help please
is/has/will anybody be studying music school? I am coming very close to leaving high school and have definately considered joining some kind of art school. I just wanted to ask those who might have some experience with such efforts, is it worth it? What am I required to know if Id want to do so? Is the employability OK? Do I need some kind of school education to be able to apply? Is it too late since I do not have any certificate of finishing any degree or education in that field?
Comments (7)
Ollie studies music as far as I know. (Somehow the @ linking to users is not working anymore)
you should study music now if you seek proficiency. there are music theory videos everywhere on YouTube, a college course isn't necessary
Hey man, happy to help. Just to clarify, I study at a musical education centre called the Academy of Music and Sound > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Academy_of_Music_and_Sound.
So, there's a few things to bare in mind when studying music in an educational environment, and its not what you'll be expecting man. There is obviously a heavy focus on music, though, it isnt some magic course that will make you a tip-top producer and get you in the music industry when you finish, but, it does give you the tools and know-how in how to start a proper career in music.
Depending on the courses available to you, it will likely be split into Performance, and Technology (i assume you'll be attending the latter), and being able to work with bands, musicians and other types of artists will serve you very well. For instance, i now know how to setup a recording environment for a whole band, what mics to use and where, how to record, mix etc, and how to engineer live sound too in a club or venue. All of these skills are essential, even if you dont plan on being in a band or being an engineer or whatever. All skills you learn while studying are transferrable into the rest of your productions, though at the time it may seem like 'why am i studying this, this doesnt relate to me'
Like i said, there is a focus on music, but part of being a musician nowadays is having a good 'business head', as in, how to market, plan events, organize projects, how to start and maintain your [music] business etc, and these are all things that will also be covered. I'd say, (on my course anyway) its about 60% music studies, and 40% business/written work relating to music.
You WILL be pushed as a producer, you'll be thrown waaay out of your comfort zone with the productions you have to make for your course material, but i promise you, it increases your skills and capabilities as a producer tenfold. For instance, i've had to make a 70's soul track, HipHop, Rock, Funk, Acoustic etcetc, and its increased my production skills soo much.
As for what you might need to actually get into education, any kind of grasp of music theory will help a lot, as obviously you'll be studying it and it will help you out no-end (though saying that, I know very little theory, but as a producer its not as essential as a performer for instance). To my knowledge, you wont need a qualification (apart from English and Maths, but even then its pretty loose and can be covered in separate lessons), so thats fine, as long as you have ambition/motivation, and an understanding of music making, you'll be good.
Employability in the music industry is a touchy scene, and there's no guarantee that when you finish your studies you'll instantly have a job. But that depends entirely on what you want to do within music. Own your own business? Be a producer? Work in a studio? Be a live sound engineer? there are so many paths you can take and thats entirely up to you. Your chances of employability depend on your motivation and ambition. You wont be handed a job, it wont work like that sadly, but dependant on how into your studies you are, the higher chances are that you'll find a relevant path for you.
Overall, I'd say go for it man, the skills you'll learn and the knowledge you'll acquire will stick with you forever and you'll only get better and better :D
When you go for an interview or a meeting if you do apply, i recommend having something to show your interviewer, whether its a quick jingle on a piano, or some tracks that are public and that youre happy to show people, anything to give the interviewer/higher-ups a glimspe of what youre capable of, and what kind of thing youre pursuing.
Wow, amazing insight @oscarollie. Thanks for sharing this.
Oh one more thing, just occurred to me. Im not sure of your experience with other daws outside of AT, but studying music as a tech student will inevitably lead to you having to use quite a few different daws for a few different reasons, and potentially an entirely new OS (mac and pc).
Before studying at AMS, the only daw i'd ever used was a 'lite' demo version of ableton, and that was like 7/8 years ago, didnt understand it one bit, so I grew up with AT for the next 7 years. Now, having studied for 3 years, I can safely say I know how to use Logic (least favourite), Protools, Studio One and Ableton fairly competently. This helps immensely as different artists prefer different daws/OS's, and being able to adapt and be able to work with almost whatever is essential :D