I think there’s lots of good advice here. It helps that money isn’t such an issue, though those are real dollars you’d be leaving on the table if he transfers.
If he were mine (and, surprisingly, ds2 added music as a second major at his current school, which isn’t great in the music arena but seems to fulfill a need for him), I’d support a transfer under a couple of conditions …
He has to meet with someone else in the dept. I would think there is someone other than his official adviser who could talk to him about his concerns. I would think someone would look favorably on a kid who takes the initiative to build his own program. Surely there is flexibility about that practicum … Who did he talk to/what did he read when researching this school that made it seem doable back then?
He talk to upperclassmen. Do things open up as you progress?
And then, after you are sure he’s done both those things, I’d leave it to him to make the move to transfer. And I might float the idea of taking out minimal loans. As you can see in the other thread, I am a fan of “skin in the game.” Different things motivate different kids. Mine are cheap, so if I know they are willing to put money behind a decision I know they are serious.
It wouldn’t hurt for him to talk to a recent alum- not someone who graduated six months ago, but maybe someone who is three years or so into his or her career? A lot of things which seem to be a waste of time while you’re doing them turn into EXACTLY the thing that makes you marketable and valuable in the workplace. Maybe some alum perspective is required for that to happen?
You should definitely find out if your son’s college has a music composition program and take a look at changing majors. My son had to do that after being very unhappy with the commercial music program he entered. We did make him wait until his 4th semester to make the switch, just to make sure he wasn’t just having a typical tough time adjusting to college life and college level music instruction. It did set him back a little and he had to do one summer of catchup lessons and will graduate in August instead of May. But he is much much happier as a composition major and is doing what he really wants to do. Even though his college does not have a great reputation for composition, he has gotten great instruction and is close to landing an actual job as a composer because he does have all the basic training and has composed a lot of music.
Transferring colleges should be a last resort for music majors. Many music schools do not accept transfer credits because they all have their own way of teaching theory, aural skills, etc.
There are several threads on the music major forum on electronic music, production, recording technology and so on and parents who are knowledgeable about the different categories of programs and the nuances in focus. It can be hard to ascertain in advance. Again, I would post this with a few more details, on the music forum.
Any kid can sit at his computer and make beats. Hundreds of thousands of kids (and non-kids) all over the world do just that. Very few things separate that mass of amateurs from the relative handful who can make a living and a career out of that. Some of it is talent, but I suspect that is the smallest part. Some is certainly luck. And some is the professional craft he seems to be learning now. It’s not the most creative, fun part, but it’s a big part of what separates, as we used to say, the men from the boys: the ability to take a great idea and to make it sound perfect. That’s mainly work, not fun. As he’s learning.
What’s more, that level of professional skill serves another really important purpose: It lets him hang around sophisticated equipment and work with sophisticated artists before he can make a living as an artist himself, without having to leave the studio to pay his rent. It gives him access. A lot of great producers and great artists got their big breaks by being great recording engineers or mixers. Sometimes you have to be part of the team before you get to be a star.
I’m sure there are people, a few, who have the career he wants without ever doing the work he doesn’t want to do. Does he want to bet on that for himself? Is that any smarter than buying a bunch of Powerball tickets?
It’s entirely possible that transferring, or simply dropping out, is the right course for him. He ought to research both thoroughly. But in the process he should try to understand exactly why his program is the way it is, what the people who designed the curriculum were trying to achieve, and whether that isn’t of some significant benefit to him after all.
My D is a dual degree student (BM in music and BS in stats) at Carnegie Mellon and she quickly found out that music majors are fairly rigid for sure. Not a whole lots of room in schedules the first two years. It’s all studio class/lessons, theory, harmony, sight-singing etc, not to mention mandatory ensemble(s).
If he decides to transfer, don’t know how much different it’s going to be, plus he may need to audition again (ugh)!
Go on the music majors forum on CC. It’s quite helpful.
Echoing others to say have multiple conversations. While your son should do the legwork, if you are providing the funds and possibly paying more for the new school, you probably want to know that the new school is a better fit. If he is going for music production, isn’t that primarily recording? Is there a performance major for electronic music? If there are no programs that meet his goals, is he going to college just to get a degree? If so, maybe it makes more sense to major in a non-music field and do his beats on his own time or through campus music ECs.
Mom2and, good post. Majoring in something else might be an alternative, if he owns the studio tools to continue on his own, or if he attends a school that would allow him to use the studio.
The production major can be all about recording, not writing music. On the other hand, composition programs are mostly classical. And regardless, production programs usually have the same theory, aural skills and history foundational courses as classical composition or performance.
It can be hard to ascertain the substance of some of these programs in advance. It will take a lot of research. The term “electronic music” can mean all kinds of things, some of it PHD level work in academia, and some of it more LA popular music work.
If he wants to stay in school, the son can start by talking with department heads of composition or popular music or whatever it is he wants, at the school he currently attends. If that does not give good results, then transferring is a good idea.
Berklee is a large multi-faceted school that might be a great fit, or at least a place to look for to clarify terminology when looking at programs. Columbia College of Chicago does not have auditions for entrance and is another idea.
Every Music school and Music Major is not created equal. I am not sure which school you are referring to but a lot of the time if you are a music major, you really don’t get much choice the first 2 years of classes. Most of the classes at this point are probably requirements of the program…usually you get to your Major courses in your Junior year. Also, I know at Berklee you don’t even pick your major until Sophomore year and you can tailor it to what exactly you want to focus on in the Professional Music Major.
One of my kids was interested in music production and possibly sound engineering and I was surprised at how limited the possibilities were, at least nearby (but we live in a large metro area so lots of colleges). One program required an audition on an instrument (he sings so it would have been OK), but not clear why. Others were associated wtih theater production. In the end he decided that the experience he already had or could get by working would trump anything he would learn in a degree program.
As far as auditioning on an instrument to be in sound engineering/music production…of course you should know something about music and how to play it. I would think that auditioning would be a requirement at any school for that type of degree. You need to know how to play music before producing it.
Different things motivate different kids. Mine are cheap, so if I know they are willing to put money behind a decision I know they are serious.