<p>I am a musician. Thats the only way to describe myself. I have a craving to make music and create art. But, I am nowhere near classically trained. I am a junior and just started learning how to read music. However, i can play by ear, have been writing my own songs, and using computer software to generate the music. Plus I have been catching on to reading pretty easily. I am looking for a school that will teach you what you need to know about songwriting, performance, etc but will still grant you freedom to explore different genres of music as well as create your own style of music. The New School brags about its "mashing of the old teaching methods with modern ones." Would the new school for Jazz and Contemporary Music allow this sort of freedom? If not what schools would you recommend (preferably in New York City)? I also feel like it is important to know that I am not a cocky "child prodigy" if you know the type. I have raw talent, that definitely needs training. But, I feel with the proper training could leave to a promising career. If I couldn't pursue music, I have no idea what I would do. This is what I need to do, so please, any suggestions will help! Thanks.</p>
<p>berklee college of music</p>
<p>Agreed, go over to the music forum and see if you can grab violadad’s attention, his store of information is just astounding.</p>
<p>Brooklyn College has a Conservatory of Music.</p>
<p>One thing to decide which you can read about on the music forum is whether to go to a conservatory/music school or a liberal arts college or university with a great music department or program (or connected to a conservatory like Oberlin, for example). Wesleyan or Tufts would be interesting examples of the latter but it depends on your stats.</p>