Pros and Cons of Getting a Music Degree

A common question many learning composers ask themselves but also discuss quite frequently on the internet is to whether one needs to get a degree from a music university in order to become a successful composer.

This question is definitely valid and there is no general answer to it but with seeing so many composers without a "traditional" formal training being successful in the business it is definitely worth asking whether this is the way to go.

I love the analogy that learning to compose is just like learning to speak a language as it holds up in so many cases.

For example also in the way of HOW you learn it. Some people prefer to figure a language out on their own by simply trying it out and develop an intuitive feeling for how it works and how to use grammatical rules. Others prefer to attend a course and learn the rules from a more "scientific" standpoint. Both approaches are valuable and will ideally lead to mastering the language.

The same applies to the approach of how to learn composition. 

However, independently of how you prefer to learn there are some things to consider regarding the academic route and getting a degree at music university.

In my experience the greatest benefit lies not in the things that you learn but more in the people you meet at music university. Being among likeminded people will not only lay foundations for future working relationships but also create thought provoking interactions and inspirations. The creative input you might get during getting a music degree is an invaluable experience that will ideally mature your artistic approach. Particularly the fact that you get in touch with different musical styles through other musicians but also the curriculum of the music university will broaden your musical horizon. And in this case it doesn't really matter if these are directly relevant to the music you end up writing but even the subconscious influence might make your own music artistically more relevant.

Also, getting a formal education and getting a thorough grasp at concepts and approaches in music might simply give you a speed advantage over people who apply these concepts intuitively. Particularly in situations where you are stuck, falling back on theory and simply knowing "Theoretically, I could continue like X or Y or Z" makes it much easier to get out of such situations. Of course there is the inherent danger of falling back to too "formalist" strategies too often but a conceptual overview over such things will give you a speed advantage over people who need to figure these things out on their own.

However, there are also quite a few downsides to pursuing an academic degree. Unfortunately the whole concept of a "standardized" educational model doesn't work too well with the target of helping individuals develop their own unique voice. So the general experience with many poeple who study at a music university is that they partially feel "forced" into a direction they don't particularly feel comfortable with. Depending on the individual professors you might fall somewhere between "They are trying to force their thinking and approach on me" and "They are trying their best to individually support me but are still part of an educational system that forces certain things on me". While it might not be a completely bad thing to be nudged into a few directions you might not have gone yourself just to step out of your comfort zone feeling pushed into a direction that doesn't make you happy can become very frustrating.

Another issue is that happens with music universities is that they are almost always their own individual cosmos. The biggest problem is that a large part of the personnel do teach out of economical neccessity. This means that they are often not successful enough with their own music to sustain a career. While this doesn't mean that they are great teachers with a great amount of musical experience it often means that they teach approaches and concepts that have proven to not create a sustaining career. This of course is highly irrelevant when learning musical concepts and theory but it can become highly problematic when you are getting "advices" about what paths to take in your own artistic development.

From my personal experience I remember that by the end of my studies I continuously wrote music that I simply wrote to impress my professors, not music that I enjoyed writing and also not music that anybody but "musical academics" would enjoy listening to. 

The whole system of music university can have the influence on you to become part of a "self sustaining system" that exists highly detached from the actual audience. The biggest problem is that oftentimes personnel is sourced from former students who practically never had any artistic life in the "real world" before getting back into the academic system which consequently keeps blurring the approach to music even further. Of course most music universities try to attract successful musicians on key positions and fill up their curriculum with events and courses that touch on the "real world" but the system itself simply makes it very tricky to stay "on top of developments". But particularly the ability to have a sense for how things develop in music and staying on top of the game is essential in order to be economical successful.

Of course it has to be mentioned that economic success is not the priority for some musicians and some composers enjoy the purely artistic approach while earning money from teaching but particularly if your goal is to become a composer for media, it is essential to not only learn all the musical skills but also develop a grasp of what will help you to financially support yourself with music.

So the decision whether to get a music degree should be made individually. Fortunately the times where you needed a degree to apply for composing gigs are long gone but sometimes it still can impress potential clients to have a degree.

However, the internet age with lots of courses and particulalry things like Youtube or even this very Patreon page makes it way easier than in past times to find a path that fits best for you and your personal approach to mastering this.