School, not exactly a friend of music

D-Man

we all know that music takes time (and LOTS OF MONEY) and I'm sure that everyone faces their time challenges but something tells me that school takes the cake for the most intrusive activity as far as music is concerned!

Fixed times from 7AM to 6PM, weekend camps and compulsory sports derbies every second weekend at the least, Matric work and studies and parents raging at me every other day for what I do to their beloved grade 8 children make it hard to practice regularly let alone start a band and play a gig or two!

You can't get anywhere nowadays without a qualification behind your name, you can't just drop out of school and expect music to put food on the table for the rest of your life... But at the same time, getting the qualifications and completing an education leaves no time for this time consuming passion. How's that for a catch 22 situation.

Anyone else that has to almost create time itself to pursue their musical dreams?

vic

D-man...what do you do between 6pm and 7am then ? ?

but more serious...there's a thing called "time management". I don't want to use me as example but I've played in a band (almost full time) since grade 9, through university (taking part in sport at US as well) and right up to about 8 years ago whilst holding a full time teaching and research position in Higher education. You just gotta make the time....there's enough minutes in a day. As far as school is concerned...there are a few examples I can quote of teachers doing their "music" thing while teaching, etc.....some of whom became pro entertainers.

D-Man

LOL!!!Let's just say sleep is not that overrated... ? I must say, there are the occasional duties that hold me till 10/11PM, but i'm not going to lie and say that's a huge issue! Good to know there's still a chance out there. I get what you're saying with time management and all and its something i'm working on every day of my life. I guess it's also a huge discipline thing as well, and juggling Head Boy of a school of 1300, trying to get into an actuarial Science degree and still keeping my music in full swing is definitely going to need a huge amount of that ?

vic

D-Man wrote: LOL!!!Let's just say sleep is not that overrated... ? I must say, there are the occasional duties that hold me till 10/11PM, but i'm not going to lie and say that's a huge issue! Good to know there's still a chance out there. I get what you're saying with time management and all and its something i'm working on every day of my life. I guess it's also a huge discipline thing as well, and juggling Head Boy of a school of 1300, trying to get into an actuarial Science degree and still keeping my music in full swing is definitely going to need a huge amount of that ?

Good luck...you'll make it ! ?

guidothepimmp

Cmon D

Make a plan brother

I worked 6am to 5pm, and practised/gigged 9pm to midnight (PTA TO JHB ), got home around 1am, slept for 4odd hours, and i did this for 4 years. Best time i had.

Today just the thought of that routine gives me the hibby jeebies

IceCreamMan

Make time for the things u enjoy.....we all only have 24 hours in a day ,how u use it is prolly the most important thingin life... If u enjoy jamming and making music make it happen..

Congrats on the head boy thang

Do not let parents or anyone for that matter "rage" at you

Good luck...actuarial science aint easy ...

Tokai-SA

Not mentioned yet, part of your overall musical activity should be taking place AT SCHOOL, during school hours.

Half the crap they teach at our schools is pretty much useless when you leave school, and attending "compulsory sports derbies" borders on insanity.
Amazing, you're forced to go watch the first team rugby playing every week, hours wasted, time that you could have used on your musical activities or jamming in the school hall.
Is it compulsory for the first team rugby to come watch you playing a gig?...ask your headmaster that question.

Yikes, it's hard to believe that our education system hasn't advanced one little bit in decades...in fact it's gone backwards.

From Std 8 it should be compulsory for every kid or group of kids to start a business at school, the business should be a compulsory subject and should be graded just like geography and history are graded.
It's easy, think about it.
Start a T shirt business, sell the T shirts at the "compulsory sports derbies".
Start a hot dog business, sell the hot dogs at the "compulsory sports derbies".
Write some software, sell it at school.
Connect up with a computer parts importer, sell PC stuff at school, make a small profit.

We should be building future business entrepreneurs at school, not rugby and cricket players. :?
We need to produce Richard Bransons in South Africa, not Naas Bothas. ?

Sean

Absolutely spot on Lance. Not that I have anything against sport, I loved my rugby and cricket at school. But sport doesn't drive the economy, entrepreneurs do. Sport is not going to provide employment (well not much anyway) but entrepreneurs will.

Seventhson

Tokai SA wrote: Not mentioned yet, part of your overall musical activity should be taking place AT SCHOOL, during school hours.

Half the crap they teach at our schools is pretty much useless when you leave school, and attending "compulsory sports derbies" borders on insanity.
Amazing, you're forced to go watch the first team rugby playing every week, hours wasted, time that you could have used on your musical activities or jamming in the school hall.
Is it compulsory for the first team rugby to come watch you playing a gig?...ask your headmaster that question.

Yikes, it's hard to believe that our education system hasn't advanced one little bit in decades...in fact it's gone backwards.

From Std 8 it should be compulsory for every kid or group of kids to start a business at school, the business should be a compulsory subject and should be graded just like geography and history are graded.
It's easy, think about it.
Start a T shirt business, sell the T shirts at the "compulsory sports derbies".
Start a hot dog business, sell the hot dogs at the "compulsory sports derbies".
Write some software, sell it at school.
Connect up with a computer parts importer, sell PC stuff at school, make a small profit.

We should be building future business entrepreneurs at school, not rugby and cricket players. :?
We need to produce Richard Bransons in South Africa, not Naas Bothas. ?

I never went to those stupid first team bs. Never did stupid compulsory things like watching sports matches and such.
Yeah they did that for 3 days for your whole highschool life. They force you to concentrate on sports. I was called a dying dog by my English teacher bec I didn't play sports ?

Sean

And hopefully is a couple of years you'll own your own electrical business ?

Bob-Dubery

Sean wrote: Absolutely spot on Lance. Not that I have anything against sport, I loved my rugby and cricket at school. But sport doesn't drive the economy, entrepreneurs do. Sport is not going to provide employment (well not much anyway) but entrepreneurs will.

The theory is that schools are judged by their record on the sports field, that schools with good sports teams are perceived as being good schools or at least have a name. I went to a school that crap at sports. Our first team used to play DHS fifths - and get thumped. When I got asked what School I went to I'd say "Brettonwood" and the response would usually be something like "never heard of it". It's an old-fashioned theory, but it had currency for a while. And still may. If DHS suddenly start fielding crap rugby sides then word will get around that the school is in decline.

There's also the whole "healthy mind in a healthy body" thing. A lot of the top private schools in Jo'burg, the sort of school where the parents pay lots and have a bit more of a say, still include sports on the curriculum, especially team sports. I was a cross country runner at school. Bad move, or so I was told. Prospective employers look at your school record and say to themselves "cross country running, hey? So a loaner."

Luckily for me (if all this is true) in my last year we had lots of injuries in our first team. So most of our seconds went up to firsts, thirds into the second XV and so on and it looked like the 4ths would have to cancel fixtures. But all us cross-country running types and those with parents known or suspected to be "political" had received an only partly good natured teasing from the vice principal about or disinclination to play manly sports. So I put together a team that we called "the Mothers" and we challenged the 4ths to a game. This was a farce as we had only the vaguest idea about the rules, but it was a satisfactory response to the charge of aversion to manly pursuits. When holes appeared in the 4ths then the Mothers XV, and two brothers who left alone because they were suspected of being gangsters, filled in and so I got "represented school at Rugby" on my testimonial. (I don't know if those two brothers were gangsters, but I'm glad that they were on our side because they were thugs, but they were our thugs. They infamously took revenge on some guy who thought he was a thug and roughed up my kid brother in the front row)

I'd hope that in this day and age these things count for less. If you study to be an actuary then your university marks come into play.

I think there's room these days to have a profession and a fun part-time musical career. I know lawyers who play guitar - not just in their bedrooms either. One has recently cut and released a CD. Another has produced an album for an American alt country artist.

One last thought. Most of the guys presently engaged in thrashing the black caps went to "cricket" schools. If you want to see the Proteas continue to do well then you want sporting schools. They're the nursery that produces Test cricketers.

briang-telkomsa-net

Tokai SA wrote: Not mentioned yet, part of your overall musical activity should be taking place AT SCHOOL, during school hours.

Half the crap they teach at our schools is pretty much useless when you leave school, and attending "compulsory sports derbies" borders on insanity.
Amazing, you're forced to go watch the first team rugby playing every week, hours wasted, time that you could have used on your musical activities or jamming in the school hall.
Is it compulsory for the first team rugby to come watch you playing a gig?...ask your headmaster that question.

Yikes, it's hard to believe that our education system hasn't advanced one little bit in decades...in fact it's gone backwards.

From Std 8 it should be compulsory for every kid or group of kids to start a business at school, the business should be a compulsory subject and should be graded just like geography and history are graded.
It's easy, think about it.
Start a T shirt business, sell the T shirts at the "compulsory sports derbies".
Start a hot dog business, sell the hot dogs at the "compulsory sports derbies".
Write some software, sell it at school.
Connect up with a computer parts importer, sell PC stuff at school, make a small profit.

We should be building future business entrepreneurs at school, not rugby and cricket players. :?
We need to produce Richard Bransons in South Africa, not Naas Bothas. ?

Hey, Sport is good stuff. Sunshine, fresh air and all that but man do I wish that I had carried on with guitar lessons after making the rugby team. I Still play guitar but not rugby even though I watch it a lot. I think that sport's main aim should be to help the kids with social skills and not to create the next big stars, so few make it professionally anyway and a pro sportman's lifespan is really quite short - but then music can do the same thing can't it? Especially if focused on what they like to play and listen to?
Agreed on the entrepreneur thing - there must be some way to work this into the school work. I do see it were my son is at school where anyone seems to have the opportunity to run a stall at the derby days and I'm sure a lot of cash is made plus some business skills learned.

Bob-Dubery

briang wrote: Agreed on the entrepreneur thing - there must be some way to work this into the school work. I do see it were my son is at school where anyone seems to have the opportunity to run a stall at the derby days and I'm sure a lot of cash is made plus some business skills learned.

I disagree completely. Having pupils make a profit from each other is a quick route to resentment and then thuggery.

Teach them accounting. That's good. I know people who are self-employed who can't balance a cheque book and have no idea about budgeting.

Genuine entrepreneurship will always find a way to express itself. Not all of us have that streak.

sharonzaz

they force you to watch and\or play sports? dear God, where i come
from a teacher would be bitch slapped for even trying that crap...

Hammeron

Did matric last year and passed with flying colours.
Have been playing and jamming at various events since I was 9 years old.
My present band has been together for around 2 and a half years and we have been going from strength to strength. Up until just before mock matric we were practicing a minimum of three times a week. Have recorded several demos and off into the studio again next week for the real deal. The band have played Seasons Wither and are on the bill for Woodstock in May.
I simply never entertained the possibility of school ever getting in the way of what I loved best. ?..full stop.

Danny-B

I went to tour to Joburg to perform a three week run at the Civic theatre during the middle of matric. I missed four mid year exams, as well as rehearsing heavily during the others. It's possible dude ?

briang-telkomsa-net

X-rated Bob wrote:
briang wrote: Agreed on the entrepreneur thing - there must be some way to work this into the school work. I do see it were my son is at school where anyone seems to have the opportunity to run a stall at the derby days and I'm sure a lot of cash is made plus some business skills learned.
I disagree completely. Having pupils make a profit from each other is a quick route to resentment and then thuggery.

Teach them accounting. That's good. I know people who are self-employed who can't balance a cheque book and have no idea about budgeting.

Genuine entrepreneurship will always find a way to express itself. Not all of us have that streak.

I don't think that it is as uncontrolled as that X-Rated ?
My goodness, thuggery (all you need is a rugby game for that, I know I've played enough) - haven't seen any of that at this particular school?
Agreed on the sentiment that not all of us have that entrepreneurial streak though.
Learning skills like accounting also big a plus, especially for those with the entrepreneurial streak, but also for us "others"

D-Man

IceCreamMan wrote: Make time for the things u enjoy.....we all only have 24 hours in a day ,how u use it is prolly the most important thingin life... If u enjoy jamming and making music make it happen..

Congrats on the head boy thang

Do not let parents or anyone for that matter "rage" at you

Good luck...actuarial science aint easy ...

Thanks Ice Cream Man! I guess we all do only have 24 hours in a day and some of us will use them a lot better than others.

Tokai SA wrote: Not mentioned yet, part of your overall musical activity should be taking place AT SCHOOL, during school hours.

Alongside my other activities, I try leading up the school band and just generally promoting music within the school. We have our difficulties on that side. Extramurals of other sorts initially took preference over band activities, until they actually needed us. The band had to supply all our own equipment and set up in classrooms twice a week where we'd set up for an hour, practice for 2 and pack up for another 30 minutes. And lastly, we only had a few chances to perform which didn't bother us too much because we were just having a jol either way, but we wanted to spread the word, generate exposure and get more people on the band wagon (excuse the pun). After a whole year of struggling like this, I think we were finally noticed. We had 3 staff members that stuck with us through it all and we were eventually recognized by the majority of the school.

As for the sports craze that goes on in schools, it does become ridiculous after a while. Look, I can honestly say I'm part of a pretty sick school, one of the best around, and I'm not just saying that because i have to. Yes, the focus on sports is huge and thats mostly hockey, rugby and athletics and i think it would only be fair to say that this is where the majority of the children's interests lie (of those that partake in extramural activities). It's become more of a societal thing than something that just happens in schools. I'm grateful for having the parents i have because one of my friends once came up to me and asked me where he could get a guitar coz he wanted to start playing and singing. A week later, he dropped the idea because his mom told him it was gay. So it's fair to say that the obsession with sports comes not only from management in schools but also from parents, older siblings or just a need to fit in. And it's sad. I have a theory that peer pressure stems, not only from friends you may have but also from the expectations placed on us by parents and siblings. I've seen it happen time and time again. It's the reason i have 20 girls audition for a vocalist position in the band but no guys at all. I had to personally take up male vocal spots in the band until I was approached, very wearily, by another guy... It happens

Hammeron wrote: Did matric last year and passed with flying colours.
Have been playing and jamming at various events since I was 9 years old.
My present band has been together for around 2 and a half years and we have been going from strength to strength. Up until just before mock matric we were practicing a minimum of three times a week. Have recorded several demos and off into the studio again next week for the real deal. The band have played Seasons Wither and are on the bill for Woodstock in May.
I simply never entertained the possibility of school ever getting in the way of what I loved best. ?..full stop.

I salute you man! It's going to be a tough one this year but I think the GFSA forumites just made it that little bit easier to see the light and pursue the dream.

Thanks for all the replies!!

briang-telkomsa-net

Hammeron wrote: Did matric last year and passed with flying colours.
Have been playing and jamming at various events since I was 9 years old.
My present band has been together for around 2 and a half years and we have been going from strength to strength. Up until just before mock matric we were practicing a minimum of three times a week. Have recorded several demos and off into the studio again next week for the real deal. The band have played Seasons Wither and are on the bill for Woodstock in May.
I simply never entertained the possibility of school ever getting in the way of what I loved best. ?..full stop.

Congrats on passing well and doing the music thing on top of that.
Hope that you will be extending that brain power with some tertiary education - now that you can do what you really like?
COPA, Berklee?? or, as X-rated suggested, accounting, which is a big plus in any career, including music.
It is called the music "business" for a reason.
All the best for the future.

Seventhson

Sean wrote: And hopefully is a couple of years you'll own your own electrical business ?

Exactly ?

I don't know why schools don't let their students take a trade. I know there are trade schools but why not in normal schools?