When are you planning on going?

How much munny do you have budgeted?

Where do you want to study/location?  Do you want to major or minor in music?  Do you want a full music education or just take drum lessons while going to school.

My advice is simple, bear the cold and study in Chicago at the school of your choice...gig at nights after practicing your lessons, doing your homework.  Lots of gigs and beautiful women in that very big city.  I'm going out there the weekend of March 1st HA!  It is gonna be COLD but the music will be hot.

Critter29 -

Obviously, all of my comments here completely depend on your goals, so with that:  YMMV, IMO, etc., etc.   :

Well, from what I've gathered about your goals as a player, I don't think I'd necessarily recommend going to music school at this stage in your life.  Please correct me if I'm mistaken, but your goals are specific in that you desire to be a working professional who is geared toward free-lancing.  With that, assuming your goal is not to simply earn a degree, I don't know if a 4-year music performance degree is essential at this stage of your career.  From your original post, your focus seemed to be on a teacher thus, I think that's what you need to focus on -- getting with a great teacher in the form of private lessons.  That will not only save you serious $$$, but will allow you to focus exclusively on your drumming skills, which is no doubt one thing that you desire to do.  

As for the business aspect of things, yes, I might recommend some schooling but again, I don't feel a 4-year college degree is mandatory to pick up the kind of knowledge you are seeking.  You simply need to enroll in some coursework geared specifically to business law, industry education, etc.  It wouldn't even need to be from a university.  Again, you are focusing exclusively on your goal with no additional $$$ or time spent (on classes you don't need if you're trying to earn a degree).  

Now, with that said, you could do the following:

1.  Continue searching for a potential teacher:  This certainly can be a teacher who teaches at an accredited music program and if so, email them to find out if they teach to non-universtiy students.  To keep all your options open, you could at least relocate where your desired teacher is going to be, start off doing private lessons for a while, AND if you do decide to go the college program route, you're already there.  Studying with this teacher will help you make that decision as well (giving you insight into that program).

2.  I understand you are trying to kill two birds with one stone by trying to find a college that offers both a great music program and music business program, but you might need to buckle down and decide which is overall more important.  Then, base the relocation decision based mainly on which area has either the desired teacher or desired business education classes/program.  Chances are, no matter which you choose, that area will more than likely still have something good to offer in the other area.  For example, if you chose to relocate to Denton, TX to study with Ed Soph or Henry Okstel, you may not have the benefit of having a top rate music business program at your fingertips at UNT but you certainly have your choice of community colleges in the area that DO offer classes on music bus.  Well, chances are, other cities/locations will have similar opportunities.  Flipside:  You choose to focus on music business so you relocate to Boston to take classes at Berklee.  Imagine how many great players/teachers you would also have available there to have the opportunity to study with.

Finally, just wanted to make a comment about the music school atmosphere.  No matter what everyone says about the great "drummer-comaraderie", a good music school program is EXTREMELY competitive.  Do you want to subject yourself to this?  Do you need to subject yourself to this?  Maybe it doesn't matter, but if you don't have to, then why do it?  You have a goal, you know what you want and that's why I think focusing more on private lessons for specialization is the route to go at this point for yourself.  If you were 18 years old and had no idea what you wanted to do except you knew you wanted to play music, then you probably would be better off enrolling in a musicprogram.  

I guess I'm saying basically to try to specialize your decisions whenever you can, which will help you make your final and bigger decisions more efficient.  I actually have even more to say on this but just realized I've created a novel...

Scott & Bart

I appreciate your objective opinions. Feel free to continue finishing the novels.  Great stuff. I need outside observation and objective opinions. Your advice has been honest, forthright and non-judgemental.

Here's my situation of which you may both already know to some extent . I'm 29, been playing drums since I was 7 years old officially. I have been involved with music since I can remember and I don't really have a desire to do anything else. I love it and feel that I'm good at it and that I have something to offer. I don't mean that in an arrogant way either.  

Despite how hard the life is, I do want to continue. I'm scared to death that's for sure. I want to make the right choices and take my time researching, studying, preparing and analyzing my options before I take the plunge. This is where I'm having difficulty and why I'm thinking along the lines of school. I want to enhance my playing skills, make connections and be around people that have their lives in order. It seems to me that school would offer all three. I've gone through the "school of hard knocks" approach. It's a street-smart mentality and alot can be learned to be sure but, I rarely meet people who can exercise creative abilty and fuse it with practicality and turn that into something meaningful and productive. One or the other is usually lacking. The music business is loaded with flakes who for the most part lack discipline of any form (myself included in my younger days). The other side of the equation is full of guys who are capable but jaded, cynical and too protectionist to do anything about it. They're no good to me either because they try and create every excuse in the book to quit. I'll admit, I've fallen into the trappings of thinking that way at times unconsciously but, then I snap out if it. I feel fortunate that I have a passion for music and a sense of what I aspire to be. Some people never discover their passion. I just hope I  can find a way to untilize it.

My fears: I don't want to be broke with my head in the sand full of shame. I want to try and give it an honest shot somewhere else. Tulsa is great and has been a good training ground for me but, there are limitations as with all small markets. I've accomplished every single goal I set for myself here. I wanted to play with several bands, do sessions, tour regionally, play showcases and travel and to a large extent, I've been forunate enough to be able to do that. On the flipside though, I reached a plateau and I feel like I'm not growing as a player here anymore and it's really started to effect me in many ways. Somtimes I feel lost, frustrated and confused. I don't know what to do? Other days, I'm perfectly fine and have it all figured out. Set goals in small increments and achieve them one by one. I have to remind myself constantly to be patient, take things slow and day by day. It's hard for me at times and it's the part about controlling the odds that challenges me. I guess that's just the daily grind of life.

Everyone has their own definition of success, work ethic, philosophy about life and career and sense of balance. I live to play music and it's as simple as that. It's a balance for me and when I'm not doing it, I have no outlet. It's the only thing I'm good at and the only thing that's ever felt right to me. I can't explain it any better. Everything else just seems to be a sidestep away from that goal besides my fiancee and family. I love them and her. Speaking of my fiancee, she wants nothing but the best for me and is completely supportive of my decision to do pursue music. In fact, she insisted on one thing to me and said, "I'm not going to be the reason you don't make it in the music business, so get going and stop worrying."

Anyway, I've now written a novel myself.   Thanks for reading.

Critter,

I think your fiancee has offered the best advice.  You seem to be the kind of person who knows how to set goals and acheive them.  So, plan your journey and set your short, intermediate and long term goals, but, keep your eyes and ears open.  Adjusting goals from time to time is a necessary part of the process.  I can't imagine a situation where a Bachelor's degree will be a detriment, other than the debt you will have to pay back.

As for finding "the best teacher," I don't think that's productive.  IMHO, musicians are self taught.  At best, you hope to learn something from as many other musicians, teachers or otherwise, as you can.  Learning is a lifetime habit in any profession, it doesn't stop at graduation.  I think the more productive inquiry is, does the school have the program you are looking for, is it "connected" to a large established musice scene.  It would be great if it also had "the teacher" you want, but, you can always seek out a teacher you want to learn something specific from whether or not he/she is at your school.

Good luck!

Ratamatatt

Ratamatatt

The best reasons I can think of for someone who wants to be a professional performer not to go to music school are 1) you've got a professional deal you can't refuse that precludes the commitment needed to succede at the college level (and if you get that gig during school you can always leave and come back later), and 2) you don't want a small mortgage size debt payment when your done.

For me, I wouldn't let number 2 get in my way.  Just be aware that, whether you graduate or note, the money you borrow has to be paid back.

Ratamatatt

Man, don't go to Berklee or MI.  Anywhere but those two places.

I have to agree with Mr. A.  Poverty SUX.  I have been the starving artist and the yuppie with the sonor kit.  I'll take B over A any day.  I also believe that if you are not financially strapped you will have more time for creativity and experimentation in your playing.  Maybe some day I can really get a great paying steady music gig while being satisfied with what I'm playing, but man, that is a wild card.  It is going to take/taking abunch of work.  Go for it, you won't be happy until you do BUT don't be whine and piss and moan when you are doing your own thing with music.  Be glad you have the luxury to MAKE a decision like this.

Good luck, everyone's experience is different.  We will all be here for you.  

And the best teachers realize that, at least the way I define "best."

IMHO, the best teachers are the ones who teach their students to teach themselves.  I've been fortunate in that most of the teachers I've had, have had this sort of concept in their teaching.  My first teacher in college explained the concept to me:  "We could spend the next four years just working on technique and literature, and I'd impart a lot of information to you, but if I don't teach you how to teach yourself, you won't be as likely to continue growing after you get out of school."

When hooking up with a new teacher, listen to see if they explain the reasoning behind what they're telling you, or if they're just teaching you to "do it this way because I do it this way."

JW

Exactly. That would pretty much sum up my private lesson experience in a nutshell. If I want theory, I'll go buy a book and learn on my own time but, if I'm paying for the benefit of added insight and personal input then that requires much more attention to detail.

Well, that may or may not be the case...FWIW, I had been working professionally for a number of years before I went back to school and got another grad' degree, and it was private lessons that really turned my head around - I hooked up with some really great teachers who helped me to redefine my conceptions of how (and why) to make music.  (I should note that this last degree was what's called a "Performance Certificate" at that University, and consisted almost exclusively of ensembles, recitals, and lessons, with only minimal traditional classroom study. It was great!)

However, one needn't matriculate at a University to do get those sorts of results - I've taken some "one-off" lessons with teachers over the years (some with recognizable names, others not) who really gave my own playing a huge shot in the arm on a variety of levels.

As an aside - I remember some interview somewhere, I think it was an interview of Gary Burton, where mention was made of all these students going to study at Berklee, studying with teachers who had not learned their craft at a School of Music - teachers like Burton (who majored in piano, not vibraphone), Dave Samuels (Psychology degree, IIRC), Pat Metheny (teaching when he was roughly the same age as many of the students, again IIRC)...but now colleges would have one think that they are the "be all and end all" of becoming a professional musician.  Not true.

As always, YMMV.

(After eight years of college, and a couple of semesters of teaching here and there, I've got a couple of huge rants saved up regarding the University music education system in this country, but I'll spare everyone from it, at least for the moment...)

JW

I hope that Mr Walker will one day post his "rants" as I believe they might be well worth listening to.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins