There is A LOT going on in my life right now and I can't barely begin to explain it all but suffice it to say that getting a musical education formally has weighed heavily on my mind recently.
I would like to ask everyone with experience (and even those without) what their thoughts are on the value of formal musical education and please go into detail if possible. I'm interested in personal experiences, positives, negatives, warning signs that a course will be bad, what to look for in a teacher, what the piece of paper you get at the end is worth, the value of networking and anything else you can think of.
If you want to know the basic position I am in here are my choices:
1. Stay in a course I'm not sure about but maybe could work at the Australian Institute of Music.
2. Leave AIM and prepare to try and get into the Conservatory of Melbourne which is more classical but I'd have to wait a year before being allowed to do my preferred subject, Composition. (Believe it or not but I'm much more likely to get in as a singer for first year than piano, I'm even being considered for a scholarship of a major Choir in my state, going to audition tomorrow.)
3. Ignore formal education and teach myself and also use the two private teachers I quite like (one I love actually) to learn more. This has various advantages for lifestyle and avoiding travel and bureaucracy.