Music School Survival Guide: 5 Tips for a Successful Journey

Are you dreaming of a career in music and thinking about enrolling in music school?

Or perhaps you've already secured a spot at one of the top institutions for the

fall. I want to share with you five things I wish I knew before I

went to music school. What's up, y'all? I'm Travis Fence, a Grammy nominated recording engineer

in Mixer. And on this channel, I've set out to help industry newcomers and

veterans alike create the career they've always wanted and

hopefully skip some of the mistakes I've made along the way. Going to college

is big deal if you're in the process of making that decision right now.

I feel your pain. I know it can be daunting. I've been there. It was

like 20 years ago, but I was there. Ultimately, I decided to go to

Berkeley College Music and study music production and engineering. I spent four years there

before moving to Los Angeles and starting my career at Capital Studios. When I reflect

back on my experience, there are definitely some things that I think are invaluable to

know before you step into one of these top music schools. And I guarantee you

they are not in the admissions brochure and they are not on the website. So

here we go. Number one, you're not going to be the best, and that's okay.

If you're watching this, it's likely you're a high school student considering college. It's also

highly likely that you are the best musician in your school or even your

town. This is no longer going to be the case when you land at one

of these top schools. So take this reality check to heart now so you're not

blindsided by it later. When I went to Berkeley, I was immediately hit by the

fact that pretty much everybody there was a better musician than me in one way

or another. A lot of these top schools have extremely high first year dropout rates,

and I think that's due to the fact that a lot of people can't cope

with no longer being the best at their craft. There's always going to be somebody

better than you. Don't get discouraged by it. Instead, be inspired to get better.

Number two, music school is the beginning of your education, not

the end of it. A lot of people leave these prestigious universities thinking they have

everything they need to have a successful career, and this couldn't be any more

wrong. College will give you a baseline set of skills and knowledge that you then

have to take to the real world to apply and develop. And remember, these educational

institutions, as good as they are, can only simulate the real world to a certain

extent, because how the music industry actually works is not always going to align

with the best way to train you for it. So if you want to have

a long career in this industry, you have got to commit to being a lifelong

learner. Number three, you will get out of music school what you put in. Now,

I know that sounds cliche, but there's really no better way to put it. My

experience is that it is not that hard to graduate a music school with a

high GPA. And if you're currently a high school student, your educational experience has

put a hefty weight on your actual grades. Unfortunately, once you go to

college, especially in art school, grades are going to give you zero bearing on whether

you actually learned anything. I'm not telling you to fail. What I'm telling you is

that what you learn in music school is significantly influenced by

how immersed in the community and the experience you are. You got to be jamming

with other students, writing songs, going to shows, and taking advantage

of all the access to technology and guest lectures. Music is not

something you can just memorize and recite. Music is something that needs to be

experienced. Next up, attending music school is as much about the

people as it is about the knowledge. If you're going to attend a college where

you're going to be surrounded by like minded individuals with similar career aspirations,

you would be doing yourself a huge injustice by not starting to build your

network. Now, I'll use myself as an example. All of my closest friends and my

core group of fellow engineers here in Los Angeles are all people I went to

Berkeley with. I got my job at Capital Studios because of somebody I met at

Berkeley, and a surprising number of people I run into on gigs are people that

I've either met or known of because of my time at school. The importance of

your network has come up on every single interview I've done for the podcast,

regardless of what part of the industry the guest is from. So do not waste

this opportunity to start your network at school. Plus, it

may or may not involve some partying last up on the list, but maybe the

most important. Music is your passion, but it's about to become your

job. When your livelihood is based on something, it can be easy to start feeling

the pressure, and it can go from being very fun to very workLIKE.

And this is an unfortunate reality that everybody in the music industry has to deal

with eventually. So remember to always set aside time to keep that passion

alive. Make some music for yourself or explore some new sounds. Whatever it

is that makes music fun for you, be sure that you're doing that. If you

want to get more of a jump start in your career, then check out this

video about how to turn your mistakes into opportunities for growth. Also, don't forget to

check out the progression success of the Music Industry podcast, available here on this