justin-

i was wondering your opinion on music schools. i am currently looking at a few. have you had an experience with musician's institute or working with people who have come out of there?
also, i saw you attended the faunt school of creative music. how was that? i hear that a big part of going to a music school, especially in LA, is to network.
anyways, i decided to consult you, because i see my career following along the lines of what you do now. big foot steps to follow i suppose, but i'll give it a shot.

thanks a ton for your time, chris

You should be sure and search the other threads in this particular forum about this area of education.

I've worked with all kinds of people from MI, Berklee, North Texas State, what have you. And what I've found is that it's great to have some deeper knowledge than what I have, ultimately. It allows you potentially more opportunities.

However, the other thing I've found about a lot of these people is that they can SOUND like they went to school. Sometimes, what they play sounds too rote, or they are uncomfortable playing things that involve really "letting go" emotionally, or playing things that are raw and rugged.

Two North Texas State grads that I play with a lot, Matt Chamberlain (a drummer who I've worked with over the years, mostly on Tori Amos) and Dave Palmer (a keyboardist who I've worked with on Air, Turin Brakes, 30 Days of Night score, many other things) are very notable exceptions to this phenomena. They play with utter reckless abandon and passion. There is nothing rote or robotic about their approach. But part of that has to do with the fact that they have always, always maintained bands throughout their education. And toured like crazy. I think that really balanced things out for them.

Hope that helps.

JMJ

Hey Justin-
I'm about to finish a 4 year degree from the University of Texas and I want to take the 3 or 4 months after I graduate to intensely return to the basics. I've been playing in some bands and feel like the Faunt courses would really deepen my usefulness as a working musician.
I feel like my mind is just slow. I know my theory but I want to be able to hear something in my head and play it instantly with GREAT feel. I don't necessarily want to do session work but I think that's the standard for great musicianship: creating something on the spot out of nothing with great feel, tone, etc.
Which courses should I apply for? Also, I'm in Austin. Does distant learning work?

Congratulations, cjac9! I'm jealous of your impending degree, that is very cool.

I know what'll speed up your mind - playing in about four different bands, all with unique challenges! But yeah, Jamie Faunt's approach is fantastic. Basics, basics, basics. I'm going back to him soon for a little bit of help getting out of bad habits on the upright, as well as some harmony knowledge. You should speak to him to ask about what courses you should do. He'll find a program for you that's the right fit. The distance learning thing works fine, he does it often, apparently.

Best,
JMJ

Hi Justin,

sorry for my intrution, but, since the topic is "schooling", I'd like to ask you a question:

I've been accepted by Berklee with a scholarship and I'll be moving there in January.
I am not sure yet whether I should follow a Degree or a Diploma course:

as far as I know the Degree (being it a degree...) will open me doors for teaching inside schools and stuff... but I'm sure that it is NOT what I want.
I'll probably be following a Contemporary Writing and Production major... which I hope will lead me to the networking, artistical and techical level required to become a Musician.

I'm more toward the Diploma since I would not like to spend that extra time over things that might not be useful to me (culture is always useful, of course, but one has to keep in mind his aims and the means to reach them).

As far as I might guess, from a currently non-professional point of view, I'm pretty sure that a piece of paper stating that you are graduated in this or that major from an X school doesn't really have any use in the real world.
That's why I would like to follow only the musical courses that I might require and let go the Liberal Arts courses I might not require.

so my question is: would a Degree open me more doors in the musical field as a musician, performer, composer, arranger, producer, ... over a Diploma?

Maybe you know the experience of Alessandro Cortini? I'm Italian as well.


thanks for your time and sorry for the prolixity.

Andreas

I'm not qualified to answer, unfortunately. Not familiar with the difference between the two. But I'm not sure about how they are perceived in the world, in terms of Diploma vs. Degree. Good question. Any Berklee grads in the mix that can illuminate this for us?

Best,
Justin

Congratulations, cjac9! I'm jealous of your impending degree, that is very cool.

I know what'll speed up your mind - playing in about four different bands, all with unique challenges! But yeah, Jamie Faunt's approach is fantastic. Basics, basics, basics. I'm going back to him soon for a little bit of help getting out of bad habits on the upright, as well as some harmony knowledge. You should speak to him to ask about what courses you should do. He'll find a program for you that's the right fit. The distance learning thing works fine, he does it often, apparently.

Best,
JMJ

Humbling. It's awesome that at this stage of your career you are still studying. You rule!

Yeah, I have to! Too many holes in my knowledge, too many things I need to grow with.

JMJ

no experiences with professional diploma/degree differencies here?