Music related help needed

[lewber]

DS is a freshman in high school with a wide variety of interests. He's always explored and self taught - from Lego to Rubik's cube, to photography, to video making. He has a need for creativity and his latest interest is what he calls  "making beats" - basically playing with music software on his Mac - for hours every night. He is taking his first piano lessons this year and he has a good ear. He can peck out songs on the piano, and now with some piano lessons, he can peck them out with chords too :laugh: . He taught himself a good bit of music theory this summer via youtube videos, etc. He is a smart kid, and is a very fast learner when he's interested. 

 

He currently is interested in music for a career - is there hope for someone getting into music at this age being able to do that?  Not singing or playing - more toward producing.  He plays the music for me, but I know NOTHING about music so I honestly have no idea what to make of it! This could be a fading interest like the others before it, but now that he is getting to the age where he might consider college plans and majors I'm wondering if this is possible? 

[Guest]

yes, but do you live in an area where he could get into producing?

 

I'm meeting people who would like to, but the col is pricing them out unless they have a relative in rent-controlled housing that can give them a spot on the couch.

[catz]

There are a couple programs in the Minneapolis area that teach this kind of thing. 

 

http://www.mcnallysmith.edu/

http://www.ipr.edu/

 

If you dig you may find programs close to you.  I just discovered one of our state universities has a music production/tech program.  Some more competitive schools will have them as well, but they are really hard to get into.  (USC, Miami Frost, Berklee, etc)

 

I have a junior interested in some kind of music and we are struggling with the right road in terms of college.  He has been playing piano for 11 years, taking voice for 4, and taking guitar for a couple.   A straight classical traditional route probably isn't right.  Considering some quirkier LAC programs at this moment, we'll see.  He loves the look of like Berklee and USC, etc but I don't think those programs will be financially feasible for us. 

 

If he likes it right now, I'd let him jump into to it.  If he gets it out of his system, great, he still has a strong extracurricular interest that could be a great life long hobby. 

Edited September 28, 2017 by WoolySocks

[Dmmetler]

Music technology may be a good choice.

[Nancy in NH]

When DS was visiting and auditioning for piano performance winter 2015/spring 2016 (at mostly smaller, less musically competitive schools), many students attending were interested in the music industry programs.  We'd be in a group of 30 or so kids, and 20 of them were there not for music, but production/industry programs.  It seems there is a huge interest in those programs and I wonder how competitive they are becoming.  I do know that the schools where DS auditioned required some type of audition for the music industry degrees.  You might want to check the websites of the music departments of the schools that are of interest to learn what might be required to gain acceptance to the program.  Here is the music audition web page for one small college that DS liked.  I took a look at the keyboard requirements for the music industry degree and they would be quite challenging for someone with only a few years of piano lessons.  For example, the Bach 2 and 3 part inventions are higher intermediate/lower advanced repertoire.  Also listed is the option to play a Bach prelude and fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier--a very challenging collection.  DS played a prelude/fugue from WTC as part of his repertoire for piano performance auditions.  He's been playing for over 12 years.  I think the one advantage the music industry students have is that their repertoire might not have to be memorized (or so it seems at this particular school).  This is by no means a highly competitive music program, but they have expanded it since DS was accepted.

I'm not trying to discourage you or suggest your son shouldn't go for it.  My DS began working with a new piano instructor (who is on the board of examiners with the Royal Conservatory) back in 2011.  While studying with him that first year, DS expressed an interest in pursuing a music degree.  He was 2 1/2 years away from when he would have to audition (which occurs during the winter/spring of senior year).  His instructor told him he needed about 4-5 years of study to be college audition-ready.  At that point, he had been studying for 6 years and playing for 8 1/2.  His previous instructor had done some damage (not focusing on technique enough, etc.), and there was a lot of work ahead for my DS.  He worked his butt off, practicing 3+ hours every day, and after taking a gap year during which he sat for the Level 9 Royal Conservatory piano exam and prepared for auditions, he accomplished his goal of being ready for his auditions in only 3 years (he took a gap year to give himself more time).  Motivated kids can accomplish the seemingly impossible.  I simply hope to convey how important it is to know what the goal is, what the requirements are--what your son will need to work on in order to be prepared.  It was a challenging couple of years for DS and we did a lot of traveling--6,000+ miles of driving to audition at 8 schools.

I don't know much about music industry degrees--the requirements likely vary from school to school, depending on how competitive the programs are to get into.  There may be some that don't have audition requirements.  What helped my son was to talk to his piano instructors (previous and current), to get a feel for what he was up against and how likely he was to attain his goals.  Music programs are competitive and there are a lot of accomplished young musicians out there.  DS's only 'reach school' (musically, not academically) was Ithaca College School of Music.  His instructor was floored when he passed that audition.  DS was surprised, too, given that he had a nearly audition-ending asthma attack just before he auditioned.  I remember walking into Ithaca that morning--it was so overwhelming how many kids were there--and it was only one of several audition dates.  Hundreds of kids.  I have no idea how many were there for their sound recording program.  I looked at Ithaca's audition requirements for sound recording and they are even more challenging the the other school I mentioned, in fact, they require a pre-screening audition, which means in order to secure an audition invitation the student must pass the pre-screening audition first.  Like I mentioned, though, Ithaca's School of Music is competitive, but I wanted to give you an idea of the range of requirements your son might encounter at some colleges and universities.  Your son's instructor is the best person to evaluate where your son is at and whether he has enough time to prepare for auditions, if he in fact applies to schools that require them.

I did a quick search for music production schools and found a few private for-profits that offer music production (might be pricey).  I also came upon Community College of Philadelphia offering an AS in sound recording and music technology--no auditions, open to all.  That might be something to consider if your son isn't 100% sure and a community college in your area offers it.  He'd get a start in the music industry program as well as get some of his general education credits out of the way, while continuing to hone his keyboard skills.

 

And all that said, when my DS decided to change his degree (after so many years of dedication to his instrument!), his instructor told him he could still achieve some of his musical goals outside of college, which is very true.  I don't know how much that applies to the music industry, but I'm sure there are many creative, self-made musicians and music techs out there who don't have degrees.

Hope this helps.  Good luck navigating it all!

 

Nancy in NH

Edited September 28, 2017 by Nancy in NH

[Angie in VA]

Great advice here. A dear friend of the family graduated w/ a degree in music industry from JMU. Here are the reqs for a major and minor at the school. 

 

Major

 

Minor

 

I know you're a smart mommy who will research this w/ your ds, but I wanted to share those links. I'm sure you'll look at many schools' requirements to get a feel for this degree. 

[Jilly]

Your son sounds so much like my own son who is also a freshman and has fallen into music a little later than most. My son in leaning towards a music production career although he may go for composition if his skills get high enough. 

 

Our plan right now is to develop strong piano skills, strong music theory skills (he is in WTM Music Theory 1 now, will do Music Theory 2 next year, and then follow it up with AP music theory), and strong technical skills. He has a little studio set up in our house and is working on his own songs all the time. 

 

We are also looking at summer programs such as this one. And right now the goal is a program like this at LMU. 

 

[lewber]

Your son sounds so much like my own son who is also a freshman and has fallen into music a little later than most. My son in leaning towards a music production career although he may go for composition if his skills get high enough. 

 

Our plan right now is to develop strong piano skills, strong music theory skills (he is in WTM Music Theory 1 now, will do Music Theory 2 next year, and then follow it up with AP music theory), and strong technical skills. He has a little studio set up in our house and is working on his own songs all the time. 

 

We are also looking at summer programs such as this one. And right now the goal is a program like this at LMU. 

Thank you for these - I will show him the more formal classes for music theory. Taking the AP class in a few years would be great. 

 

My ds is interested in the same thing. He's also a late starter. He had been writing lyrics for years before finally trying to put it to music his junior year. You have plenty of time starting freshman year. Home recording equipment is not as expensive as you would think; especially when spread out over a couple of Christmases and birthdays. I think getting a solid music theory foundation, some piano (some programs require a piano exam) and familiarizing him with software like ProTools and he'll be set to make some demos. 

 

Check out this thread.

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/649948-how-do-you-search-for-an-unusual-feature-in-colleges/

That's a great thread! The Coursera class through Berklee could be just what he is looking for!

 

Thanks so much for all this information and suggestions. There are several ideas and classes I can share with DS that will help him learn more and see where this interest goes! It has never been anything we have looked at for him - he's been an architect/engineer boy since he was little. This fits in with his skills and interests, just never saw it going this direction. 

 

I have a feeling studio equipment will be on his Christmas wish list this year  :laugh: