Music school

[Edgeless]

Janek

First off i'd like to thank you for the time and effoft you put into TalkBass , your skills and advice have helped me and many others. You are one of my main inspirations on the bass.

I have a few questions about attending a music school which i hope you can answer for me

1. What level of proficency should one be before applying for music school? And how many hours of practice a day should be done in the year before attending

2. What level of gear would you recommend taking to a music school?

3. What would you say would be the most important thing you can tell someone before they attend a music program

Thanks in advance Janek

[janekbass]

I don't think there's a single answer I can give to your first two questions. Attending a music school program is just an extension of whatever learning you've been doing up until that point. It's going to be more intense at school, and I'm sure there will be many great opportunities for you once you get there. I would try to think more about what you want out of the school, and what you want from your playing and from music in general. Don't put pressure on yourself and try and evolve at your own pace.

As a general rule the harder you work at your craft the faster you're going to be learning things and progressing as a musician. I would suggest putting in as much time into what you do as you are motivated to do. Don't force anything, and keep an open mind going into every musical situation you're faced with.

Janek

[beka]

On a related note, how important do you feel it is to study bass in college? Can one pursue a semi-professional or professional career successfully without a degree in music? Do I need to have a degree to, say, be a studio bassist or play in a back-up band?

Thank you for your advice.

[janekbass]

you don't need a formal education of any kind to become a successful working musician. I think if you're going to college it might be more important to study things besides the bass. I always wish I'd taken classes about technology, about filing tax returns as a musician, and about marketing and promotion. I had to work on those things myself after I had quit college and learn the hard way on a lot of things. You can learn to play bass without lessons, you just need some records and some time to shed.... some other things like technology are not so intuitive, and you might benefit from some personal guidance from a college program with them.

Janek

[M0ses]

Regarding your second question,

I've been going to UW Milwaukee's school of music for about three weeks now, and let me tell you. I have already progressed a lot, and I can see that by the time I get out of here, my musicianship will be at an extremely high level. They're already demanding huge feats from me, that I never would have advanced to on my own, but it turns out I am capable of with tons of practice (which is required).