Music Production Major at USC Thornton School of Music

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
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My daughter is aspiring to pursue undergraduate major in Music Production in USC Thornton next year. She has a good portfolio of singles and movie scores and has over 9 community college courses and 5 APs etc and was selected for Grammy Camp summer 2019. I am hoping to get insights into 1) How is the live audition and what are the skills that are required to be successful there, 2) Does USC Thornton school offer any scholarships as I found that merit scholarships are not for Thornton school, 3) Since this degree was introduced in 2016, can any one help with metrics on internships and other job placement information.

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@happymadh. My son is a freshman jazz student at Thornton and did receive a merit scholarship. I don’t know how they decide to award scholarships – there isn’t a specific application to get a scholarship – but Thornton does have them.

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@happymadh My son just graduated from USC as a music production major. It was an AMAZING experience for him. Send me a PM if I can help you with any specific questions.

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My son is auditioning today for USC music production as a transfer for next fall 2020. Can’t seem to find the number of students in the program. Anyone know?

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@luvtheatre My son was part of the first music production class and just graduated. There were 7 students in the major.

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Thanks for that. I wonder if the number of students has increased over the years. I did read that the inaugural class had about 7 students. Congratulations to your son! My son had his audition last weekend and interview. Fingers crossed. He loves the program.

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@happyuscmom Congratulations to your son! My son had his audition last week and loved it. Fingers crossed.

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@luvtheatre FINGERS CROSSED FOR SURE!! It’s an amazing program! My son had the best 4 years! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM. Good luck!

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Hi, there. Sorry to hijack, but my son is interested in applying to this program for Fall 2021. He is a pretty decent guitar player though not conservatory level, has experience creating beats with DAW (Ableton, FL, a bit of ProTools) and is interested especially in sampling. He hopes for a career in music production. The pre-screen and audition for this program look pretty daunting and the program seems small and very competitive, so we’re wondering if it’s even worth it to apply. He has good grades at a very rigorous high school and will probably do quite well on the ACT if his practice tests are any indication. Thanks for any advice!

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@hillybean Feel free to send me a pm if you would like to chat. I’m happy to fill you in on our experience. Yes, the major is small, but it’s extremely collaborative. My son had a fantastic experience as part of the first music production class.

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Trying to figure out how many will be accepted to the Popular Music - Vocal this year. Any clue about how many applied and will be accepted? I thought I read somewhere on a thread that only 15 were invited for the audition for popular music vocal.

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Thank you!

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@happyuscmom for the pre-screen audition, specifically the part where the applicant films themselves manipulating sound in real time, can I select the instrumental to an existing song in popular repertoire to manipulate over or should I produce the backing for that song myself? Thanks!

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So sorry…just seeing this now. Did everything work out?

Best,
Leslie

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Hi there, my son is a junior at Troy Tech High in Fullerton CA and he wishes to study in the field of music production. Obviously USC is a great school if my son gets admitted. Did your son produce his own portfolio? I got a bunch of questions if you can help. Thanks.

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Hello, my son wants to study music production at USC. He is a junior at a local high school in Orange County. Can I get some ideas about the makings of the portfolio? Are there particular framework needs to be followed?

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Hi…Sorry…I’m just seeing this. I’m happy to talk with you and answer any questions you have. My son was in the first music production group (started in 2015 and graduated in 2019). It was an amazing major and he is now living his music dream composing in LA. Feel free to give me a call at 215-206-1860. And good luck!! Best, Leslie

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Hi! My son is a rising senior in North Carolina and wants to apply to the music production program at USC. Leslie I would love to talk with you and I’m wondering if your son would be willing to talk with mine about his experience in the program. Thanks so much for any help you could provide. Best, Susan

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Hi, this is very late question but your son sounds a lot like mine and I am wondering how everything went and if you have any advice? thx!

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My son wound up at Northeastern. The first pandemic semester was a little rocky but he’s since found his groove. He has a radio show, plays in a band, did well in his classes and landed his first co-op at Electric Lady Studios. He loves what he’s doing. To be perfectly honest, I might have gone for something cheaper in retrospect (SUNY Purchase has a great program) given the realities of working in the music industry, but water under the bridge at this point. GL with everything. Happy to answer any questions.