Educating & Expanding Your Music Knowledge

  • Learn From College Or School
  • Meet Like Minded People
  • Alternatives

Genres

When starting with music we think of composers or artists that may have had more extensive practice in music than us.

Which brings the question, should you get a music degree? That depends on what you are trying to accomplish with music.

If you want to work with an orchestra or teach music, most groups require a degree. Some independent artists who have made it big, don’t know how to read sheet music.

It is not a requirement to be successful but it is helpful for education, networking, and experience.

Keep in mind, Youtube has grown into an open internet search engine that has endless tutorials in which you could teach yourself.

Learn From College Or School

Genres

Deciding on a degree can be a tough decision.

There are degrees in vocal, instrument, music history, music theory, music business, music therapy, performance, producing, etc.

These will all give you some form of musical knowledge.

If your goal is to have a better understanding of your voice than a vocal degree can give you an understanding of the parts of your voice and how they relate.

Instrument degrees can help you understand how music theory and sound works. This will help you develop your ear and schools will give you hands-on practice and experience.

A performance degree often has you working on a stage, and this can help you improve your stage presence. Music history is an important thing to understand as the sound of music has evolved overtime.

Understanding how the production and business works in the music industry is perfect for an independent artist.

Getting a degree in these fields won’t guarantee you a spot where you want to work. It does, however, give you an edge over those who don’t have one.

Ultimately, a college degree is meant to prepare you to do what you may lack the knowledge of.

Meet Like Minded People

Genres

One of the big benefits of going to a music or arts oriented college is that you will meet like minded people.

Most of the success in the music industry comes from who you know. Who you know can determine where your music is being heard and who is supporting you.

While at a music school you should try to network as much as possible. The more people you know the more likely you are to spread your music through like minded people.

You will learn things from people that you didn’t know and maybe even find opportunities or gigs within them.

This is essential as an independent artist. You could even land a record label from simply knowing the right people.

Alternatives

While a music degree comes with benefits within the field, youtube offers free tutorials for almost anything.

The hard part is finding a good video that supports your learning style.

There are alternatives for going to college for music like: voicercise, youtube, udemy, etc.

If you are a person that doesn’t enjoy lectures, then try building a list of things you want to improve with and start going down the list.

In the music industry, knowledge equivalates to power. Someone who can do it all(Sing, dance, produce, perform, write, etc) is always in a better place than someone who can only do one thing.

A college normally will teach you over the course of 2 or 4 years. Whereas, if you are teaching yourself, you go at your own pace.

It may not take you 2 years to learn what you want to learn, but you could also be missing essential information.

It all depends on the individual and what you are seeking to gain from music.

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