I have been teaching music (band director for middle school/HS) for 20+ years. I am a percussion major with a Music Ed degree.
Some things to consider:
How old is he now? What ensembles or other groups does he play with now? What styles does he play now? Would he do well in a big school setting, where he is just another cog in the machine? Or woyld he do better in a small school where he would get more attention?
Many times, the decision on which school to go to depends on that. Most universities/colleges will only offer jazz as the course of study for guitar players. He will need to have a solid basic theory background to get into a program like that, as well as have had some playing experience other than in his bedroom or with the garage rock band. He would need to read music...NOT tab, and understand how to apply that reading skill to his instrument. There are NO colleges tha tuse or teach tab.
Places like Berkeley - while on the onset seem great - are VERY competitive once you are in. I have had a few students do Berkeley, and only one survived past her 2nd year. I am not slamming Berkeley, but it is for a certain kind of personality.
Places that are called "Conservatories" are usually very classical based, and are also a more competitive atmosphere once you are in. Oncea again, certain types of personailties thrive on this, othrs don't.
Sometimes places like GIT are a good fit for the people who want less of the "University Stodgyness", and more of just focusing on playing the guitar meeting people, and rocking out.
BUT, I would DEFINITELY encourage him to go someplace where he could get the teaching side fo things as well. As mentioned above, this can at least up the possibility of getting a decent 9-5 that can help through the first years while still trying to make it big. The teaching thing will make him "more marketable".
Where are you in Michigan? I am in C-bus Ohio (and don't worry about the stupid sports rivalry...I am above that). I have had some students go to Michigan State...they have a great music school. I would definitely check out Bowling Green down here in Ohio. They have a great forward thinking program, and from what I hear, a great guitar program. North Texas is probably one of the best music schools in the world, but you have to have a pretty good "pedigree" coming from high school to get in. If you want smaller schools, we have Capital University in C-bus, who are pretty well known for their jazz program. My alma mater, Otterbein, could also be a god fit if he wanted a smaller school environment. Butler, over in Indy, is also a cool little school.
One of the huge advantages of a smaller school is that less bodies in the building means more performance opportunities. In a big school, he might not even get into an ensemble his freshman year. He misses out on that playing experience - which is the BEST and most important thing he will get for "real life". I loved the small school atmosphere b/c:
1. I was in at least 5 ensembles every quarter
2. my private lessons were with the PROFESSOR, not some t/a who was more focused on their Masters
3. I got to play with the professors in groups, and learned a TON from that.
4. professors would hire me to play in their outside-of-college ensembles which helped me network in the community and get gigs that I still do now
the biggest complaint from most of my students who have gone to bigger places (Michigan State, Ohio State, Kentucky etc) was that the yfelt "unkown" until their junior year, or unless they were a virtuoso and the profs were drooling over them
Hopefully some of this helps. PM me if you want more info
I would say it depends entirely on your means and what your son expects to get out of university. I have two music degrees (from two different Canadian universities) and feel that they were worth obtaining (partly because up here university fees are comparatively low), but they will probably never help me get a job. So if the goal is to learn and you/your son have the financial means necessary to ensure that he isn't stuck paying a criminally high student loan for the next twenty years then I would say go to Berklee. It's probably the best place he can go to immerse himself in popular music. But if the money is going to be a big issue I'd be hesitant. It's wonderful to get musically educated but it's really tough to make a career playing music alone.
