Where should I go from here?

[oniman7]

This is a weird question to ask, though I've seen it lots of times on the forums. I decided to post it myself because my situation is a bit unique.


I'm 16 and a junior in high school. However, I recently found out that because of some extra high school credits I got while I was in middle school and some advanced classes, I have enough credits to technically be a senior and graduate this year if I chose to, still at the age of 16. I have a 3.0 GPA (3.3 or so weighted), and if you consider my academics, it would be a 2.8 with roughly a 3.0 unweighted. Not the best, I understand. However, my test scores are generally through the roof (I scored something like the 95th percentile on my PSAT) and I know that with a few weeks studying, I could probably do very well on the SAT and ACT.


The question is, if I graduate early, what do I do? Here's where music comes in. I'm in what I believe to be a very talented alternative rock band, heavy enough to satisfy people of many genres, yet mainstream enough to be played on the radio (as opposed to, say, death metal). We've only been at it since this year, but we're about to go in and record a whole album out of pocket. Our singer is 20 and has no obligations, guitarist and drummer our juniors, and the other guitarist is a Sophomre in an International Baccaleureate program that takes up most of his weekdays, but will have him eliminating something like 15 college credits by the time he's graduated.

I recently had a long talk with my parents where they urged me to follow my dreams as long as I was responsible about it. My dad basically told me that if there's any time to take a crazy risk, it's now while I'm not even technically college-aged and still living with my parents. They both want me to finish high school (not a problem) but after that I'm stuck. Any college or university that I went off to might interrupt my time with the band. If the band fails and falls apart, I'll have to be OK with that, but i feel like we've at least got potential, and I want to nurture that and take the risk while it's there.

I'm considering several universities at the same time because I want to be responsible with what I'm doing. For a while, Full Sail was my dream school, but it's very expensive and I've heard a lot of scary things about it. I'm looking into taking Full Sail's Music Business course online for two years while I work on the band, and if we're still going strong but not quite there, there are a few local studios I'd consider getting a job/interning at to build my skill set while still staying local. There's also a local university (Jacksonville University) that's supposed to have several fairly good music programs. I would probably go to JU in the event that I was no longer with the band, but still wanted to pursue a career in music (I do.)


I've kind of rambled up to this point, but I'm just a little stuck on what direction I should take. I know that my chances of making it with a modern rock band are something like 1 in 1000, but my parents make a great choice for going at it now while there's still a safety net. My dad decided to take a very similar risk and leave his job to start his own business designing software. He's told me that if I needed something to fall back on after exhausting all of my music resources, he could teach me how to program within a year or so and I could make a fairly decent living ($25 an hour) starting out, and I could also work for his company for about 20 hours a week while I spend the rest of the time pursuing other options. I'm fairly good with computers and there's a very large market for computer programmers here, but that's not what's in my heart. I want to do something with music. I have looked at managing, playing, recording, teaching, engineering, and composing, but above all I would love if the band were to succeed.... even though I know the chances are so small and I'd likely have to get another job after that stopped happening, unless we made a fairly lucrative amount of money that I invested well. I also know the chances of that happening are even smaller than being able to do it full time at all.


So, yeah, long thread. Nobody can tell me what to do, but I would love to hear input from everybody here.

[charlie monroe]

Originally Posted by oniman7

... my chances of making it with a modern rock band are something like 1 in 1,000000

FTFY.

Well oni, there are no easy answers. I do want to say that I applaud you for involving your folks in the planning process. Many in your age group and position would rush into the rockstar dream, and say to hell with everything else.

It looks like you have spent some serious time puzzling this out, and I like your direction. You have the support of your family, an almost guaranteed income and a plan to further your education online on a part time basis.

You are probably a little young yet to get the full benefit of an on-campus college education anyway. I say go for it. Devote a solid year to this project, and promise yourself that you will expend this much effort on an honest critique at that time.

You have your whole life to get caught up in the 9-5 Rat Race, don't rush into it.

Go chase some tail and play some Rock'n'Roll!!

[RockingLoud]

I have to agree with Charlie on applauding your efforts on including your parents and the maturity with which you are thinking this over. Unfortunately, that's all I agree with him on. Stay in school!!!! Get yourself a private bass teacher, a really good one who knows how to read notes, not just tab and can also teach you theory. I assume you are really good for someone your age, but you are too young to know what you don't know yet about music, live gigs, and the industry. Go to college and major in music if you like. You have no idea how hard it is to do this later in life! I was a music major long ago and dropped out. It then took me 17 years to finish my degree, and I had many opportunities pass me by because I didn't have a degree. If you go to school for music, you can learn volumes that will stay with you forever and make your playing well beyond what even you think it can be. Try going to school locally so you can stay with your band. But remember, bands come and go. Your chances aren't 1 in 1,000. They are much less than 1 in 1,000,000. Most of the best bands out there never get signed or heard beyond their local area.

I really do wish you lots of luck and I hope your band makes it. You also come across as having a really good head on your shoulders. Never stop playing, but beyond that, NEVER STOP LEARNING!!!! Music is an endless pursuit for those who love it.

You really are lucky to have such supportive parents. Ask them to support you by paying for private lessons and practice your butt off. And take it from me, because I've been there. And I do work in the IT field now, and I personally know that there are not that many jobs in the field. It is a really tough market. You should try to avoid the rat race. Do it by staying in school and developing your craft. Get a Master's degree or a PhD in music! Learn everything you can, not only about playing, but about theory, sound production, music software, etc. You can make a career out of the music business. I regret that I didn't. But at your age, while you do have your whole life ahead of you, getting the strongest possible foundation in music will prepare you for the life you want, and help you avoid doing what you "have" to do to pay the bills.

If you do decide to take a break from school and pursue your music as a full time career, practice, take lessons, and put a timeline on it. If the band doesn't go anywhere after a year, then get back into school. I know countless musicians who regret not getting a degree, both because you need it to get pretty much any decent job, and because of the musical education it provides that improves your skills.

If you have any questions or want more advice from someone who has made mistakes and has regrets, feel free to message me. But don't ever stop playing! Good luck!

[oniman7]

Hey guys,

I took the day off of school to do some searching and figure out what the best course would be for me.

It's very important that I get to play with my band, and if that fails, I find a way to support myself doing music.

I think I've decided upon a good course for me.


I'm going to graduate early (full 24-year diploma) and be done at the end of this year.

I'm going next month to take a visit to Full Sail University (only about an hour and a half from my house to there). If I like what I see, I'm more than likely going to take an online course in Music Production. By taking it online and living at home, I will have a flexible schedule and no obligations or costs. It will be a 32-month course which I will do entirely from home. I'll learn law, management, production, distribution, etc. While I love playing, this has been my role in the band already and I love it -- I also feel like it's a widely applicable curriculum, which would be easily expanded to other fields if necessary.

I will then have a lot of free time to devote to the band while still working on an education. If all goes sour or I have more free time, I will consider things such as giving and taking lessons and interning at local studios.


If all goes the way I want with the band, I will have a background in legal issues and will have free time to spend with them. If not, I will continue on to my local university (Jacksonville University) and get classes in composition, Jazz Theory, etc. At that point, I would be about 19 years old, which is still college aged, and would still have the support of my parents and the option to live with them.

I don't necessarily want to "make it big" with my band, I just want to be big enough that I can make a decent living doing nothing but playing with them... I'd even do part time studio gigs, management, whatever to do it. That would be success for me. Although I guess there's a pretty small chance even of that, so I'm trying to keep as many options open as possible.

[RockingLoud]

I think you have made some very smart choices. You obviously have a lot of drive. Hold onto that and you will be successful. When I went to college straight out of high school, I was going to be a music teacher. Once I decided I didn't want to do that, I never took the time to figure out any of the many other ways I could have made a living out of music. You appear to be a lot more mature and aware of your options than I was at 21, and that is awesome. Good luck with the program and the band!