Not going to Music School

[punkpianist360]

I've had the thought of completely skipping music school, and just getting a good teacher(which I already have), and study one on one composition and theory, and any other things.

Then, just get a job somewhere, while I work on my entrepreneurial and musical pursuits, and traveling.

Basically, what I want to know, is going to conservatory essential to our careers as CLASSICAL musicians?  Or, can we just get good teachers and start our career early.


Also, do you know of any pianists who decided to take this path.

[cheesypencil]

yes my mum had a friend like that, all his desire was to become a pianist but his parents didnt let him go to a music school, so everyday after school he came home and practiced piano- he also had a very very good teacher. he graduated from high school and went to medical school- still practicing every day. so then he graduated from there and went to vienna hochschule für musik , he didnt have any time for friends or anything but he did it so basically its hard.

[faa2010]

yes my mum had a friend like that, all his desire was to become a pianist but his parents didnt let him go to a music school, so everyday after school he came home and practiced piano- he also had a very very good teacher. he graduated from high school and went to medical school- still practicing every day. so then he graduated from there and went to vienna hochschule für musik , he didnt have any time for friends or anything but he did it so basically its hard.

It's so inspirational.  I hope to be in a music school one day despite my age and lifestyle.

[Bob]

I would imagine having full-time job or having to spend time working on another major is going to be a big problem.  It's going to drain your energy.

[punkpianist360]

You don't get what I mean.  I mean not going to college at all, and just starting your carrer right after high school, with a good teacher.

[retrouvailles]

You'll need to be extremely lucky. Most performing pianists have degrees, and even most of them don't make it and end up getting another job. At least going to a music school gives you some sort of added security or something to fall back on, should performing not work out.

[Bob]

You don't get what I mean.  I mean not going to college at all, and just starting your carrer right after high school, with a good teacher.

What would you do though?  You'd be competing against people who are going through college in music. 

[Bob]

I'm still wondering what the method of income would be.  It's got to either be from performing or teaching or both.  But someone straight out of high school in this case would already be doing that, ready to step into that full-time after they're done with high school.  Although being home-schooled would make that transition even easier.  It would be more of a shift in emphasis, and good riddance to the general studies.  Haha.  

Or some kind of generic part-time job could help.  Perform, teach, work at a generic job.  Although half of the performing job would be the business side.  Teaching has planning too.  That could easily go beyond 40-ish hours/week for sure, but the music side would make it worth while.  Except for turning music into work, but it's music.

I'm wondering what type of performances too.  Who's going to pay to hear a high school kid?  I'm thinking solo performances/recitals for that.  For more blue collar style work, I'm sure there's that, but even then I've heard wedding musicians are making about $12,000/year at best, working each weekend.  Of course a pianist would probably have an advantage for ceremonial work, being able to double for an organ part and being able to play for the actual ceremony as well as the prelude and postlude music, a one-person show.  More money, as opposed to having to split it up between ensemble members.

Though you would have at least $100,000 saved and probably over four years of time saved by not going to college too.  For those generic jobs, the interviewer would probably use a college degree as a way to narrowing down the applicant pool too though.

[faa2010]

Sorry if I am not familiar with the term, but what is a generic job?, can you give some examples about it?

And you have a point about having in the region of $10,000 of funding in order to enter to a music school and launch your career as a pianist.  In my country, music schools that can give you titles, certificates, reputation and recognition are highly demanding in time and money, so one needs a juicy scholarship, parents' support or work for a time until you have reached the quantity even though you get older.

What is important (right now in my point of view) is to have more career options so you could have in the future other money resources, so you can get enough incomings for the things you really want and no owning nothing to anyone.

[Bob]

I just said "generic" job.  One that doesn't take any specific background.  Something anyone (or just about anyone) can do.  Like being a clerk, general retial sales, etc.  Although even then, there's still competition for that -- A pianist might not be a great choice over someone who's done that since they graduated high school.  Who do you hire?  A pianist or someone with many years of wait staff experience under their belt who enjoys being a waiter/waitress?

100 not 10 thousand.  College is expensive.  10 thousand will get you part of a year.  Although I suppose you could possibly squish a performance degree into three years.  Music ed is four on paper, five in reality.  They can't advertise it that way.  For performance, I think everyone I knew about in school went on for a masters too.  What good is just a bachelors in performance?  By the masters level, they're already out performing and auditioning.  And teaching.  They have an income base going already. 

I suppose there's military music too.  I knew someone who went into that straight out of high school.   

[richard black]

is going to conservatory essential to our careers as CLASSICAL musicians?

No. I am living proof of this - I am a professional classical musician (OK, I have a couple of earning sidelines but I continue to pursue them because they are there, they pay and they are fun - I could drop them and still afford my current lifestyle) and I have a degree in Physics and 8 years' full-time work as an engineer in my history. No musical qualifications since the age of 17. Hasn't stopped me getting work and, I think I can say in all modesty, a certain amount of respect in the London music world, though I'm far from being a household name.

[Bob]

I suppose there's military music too.  I knew someone who went into that straight out of high school.   

But a little less so now in the U.S.  I heard Congress is cutting military music spending from $320 to $200 million in 2012.