well it should be enough. Learning enough piano to get through the harmony and synth classes isn't easy, but it isn't terrible either.

 

[NetMapel]

Don Wright Faculty of Music here at University of Western Ontario is suppose to be pretty good. Check out their website http://www.music.uwo.ca/

It's in Canada, so it's probably cheaper than American counterparts

 

[Dice]

Don't let the piano thing beset you though. As long as you have one instrument that you can play well it should be enough. Learning enough piano to get through the harmony and synth classes isn't easy, but it isn't terrible either.

Not to toot my own horn, but I can sing professionally (runs in the family). If they'll allow it I could easily have voice as my principal instrument, but I'm not sure how well they'd accept that for music synth, and it would be challenging but I might want to go with piano anyway just to get the skill.

Don Wright Faculty of Music here at University of Western Ontario is suppose to be pretty good. Check out their website http://www.music.uwo.ca/

It's in Canada, so it's probably cheaper than American counterparts

Hmmm, good point. I'll check them out too, thanks!

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

Peabody at Johns Hopkins seems to be well regarded. I'm not studying music so I don't know for sure.

 

[Fatalah]

Five Towns College

http://www.fivetowns.edu/

 

[teruterubozu]

Not to toot my own horn, but I can sing professionally (runs in the family). If they'll allow it I could easily have voice as my principal instrument, but I'm not sure how well they'd accept that for music synth, and it would be challenging but I might want to go with piano anyway just to get the skill.

You can always major in one discipline and get a minor in another. One thing that sucks about almost every music school is mandatory sight-reading and sight-singing classes - no matter what your major is. Some schools even require minimum piano proficiency for graduation.

Singing is an excellent major at Berklee - I just went to a concert last Saturday for a friend of mine who was a singing major at Berklee.