Starting school for Composition in the fall

[psylevation]

Hi all, I'm happy to say that I'm starting music composition school in the fall Of course there are doubts if this actually is something that will really benefit me in the way I need...I just wanted to find out from other people who have gone to school for it, more or less, does it help to give you ideas on where to take a song next?

I can make parts sound good with trial and error, but I think because it takes me so long that I lose ideas and get burnt out on songs before I can finish them. I really enjoy making music for a while until a few weeks has passed and I'm still trying to finish the same song.

I know it's kind of a silly question but hearing others opinions one way or another would be nice, I'm going either way because I figure it will help me in other areas of music at least.

So I guess my question really is...

What are your thoughts on music school and what did it do for you?

[keyman_sam]

I'm signing up on Jazz Orchestra. Its a one hour course. I'm not a music major, but I have selected one or two music courses for the fall. Its gonna be fun.

[agincourtdb]

If you get a spot in a good teacher's studio, and you pay attention in theory class, you'll assemble an arsenal of tools that will make writing your music much easier. You'll know how to get the sound you think of more quickly, without the whole frustrating trial and error thing. That was my experience, anyway.

[JumpingJackFlash]

Knowledge is never a bad thing, so yes, this can only help.

There are of course many varieties of "composition school". - Some gear primarily towards the classical approaches, some towards jazz, some towards high-brow modern stuff, some towards film music, some towards pop, etc. - Obviously you should make sure it deals with the stuff that you're interested in (although a knowledge of other genres doesn't hurt).

And, like all schools, it really depends on the teacher. But overall, I'd say yes, you will benefit from this.

[chardin]

psylevation, where are you going to school? Just curious.

[psylevation]

I'm going to school here locally (Kirkwood in Iowa), just at a community school for now, till I get my AA. From what I've heard though the teachers are great, for example one lady is over the top about how certain sounds feel I guess, she really grabs your attention and gets you very excited about music theory and music in general...

After that I may go to UNI in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Time will tell, I'm doubling in some sort of Computer Science as well (hey something has to pay the bills right?)

[psylevation]

Oh and this school is very focused on Classical and Jazz...