<p>I don’t know, our S chose Berklee over a few very prestigious jazz programs and is very happy and plays out at least 3 nights a week. He studied at NEC in their jazz prep program for 4 years- played with Grace Kelly in an ensemble and knows her well. Went in to Berklee with eyes wide open. Tomorrow night he opens for Livingston Taylor at a gorgeous new performance center in Rockport MA. There will be lots of Berklee folk there. He’s in negotiations to open for a very well known jazz drummer there in April- Berklee connection.
He’s played at Ryles yes, also the Middle East and Harper’s Ferry and the Paradise (not jazz there of course- he also plays blues). Lots of local gigs on the North shore. S worked all summer playing gigs around Boston from the Showcase Live in Foxboro to the Landing in Marblehead. It IS possible.
Its not about where you play but how much and who you play with. The more you play out the more the circle widens. You do have to be willing and able to travel a bit.
The connections are amazing at Berklee. No kidding, but you have to work it.
If its not for your S I get it- its not for everyone.
Never had the under 21 thing be an issue- they are allowed to play they just can’t drink of course and most of the time their friends cant get in. If they have an adult following its not an issue.
Berklee’s mandatory courses in music business were invaluable this summer as S negotiated contracts with agents, club owners, songwriting rights, recording contracts for a demo CD etc. Not sure where else he would have received even that small taste of the business side of things as a freshman anywhere else.</p>
<p>how bout leave it to your son to decide, if he’s been to the summer program three times than he clearly must know a lot about it from his end</p>
<p>hey everyone, im a senior in high school and ive been playing drum set for about 7 years. I can sight read and play any style: latin, jazz, rock, etc but i dont know how to play any mallet based percussion (marimba…) I would like to major in jazz perfomance and minor in buisness or vice versa. I also want an all around college experience and a school located in the south, some of my choices are…</p>
<p>Belmont
Miami
Utampa
College of Charleston
Rollins College
USC- south carolina
Wake Forest
FSU
USF
Flagler</p>
<p>Are any of these schools ok for a music major/music buisness major? Any help would be great!</p>
<p>Hi zlax- sorry cant help with your question, but want to suggest you move this to your own thread. This one started back in March so you may not get too many answers. Just copy/paste into your own new thread and I’m sure you will get good feedback - this is a great forum for music!</p>
<p>Zlax, you’re fine here–of the schools you mention, Miami and Belmont are probably the most recognized jazz schools. If you go back through this link and look at some of the more in-depth discussions, you can definitely find out more information. Miami and Belmont will both require auditions, not sure about pre-screening recordings. At those, you will be in more of a “music school” within the university, vs. a music major. Do you have a preference?</p>
<p>I would love more information on UNT…I am currently looking into the program as a Jazz Studies Piano major, along with Hartt, MTSU, MSM, UNO, and New School. I would appreciate any information I could get about UNT. Thanks so much in advance!</p>
<p>If anyone can help me, I am a jazz pianist who will be a senior in High School in Alabama. My big strengths are improvisation, reading chord charts, comping, and my ear. The only thing is I am not very good at sight reading. I have prepared Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude, my transcription of C-Jam Blues by Oscar Peterson, and one movement of a Sonata by Beethoven (along with several jazz standards) for my college auditions this coming spring. I have a 3.6 GPA and a 30 ACT and would prefer to go to a school somewhere in the south, but I would appreciate options in the north too, to major in Jazz Studies for Piano.</p>
<p>Well now that you know a little about me, I am looking into colleges with great Jazz programs like all of you are and I would greatly appreciate any advice at all! So far, these are my top picks:</p>
<p>UNT
MTSU
UNO
New School
Hartt</p>
<p>Look forward to becoming a part of the thread! Thanks so much</p>
<p>We went to UNT twice (once for audition). S is percussion performance. Nice campus with lots of new energy efficient buildings. Plenty of practice rooms which is very important. Met the head of jazz studies. Nice guy. Once school starts you can watch the concerts at UNT on your computer at home from their website to give you an idea of how they sound. S loved the school but felt that he wanted to get his undergrad degree in a place where he wouldn’t be 1 of 100 percussionists. He will check UNT out again for his Masters. Lots of kids auditioning so plan early and get hotel, etc. They do have the audition process streamlined compared to other schools we visited. UNT is very impressive and I would have been happy to have S go there.</p>
<p>jazzpiano person, if you’re willing to look at Hartt then you should also travel to Boston and look at NEC and Berklee. You improv skills may like one of those schools, and with your strong academics, may help them consider possible scholarships for you.</p>
<p>A million years ago when I went to North Texas they were big in jazz, just nominated for a Grammy in the big band category. At that time (and maybe still today) they accepted everyone, no audition needed. But the first semester theory class was killer. They scared the heck out of freshmen and many changed their majors. UNT is also VERY cheap compared to other schools, even for out of state. It’s a good place for a confident hard worker to achieve.</p>
<p>We are in NJ and most of our music kids stay east coast, some may apply to Oberlin.</p>
<p>North Texas is one destination some also consider. High quality program and relatively inexpensive. DS friend from undergrad headed to North Texas for grad school.</p>
<p>Regarding Vocal Jazz, Portland State University just announced a Vocal Jazz major. They have a small, but very high quality jazz department.</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at UNT in the jazz studies program and so far is liking it very much. I would advise you to apply early to UNT if you are considering it since they offer academic scholarships, and it is first come, first serve basis. If you get one of at least $1,000 you will get in-state tuition.</p>
<p>Only drawback so far that I can see is as hawkrn mentioned is it is large. Son was taken aback when he went to first organizational meeting for trombones, and there were about 100 and that includes masters and doctoral students as well. But on the other hand I think it may be easier to get into than a school that has only a handful of openings. UNT had about 25 new trombonists this year (I’m estimating), and they probably offered entrance to more allowing for a percentage of declines.</p>
<p>Also, if you do end up going to UNT, two good choices for housing are Honors Hall (practically brand-new and private rooms) and Bruce Hall (great location, across street from Music Bldg). Honors Hall fills up fast, so if intereted in it, send in your deposit as soon as housing reservations can be made. Son got into the Real Community for Jazz Studies at Bruce Hall and I think he likes it…he’s in a wing dedicated to Jazz Studies majors, so there probably is a lot of jamming going on!</p>
<p>HTH, and if you have any other questions about UNT, let me know, we went down this road last year :-)</p>
<p>Hey Guys,</p>
<p>Finding the right program has as much to do with the individual student as it does the school. Even though this is a really subjective matter, having gone though this process myself, and having helped a lot of my private students through it, I feel like I have some pretty good insight that can hopefully help you through the process.</p>
<p>My son is a sophmore but already knows he wants to go into music. He is in the top 5% of his class. His primary instrument is bass. He plays both the electric and upright. He is in an orchestra and concert band but his bowing skills are not very good (he is the first upright player in our community, we have no school string program). He is very good with playing jazz and has started composing some for jazz.<br>
He takes music theory, sings in Handel Haydn Young Men’s Chorus and does all kinds of other “stuff”.
I would like to see him use both his acedemic skills and his musicality. Any thoughts on schools that may makes sense for him.</p>
<p>Thank you
A clueless dad who knows nothing about music</p>
<p>what part of the country?</p>
<p>The right fit all depends on your child - some thrive in a smaller, more private environment while others succeed in a larger program. Still others want that private liberal arts experience, while others seek the opportunities a large public university provides…Looking at FSU and U South Carolina here.</p>
<p>My son looked at guitar jazz programs a couple of years ago. In the end, he was most interested in conservatories within highly selective universities. His top two choices were NYU and USC Thornton (where he matriculated). Here are others he considered at various times, some of which he did not end of applying to:</p>
<p>Straight conservatories:</p>
<p>NEC
Berklee
MSM
New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music</p>
<p>Within universities:</p>
<p>UNT
USC Thornton School of Music
NYU Steinhardt
University of Michigan
Northwestern Bienen School of Music
University of Miami Frost School of Music</p>
<p>Cal Arts (doesn’t really fit any category)
Bard (the jazz program is not part of the conservatory)</p>
<p>There are many great top tier schools w/jazz where you can declare a music major once admitted, but where an audition is not required (Wesleyan, several Ivies, I forget where else), but they don’t always offer a BM (performance degree, vs. a more general-ed BA). My own kid wanted an audition-based program that offered a BM.</p>
<p>jazz/shreddermom, did you happen to get an impression of Michigan’s jazz guitar faculty? I won’t be majoring in a performance discipline (if I get in anyway!) but I was thinking of applying for studio lessons on the side. On their website however they only list one guitar professor, and he doesn’t even appear to have a faculty page on the UMich website. I don’t imagine my chances of getting assigned to a studio are extremely high if there’s only one guitar instructor at a music school of ~1000, unless they have grad students that teach lessons as well.</p>
<p>Sorry, RoKr93, my son checked out Michigan online, but didn’t apply. He really wanted to be on the east or west coast. I’m pretty sure there are others here who may know, though.</p>