Current Berklee student, question

[osmarokuma]

Hi Janek
I know you went to berklee and thats why I wanted to ask about which program you took.
Im a first semester berklee student right now and one of my majors is performance. I have been asking around to get different opinions on this.
Would you recommend the performance major? as far as the academic aspect it really doesn't seem like its worth it because the only things I would be getting from that program is lessons... which I can take on my own and study my instrument on my own time without being a performance major.
I guess I'm asking this because I really don't see anyone hiring a person just because they have a B.M in performance (correct me if Im wrong).
Whats your view on this?

[Snarf]

Originally Posted by osmarokuma

Hi Janek
I know you went to berklee and thats why I wanted to ask about which program you took.
Im a first semester berklee student right now and one of my majors is performance. I have been asking around to get different opinions on this.
Would you recommend the performance major? as far as the academic aspect it really doesn't seem like its worth it because the only things I would be getting from that program is lessons... which I can take on my own and study my instrument on my own time without being a performance major.
I guess I'm asking this because I really don't see anyone hiring a person just because they have a B.M in performance (correct me if Im wrong).
Whats your view on this?

Janek seems to be really busy, and this post has been sitting here for a couple days, so I'll quickly give my take on it.

If you want to play bass for a living, no one is going to care if you have a degree, even from Berklee. In fact, if you're auditioning for a gig, it's probably better NOT to mention your degree, because that will make you sound snobby. The only majors that have degrees that mean anything are Business and Therapy. Well, if you're applying for a teaching job at a local music shop or guitar school, the performance degree doesn't hurt.

What the performance major does for you, however, is it allows you to take more (and longer) lessons and more ensembles. The real value of going to music school is how many connections you can make, and the more ensembles you're in, the better as far as that's concerned.

[osmarokuma]

Yeah im debating about switching my performance major to music production major so I can learn some skills in recording and editing. I feel that even though its great to have extra lessons (and the lessons are very helpful) that I can do this without having to be a performance major.
Sometimes I even feel that I know what I need to practice, I know that I have to transcribe every day and I know how to practice. So it seems to me that by being a performance major I am only buying extra time for practice... I do fear that if I change to a music production major that I won't have enough time to practice.
So I really ask my self "am I paying for extra practice time?". If that was the case then I would be better off not going to college at all (which I won't do) and taking lessons with my teachers without being a major. I feel that the $ for a performance BM is not worth it.

[Snarf]

I was actually really into engineering in high school, and then when I got to Berklee, MPE was what I wanted to do. I had engineered and produced a few records using a bare bones setup (16 channel Yamaha mixer into just a stereo PCI interface, and running nTrack Studio). I got into the program for my 4th semester, and two weeks in, I decided to drop the major. The technical side is pretty hardcore, and I didn't want to learn the circuitry of SSL consoles or anything like that. With all the labs and necessary studio and mixing practice time required of the MPE major, combined with my relatively low existing knowledge on the subject, I knew that I had to drop the major if I wanted to keep playing. For people with more technical aptitude than me, I'm sure it would be easier to balance the priorities. But I had seen people I know do the MPE major with the intent to keep playing a lot, but it rarely worked out that way.

I'd say if you are already OK with midi, mics, and have some serious DAW time under your belt (DP helps), then the MPE major would work out for you. Otherwise, if playing is your goal, you might want to focus on that. Also, the knowledge train works both ways. You can learn a lot of what the MPE major has to offer just through your own research and using your own gear. But it is REALLY nice to have access to live rooms with any mic you want and a nice comfy control room.

[janekbass]

Hi,

been really busy these days... non stop with everything. So I'm sorry I'm a bit late getting to these. I read the initial question but didn't have time to read the replies so far...

My take on berklee is this.

I didn't have a major, I quit after three semesters. I went there to meet people I was going to spend the rest of my life working with. School in general is the best time to meet incredible musicians, and form bonds that are going to last for years. There's nothing they can teach you in school about music that you can't learn from listening to a record. It's not a science, it's an art. And it happens to be an art that has, for the most part, been passed on by ear, and not in some sightreading 101 lab in a music school.

School have to have curriculums, so what are you going to do? that's a basic fact for them, whether they actually work or not. Meet as many people as you can, and do as much work on your own thing as you can, and don't let anyone tell you that you can't accomplish anything.

And no, no one is going to hire you for a gig based on your schooling or your major.

My new mantra is:

Patience is key, EVERYTHING is possible, and hard work is obligatory.

Good luck,

Janek

[osmarokuma]

I guess time would be my biggest concern, I don't want to be stuck writing jingles/film music for my film scoring major and then logging in studio time for an MP&E major without having the time to practice bass. sigh... so much i want to do and so little time.

[osmarokuma]

*not enough time

[bassix67]

Originally Posted by osmarokuma

*not enough time

Do the performance major and make friends with as many MP&E students as
You can. They'll show you everything u need to know.

[KeithKlaxwell]

Being both Berklee and performance major alum, my recommendation is IF you are disciplined to work hard on your instrument then don't do performance. IF there are other things you're interested in there, do those and keep your private lessons and own playing goals.

Like Janek basically said, the best thing about the school is networking. Make just two contacts every week and you'll have hundreds. Berklee alum look out for each other down the road.

[windexian]

Don't know if this thread is still alive, but, I graduated in '07 from Berklee as a performance major on bass. Here are some pros and cons from my perspective:

Pros:
- Great opportunities. I agree with the above comments - a degree doesn't guarantee gigs. BUT, it does open doors and unique opportunities with all the ensembles, recitals, clubs, jams, and other performances.
- The culture. It's great to spend a few years as a performance major with others pursuing excellence & mastery of an instrument, style, etc. Being a band nerd suddenly has benefits .
- The ability to concentrate on being a performer & player. I know others have recommended doing a different major altogether, but for me this doesn't work well due to my temperament. I enjoy (and do better) when I get to focus on one "track" I guess you could say. I can't imagine learning MP&E from the ground up while trying to practice 3-5 hours a day (or whatever), though I know others have done it. I feel I benefited from concentrating solely on "performance major"-type classes.

Cons:
- Guess I won't mention the money, kind of a given in Boston...
- Boston is saturated with what seems like a million musicians! I actually love this environment, but it can be a challenge to find gigs. Plus, many teachers (naturally) get hired for gigs.
- I wish I'd spent more time networking while there. It's easy as a performance major to get wrapped up in tons of schoolwork or making good grades. For me, I spent so much time practicing and often forgot about pursuing the people with whom I wanted to play!

If asked, "Would I do it all over again?" I'd say yes in a heartbeat, mostly because of the *ahem* amazing networking opportunities - I met my wife while attending . 5 year anniversary this coming October! She actually didn't attend the school; I met her while in Boston.

[King Of Suede]

Can I sound off on this? Yes? Ok.

Schools like Berklee and U Arts and the like don't care about your ability. They don't care if you're a great musician by the time you get out. They have your money. The players that are worth a damn go there basically for free and all the other students pay for their education, because they'll be the poster children for the school.

Said students that are a worth a damn don't finish with a degree. They go for a few semesters, learn, get some direction, practice their asses off and drop out to make a living because they have the tools they need to do so and can work to make progress on their own.

This is not a shot at Janek, but I've seen this before in that even if you don't finish a degree, you're free publicity for the school whether you like it or not.
They get to run around going "You know that Janek Gwizdala guy? Yeah, he's pretty good. He went here. We taught him. He learned from us."

[janekbass]

There is of course going to be a business aspect to any school. It is by nature a business, and I don't fault them for that at all. I think there are just so many positive things that a student of any level can take from a school like berklee, that the business aspect of them wanting to capitalize on your name somewhere down the line should never harm you or make you angry in any way.

My most positive experience of Berklee for instance was the opportunity that was afforded me in meeting all the incredible musicians I know and work with to this day. There's nothing like that networking opportunity anywhere else in the world when it comes to schools, and it's something i highly recommend to anyone.

You can say all the negative things you like about any school, but whether they're doing their job or not, it's on you to make the best of it and gain as much knowledge as you can while you're there. If your focus is in the negative then that's going to be your end experience. If it's open minded and hungry to learn... then you're going to have quite a different and a positive experience.

Janek

[LM Bass]

Hi Janek,
I don't know about Berklee at all. As a guy who teaches a fair bit, I just have to ask- how many players like you are there around? I mean this as someone who really respects your musicianship. I see your drive and work ethic and it's really inspiring to me. But I think it's easy for you, being the player you are, to forget that you are unique.

It's like that great scene in "Good Will Hunting" where Matt Damon says "All you jerks going to Harvard could just have learned everything, for a buck ninety five in late fees at your local library!" Not everyone is wired that way, so maybe school is the right place to help them?

Hope I'm coming across the right way. . .

[Angus]

But the core of Janek's point- why it was beneficial and crucial for him- was the networking. You can't get that at the library.

It's no different than business schools- yeah, you go there to take some classes and get your MBA, but the really intelligent people want to go to the best schools to meet the best people and network. It's the networking that makes business school worth the coin. Berklee, for the serious musician, is the same.

[janekbass]

LM bass - I hear what you're saying, and I totally agree that not everyone is wired that way at all. Different strokes for different folks. I can tell you that out of the nearly 3000 students at the time I was there, there were about 20 people who could really play, or at least those are the ones I dug listening to and learning from. So less than 1% would be a pretty accurate number of people who not only had something going on back then, but who are also still active in the music industry at a high level now.

I also believe that if you really want to learn something and have a passion to carry it through to some sort of higher level, you're going to need a lot of self motivation to do it. That's why the majority of the population doesn't read linguistics at oxford, or become a pioneering researcher at CERN... Not that I'm comparing what I do to either of those things, I'm just using a higher place of learning and research as an extreme example of what most people don't aspire to do or accomplish. The most motivated people generally rise to the tops of their fields, and I've found (as in the fictitious case good will hunting) that the most brilliant minds are self motivated beyond measure.

I know it's been a large part of my learning and research process to be self motivated. Just a simple, pure, consistent hunger to understand things, and improve my fluidity with my chosen subject.

But Berklee helped the human element of that. It put me in the same room as other like minded musicians and helped me learn how to interact and deal with people. Because at the end of the day the music industry is 5% music and 95% dealing with other people...

Any school is what you make of it.

Janek