Music Production School
The best thing you can do for yourself is really understand what is out there. Do your own research. This mean check out the schools like Full Sail, and check out Berkeley, and check out the Music Industry program at Northeastern. There are many many more programs as well. Check out to see what is in your budget and what really goes well with your interests.
Should I go to school for music? My first response would be no. Why? Because you are going to spend tens of thousands of dollars if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to school for something that has no real guarantee of employment and even the employment opportunities that are there are not all that lucrative.
If you are going to go to school for your music make sure you are 100% sure that you want to do nothing else with your career. If you are not 100% sure wait until you are. Or start studying something else and take some music classes until you are.
I have always felt that 95% if everything I know about the music industy has been self taught or learned from my experiences working at record labels. NOT LEARNED IN CLASS.
The smartest move for somebody looking to do music but also needing to go to school is to get a degree in something you find interesting but will also earn you money when you graduate. If you are going to go into debt you may as well have some sort of insurance that you can get yourself out of debt. While you are studying make all of your electives music classes. Take music theory, recording, sound design or any other of the numerous classes that are going to be offered at your university. On your own get yourself a studio in your dorm or apartment and purchase a microphone, audio interface and some recording software like logic or cubase. Next download the Wave’s plugin series from vstclub.com (it will cost you 5,000 for basic package if you don’t download the cracked version). Now that you have this start experimenting and learning in your own studio. Read forums and pdf’s containing information on engineering. THESE TOOLS HAVE TAUGHT ME MORE THAN I LEARNED IN CLASS.
Don’t get me wrong though, I think I learned a lot in school but I don’t think it was worth the money that it cost. I also think I could have learned just as much if I did it on my own. I still want to read Donald Passman’s All You Need to Know About the Music Industry because I need to touch up my knowledge. If you were to read that whole book and really internalize it you would know more than the majority of the music industry graduates from Northeastern.
The best thing that these schools have going for them is the relationships with employers. For example while I was at Northeastern I interned at two record labels, one of which was Columbia Records in New York. This was a opportunity that was created directly by Northeastern and their relationships and I would not have gotten it if it wasn’t for them. That being said maybe you could get them if you really tried.
Bottom line, going to school for music is something that I think most people should avoid. I’m not saying not to follow our dreams or not go to school. I just think that you will find that you can teach yourself the majority of everything you are going to learn in school. In a nutshell the money invested is not worth the return. But don’t just take my word for it. Go and do some research, that’s really the only way to start finding out if it can be for you.
I must agree with you. My music background started out in church singing with different choirs. The early 1990′s my brothers began producing music tracks. I wanted a piece of that action. What forced me to learn to produce on my own is that I got tired of waiting for my brothers to produce tracks for me, they were focused on their own projects. In the beginning, I learned how to produce on all hardware, no software. During the early 2000′s that is when I began to experiment with software.
I have been on my own ever since and for some reason the independent male producers / artists seemed as though they wanted to compete with me, i.e. what kind of equipment do you have, and so on. I guess since I am a female that produces, sings and writes, the male population was more inquisitive or curious.
After years has past, I have finally found a fit for my music. Years ago some people harshly criticized my music, even close relatives, which sometimes would put a damper on my motivation. I am passionate about music ad still today I remain sustained. My music genre is hard to describe, but I believe my music is more Ambient/ Experimental /New Age (Listen to Soundscapes), even though I can fit into Jazz, Soul, Easy Listening and etc…Which can be anywhere from background music, movie scores and commercials. I rather be flexible with music, because if not, I feel that I am boxed in and my true identity of expression and creativity is being forced into status quo.
I must agree that research is an important key factor, as the old cliche’ of ‘knowledge is power’ is uprooted. I have read Donald Passman’s book (the old version) many years ago, it is a great investment.
I like what you are doing with your beats, giving back to the Universe, you have inspired me to do so as well. I have old beats, but they can be useful to others out there.
I have used one of your beats for a video, Thank you. You can find it on Facebook, and I have shared it on MySpace and Linked In. I made sure that I gave you your props. If anything hit me up when you get a chance.
D-Hy
…And by the way Happy New Year.
Here’s my Facebook link.