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Post by keymod on Dec 19, 2023 10:22:45 GMT -6
My nephew got accepted to both. I feel somewhat responsible since I bought him his first guitar several years ago, and then a Tascam digital portastudio a few years later.
He has some talent, though I never thought Berklee material
. I know he wants to go to Berklee, and money is no issue for his parents. I think being near Nashville, at Belmont, would be the wisest choice. Any thoughts?
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Post by jeremygillespie on Dec 19, 2023 13:30:38 GMT -6
Which program at Berk? Performance or Engineering?
Couldn’t convince him to be a heart doctor or something useful?
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Post by keymod on Dec 19, 2023 13:34:55 GMT -6
Which program at Berk? Performance or Engineering? Couldn’t convince him to be a heart doctor or something useful? I would imagine performance. |
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Post by jcoutu1 on Dec 19, 2023 15:54:41 GMT -6
My nephew got accepted to both. I feel somewhat responsible since I bought him his first guitar several years ago, and then a Tascam digital portastudio a few years later. He has some talent, though I never thought Berklee material . I know he wants to go to Berklee, and money is no issue for his parents. I think being near Nashville, at Belmont, would be the wisest choice. Any thoughts? If I could do it again, I definitely wouldn’t go to Berklee, or anything in the arts for that matter. I feel like I received a fine education, but nothing I couldn’t have learned on my own without spending a fortune and putting myself into the poor house. If I didn’t get lucky getting into a tech job when I was in school, I probably wouldn’t have survived. Sounds like money isn’t a concern for this kid, but it still feels like a waste to me. |
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Post by ericn on Dec 21, 2023 11:00:34 GMT -6
My nephew got accepted to both. I feel somewhat responsible since I bought him his first guitar several years ago, and then a Tascam digital portastudio a few years later. He has some talent, though I never thought Berklee material . I know he wants to go to Berklee, and money is no issue for his parents. I think being near Nashville, at Belmont, would be the wisest choice. Any thoughts? If I could do it again, I definitely wouldn’t go to Berklee, or anything in the arts for that matter. I feel like I received a fine education, but nothing I couldn’t have learned on my own without spending a fortune and putting myself into the poor house. If I didn’t get lucky getting into a tech job when I was in school, I probably wouldn’t have survived. Sounds like money isn’t a concern for this kid, but it still feels like a waste to me. Yeah , I always tell anyone who wants to study in the arts to go a school where if you major in the arts have a minor that can pay the bills. |
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Post by keymod on Dec 21, 2023 11:39:53 GMT -6
If I could do it again, I definitely wouldn’t go to Berklee, or anything in the arts for that matter. I feel like I received a fine education, but nothing I couldn’t have learned on my own without spending a fortune and putting myself into the poor house. If I didn’t get lucky getting into a tech job when I was in school, I probably wouldn’t have survived. Sounds like money isn’t a concern for this kid, but it still feels like a waste to me. Yeah , I always tell anyone who wants to study in the arts to go a school where if you major in the arts have a minor that can pay the bills. This is why I'm thinking Belmont would be a better choice. More diverse curriculum and environment, afaik. |
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Post by Blackdawg on Dec 21, 2023 20:02:48 GMT -6
Berklee has far more pedigree and connection building. Hard to say no to that. And really that's all college is about these days anyways. You can learn just about anything you want now. But building relationships and connections at college is irreplaceable. Through a weird string of connections and taking advantage of every opportunity thrown my way I ended up in a dream job scenario. Never would have happened if I hadn't done school. That said, I didn't do any crazy schools. So Belmont has Nashville right there which is a big plus. More opportunities to meet people and play with them there I'd guess. IMO Nashville is music capitol of the country right now. LA is dead.
so....hard choice!
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Post by Bob Olhsson on Dec 22, 2023 16:47:22 GMT -6
I'd go to the finest music school I could get into. Forget recording programs. You need musician connections and not recording connections.
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Post by Blackdawg on Dec 22, 2023 18:26:23 GMT -6
Yeah also thinking about this again, he should go to whatever school has the teachers he wants to learn from. Especially if he's studying music. That should be #1 on priorities.
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Post by EmRR on Dec 23, 2023 10:28:03 GMT -6
Definitely assess whether or not social networking is something he will engage in. If he's introverted and keeps to himself, or his family structure is like that, he'll go all the way through school making few connections, and miss the boat on that entirely. If so, it may be there, but be of no practical value. How do I know this? My wife and I both grew up in families that kept to themselves, and we sailed all the way through with zero social connection because of it. Only after, did anyone explain it as the point.
I know plenty of people who went to Berklee and them came home to teach the same music store guitar lessons they already had before they went, so.....have a clear point and goal.
On the tech side I know plenty of people with degrees in D&P or audio/video engineering who've never once been asked about their degree for any sort of theater or live event tech job. Yeah, they knew more right off the bat in some ways, but it didn't increase their pay, and if they couldn't function in the environments, it didn't matter what they knew. The people I know owning and running businesses in those fields generally are self taught go-getters with no formal schooling.
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Post by christopher on Dec 23, 2023 14:11:07 GMT -6
When I was considering colleges people said choose one for the good networking, I assumed they meant it taught Cisco systems. Yeah my family would be the introvert gifted nerd/psychopathic/ valedictorian/intellectual types
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Post by ericn on Dec 23, 2023 17:30:58 GMT -6
When I was considering colleges people said choose one for the good networking, I assumed they meant it taught Cisco systems. Yeah my family would be the introvert gifted nerd/psychopathic/ valedictorian/intellectual types We have all warned the FBI, expect the Black Suburbans in about an hour😁 |
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Post by ericn on Dec 23, 2023 17:34:56 GMT -6
Definitely assess whether or not social networking is something he will engage in. If he's introverted and keeps to himself, or his family structure is like that, he'll go all the way through school making few connections, and miss the boat on that entirely. If so, it may be there, but be of no practical value. How do I know this? My wife and I both grew up in families that kept to themselves, and we sailed all the way through with zero social connection because of it. Only after, did anyone explain it as the point. I know plenty of people who went to Berklee and them came home to teach the same music store guitar lessons they already had before they went, so.....have a clear point and goal. On the tech side I know plenty of people with degrees in D&P or audio/video engineering who've never once been asked about their degree for any sort of theater or live event tech job. Yeah, they knew more right off the bat in some ways, but it didn't increase their pay, and if they couldn't function in the environments, it didn't matter what they knew. The people I know owning and running businesses in those fields generally are self taught go-getters with no formal schooling. Yeah sound companies come from 2 schools of thought for new hires. We can get guys with degrees! We hire off the street and teach them our way. When looking at music schools and job placement numbers keep this in mind, music stores are considered jobs in the industry as is Starbucks because they have a record label. |
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Post by christopher on Dec 23, 2023 23:14:32 GMT -6
When I was considering colleges people said choose one for the good networking, I assumed they meant it taught Cisco systems. Yeah my family would be the introvert gifted nerd/psychopathic/ valedictorian/intellectual types We have all warned the FBI, expect the Black Suburbans in about an hour😁 Yeah, thank you for the admission.. my internet has had latency for many years 😂 |
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Post by drbill on Dec 24, 2023 9:40:40 GMT -6
School for music is over-rated. For sure. For the connections? Maybe. For the skills? You can learn them just as easily playing in every ensemble situation you can find. Now....school may afford you those, but you can also find them on your own. I've got my bachelors in music composition, but I often think that I'd have better spent my time and money playing in a top 40 band for those...um......5+ years. Good luck to your nephew. Hopefully someone can talk some sense into him before he wrecks his life....  |
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Post by jeremygillespie on Dec 24, 2023 18:47:39 GMT -6
Honestly, if the money isn’t an issue - let him go to Berk and figure it out on his own. If he realizes after 2 years that it isn’t worth it, then at least he realized it on his own and figures out something else to do. He may come to the realization that he loves it and busts his ass and makes great connections. He might flunk out. He might be top of his class. All of these things allow us to learn how to push ourselves, how to pick ourselves up, how to challenge ourselves, how to overcome challenges.
But I think we all know, he’s going to have to figure it out on his own. Even the cool uncle won’t be able to push in any particular direction at that age.
I say Berk because I think they have a better diversity of programs. And I know country music is kinda king right now, but personally I wouldn’t want to be in or work in that world. Not my thing.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Dec 25, 2023 11:51:01 GMT -6
Another thing, he should live in the dorms wherever he goes. I went to Berklee and my first couple years commuted an hour and 45 min each way between driving, commuter rail, and walking. Because of that, I missed out on the connections. You absolutely can’t make the same connections if you don’t live there. I ended up in a Boston apartment for my last couple years, but most people had already made their bonds. I got involved in the Boston rock scene then and made some connections, but it wasn’t the same as the people who lived on campus.
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Post by M57 on Dec 25, 2023 12:35:39 GMT -6
Another thing, he should live in the dorms wherever he goes. You absolutely can’t make the same connections if you don’t live there. +1 Living on campus is an entirely different experience. At a school like Berklee, where all programs are music related, he'll eat, drink, and sleep music 24/7. |
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Post by Blackdawg on Dec 26, 2023 0:41:06 GMT -6
School for music is over-rated. For sure. For the connections? Maybe. For the skills? You can learn them just as easily playing in every ensemble situation you can find. Now....school may afford you those, but you can also find them on your own. I've got my bachelors in music composition, but I often think that I'd have better spent my time and money playing in a top 40 band for those...um......5+ years. Good luck to your nephew. Hopefully someone can talk some sense into him before he wrecks his life.... I don't disagree with this. But getting into a "top 40 band" is basically impossible without massive almost impossible luck. I know plenty of great musicians both who've gone to school and those that haven't never even approach that level of performance. And not for lack of trying or want. |
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Post by Blackdawg on Dec 26, 2023 0:42:06 GMT -6
Another thing, he should live in the dorms wherever he goes. I went to Berklee and my first couple years commuted an hour and 45 min each way between driving, commuter rail, and walking. Because of that, I missed out on the connections. You absolutely can’t make the same connections if you don’t live there. I ended up in a Boston apartment for my last couple years, but most people had already made their bonds. I got involved in the Boston rock scene then and made some connections, but it wasn’t the same as the people who lived on campus. Yes. First two years anywhere should live on campus. Very important. |
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Post by drbill on Dec 26, 2023 10:16:01 GMT -6
School for music is over-rated. For sure. For the connections? Maybe. For the skills? You can learn them just as easily playing in every ensemble situation you can find. Now....school may afford you those, but you can also find them on your own. I've got my bachelors in music composition, but I often think that I'd have better spent my time and money playing in a top 40 band for those...um......5+ years. Good luck to your nephew. Hopefully someone can talk some sense into him before he wrecks his life.... I don't disagree with this. But getting into a "top 40 band" is basically impossible without massive almost impossible luck. I know plenty of great musicians both who've gone to school and those that haven't never even approach that level of performance. And not for lack of trying or want. Really? Man, there was several great cover bands in every town back then. If you showed up on time, had the gear, played decent, and had a good attitude - you were in. Lots to be learned by taking apart top 40 arrangements and figuring out how those parts work against each other. Studying in detail what makes a hit record. Much more useful to making modern records and working in a studio than learning the transposition of a contra bass clarinet. . At least back then.... I mean, I'm glad I went to school. I made zero useful contacts and learned mostly useless stuff. I did learn discipline though. Went thru 20 years of industry work before someone asked me if I "went to school" though. And even then, that was just a curiosity question. I will say that learning how to arrange for a big band (18 piece) was what got me on of my first substantial gigs with Don Randi (from the wrecking crew and baked potato fame). That probably wouldn't have happened just casually without schooling - there's a lot of complexity in that art form. |
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Post by jcoutu1 on Dec 26, 2023 14:26:12 GMT -6
I don't disagree with this. But getting into a "top 40 band" is basically impossible without massive almost impossible luck. I know plenty of great musicians both who've gone to school and those that haven't never even approach that level of performance. And not for lack of trying or want. Really? Man, there was several great cover bands in every town back then. If you showed up on time, had the gear, played decent, and had a good attitude - you were in. Lots to be learned by taking apart top 40 arrangements and figuring out how those parts work against each other. Studying in detail what makes a hit record. Much more useful to making modern records and working in a studio than learning the transposition of a contra bass clarinet. . At least back then.... I mean, I'm glad I went to school. I made zero useful contacts and learned mostly useless stuff. I did learn discipline though. Went thru 20 years of industry work before someone asked me if I "went to school" though. And even then, that was just a curiosity question. I will say that learning how to arrange for a big band (18 piece) was what got me on of my first substantial gigs with Don Randi (from the wrecking crew and baked potato fame). That probably wouldn't have happened just casually without schooling - there's a lot of complexity in that art form. Just look around at the number of bars these days that book full bands vs 30 /40 years ago or whatever. Most places are booking solo acoustic and duos these days. Much fewer top 40 gigs out there and the worthwhile gigs are going to top tier type wedding bands on their off nights now. |
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Post by chessparov on Dec 26, 2023 15:23:48 GMT -6
So true!!
Have a Buddy who was/is a top Regional Guy. Doing a Solo last Saturday night!
Ketchup on this Thread/earlier post soon.
Besides my age, this is causing me to lean more to Acting/Stand Up Comedy and VO training.
Still Live Singing Performance for chops n' fun.
Thankfully, the top Laguna Club(s) owner, thinks very highly of me. (Loves Crooners!) He owns Mozambique and Skyloft.
(Carte Blanche onstage if his Acts are cool with it)
Chris
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Post by drbill on Dec 26, 2023 18:59:53 GMT -6
Really? Man, there was several great cover bands in every town back then. If you showed up on time, had the gear, played decent, and had a good attitude - you were in. Lots to be learned by taking apart top 40 arrangements and figuring out how those parts work against each other. Studying in detail what makes a hit record. Much more useful to making modern records and working in a studio than learning the transposition of a contra bass clarinet. . At least back then.... I mean, I'm glad I went to school. I made zero useful contacts and learned mostly useless stuff. I did learn discipline though. Went thru 20 years of industry work before someone asked me if I "went to school" though. And even then, that was just a curiosity question. I will say that learning how to arrange for a big band (18 piece) was what got me on of my first substantial gigs with Don Randi (from the wrecking crew and baked potato fame). That probably wouldn't have happened just casually without schooling - there's a lot of complexity in that art form. Just look around at the number of bars these days that book full bands vs 30 /40 years ago or whatever. Most places are booking solo acoustic and duos these days. Much fewer top 40 gigs out there and the worthwhile gigs are going to top tier type wedding bands on their off nights now. Probably depends on your location too. <thumbsup> I see lots of bands gigging out here. |
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Post by chessparov on Dec 26, 2023 19:30:06 GMT -6
Good point.
Am just mostly aware of OC and L.A.
Chris
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