What You Didn't Learn in Music School [ AN's Bass Lessons #10 ]

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DISCLAIMER: My experiences at Berklee and the Manhattan School of Music were extremely positive, and I definitely do not want to dissuade people from attending music school. This video turned out a lot more cynical than I intended, so I just wanted to emphasize the fact that music school was a formative event in my life and career, and I recommend that if you are afforded the opportunity, you should go!

That said, here's some stuff you didn't learn in music school!

Peace,

Adam

[keaganwall]

Lol I got an ad for anti depressants when this video was over

[larrynickel]

Being a nice person with people skills - who has a positive attitude and who shows up on time with the music ready to go is also an asset.

[talkingbasslessons]

Absolutely spot on! There is SOOO much of this stuff that you never cover at music school and I suspect it can sometimes be because the standard bread-and-butter gigs can appear too embarrassing to mention in a competitive academic setting. The first time I played on a supposedly simple cruise gig I felt like a complete amateur because even though I could read well enough, my repertoire was badly lacking. Absolutely everyone around me could literally play any request thrown at them and the only stuff I'd been learning during my years at music college tended towards all things 'hip'. Very little Abba. Very little Village People! I know YMCA ain't gonna make any college syllabus anytime soon but, as you mentioned, the alumni networking is way more useful for real life gigging than a lot of the lesson content.

[DVSPress]

You hit pretty much every point. Excellent advice for young musicians. Having taught music at the university level, I have to say that I now council young people to avoid music degrees. The main reason? Terrible *Return on Investment*. Music performance on its own has pretty bad ROI when you factor in the time spent practicing for a gig when you get paid for said gig, and the ROI is even worse when you take on massive amounts of debt for an education you could get for free off of youtube, by reading books, or by asking the right people the right questions. There is also the very big problem of *career growth* - the money you make when you are 22 as a performer might not seem that bad, but it's pretty bad when you are thirty. Unlike most other careers where income, skill, and productivity increase over time, in music those increases either doesn't happen or doesn't translate into more revenue.

[AshenElk]

This video is relevant to much more than just the music business. "Industrialised education, " as you called it, has its paws everywhere. You made a great point about how the real life lessons can differ so much from the classroom. Excellent video.

[hubblebublumbubwub]

You also don't learn cooking in music school. Don't forget that one.

[SkylarRuloff]

I have a theory on Julliard. I think many of the students there are playing classical, not jazz. So they probably graduate and immediately audition for orchestras. Where as jazz players graduate and look to form bands.

[WernerErkelens]

Really hitting the nail on the head with this one Adam. Some really relevant stuff here.

[Dayta]

most valuable thing ive learned as a musician in the last 30 years is ... *learn how to say NO*

[oweneaton]

The mention of fellow peers not taking "popular songs" seriously is something I have seen time and time again without fail. Im currently in school right now for guitar

[olflatop]

Miles Davis went to Julliard. Then he met Charlie Parker and said screw Julliard. lol

[SRV]

I did a Bachelor's in Jazz and everything you said is 100% accurate. Young musicians should think twice before diving into debt, unless they truly are content with making good music and not much money the rest of their life. Thanks for sharing this!

[evanwilliamson]

This is the most underrated music channel on youtube. Thank you.

[RobCarrollMusic]

This felt all too real. Just found your channel man, really digging your videos.

[jimbedard]

I am a 64yr old musician, my son a working drummer...he did a summer workshop at Berkeley years back, Adam you really nailed all your posts.... with all the EDM going on your verbiage & knowledge supports real musicians and the real tools needed so they can find a paying lucky left the band thing years ago to go solo being a singer/guitarist much more opportunity for paying gigs!

[marcparella]

30 years after graduating from the San Francisco Conservatory in composition, I would have rather invested that money in Apple and today I would be able to own the New York Philharmonic. My advice to Theory/Comp grads: study on your own and put the money into a hot demo. Conductors don't care where you went to school. Either they like your stuff or not. You only get the DMA if you want to teach and the world is overrun with Theory/Comp teachers.

[heyypumpkin]

I'm a music student at a small college in Australia, and I feel like we are pretty blessed here because they try provide material and courses that are relevant for contemporary musicians working in the real world. That being said, the alumni network is a lot smaller so you pick your battles I guess. Love your videos!

[thestonecutters]

I'm a bassist/bandleader working in LA.. I didn't got to music school although I trained myself on Bach, Bird, Ray brown, Jaco.. etc.. Every musician I hire (I hire 6 or more people a week for weekly recurring gigs) went to college for music.... They are exactly as you describe! They know a bunch of chick corea licks but don't even know how to play Mustang Sally (or what that is).. These are the guys who are going to get jobs teaching at the schools so the cycle will continue....

[mrdilonemusic]

"Berklee Funk" So fucking true.

[darthstigater]

When practicing something it's best to alternate between that and something else if you want it to go into your long term memory. Don't just practice that one riff over and over, practice two riffs by alternating between them. This forces you to not only be able to play the riff but to be able to recall the riff, which implants it into your long term/muscle memory a lot faster.