kinda following on from the thread on colleges, does anybody have any advice about music schools in the UK? And also to Janek, what do you think about university vs college etc? Is music college a necessity for a pro future?

I study jazz at Birmingham conservatoire.

What do you want to study? What do you want to get out of going to study?

Give a bit more info and I can tell you a bit more.

There are a ton of college threads. I think the end of every college thread is...You don't need school, but it's a great networking tool. If you go to school, use it to study the technology and the business, and things of the "future". Berklee is the best and most diverse school for contemporary music. I think Janek Europe to come to Berklee because he was dissatisfied with the way people thought and played, not really knowing where they came from. if you go to school, make sure you work your ass off, because when youre done, you probably wont get that amount of time and resources ever again. unless your a trust fund baby.

Berklee worked for me. I didn't stay long, met as many people as I could and played all the time there.

I think as long as you go into any college your at with that in mind you will do better than most. If you want to survive as a player, it's about your network, not about some piece of paper you leave school with after 4 years.

play as much as you can, write as much as you can, and create your own scene. That's the most important thing. The stronger you are in creating your own scene the more influential you're going to be within that scene, and within the context of making your own music and being happy.

Easy,

Janek

Mikey D,

Birmingham conservatoire! You know a couple of guys called Gough on trumpet (probably shouldn't give full names) and Moore on bass (both 1st years). Must be nice having Liam Noble in the building huh? He's a legend!

To all,

Do you feel there is any validity in the idea that the best option is a legit university degree followed by a post grad conservatoire? Is this the most reasonable route for someone who wants a backup? I've been told that travelling down to london for lessons can be a good idea but since you only have limited individual time at a conservatoire that is not much different.

It is usually classical teachers who give me this opinion, but I guess that the difference withjazz is that you really need to be playing with other people several hours a day to really grow.

Also, is the Academy basically thought to be the best course in the UK? Though it seems that the big three are now thought to be Academy Trinity and Birmingham (not in any order).

My bass teacher went to Berklee and he said they had a phrase there something like this(I dont know if Janek has heard this)

If you graduate Berklee you must not be good enough.

ha haha ha ha, that's a wicked one. I haven't heard that exact wording before.

it's kind of a trend though at that place. I don't know too many people who graduated, but I do know of a lot of people who quit because they got gigs. I quit because I wanted to move to New York and start a career.

All depends what you're in it for really.

Easy,

Janek