Is Music School a Scam? (Story Time with EMC)

Just got into the music school of my dreams and I get THIS notification cmon man😂😂😂

Make the gong hi hat Eric. We’re not asking. Edit: Frz akus’s idea not mine

Hi I’m a band director who actually did make it through in 4 years and I have the following piece of advice: DON’T DO IT. DON’T. DO IT. Take five years, take six years. Who cares. The anxiety and cramming and time management Eric talks about is real. It’s very real.

I'm a freshman in high school and I think I've decided well.

High school band director here, so I have these conversations with my juniors and seniors quite a bit... The one thing I'll say that is a bit counter to what some others are saying here: do NOT go into music education unless you WANT to be a music teacher. My high school band director told me, when I was looking into music school, that music education should not be something you do simply to pay the bills. If you don't actually want to be a teacher, you will likely not get much enjoyment out of your job, and your students will often pick up on that, and that will affect their enjoyment, as well. I see a lot of variants of "Don't get a performance degree, get an ed degree so you can get a job." That's fine, as long as you WANT to do that job. If you have no desire to teach, there are much better ways to make a living. Also, the thing about taking more than four years, yes. Took me, and many of my colleagues that I know, five years.

Current Music Ed major here! I’m a percussion student at Belmont University and I would say the number 1 thing to consider is performance degrees don’t open very many job opportunities, an education degree opens hundreds of different kinds of teaching jobs. Not to mention you’re still a classically trained musician and thus have the ability and know how to perform in many ensembles.

Man, this couldn’t have came out before the semester started??? 😂

I studied percussion at Ithaca College, and now I'm in my first semester of grad school. (Same college, now pursuing an MBA in entertainment and media management). I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I was in high school, but knew I liked music so I went to IC. I was in the "music undecided" major when I got here, meaning I would take all the music classes all freshmen music students take, and then I would choose a path at the end of the year. I thought I wanted to be a performance musician, but my professors didn't believe that's what I had in my heart to become because as much as I love music, I am not a classical musician at my core. My professors supported me in all my endeavors and I switched to music with an outside field in audio production which got me involved in working with the tv/film program and communications students. (Different than the standard sound recording technology major). I realized through my time in all of these diverse classes that I love music but want to be in the industry, rather than as a classical musician which many music schools gear you towards becoming. This allowed me to pursue other music opportunities like playing in a klezmer ensemble, the brass choir (as the drum set player), and in a few bands because I had more free time to spend time on opportunities besides required classical extracurriculars. This allowed me to choose if I wanted a junior and senior recital, which I did, and I was able to do exactly what I wanted and put on two recitals with an incredibly diverse palette of music. I don't think I predicted 4 years ago where I would be now, but I'm very happy with the choices I made and how it led me to this point. You can go to music school, take your classes and be a good player, but a lot of the learning comes with how you apply yourself to your craft both in and out of the classroom. Nothing is handed to you, you have to want it and work at it to prove how far you're willing to go in order to get it.

I have Bachelor of Music in Performance degree. I'm leaning toward not useful, but I can't say for sure. I do have a job in music, but I really don't know how much of a factor it was in my being hired as a music director at church. I know once they heard me play and got to know me a tiny bit, they wanted to hire me. I also know I got lucky on having a personal connection through my brother. If you're going for music education, that's more of a straight path toward a specific goal. If you're going for music performance, 1) make sure that's actually what you want to do rather than just what you or others assume you will do, and 2) expect to have to look for work in a much broader way (unless you're lucky enough to land a steady professional orchestra job or something). Depending on your exact program and your exact life plan, music school may or may not be for you. Proceed with caution.

Community colleges/junior colleges for the most part have music programs! If you are on the fence about a music degree (or college in general), I recommend going that route before transferring to a university. You’ll save a lot of money and it’s a great way to test the waters before committing 4+ years to a degree.

I'm one of those people you met at music school! (even though I wasn't technically in music school...)

A little late to this discussion, I cannot emphasize how awesome it is to take courses at a community College either over the summer, or during the school year if you can during high school. Or even start at a CC if you feel like it. A lot of the time it's the better option to AP Classes as you will more likely have a less stressful schedule than AP and you are guaranteed the credits unless you fail the class, which is highly unlikely if you just pay enough attention.

Oh my god you’re describing me in college exactly, for my super-super senior year I took one class each semester because I failed the first of the series...

If you want to teach, and REALLY want to teach, then music school is probably a good option. Just know, it's gonna suck at times, as 21 credits/semester is standard for those hoping to graduate in 4 years. If you want to do anything else in music, there may be better alternatives to music school. If you want to learn theory to be a better composer to write music for ensembles (maybe film or video game scoring) then music school might be okay just to learn how instruments work, but you can also just start writing and sell your music. If you want to learn music technology to work in a studio or live concerts your best bet is to start working freelance for an audio company and working as many gigs as possible (they actually pay very well pending on the job), studio work is harder to get into but your best bet is to just start recording and mixing as much as possible, and maybe go to a vocational school such as the School of Audio Engineering Institute in New York to learn audio better. Performance might seem tempting and if you're a jazz musician then learning jazz from professors is actually worthwhile, but if you want to play classical music then you should probably take private lessons and start at a community orchestra and look for openings at your local symphony. And if you want to play music in a rock band then music school is a trap. You will be focused on things that don't matter to you and will probably hurt your passion for playing music. You will probably meet really great musicians there regardless, but you're better off majoring in anything BUT music, like business or graphic design so that you have some other trades to work with that are applicable beyond the scope of playing in a band. The greatest benefit of music school is meeting amazing musicians, but the biggest downside is not being set up for a great career path (unless you're an educator) and will have to get very creative with how you market yourself to get a job that pays the bills, like that massive student loan bill that just doesn't seem to go away. Get a degree that will get you a job, otherwise just start working at the lowest level profession in the field you want to be in and begin climbing the ladder. It's a slow climb, and you might need another job to supplement the income while you get to better positions, but it'll be more worth it than having a degree you're not using that is also a big financial weight. For reference I am a 4-year college graduate and Majored in Music Recording Technology and Music (Percussion Performance and Composition). I worked several jobs during my undergraduate studies (sometimes 4 at a time) just so I could afford to eat as I didn't have a meal plan, averaged between 19-23 credits per semester and finished with a 3.4 GPA and am working in a school as a special education aide and directing Marching Band. I've had one gig as an audio engineer and though I could have done more, it wasn't full-time and student debt was dangling over me and still is. Granted I didn't go to the cheapest school I could find, but the situation would only really be different if I went somewhere cheaper because I would have less student debt. Consider all your options, and although Eric said that you have to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life at age 17, that isn't 100% true. I'm 26 now and am still figuring it out. I know our life puts such a high value on going to college but if your life is calling you in a different direction, consider it. You can enter a 4-year college at any time, don't feel like it has to be right out of high-school. Good luck to anyone who took the time to read this!

As a college grad with a Bachelors in Music (trumpet performance) with only one semester as a grad student, I concur that continued education is not necessary to become good at your instrument. If your desire is to teach music in a public school (at least where I'm from), then it is mandatory... plus a teaching credential. I also did the gig scene plus odd-end jobs like hotel security and catering to make ends meet. I did work as a brass and percussion coach at a private school for 9 years... then I made the best choice of quitting all that and joining the Navy as a musician... best choice of my life. EMC, great videos brother!

I have a Bachelor's of Science from an art and design university. However I went to the military. I was recruited after seeing the Electric Brigade at a high school concert in the Annapolis area. I had been doing my own production work for about 5or6 years up to that point. I went over to the recruiter after the concert and told him I wanted to do the mixing. This was a couple months after 9/11 and I was also from a very long line of military. I go to test and scored somewhat high for the Baltimore area 76 on ASVAB. however, they would not allow me into the MU (MUSICIAN RATE) as they were heavily influencing me with money and rank to do communications and electronics (which I was also very very interested in). My mom (army band) told me to take the money but keep my passion for music and production as a hobby and plan B after military. I knew though that I was going to end up using my GI BILL education funds for music school before even joining. After medically retiring 10 years later of disability, I enrolled in Audio Production where I could transfer a ton of credits from military service as I had years of studies and experience accredited by ACE which certified college credit equivalency. I got to do my program in about 3.25 years rather than 4. The entire time in the military I did make music and had several personal studios in home/barracks. I also made music in the 🏜️ and on 🚢. However, my proficiency in the music theory world was lacking (circle of fifths, notation, equipment knowledge, live sound, acoustics, biology of hearing, etc) and going to university strengthened existing knowledge and enhanced the world I thought I knew most of everything about. I did LEARN in school. It was slower than the pace I was accustomed to from military schools and environments but was structured and helpful nonetheless. The reason I chose the B. S. Approach to university was that I could use my science credits from military, and I would be able to transfer that into a science masters for teaching in my original field of telecommunications. I couldn't continue that path as my medical situation deteriorated and could no longer perform duties. Warning: be cautious of the military route toward GI BILL as it could lead to death or severe disability and your dreams and passion can become hindered or cancelled entirely. I did not consider that but also felt called to serve the country in 2002 so I did that anyway. As for the value of your music arts or scientific engineering, you must also consider the type of school you're interested in. Consider if the school is regionally accredited or nationally. I chose on that was regionally accredited as more credits would transfer and more serious masters programs would be available. There are so many schools for media and arts that are only nationally accredited which doesn't hold substantial value. There are many people in the industry who are aware of that and won't just give your degree full accolades. The school you go to matters. Most importantly, the University or school does NOT place you into the field like a vocational school does. You must build a portfolio and intern for experience while logging it. Many people go through school thinking it will be guaranteed work. I know loads of people who do not have jobs in the field they studied, not even close to related. Be careful with that too.

Good morning! My name is Allison and I am currently in my 2nd year teaching music. I received my B.M in Music Education with a focus in flute. I had 19-21 credits per semester and I also failed my Music Praxis 2 times (also by 1 point each time) before I finally passed on my 3rd try. I spent 4 years in college and never thought it was going to end. But looking back, every hardship or obstacle was worth it! I love my job and I love what I do! Thinking about grad school now (Maybe UMASS or UD), but not sure what to go for! I think you had very nice insight and advice for young people thinking about Music School! I show my students your videos, and they LOVE it! Thanks for all you do! Merry Christmas! :)

So here’s my plan. I’m a junior now, I’m saving up to join WGI next year (if that even happens) and then I’ll go to Valencia College (a community college near UCF) I’ll go for music production and I’ll tech at my high school for drumline. After 2 years at Valencia I will transfer to UCF (if I can) and finish my classes. After that I’m going to want to teach my own private classes for either guitar or percussion and eventually teach a drum corps. Also I want to join the commandant's own

Music school isn't required for a career in music, but you'll probably practice a heck of a lot more in it than out of it...

Honestly, a music performance degree is a piece of paper saying you can play your instrument.