What kind of Music Education do you have?

From my understanding, I didn't think that they covered tunings other than equal AT ALL in a bachelor's degree program, stemming from all my music major friends who still think well temperament and equal temperament are the same thing. (although maybe that is because they aren't composition majors)

The college was Liberty by the way; not a very good music school, they didn't even have a composition program. I still have read a crap-load of college books on music theory though.

Heh. Temperament was it's own class for us. No, I didn't take it. Yes, we talked about tuning systems from day one in harmony 1.

Music majors tend to be really dumb about music.

Heh. Temperament was it's own class for us. No, I didn't take it. Yes, we talked about tuning systems from day one in harmony 1.

Music majors tend to be really dumb about music.

Where is that? I want to go to THIS school! :D

I don't even think berklee had a temperament class when I looked. They do have a 20th century counterpoint class though, and that really caught my attention.

Can I make a point clear? When I lamented the lack of knowledge amongst undergrads of traditional harmony and counterpoint, I for got to state that there's nothing wrong with teaching pop and jazz per se. Plenty of musicians write and play in these styles and so can benefit from studying them. The problem is when university courses largely based around art music have students signing up who have done mostly pop and jazz at high school/sixth-form college, and both them and the institutions think that this is acceptable preparation for such a degree. It isn't. If you want an art music degree, do art music in your prerequisite courses.

"Prestige" doesn't mean as much as you might think, unless you are in a position that requires a resume for any sort of consideration, and your skills in your focus area are weak.

That being said, if you are at a university with a larger number of music majors, you will have more performance opportunities.

In terms of getting the best professors and learning theory "better": if you take a 16th century counterpoint class, whether at Yale, or at a community college, you are learning the same exact concepts. The most important thing for a composer studying at the university level, is placing themselves in an environment that allows them to thrive. The worst scenario a student in composition could be in: being at a school in which they hold to the highest regard, thinking that anything and everything they learn/hear from their professors, is unquestionable fact. Said professors are extremely conservative and don't allow for any objectivity when it comes to the student and their craft. Student grows to become a composer who is afraid of experimentation.

I agree with that.

As far as counterpoint and music theory go, those are very absolute fields. They have specific rules and definitions which you either know or don't know. But as for composition classes, a good teacher counts for a lot more. For example, you want a teacher who's actually a composer and knows people in the business. You want a teacher who can help you write your own music better, and who doesn't just teach you to compose like himself/herself.

Also, as for getting your stuff performed in college, as you said, you're more likely to get your stuff performed if you go to a school that has a lot of performers. But not only that, going to a good music school will allow you to have your pieces performed well. And if all of the schools groups (orchestras/bands/choirs) are very good, (as opposed to a school with only a few "good" groups, e.g. a great choir but a sucky wind band) then it will help you to learn to write for everything. Cuz if your school has a great orchestra but a sucky choir, then you're more likely to prefer writing for orchestras because it sounds good when its performed. Then you risk not being able to write for other sorts of groups. If someone wants you to write a piece for didgeridoo, marimba, and solo soprano sax, you should be able to. (that sounds fun actually, lol)

You also might want to go to a good school because they often have non-faculty visiting composers. Schools which have better music departments often-times will have actual working-composers visit to give lectures, master-classes, etc. They sometimes even have composers like John Adams or John Corigliano visit. Composers like that are more likely to visit more prestigious schools. So this might be a scenario where going to a more prestigious school could come in handy.

There is no option for me in that poll :( at least add "Other" :toothygrin:

I've added an Other category. :D But I'm interested in knowing more details about your situation and about you as a composer! Feel free to post that, too! :toothygrin:

I haven't posted here much, but I just came on today to make a similar thread. My school had a concert and marching band class and a choir class and that was it as far as music went. I was in band all throughout middle and high school and didn't learn a damn thing about music theory. I started learning on my own when I started playing guitar, so I know a bit now but not nearly as much as I'd like.

I go to community college now which is also very limited in its music department. It has a music theory class that I will be taking in the fall but I probably won't learn all that much.

Although I'm primarily a rock guitarist, stuff like

inspired me to compose that type of music. I don't know nearly enough about arrangement or orchestration or theory in general to get my musical ideas down on paper though, and I'm not really sure where to go next in order to get that knowledge.

I have been an amateur composer for almost 15 years. After several years in the dead end field of retail middle management, I decided to give up the steady paycheck and go back to my first love: Music.

I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education and will be pursuing an MFA in film composition next spring from UNCSA.

I mainly write in cinematic/film styles, but I branch out occasionally into classical and popular music as well.

I'm currently in the process of getting my bachelor's degree in composition (and computer science, incidentally) from Western Michigan University, so I put "other" in the poll.

Well, I don't have any of these. I'm starting high-school next year at an arts school for piano. Since I'm doing that I will be taking music theory classes so high-school music theory it is! (Only for the moment! :toothygrin: ) I definitely plan to go to a great music college and get a masters degree in composition, piano, and conducting. Maybe even a doctorate! You never know until you know. :cool:

-Jared

I have a BA in general music (I was able to take plenty of courses related to composition but my school didn't offer that degree) and an MA in music composition, so Migg, you might want to remove BM and MM from the poll at the Master's degree level since there are other options. I spent a year after my undergrad program working full-time as a sheet music engraver, then I returned to academia. I'll be diving into a doctoral program (PhD, although DMA is another possibility in the states) in August.

What styles do I like to compose in? My own... I mean, my love of jazz often seeps into my music, but jazz isn't exactly a style, and I like to draw upon patterns/aesthetics from non-Western cultures, but I rarely think in terms of a specific style. I like to write for all kinds of instruments. I prefer writing for chamber ensembles over huge forces for two reasons: 1) performances are far easier to obtain (it's frustrating if you write music that is meant to be performed but it never is) and 2) I like the intimacy of chamber ensembles. Sure you can have them perform in large venues, but you can also have performances in smaller places where everyone is very close to the musicians. These types of concerts can be very special. And I love the individualism you get when there's only one musician per part. I have not yet taught composition or related topics, but I'll be doing that soon in my doctoral program.

Well, I'm still in high school, but I have taken a music composition class this year and gonna take theory this year. But I've been composing for 2 and a half years. Being in band also helps me out

Nice to see other IC composers here! I graduated from the comp. program a couple years ago, it's a great school with lots of opportunities to get real-world experience- especially since there are Park students always wanting music and lots of musicians happy to perform your music (though string players always seemed spread way too thin over too many projects and so were very difficult to secure for a performance). There are lots of great classes outside of music to take- even though music majors have a pretty busy schedule and tend to live in Whalen, I'd suggest taking advantage of some of the other classes as well once in awhile! It's always nice to have some non-music experience to compliment the music skills since making a living composing alone is excessively difficult and extremely competitive- I learned this the hard way after graduating, but soon took up a grad. degree in library science and now work at a music library which is great because I get to work with music and musicians all day (and get to discover little treasures like scores signed by Joseph Suk in a pile of donated music!) and when I come home get to work away at music for film and video games without worrying about rent or if I'll get paid for the music. Maybe in the future I'll be able to do music full time, in part thanks to the people I met at Ithaca who are now out in the world establishing their careers and help open doors from time to time, but in the meantime student loans need paying so it's good to have a 'training wheels' career thought out to make life less stressful until if/when the composing career takes on its own life!

Just a few reflections that hopefully help you in your time there. Good luck!

Hi, I'm Miggy Torres. Most of you YCers know me as the guy with the frightening profile pic or the guy who always literally shouts in the "Shoutbox."

I'm straight out high school where I was in a choir and I did musical theatre a bit. I've taught myself theory and composition using books, the internet, and my high school teachers/voice coaches. Unfortunately, my school didn't have a theory program, so, as I said earlier, taught myself theory. Still, last year, I took the AP Music Theory Test and got a 5 on both the aural and non-aural sections, so i think I'm in a pretty good place for where I am. In the fall (2011) I plan to attend the Ithaca College School of Music where I will be majoring in Music Composition (Can't wait!!! :D). I'll also be studying voice there. After that, I plan on getting a Master's in composition as well.

I enjoy writing for choir most of the time. This is mostly due to the fact that I sing and, as I said earlier, I was in my school's chamber choir. A lot of my influences have been choral composers like Eric Whitacre and Z. Randall Stroope, but I also love composers like John Mackey, Steven Bryant, and Jim Dooley who write works mostly for Winds or Soundtracks. I also occasionally listen to the really old classics like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Debussy, Vaughn Williams, etc., but not really as much as the guys I listed above.

As far as learning the art of composition goes (as opposed to just music theory), I have yet to have a lot of formal training. Still, I read all the books I can get my hands on, and I try to learn as much as I can from my heroes, whether that means reading John Mackey's Blog posts, or furiously analyzing the scores of Eric Whitacre's choral music.

Anyway, I hope this helps everyone here at the YC fora get to know a little more about me as a person and as a composer.

I wonder... are there any other Ithaca College students out there? Alumni? Prospective students?

--Miggy Torres

well i'm still in secondary school(high school)

been composing for about 3 years now, classically AND contemporary trained in piano and composition since i was 8 and self taught in sound design and electronic production

brought up in quite a musical background in England

that's about it :)

Working on the whole Nine yards; wish me well!