Berklee College of Music

I'm seriously thinking of trying to get into Berklee. I don't think I'm ready for it yet but maybe after some college music education I will. Anyways, anyone else considering it too?

im definitly going there when im old enough, although i really doubt either of us would get in

Easy to get in... hard to pay.
Now take that in, when I applied they asked for about $20,000 a semester... and If I'm not mistaken musicians don't make much so why pay for someone to teach you a creative process?

If you get a scholarship, more power to you, jump on it. But if you're paying, make sure you can pay it/pay it off.

Good luck mate.

I agree it's pretty pricey. I'd like to try to get a scholarship. I dunno. Are there any other quality music schools anyone would recommend?

maybe you can find a univeristy that has a good music program. so you could major in something else and minor in music

im going to ohio university right now. the branch im in doesnt have a music program, but i guess theres a great music program at the other branches.

Nah, I'm not much into that kind of thing. I'm not really someone who knows jack about theory, anyway. Just not who I am.

very hard to make a living in music. i wouldnt go to berkeley for that reason there, id maybe go to after college to a place to study music, but not during, maybe minoring in it.

major in computer science and minor in music. You can make ton's of cash working on computers and with still learn about music. the best part if you can then afford all the Gibson your heart desires

yeah. i just want a really good theory education so i can get whats in my head out a little easier. im also thinking capital university in ohio. theyve got a good music conservatory id like to finish college anyways to have something to fall back on.

still... it would be cool to be able to go somewhere like berklee and focus on music.

i just wish mostly i could lock myself away for several years and do nothing but play guitar. not worrying about jobs or money or the future. bahh.

Everything costs a bomb now anyway. It sucks.

I'm going to either Cambridge University or York University over here. They're both miles away from where I actually live, but if it means a good education, then I'm definitely doing it.

Lets just see if I can prove to them I'm worthy enough to be tought by such "higher beings".

I'd like to be able to do what I love for a living. I don't really care about getting a fancy college edumacation or anything, really.

I'd be perfectly content with working in guitar shops and hangin with mates for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, ladies don't seem to want to eat poptarts for dinner when they are married...

Poptarts!! Wow, I haven't had that in years... *goes on ebay and buys 50 boxes* You know you would if you had the money. I'd have a poptart party, and show my friends how amazing they are.

I can kind of see why they don't want to eat them for dinner when they're married though. Once you learn how to mix and master Skold, and really well, you should make it a job. That'd be an awesome amount of income.

Meh, I'm not really the kind of feller you bring home to mom and dad. I'm the kind of feller you bring to the mental hospital while blindfolded, and then shove me out of the car and drive off.

I'm not really the smartest person in the world anyway, so it's not like I would get into college to get a nice job anyway. I mean, I can hardly understand basic algebra. I'm just not good with numbers and what not.

A shame you can't see how much potential you have.

I suck at algebra, I can't even do division. (Thanks to a maths teacher who didn't speak english...) Some people suck at maths, doesn't mean we need to specify our career in anything to do with numbers. You're good at music, and you're interested in mixing and mastering, why not take that into a career? Doesn't need maths, just a good sound.

You're still young, and fully capable of learning. Even if some things are boring - you need to push yourself to learn.

Yeah, I'm not that great at any math. I mean, I understand simple algebra - I get how 5 + x = 25. But, the more complicated stuff just loses me.

It's not necessary. But if you really want to learn, you should try getting a CD called Tables Disco. Get whatever one you want to learn and you're away. That or you can go on the BBC website and they've got a bitesize section which teaches you from whatever standard you want. It's free, too.

Meh. I figure I can at least pass math after I fail a few times.

BTW: I finally started to understand Algebra earlier (with a bit of studying and research).

Still, out of 20 questions, I only got like 65% correct (although I left a few unanswered).

Give it some time and you'll improve immensely, just have to keep at it. The same goes for everything else, can't really expect to know it all within a day, it takes practice.

The exciting world of time and patience.

Anyone interested in really studying music should read this.

As a conservatory student myself, lets bust one myth. It is not hard for a musician to make a good living, you just have to lose that image of only being able to make money playing in dives. Most profesional musicians do not ever play in bars... EVER.

Secondly, to my american friends. Consider a study outside of the states, like in the Netherlands where i live. While we don't give grants to foreigners, you can still count on no more than 1 or 2 k tuition a year for a prestigious musical education. With famous jazz guitarists teaching steadily and awesome guest teachers.

However before applying consider this. Musical education is NOT easy. In fact it is one of the most demanding educations there is, and forget being the gifted guy, everyone at these schools is incredibly gifted. If you don't know what to expect, look up their entrance exams online to get a general idea. Keep in mind also, being good enough means you are not good enough, you have to be better than your competition, because that's what an entrance exam is.

Things you should work on if you want to do something like this.

Melody! This is by far the most encompassing and challenging. Playing constant 16ths or 32s or 24s is not interesting, you will need a great ability to play complex rythms. Get a metronome, count, and pick up some jazz solos and rehearse these perfectly... looooots of em.
Also in melody, there is great knowledge of scales and how to apply these during improvisation over alternating scales. Get something like band in a box, or a recording software to loop chord progressions with switching scales. Make challenges to yourself, like play in one position or on one string.

Hearing, make sure to have a good relative pitch. Be able to hear a pitch change and identify it as a third or augmented fourth etc etc.
Same goes for being able to identify chords.

Obviously be able to read notes... while it's not as important as in clasical, it is the far superior way for musicians to comunicate, tabs are just lazy.

I hope this helps people who are considering a musical education, good luck to you.

Jazz, I'm not really sure how the universities work across the pond, or if they're different at all, but wouldn't Cambridge require a large amount of money? Possibly some "connections?"

Cambridge University is the top Uni in the UK. Yeah, I've been saving for a while, but I'm still going to have to get a loan. Their prices aren't as high as I expected them to be though. I don't need any connections, no. I've got the grades and perhaps the ability. It just depends on what course I plan on taking.

I don't know how you would measure your high school (when you're 14-18, essentially) grades as a whole. We use a 4 point system-4.0 is perfect, all A's (generally referred to as GPA, grade point average). I have a GPA somewhere between 3.7 and 3.9, so pretty good, and my ACT score (college entrance exam, comparable to the SAT, which you're more likely to have heard of) is 31-in the 98th percentile. Even though those numbers are quite good, I'm still not so sure I could get into Harvard, Princeton, Yale, etc. Then again, I might be misjudging their entrance requirements. Perhaps your universities are less strict about who they let in? Or maybe your just that much of a genius...

P.S. A friend of mine graduated from high school with a 4.0 and somewhere around a 32 or 33 ACT, and he was not accepted by Notre Dame. Anyone else think that's weird?

I've heard from many people that Notre Dame is a **** to get into. Like someone my cousin knows applied there: She was the valedictorian of her class, had straight A's with many AP classes, was the class president, did a lot of community service, extracurriculars, etc.

But she was still turned down.

I'm trying to get high scores on my SAT, since if you are one of the national merit finalists (like the highest scores in the country), you can get into a lot of schools on a full ride. I dunno though, since it seems very hard, even though I make good grades. >:(

If not, I could go to University of Missouri. Everyone I know who went there (maybe 7-8 people) is a total stoner/drunk. It's supposedly class for 4 hours a day, party the rest of the time.

I'm seriously looking at ISU(like foogered!) and Iowa. I really like both campuses, Iowa City being a bit more of a party town, and ISU's is much more condensed (which is nice). I would also consider Columbia, but it's Ivy League and really expensive :(

Yeah, I guess I have a 4.0 then. We get the grades, then they turn into UCAS points which adds up to what Uni we're able to get into with the required points. But the Uni's in London are pathetic... they don't care what grades you got, just as long as you pay them anyone can join.

Yeah, the uni's I'm looking at are really difficult to get into. They require grade 8 on guitar and at least grade 5 on piano. I'm not yet grade 8 on guitar, that's why I'm taking a year out before I go right into uni. I want to make sure I'm spending my money on something worth while. So I may as well work for the best.

SATs are for the younger students, they don't really matter. It's the GCSEs which are important and are looked at on your CVs and to get into College.

I'd much rather learn in Canada or America though, the education system is amazing compared to this crap country. If I had the chance I'd burn my old school down. It was a true disgrace.

lol, America's education system is failure (the last time I heard). Can't imagine what it must be like for you lads across the pond.

good here.

Where are you, Joe?

I'm guessing he's from India. You know how much they value edumacationz!

With good reason to be honest. You'll regret it when you're older and you have to pay, to go back and learn.

Them Chinese and Indians sure did get it right.

Netherlands, you could have scrolled up to my previous post to see it :)

"Secondly, to my american friends. Consider a study outside of the states, like in the Netherlands where i live."

hehe

hahaha. we're so observant.

Joe, I didn't even see that you posted.

FAIL ON MY BEHALF!

United States universities are consistently ranked pretty high in the world, but our public education system does usually fail in epic fashion. It is a sort of a grab bag though, there's always the chance that you go to a public school with teachers that really care and know what they're doing. Sometimes you get the opposite, or a combination of the two.

in japan they have school year round, most asian countries have tht i believe. they may have like a 3 week summer break but thts it.

I was listening to a program about schools in India and China compared to US schools a few days ago. When some of the top students of US schools went to China, they were below level compared to the Chinese. The Chinese have school 6 days a week, for I think, a little longer than the US schools, and have 2-3 hours of homework . They have 2 months or so off in the summer, but they usually study on their own to increase their skills.

In India, instead of sports games as the most popular events, the students cheer on their school at debate meets and competitive charades contests.

Edit: Durrrrr, I realized you live in England... So you can ignore what obviously doesn't fit.

JoeDalton hit the nail on its head. If you do study, the only way it'll work is if you work at "having fun," in fact, it's not that you enjoy it, it's that you're passionate about it.
If you feel completely determined JazzMaverick, study music as a major. look for the music schools, ask around, even consider going away from America.
I am currently enrolled at The City College of New York. A intense music performance program if I'm not mistaken. Best thing? It's a CUNY so it's dirt cheap. Roughly $4,000 per semester for non-NY residents (I think the classes are free of charge after you reach full time status of taking 12 credits for that semester). 2000 for NY residents. 'Tis not a bad school at all, best of the CUNYs used to be an amazing school, fell behind with open admissions, but it currently attempting to tighten up their belt. Similar to most colleges we feature many great professors and unlike most Manhattan universities, we have an actual campus.

Once again, you don't have to study music if something is too funky. Maybe you're not up to par for the style of learning or simply just hate that system. Don't be afraid to study on your own, in fact you can probably get some lessons from those at the university.

I love music, It's amazing, it's mesmerizing, captivating! But I have so many other interest I have yet to tap into, I'm trying to learn them now and see what my major should be. Poli Sci or History is my current plan of attack. Good luck mate.