<p>The USC popular music program offers many opportunities to perform, and private lessons as well. The students have a forum every Friday when big names in the industry interact with the students. Midterms and finals are performances that are open to everyone and in addition the students can perform at several venues around campus as well as in LA if they choose.They can also attend music conferences in LA and showcases. So many opportunities! Great program. Plus USC is a terrific university and keeps getting better.</p>
<p>If you’d would like to PM me, I can put you in touch with my daughter she is a freshman,and you can ask her questions. She attended several Berklee programs too so she can compare. </p>
<p>I’m a native NYer but I gotta tell you-LA is fun and the heart of the entertainment business. No cold feet in January.</p>
<p>I will provide a little perspective on USC and the popular music scene. USC overall has all of the creative opportunities associated with top tier film, theatre and art schools as well as a popular music performance and music industry degrees. Biggest strength for what you are looking for are likely to be the calibre of the popular musicians that would be your classmates and the head of the popular music program is an outstanding songwriter and person. </p>
<p>Name dropping activities. My son has had private songwriting with Lamont Dozier, performed and been critiqued by Randy Newman and Steve Miller and I think Melissa Manchester and Patrice Rushen. Opened for Steve Miller Band at USC. Had a writing for musical theatre class with Jason Robert Brown. Took drumming from Peter Erskine. He would say that those were great but that the instruction from the less famous faculty has been even more valuable.</p>
<p>Know that as a popular music major you will do ear training, music theory and have an indepth music degree. Probably something you will value, but not all singers are musicians my son tells me. Also there is a lot of collaboration between the popular music students and the USC film students who are best in class.</p>
<p>Specific interesting things going on with people in the program I know of (and I’m just a parent so not overly aware). Someone was recently signed by a record lable, a band was just at SXSW and has a song on the playlist of major airlines “new music”, the bands of a few popular music majors are getting serious interest from mangers/labels. Various people are being looked at to tour with or open for known names.</p>
<p>USC would be a great fit. It isn’t in New York and there is definitely a different vibe. My son would actually prefer to be in Minnesota, but he absolutely loves the program and the people in the program aren’t just talented musicians but I have spent some time in the last two weeks hanging out with them and they are exceptional humans. Interesting, fun, smart, kind most of the time (the ones I was with were primarily 19-20 year old boys who like to mess with each other a little). </p>
<p>You have great choices and I expect will do well and be happy wherever you end up.</p>
<p>Not to mention Matthew Knowles, Beyonce’s dad, Darryl Jones bass player for the Rolling Stones and musical legend John Fogerty. Rumor has it celebrity musicians are begging to be part of forum.</p>
<p>I love both professors that I met during my visits and was able to have a two hr lesson with USC & IU and both prof have spots waiting for me in their studios. </p>
<p>I have an academic scholarship from IU - none from USC. I am waiting to hear about Music Scholarships…(they said next week) </p>
<p>What snowflakevt said really makes sense too, so I am taking that into consideration. Thanks so much for all the advice I have read here! Its really helpful. </p>
<p>My parents are excited about both schools, and will do what they can to help me, but neither have any musical ability (my dad has an MBA - and he looks at the degree from a business prospective), they really are in the dark about music schools- all they say is that I need to LOVE the place that I will be at for the next four years and to have that “I just came home feeling.”</p>
<p>Okay… Having read what you all have posted and done some more research on these programs, now I’m kind of leaning toward USC, because the program itself is so appealing and so right for me. I’ve also looked it up on Youtube and am very satisfied with what I’ve found. I still love New York though, and Berklee does have quite the reputation in terms of what I’ll be studying, so I’m still in the process of making a very tough decision.</p>
<p>Now for all of you who are familiar with any of these three schools - should I start trying to find a specific voice instructor for private lessons, or should I trust the school with assigning me to one? I was classically trained in a choir for some years, I’ve taken some jazz & musical theatre voice lessons, and I also have a very big “belter” voice - one of my audition pieces for USC and Berklee was an Etta James tune (not At Last, it’s so overdone it’d be audition suicide). I obviously prefer more contemporary music/singing, and I’d say my strengths right now are in jazz, rock, pop, and old-school R&B. If any specific teacher or way to go about the process comes to mind, please PM me or post here. I also know that it would be much more difficult to find the right teacher for private lessons at NYU, but any input at all is welcome.</p>
<p>At USC I believe you are placed in a specific studio. I am not sure when in the process you know what studio you are in.</p>
<p>My daughter is just finishing up her freshman year at Thornton (USC) and it has been an amazing experience. USC has a large number of highly ranked ‘creative’ type programs such as film, video game design, etc which gives the campus a great vibe and creates a large friendship pool for music majors - inside as well as outside the conservatory.</p>
<p>I know that USC is considered a big football/frat school but my daughter is not into that scene and is very happy -but her freshman roomate is in a sorority and is equally happy.</p>
<p>Overall, Thornton has a lot to offer to future musicians.</p>
<p>27, my son has had private lessons for piano, voice and guitar while at USC. For popular musicians you aren’t in a studio, but a semester of private lessons either 30 minutes or 1 hour/week are normal for 1 or 2 class credits. He has varied from 2-3 credits of lessons/semester. They do have a “final” jury at the end of each semester where a panel evaluates your progress. I think first semester my son was just assigned a piano/vocal instrutor who the director of the program thought was the best fit. If you weren’t happy with that instructor you would be able to change at the next semester. You will likely be happy with who they select and it might be possible to discuss in advance but my son didn’t. </p>
<p>I remember all of the over thinking we did leading up to the first semester and my advice would be to understand that the people running the program you decide to attend do this for a living at a very select university. Spend the first semester paying attention to what the program has to offer and how you can take advantage of it. In the meantime, enjoy the excitement in front of you but I would suggest don’t overthink it.</p>
<p>My d asked if she could take harp lessons as she always wanted to play harp. My d was told by the director to follow her creativity wherever it would take her. She also has weekly guitar and may do voice next year. The teachers at USC are top notch.</p>
<p>My friend’s d dropped out of Berklee after 1 year and a big part of it was a problem with the voice teacher. Also I heard from another friend’s s who dropped out that scholarship recipients at Berklee get more attention than non.</p>
I am waiting to hear about Music Scholarships…(they said next week) </p>