epictring
Hi
I'm heading out of gr 12 next year and I'm the very thankful position to maybe be able to take a "gap year" next year before heading to university. But I can choose between getting a small job in the Pretoria area and focus on my music full on (I really won't mess around, as I'm quite serious about the matter) or going to a music college for a year like COPA. But I was just thinking what you guys' opinions are on this matter? I'm not leaning towards the college too much at the moment. I don't wanna head in as a busy university student and one day think back on the experience I could have had etc.
Thanks
Scorched
IMO, if you got the determination to have a fruitful musical gap year by your own accord, rather do that.
At the risk of sounding very ignorant, I think some music colleges misleads a lot of young aspiring musician with their "10 easy step solution to become a musical success" and is actually detrimental to them finding their own personality.
I would love to someday have the opportunity just to take a time out from normal life and to just focus on my music and embrace it to its fullest. Although any musical stimulation is good, I think there is other ways a musician can spend his time to grow by his own accord than having to spend it on an institutionalised recipe. I can only think of a few musician that actually went to a music school and became successful.
Go out, play with as much people as you can, maybe get a small home studio cooking, record, write, organise gigs, even buy a theory book. That would be my advice.
Best of luck, I know it must be a hard decision.
Manfred-Klose
dont go to college, specially not COPA
get a job, meet and play with as much musicians as you can, network.
reputation is more important than a degree
IceCreamMan
my advice , head on straight to university and take a gap year after you complete yr studies....university will afford you loads of time to jam an meet musically minded ppl anyway. Take a gap year after you complete yr studies. just my opinion.
"reputation is more important than a degree" <-- maybe in the musical field this holds true , in very very few other areas though.
Manfred-Klose
yes i am talking about actually becoming a pro muso, unless you want to become a music teacher and need a degree to prove your stuff
Keira-WitherKay
I'm with NOT TAKING GAP YEAR as said above ,
and as for music studies , unless you already play at pro level and know your theory well , study as much as you can , the comment above stating you don't need musical studies may have been true in past , now its essential to be as well prepared as possible for music scene , and as i said if you already on that level then great but if not study music , as self taught musicians are a dying breed , in the competitive market , anyway if you a good muso its at music school where you network and get recognised that can set you up for opportunities in music scene ,
when i was performing at sun city all the muso's were graduates and one even studied at berkley so yes while you young study music , you won't regret it
Malkav
Though I personally agree with the sentiment of studying music, I just think COPAs actual sylabus is a bit lame - I'd say get hooked up with a great guitar instructor and go for like 2 lessons a week and then study and do exams for pure theory. I wanna try and get my grade 8 in just music theory through Trinity, then go into learning all the techniques and styles I want to learn to really grow my own voice - I think this will be the best way for me to have all the same ground work but really have my own voice and unique style ?
vic
Keira WitherKay wrote:
I'm with NOT TAKING GAP YEAR as said above ,
and as for music studies , unless you already play at pro level and know your theory well , study as much as you can , the comment above stating you don't need musical studies may have been true in past , now its essential to be as well prepared as possible for music scene , and as i said if you already on that level then great but if not study music , as self taught musicians are a dying breed , in the competitive market , anyway if you a good muso its at music school where you network and get recognised that can set you up for opportunities in music scene ,
when i was performing at sun city all the muso's were graduates and one even studied at berkley so yes while you young study music , you won't regret it
+1
Today's muso needs all the help he/she can get from good teachers. Prepare well to have that solid foundation
....study music, be it guitar or piano, or.......study and master the techniques of your instrument...be able to
read music and scores ...very important (as Keira says the self-taught muso is a dying breed). Just like with so many industries and things today, the music scene out there is just so much
more competitive than 20 years ago.....Oh...and choose your role-models carefully ?
Wish I did all the things I'm telling you about. ?
V8
IceCreamMan wrote:
my advice , head on straight to university and take a gap year after you complete yr studies....university will afford you loads of time to jam an meet musically minded ppl anyway.
+1.
Although it would depend on your mindset - I didn't enjoy university as much as some, but as I get older, I really appreciate the doors the degree opened (and still does).
AlanRatcliffe
#1 - are you studying music at uni? That's not clear from what you wrote.
Six of one, half-a-dozen of the other, but I'd say if you are really serious about it (as in "want to make a living doing it"), I'd say study first - and with a college that has an internationally accepted syllabus. As IceCreamMan says, you can still play in bands, etc. while you are studying. Then when you graduate, you are better prepared for the real world (plus don't underestimate the value of being a little older, wiser and more grown up by the time you graduate).
Of course, studying doesn't guarantee anything and can get in the way of originality (if you let it), but knowledge is never a bad thing.
Lethe
I also believe it helps to be enrolled in some sort of educational institution to help further your musical knowledge. Yes, you can learn all the stuff by yourself, but the fewest people have the discipline to put in 8 hours a day studying and practising. At least at a university you'll be (somewhat) pressured to study and prepare for tests to ensure you're learning something. And the scope of learning will be larger and you'll probably be learning and practising in a more efficient way. And you'll be learning stuff you probably woulnd't teach yourself.
singemonkey
Make sure you get to university in the end. The world is changing fast and people without tertiary education are at more of a disadvantage (yes, some will still be wonderfully successful, but on average...) than ever before. Whether you have time for music is going to depend a lot on what you're studying. If you're doing mechanical engineering your time will be limited - even as an undergrad. If you're doing English and media studies... ?
I think Chad's idea has a lot of merit. A private tutor teaching you musical theory as well as technique - along with an undemanding job and plenty of live gigging, may teach you far more in that year that you'd get in three years even at a top musical institution. As long as... you see learning music as your job during that time. In other words, you're practising at least 4-6 hours a day. You won't lose out from that. A lot will depend on whether your tutor knows his or her stuff though.
Then when you're in uni and you have less time on your hands, you'll be able to continue your live playing with a very solid foundation of skills and theory.
aja
IceCreamMan wrote:
my advice , head on straight to university and take a gap year after you complete yr studies....university will afford you loads of time to jam an meet musically minded ppl anyway. Take a gap year after you complete yr studies. just my opinion.
"reputation is more important than a degree" <-- maybe in the musical field this holds true , in very very few other areas though.
+1...
You might think you will practice really hard and be the bee's knees.
But what if you only make the bee's elbow? Or you lose an arm in a freak accident? Or the country falls into the hands of crazy Communists and all music gets banned? Stranger things have happened in SA...
You need a fall back plan. Even if it is boring and has nothing to do with music. Remember most degrees are like big drawn out IQ tests - they just tell the potential employer this guy's not a complete idiot. Few people stay in the field they were educated in anyway.
Most often we first have to walk through the pooh to find the sewer exit.
aja
epictring wrote: a busy university student
What's that? Never heard that phrase before...
I studied BSc mechanical engineering and I had some free time. My fiancé studied chartered accountancy and she had free time to pursue contemporary and tap dancing
charleshaupt
Study all you can,remember it,s a year in the classroom and a lifetime outside... just my subjective opinion..
ezietsman
There won't be chance to have a gap year after uni, unless someone will actually pay for that. My advice is like Singemonkey's. Go to Uni immediately, work hard, play hard. School and Uni is the last time in your life you'll have that much free time (until you're retired). So you will be able to play music too, if you learn to balance your time a bit.
epictring
Thanks for all the responses.
Just to clarify I'm in Grade 12 High School currently, not studying music at the moment.
To those who said "no" to the gap year plan, why do you say so? I also believe that with discipline I would be able to learn just as much as a music college can provide and maybe even more since I'll be experiencing real life situations first hand (gigging, studio, theory etc.).
I understand I'll have some free time at the university, and I'm certainly going to university afterwards if I were to choose the gap year plan, but "free time" at university might not be enough for me, I want a large step up in my skills for by the time I join a formal university. I'm going to university as my "back up plan" or alternative source of income. If money was no option I would just go music full-on with my band, but it's unrealistic to me personally.
I'm quite serious about my music and really want to take it to the next level in the coming years while still studying at university and so forth, I just feel I need a year or so to get to the level I want to be at.
Sean
Sounds like you may have made up your mind already? ? I'm with the guys saying "no" to the gap year. If you're passionate and disciplined enough, as you say, then I reckon you can achieve 80% of your music ambitions (while at University) of what you would have if you took the gap year (law of diminishing returns and all that). Aja is right, you can study and do what's needed and still put in a chunk of time into your music.
Danny-B
Having just made a decision in this area, I would strongly suggest you do not take a gap year. I am currently in first year studying law. Best decision ever (second only to not doing engineering ?)
aja
consider joining a college or a distance learning place like UNISA. They often allow you to choose how many subjects you take. So you could do a three year degree in four or five years for example. That leaves you with plenty of free time, especially if you take a degree focusing on one of the 'arts' or media studies because those fields are more research than class and practical orientated, making them flexible.
Everyone I know who took a gap year after school regretted it, except for those that went to work overseas for a year through prearranged job opportunities. Going back to school after a gap year is very difficult, few manage it. If you work during the gap year and become financially independent, becoming a student means giving all that up...
