Are You Considering Studying Music?
Almost all people love music. Many people also decide to learn how to play an instrument. Some, however, take it so far that they want to actually go to college and earn a degree in music. Finding the best music college for your needs is actually quite easily done. But knowing whether or not you are ready for this type of education is a completely different question.
You Will Be Humbled
First of all, when you enter music college, leave your ego at the door. These people are way better than you and they always will be. This is something that can be hard to deal with, because many people enter college thinking they are already really good and will just breeze through the education. You will feel threatened and you will be humbled. Deal with that, and you will come out the other end a true musician.
Sir Gilbert Levine conducts the concert “Peace Through Music ‘In Our Age’”
at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., on May 5, 2014
Photo credit: Georgetown University
Realistic Goals
Next, you need to really know why you are going to music college. What do you want to be at the end of it? Someone who doesn’t have a goal can easily be picked out because they seem to drift between classes, rather than having a real passion. They also struggle to build a network, which is hugely important if you ever want to make it in the industry. This is true whether someone wants to play an instrument or get into the more technical or production side of music. Know what you want, then go out and get it.
Trust Your Guides
Your tutors at music college are your guides. We have already established that they know more than you ever will, but you have to remember that they want to share this knowledge. Speak to them, ask them questions, play with them, jam with them, listen to them. They are teachers, but they tend to be instrument players first, so sitting down to play and listen is generally the best way to truly access their wisdom.
Hang out with Guitar Players
Guitarists can be a bit full of themselves. This is generally because it is such a portable instrument that is always popular at parties, beach gatherings, travels and more. Unfortunately, if you are not a guitar player yourself, you may struggle with their type a little bit. They are inevitably the liberal kind with hippy attitudes who philosophize about things that probably don’t matter to you. But they are also good and if you ever want to break through in music, you will have to deal with guitarists. Hang out with them as much as possible. If you really want to test yourself, try to strike up a friendship with a bass player. They tend to be quite egocentrical and lost in their own world, but they provide the backdrop and foundation to any good song.
If all of this sounds like something that you would enjoy, then music college is for you. Spend some time reviewing the different schools and pick the one that best aligns with your views on music and your personal future goals.
Guest Author: Lolita Di
The former Metropolitan Opera House (39th St) in New York City. National Archives
