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Double Bass [Australia] considering music degree - postgrad, distance study recommendations?

cleary

cleary

Apr 19, 2013
130
57
NSW, Australia
cleary.smugmug.com
#1
Hi All,
I'm hoping this is the right section to post in -

I'm in my mid 30s, I live in a smallish town in the Riverina (Griffith). I've played music since I was young, starting on clarinet, rebelling on guitar, and finally finding a balance on bass - I have never had any formal training. I could sight read on clarinet, but I knew nothing about the structure of the music I played. Guitar was pure teenage punk garage band fun.
Bass (electric, not upright sorry) has finally married my need to improve my rhythm, my technique, and my theory into a strong desire to improve. I've been playing for about 2.5 years with a local jazz group of very accomplished musicians, gigging regularly (3-5 times a month), and improving my practical and theoretical musical knowledge at a rate that has surprised me.

And this has led me to think about studying a music degree.

There are no universities here, the closest is Charles Sturt in Wagga @ 2.5 hours drive, or CSU in Albury (3 hrs away).
This will be my second degree (B. Comp Sci was the first), and will be done entirely for my enjoyment and learning (so moving to another town to study is not an option).
Time is also not a factor, this will be structured study for my own pleasure, and I can take it as fast or slow as life commitments will allow (ie no kids yet, but planning to in the next couple of years).

I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience or advice they can offer as to what postgrad/distance musical study options are available to me?
Is tertiary study too big a leap? Should I be looking at AMEB courses instead? Is some AMEB level a requirement for uni entrance?
 
#3
ma4rk said:
Hi Cleary! Defo start on the AMEB courses since you're not straight out of high school.

I hear Southern Cross Uni in Lismore has excellent music courses that you can do online, same with UQ in Brisbane.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info :)

I had a quick run through the options available from AMEB, there is no electric bass syllabus, but there is a double bass one - any idea if I would be allowed to do/be examined for that syllabus on electric bass?
I am planning to move to DB in the future (distant future) but funds and car size are making that a non-starter for now.

I'll check out what those two unis are offering this weekend - cheers
 
#6
ma4rk said:
No probs.

I think you can get away with the DB syllabus, don't quote me on that, but it might help to do the piano one too cos the uni may expect you to know the basics of piano. Keep in mind that AMEB is done by primary school kids so shouldnt be too impossible.
Click to expand...

Too easy, I'll get in touch with someone at AMEB and have a chat. The piano course is a great idea - coincidentally I just spent this weekend moving one I picked up as a freebie (unfortunately it's in seriously bad nick, lesson learned...)

Bruce Lindfield said:
You can get a DB in virtually any small car - there are lots of threads around here with pics - so no excuse! ;)

I get my DB, pianist with epiano, amps etc. in my Toyota Corolla.
Click to expand...

Alright, I take that back :)


...just got to get me a money tree now :D
 
#7
Some TAFE courses for Electric Bass would be worth looking into.... Just skip the performance subjects (for now) and do the theory subjects from home.

Have you posted this question on OzBassForum.com? Its an Aussie version of TB.

+1 to a second instrument, piano the obvious, or guitar..... Something to understanding chord theory.
 
#8
Groove Doctor said:
Some TAFE courses for Electric Bass would be worth looking into.... Just skip the performance subjects (for now) and do the theory subjects from home.

Have you posted this question on OzBassForum.com? Its an Aussie version of TB.

+1 to a second instrument, piano the obvious, or guitar..... Something to understanding chord theory.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that - I didn't realise TAFE ran any music courses.

I am a member of ozbass (I bought my bass there a few years ago but never really got involved in the rest), I don't know why I didn't post there - will get one in this weekend :)
 
#11
AMEB is nice to have and is a good way to mark your achievements, but is limited, IMO. I sometimes get a hold of the newest syllabus and flick through to see where I am with theory and practical stuff. The Contemporary Popular Music (CPM) program contains the electric bass syllabus. AMEB exams are not really useful until you get to the AMusA and LMusA certificates, which are basically a really, really difficult way of getting something which is the equivalent (in the industry) of a one year TAFE diploma but requires the same practical skills of a B.Mus honours student.

TAFE music courses will include music technology and business elements. They won't have the high performance standards of a university, and are good all-rounder courses. In AMEB terms, you're probably looking at low entry requirements but coming out the other end with roughly Grade 4-5 theory and Grade 6-8 practical, plus a host of 'industry' related skills (mixing, ad jingles, music business, etc.) With an Advanced Diploma from a TAFE, you'll be qualified to teach sessional music at a school, too.

A B.Mus will include ethno/musicology, composition, a higher standard of theory, and perhaps a higher standard of performance. I got into Monash's jazz program with perhaps Grade 3 theory and Grade 6 practical (these are just equivalents - I never bothered to sit an AMEB exam). By the end of first year, I'd improved immensely. When I was auditioning, no one ever asked me about AMEB - honestly, it seems to me that no one cares about AMEB grades at universities.

UNE at Armidale does a distance B.Mus and I would expect that their music units can be formed into a Diploma or Advanced Diploma if you don't want to be in it for three years.

Anyway, they're just some observations.

Also, as far as I remember, you can do up to seven years of undergraduate study on Commonwealth Supported Places, so a second Bachelors would be fine (i.e. you won't have to pay a thing). You can get FEE-HELP for a full fee course anyway, which is the same thing as CSP basically. Most music postgrad courses will be aimed at people with a B.Mus already or will be 'music studies' courses with little or no practical components (i.e. coursework Masters made up of musicology units).

EDIT: Just saw the dates on this thread. My bad! Hope you sorted something out.
 
#12
Hi Ben, don't worry about the dates, I don't move that quickly as it turns out ;-)
You answered my question more completely than I could've hoped since I was really struggling to word it.
The AMEB bit I'm less worried about as a qualification, and more as a gauge of knowledge. The other advantage it gives me is practice getting back into a regular study routine which I can ramp up at my own pace.
I grabbed the Dulcie Holland books on musicianship since I can do that exam online if I want to, up to grade 4. I'm glad I did, it turns out I rapidly found the limits of my musical knowledge in the grade 1 syllabus...

The indicative level of knowledge is really helpful, and also the electric bass section of the syllabus - I should dig that out and try and work through it in parallel with the musicianship component, and hopefully I'll get to the level I need a bit quicker.

The goal is still to get to uni, but right at this moment it's far enough out of reach that I won't need to focus on the uni specific details for a while I think.

I really appreciate you taking the time for such an informative post - thanks again :)
 

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