<p>My brother is going to be graduating in May '08 and he is a bassist looking for a contemporary school that offers a bachelor's in music performance for the bass. We know of Musician's Institute in Hollywood, CA, but were wondering if there are any other schools out there that has a similar curriculum and vibe as MI. He's not interested in a conservatory or jazz based school. Something more mainstream. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>hannah- Welcome. This question has been asked before, and it seems like there doesn't seem to be to a large number of responses or experiences here.</p>
<p>I'll point you to a couple of places that may offer some starting points:</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=368115%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=368115</a> a thread that basically asks your question.</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=389523%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=389523</a> a similar question.</p>
<p>Both should include a couple of suggestions or links to Berklee, The New School, Belmont in Nashville, College of Santa Fe.</p>
<p>Berklee is probably the best known.</p>
<p>Berklee sounds like what you are looking for.</p>
<p>Ok. Here's the deal. If your brother really wants to go into performance of the bass, but it more contemporary idioms, I honestly think school may not be the best option. Most of my favorite pop/rock/indie (non-classical and non-jazz) artists and bands these days usually never go to school to learn how to do it. They just DO. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I think it's very valuable for everyone to get some classical training in music, regardless of what one wants to perform.</p>
<p>thank you for the suggestions. we know of berklee...actually we have a really good friend of ours who is currently attending, but berklee is jazz based and my brother does not want to go that route. we just wanted to see if there was anything else out there that we might not have heard of. thanks again.</p>
<p>Is Berklee really jazz-based? My son is a jazz guitar player, and is applying to Berklee, but has been told that the number of jazz players is relatively small, that rock is more prevalent. Check out The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC. When we visited there we heard kids in the practice rooms playing all different kinds of music--it is also a program where you can pick your own applied teacher, and go your own way, even to the point where you can have The New School pay a teacher who is not on the faculty.</p>
<p>My school. Rollins college in Orlando.</p>
<p>We're a liberal arts college with around 1800 kids in a very ritzy part of Orlando. I'm an electric bass major. It only exists here because the teacher, Charles Archard. He's written a great instructional book and is the first call studio guy in Orlando, Central Florida, and beyond. It's a great program and he will teach you how to make a living with bass. He's all about contemporary music and learning to play the stuff that will get you (paying) gigs. </p>
<p>Not to mention you get a real degree (liberal arts) as opposed to just a performance degree from a big university or conservatory.</p>