University

[Big Cow]

Guys I've got question: wich one of you studied at berkley or another school, the reason why I ask is because I'm realy having problems with going to my history lessons and stuff like that and the only thing that I want to do is practice my drums did anyone of you had this problem and how did you get motivated to go to the lesson? Another thing is like the things I want to practice are different than what my teacher wants to do at that time how did you guys handle that?

Big Cow

[Nikk]

Your teacher probably is aware of your weaknesses way more than you think. Obviously, no one is as aware of them as you. But consider this...the things your teacher assigns you will help you to do the things better which you feel are your weaknesses. The only ground rule is, you must enter practice sessions with a highly analytical mind. "How can I get to that cymbal more efficiently?" In effect, the boring tom to snare to cymbal exercise your teacher assigned you will help you immensely when you try to bust that nasty Vinnie lick that goes rapidly from the snare to your cymbal (I don't have a specific one in mind.) You'll realize six months later that the things your teacher gave you have improved your playing. I'm in college too right now. We don't even have a jazz major offered. My major is music ed. with a focus on classical percussion. We just finally got an awesome set dude here. So this semester I'm exclusively taking lessons with him as opposed to the Classical lessons. I've found that the secret to pleasing yourself practice-wise, is organization. One literally must sit down at some point and decide at what times everyday they will practice. This means that you will waste little time jerking around with friends and spend more time practicing. It's easy to sit there all day and look at sorority girls, but they're not gonna help you play in seven. Sorry for these sermons I've been hosting lately. Hehe.

[Nikk]

Ok this is it I promise...
My point was that there's no need to sacrifice History classes for drumming. Of course drumming is more important than history but it's still not necessary. You can do both!! Just plan. It is possible. If you don't believe me, mail my your class schedule at [email protected]
I GUARANTEE I'll work in at least four practice hours a day for you. I'm a pro at this by last year of school.

[Josiah83]

hey, I am currently attending pit at musicians insitute.. but before I took my GE in college along with a lot of music theory.. I feel your pain though, it's kind of a nessicary thing, it makes you a more well round person to have studied other things i think

[shedder]

i'm studying at berklee right now. i can't stand to learn things that aren't practical or won't benefit me in the future... such as history. not that history isn't important. i just feel i got enough of that stuff in high school. if you wanna study drums full-time, berklee is the place to be. some kid asked terry bozzio a question about music schools for drumming in a recent MD article and he said he recommends berklee over any school in the world. you don't have teachers like dave dicenso, rod morgenstein, mike mangini, and casey scheuerell anywhere else.

[Steve Holmes]

Hey I went to PIT. Make sure you hang with Garbitini...he's got RIDICULOUS technique. I got a LOT good stuff from him, Joel Taylor, and Toss. Those guys are THE cats there (Don't think Joel or Toss are there anymore though.)

I live kinda close to there. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[XNavyDrummer]

Schools? History?
This is clearly not for everyone, but I joined the Navy (hence the name) right out of high school and after basic training went to the Armed Forces School of Music. If you can tolerate the military, it's a place where you can get "paid to play" guaranteed for three to four years. They even pay and give you medical and dental benefits while you're a music student. We didn't study history there, but they rammed the first two years of the Berklee School of Music theory course down our throats in six months! My main gig in the Navy besides teaching drums was playing in rock bands, jazz combos and big bands (oh, yeah we did do a few military gigs too).


Billy Cobham was a student there when he was in the Army and Steve Gadd was an Army drummer. You can earn college credit there and education benefits that you can use after your military service. (man, I'm sounding like a recruiter now).

[Josiah83]

hey..

yea thats true, but you have to look at the schools.. each school has it's approach and it's pros and cons.. berklee is a good school, mi is a good school. I would say niether is better or worse, but they are just different.. there are many percussion and musical schools. No one is "the best".

I would say that PIT has some very cool classes that are increibly rad that berklee nor any other school does not offer. As well as i'm sure berklee does..

[Josiah83]

Steve..

Definetly I had Gary as my private for the last 6 months and for at least the next 3. He is a monster that's for sure..

Your right about Joel and Toss, they are no longer on staff..

I live in Orange and take the train to school.. beats driving..

[DanielC]

I'm studying at Berklee now, I have to say that this is the place to be if you want to eat, sleep, and breath music...not just drums...but music. Berklee tends to shape everyone as a musician no matter what you play...I'm currently studying with Rick Considine, John Ramsay as my private instructor, Casey S., and my audition was with Kennwood Dennard! So you are surrounded by unbelievable players and they are so willing to help you learn.