The following piece originally ran as a cover story in InTune:
Race to the Stage: New programs offer music-minded students a faster path
By Matt Robinson
While students and parents continue to demand more music classes in school, older musicians seem more interested in getting what they need for their careers and getting down to business. So while traditional music schools continue to grow, more and more alternatives are being offered that allow and encourage budding artists and music industry professionals to work with and learn from established artists and professionals in hand-on situations without spending so much time in the classroom.For almost 100 years, The Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music at the University of Miami (www.frost.miami.edu) has offered training in performance, production, and other industry-related fields. An intimate program that offers just over 700 seats for undergraduate and graduate students (among whom have been guitar god Pat Metheny and star singer/songwriter Bruce Hornsby, who now runs an institute at the school), according to Associate Dean Strategic Initiative and Innovations Rey Sanchez, Frost ‘s greatest claim to fame is its eponymous method that involves real-time application of skills while encouraging creativity and improvisation. Sanchez also maintains that Frost’s Experiential Music Curriculum (EMC) is a “comprehensive foundation” for all studies at the school.
“We’ve removed students from large, impersonal theory lecture halls and placed them into small ensemble-type environments where they learn to compose, improvise, create and perform with their instruments in a non-traditional setting,” Sanchez explains.
Since the 1960s, when the school launched what it maintains to be the first ever music business program, Frost has continued to build on tradition while offering “alternative programs” that satisfy their students’ (and the industry’s) needs. As Frost is part of a larger university, students can further enhance the nearly 60 different courses of study available at Frost by cross-registering across disciplines. Among Frost’s latest developments is their B.M. in Musicianship, Artistry Development, and Entrepreneurship (MADE). Created for 21st century DIY fans, Sanchez observes that MADE develops a “highly competitive skill set” involving both industry and artistry that allows students to “focus on their preferred areas of emphasis, with outcomes that lead toward a viable career.”
According to a recent study by the University’s Toppel Career Center that claimed 88 percent of Frost undergraduates had jobs six months after graduation or were enrolled in their choice of graduate programs. “The aim of the Frost School is to graduate music professionals with a deep, practical knowledge in their chosen area of study,” Sanchez suggests, “along with the artistic, technological, and entrepreneurial skills they will need to thrive in the 21st century in this highly competitive field.“
Though based in North Carolina, Catawba College (www.catawba.edu) offers on-site music programs in two of the most important sites in the industry: Segue 61 in Nashville (https://segue61.com) and Ken Caillat’s California Dream Center (http://landmarkmusiceducation.org), which is set to open near LA in 2018.
Touting itself as Music City’s “only mentor-driven music certification program,” Segue 61 was created to help bring potential and practice together.
“Our program aims to educate the student as efficiently as possible to the ins and outs of the music industry,” explains Segue’s Academic Director Cameron Johnson, suggesting that, despite the Nashville address, the skills learned at Segue are applicable in any music-related city or situation.
Using industry professionals as “professors” (e.g., Weezer Tour Manager Thomas O’Keefe teaches tour management), Segue 61 classes (which typically involve about 25% classroom engagement and 75% hands-on work in a professional studio or other venue) occasionally have to be moved around to accommodate professional schedules, but Johnson says the wait is worth it!
“Our greatest benefit,” he maintains, “is that we are able to use the collective knowledge and experience of all of our professional mentors.” Johnson also observes how, as they are busy professionals themselves, Segue’s instructors “trim the fat” and “only teach what is relevant” to their expertise and their students. For example, Johnson offers, “If we have ten aspiring studio guitarists in an upcoming class, we can call on mentors to cater to that particular cohort’s needs.”
In an effort to find students who are willing to work (hard) hand-in-hand with professionals, Johnson notes that the Segue 61 application process is “a little bit shorter than average” as they try to cut to the chase in this way as well.
“Our focus is to review the application and either accept or reject the student as soon as possible,” Johnson explains. “If you already know you want to work in the music industry, and would like to start that career as soon as possible, our program is a great fit!”
Further down Music Row in Nashville is Blackbird Academy (theblackbirdacademy.com). Based at the famed Blackbird Studios, the video-based program is aimed at what Co-director Kevin Becka (who has engineered albums by everyone from Michael Bolton to Quincy Jones, to George Lynch) sees as “a beginner to intermediate level student who wants to learn the ‘Blackbird’ way of production.” From mic choice and placement to EQ and compression, the school and the series cover enough to let the students take wing on their own.
“The Blackbird Academy’s six month programs aim to train students at a very high level,” Becka says, “so they can find employment in the audio industry in recording or live sound.”
Using the same techniques that have helped the likes of Martina McBride, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, and Jack White fly high, Blackbird’s program involves all 11 studios, 1,400 microphones, and the legendary know-how that call the studio home.
“Students learn on this gear every day,” Becka observes, noting that the live sound school is in it’s own 14,000 square-foot facility.
When asked what sets Blackbird apart, Becka replies, “It’s all about access. If you’re a beginner, you can see and learn the concepts used at one of the top studios in the world. If you’re more advanced, you can solidify your current skills and take your knowledge to the next level.”
While it may sound as if it has to be as far from landlocked Nashville as possible, Full Sail University (www.fullsail.edu) does not actually involve boats. Rather, it is named for the nautical term for being “positioned to move forward at the best possible speed.” From a certificate or BA in audio production to degrees in music production, recording arts, and even show production, Full Sail offers programs that many others do not and also integrates their music-related programs with studies in business, communications, film, sports, and even gaming.
“Full Sail prepares students for the competitive world of music and recording by providing an array of business essentials in addition to highly specialized technical knowledge,” explains Communications Specialist Casey Tanous. “At Full Sail, [students]…diversify their talents and learn how to become indispensable.”
Instead of focusing on one element of the industry, Full Sail focuses on the creative base behind and the application of all of them.
“We put this into action with an approach that emphasizes problem-solving, learning by doing, and empowering our students to generate their own concepts and ideas,” Tanous says, noting how “every part of our degree program is designed to look, feel, and function like the industry – from workspaces, to class projects, to student schedules.”
From studios to backlots, Full Sail also offers a large selection of industry-accurate settings.
“Full Sail’s educational model is structured month-to-month,” and timed to the 24/7 pace of the industry, Tanous notes, “so that this feedback can be readily incorporated.” This not only allows degrees to evolve along with their related industries but also encourages students to get in, get out, and get on with their careers (many complete their undergraduate degree in as few as 20 months and always-enrolling graduate programs in 12). The speed of study is also enhanced by Full Sail’s proprietary web-based platform that reaches students and professionals around the world.
Though all students are given a “loaded” Apple MacBook Pro notebook, Tanous maintains that one of the foundations of FullSail is connections among people.
“We believe that providing a relevant education relies on an ongoing connection to the real world,” Tanous says, noting how Full Sail’s international alumni network is always available for students and how the Program Advisory Committee includes such “Hall of Fame” industry experts as Pixar’s Kristifir Klein and Skywalker Sound’s Juan Peralta. “Through our network of experienced faculty and influential professionals, Full Sail University’s degree programs are able to stay dialed into today’s industries and trends.”
For those who wish to find a more specified set of studies and skills, there are places like the Songwriting School of Los Angeles (https://thesongwritingschool.com) Located in the heart of the West Coast recording and film industries, this program offers on-site and online courses for those who want to be the next Diane Warren or Randy Newman. With courses taught by award-wining songwriters and industry professionals, the Songwriting School works to honor the creative spirit while supporting the productive soul.
“The Songwriting School of Los Angeles is the first school devoted exclusively to the artistry and industry of songwriting,” explains Founder Rob Seals, noting that the school operates in Burbank but offers online courses internationally and that it is also the host for Paul Zollo’s interview series Songwriters on Songwriting, Live, which brings great writers to campus to meet with and mentor students.
Whichever way students engage, however, Seals maintains that a diploma is not the highest goal. “The only piece of paper that makes you a songwriter is the one with the copyright symbol beside your name,” he says, “or perhaps the royalty statement made out to you.”
Also in LA is the Musicians Institute (www.mi.edu) which, according to Marketing Director Stacie Dowthwaite, is dedicated to “inspiring artistic and academic excellence while preparing students for careers in the music and entertainment industry” and to developing “a diverse array of talented individuals who can enrich the global community with their artistic contributions.”
Through their integrated programs, MI encourages students to apply what they learn in each class to all others, so they can be more broad-minded and broadly prepared.
“Everything is connected,” Dowthwaite says, “making the education immediately applicable in the real world.”
In addition to a luthier program that can have students building axes in as little as six months, MI also offers an Independent Artist Program that focuses on the technical knowledge and professional skills independent artists need and a Bachelors in Music Composition for Visual Media to support the burgeoning scoring field.
“The curriculum includes in-depth studies in both traditional and popular techniques and styles of composition,” Dowthwaite notes, “with emphasis on professional applications to contemporary media.”
As all students participate in the program’s Live Performance Workshops, they share a common integrating experience. And as the school is downtown, they can also experience visits from some of the biggest names in the industry.
“So many big name artists live in LA or travel to LA often and are huge supporters of music education,” she observes. “They love coming into the school for a clinic or performance and educating the next generation of music professionals.”
While places like Nashville and LA have concentrated resources, as the music industry continues to globalize, many students want to be in the heart of their respective homelands or on the cusp of a new entertainment center. For them, SAE Institute (www.sae.edu.) may be the right place. With eight campuses in the US (in addition to their 102,000 square-foot Expression College campus in Emeryville, CA, where students can engage animation, game development, and other options while hobnobbing with folks from Pixar and other titans) and a total of more than 50 campuses in over 25 countries, SAE has a global reach. Even so, according to Marketing Director Andrew Cody, SAE is able to cater their program to every student and, using a “learner-centric” model and hands-on approach that are under constant review by international committees, prepare all students for both the current and future state of the industry.
“We have a long track record of training industry professionals, a worldwide presence…and an array of seasoned industry professionals as educators on the front line,” says Cody. “Our campus studios and labs mirror real-world production environments, which allow students to get their hands on relevant equipment and not just learn through theory.”
Combining an average of 40% hands-on experience with related software and classroom work (which, Cody notes, involves not just lecture but also listening and other practical exercises and lab work), SAE students are able to apply what they learn in multiple settings. As a result, many SAE programs can be completed in relatively short periods of time (a diploma can be achieved in as little as nine months and a Bachelor’s degree in 32).
“Students are able to gain experience while learning,” Cody observes, noting how students are expected to “immerse themselves” in their educational experience, “and…are able to enter the industry quicker and gain more experience in the field.”
So while it may be more important than ever to offer music in the classroom, once an artist has their foundations, the key to success may be getting a select set of skills and getting on with a career. Fortunately, there are plenty of places to make that happen.
