What does it take to get in Berklee or other schools?

[peter c]

I know I was negative.

I empathize with guy I think is
really talented (Louie).

He had high hopes and as is the
case with most high hopes, real-
ity has a way of checking them
BUT that does not mean that a
goal cannot be achieved.

Like he and Mangini said, a lot
of kids at the school are barely
beginners, sent to the school so
that the school could make them
players but more likely, so that
the school will make money. That
is just the truth of it, unfort-
unately. Check the tuition and
then check the facilities.

In the age of technology, we are
able to buy more for less. At
Berklee, the saying goes a little
different - You pay more for less.

Why can't you pipe some air into
a practice room the size of a hole
in the ground? If they'd spend 1%
of their advertising budget on
the facility, a kid like Louie
would look forward to practicing.

Louie - Ever think of a practice
pad kit? Another thing, when you
set up the truncated kit, make sure
you set two toms and not just one
and have it on the floor, away from
the rack. Make sure you keep up the
physical demand by crossing over a
lot. Build up your physical ap-
proach all the time.

I'm plugging for you.

So - To answer the question, money,
first and a little talent, second.

IF YOU HAVE THE TALENT AND SKILL
to play most situations and get
through charts, you may have some-
more rare and might be able to
drum up the support of the school.

OK. I'll stop.

[img]cool.gif[/img]

[Daniel LeClaire]

Originally posted by skunkfunk:
One wonders why it's so expensive. And where the money ends up, if never on equipment.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">It's not that hard to imagine where it ends up.
[img]wink.gif[/img]


My feelings on this, and I might be out of line saying this but, someone like Louie doesn't need Berklee. Berklee needs him! What I mean is, if you're talented and dedicated you'll probably do well with or without Berklee or any other music institution.

Steve Holmes and Randy Walker both went to MI. I wonder if you guys could share how it helped your career path and if you would do it again? I think there are a lot of young drummers here, like myself, trying to figure out how to "make it" and hearing from people who are doing it helps to guide our own musical paths.

[FuseU1]

Pete - I don't look at "calling out the negative" itself as necessarily being negative...on the contrary, that could very well be defined as being "positive" [depending on your POV] [img]wink.gif[/img] [img]cool.gif[/img]

[Obviously, the Board of Directors who run BSOM might find it somewhat "negative," but a prospective student in turn may find it a rather "positive" insight [img]tongue.gif[/img] ]

----------------------------------------

"There is no 'gray;' it's either black or white...oh yeah, & some color too...";c)

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 15, 2004 06:28 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

[zmorton]

Interesting thoughts on Berklee...

I was awarded two scholarships by Berklee; they were the Best Entering Student Talent (which you do by tape) and the live audition for the World Scholarship Tour committee. Needless to say the total of these two scholarships, which was a pretty decent total, was still only a fraction of what the entire cost of an education there would have been. The amazingly high cost of tuition made me totally reconsider, and ultimatly swayed my decision to not attend there.

I decided to stay local in San Jose CA and finish my music education at San Jose State University. Now their music program isn't anything huge but it's not bad either. The great thing about it is I really feel I get full attention from the instructors (especially my drum set instructor). I also feel I'm getting quite a bit of education for the money I'm paying; which happens to be about 1/6th of the tuition at Berklee. Louie will hate me for this but I also have a whole practice room practically to myself (with AC) that has room for my own kit and is fully suplied with amps for my own jazz combo. Can't complain about that.

There actually is a great guitar player at SJSU that left Berklee because he felt he wasn't getting enough attention for the amount of money he was spending. He has told me leaving that envrionment and coming back was one of his better education decisions he has made.

I guess what I'm getting at is I'm sure Berklee is a great school but you can also find some great, and possibly better environments, at lesser known colleges.

Zak

<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ September 15, 2004 06:32 PM: Message edited by: Zak Morton ]</font></font>

<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ September 15, 2004 06:33 PM: Message edited by: Zak Morton ]</font></font>

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 15, 2004 06:34 PM: Message edited by: Zak Morton ]</font>

[FuseU1]

I guess what I'm getting at is I'm sure Berklee is a great school but you can also find some great, and possibly better environments, at lesser known colleges

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Absolutely, when $ is a big factor.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 15, 2004 06:45 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

[ed4644]

I was planning on transfering to berklee, but now that i see this......I don't know.

[SeattleDrumKing]

you can always learn a lot at a local institution. I don't really understand going to school for drumming though.
Composition, arranging, studio engineering, film scoring....yes. Playing? NOT needed. Listen to all the greats. Transcribe practice, and play A LOT. You don't need to spend all that money on school if you're not interested in being a well rounded musician.
Move to NYC and study with the greats. Most of them are there.

[Nikk]

Louie,

Have you investigated the University of North Texas? You'd probably have a lot more chance to shine...not to mention better practice facilities.

[cjbdrm]

Ditto!

I decided to go to North Texas after going to an orientation at Berklee back in 1989. It's really a shame that the facilities haven't improved.

Music schools are big business. I bought into the hype when I was young and hungry that places like Berklee churned out these amazing musicians like factories. Truth is, these guys were good BEFORE they got there. That goes for just about any music school. You have to be at a certain playing level and place well to study with the top guys and place into the top playing ensembles. It's these few players(I would say 10%)that truly benefit from going to a music school.

For instance, when I went to North Texas, I auditioned for drum line and didn't make it. Keith Carlock did. I auditioned for one of the lab bands(top 20 or so make it). Didn't make it. Keith did. I got a great practice room, but I had to share it with 2 other drummers. Keith got his own room. He was a much better player than I was back then. While I was making $4/ hour as a grocery checker to pay for school, Keith was practicing! That's the truth. Eventually I got busted by campus police for sneaking into the practice building to do some late night shedding after going to school and working fulltime(my solution). that was it for me. I soon went back home, shedded 4-8 hours a day and decided I was gonna go back there and kick everyone's butt! But when I got better, I started working, which was the idea anyway, so I just studied privately and worked as much as possible. I benefitted way more from doing this....

I had been going to a smaller music school before I transferred to North Texas. When I told my professor what I was planning to do, he warned me the dangers of going to a big music school(lost in the numbers), but I had to find out for myself.

The biggest benefit of going to a big music school is networking. I still recommend the experience, though. If I hadn't gone, I would never have realized how much work and improving I had to do. It really put me in my place and totally changed me forever.

[peter c]

It's a pit. OK, but now, that you are
there, Louie, use it for what it has
to offer and that is the connections
that you are going to make that are
worth a great deal.

I know you will succeed.

[img]cool.gif[/img]