I really need ya'lls opinion and advice!

[CVdrummer]

Okay, well let me give you a little back ground information before I get to the point. I just turn 16 years old june and i just started my Junior year in Highschool about three weeks ago. I started to play the drums about April of my eigth grade year, but not in a formal way. I just bought a kit and played out of ear until January of this year. I started taking drum lessons, and learn my rudiments..ect. Right now where I'm at, i wouldn't call myself a good player (i don't have low self esteem lol)..but I wouldn't call myself a beginner or that i suck. Right now im working out of The New Breed by Gary Chester, The Ultimate Realistic Rock book by Carmine Appice, and I just started Advance Technique for the modern drummer by Jim Chapin. I also play in a rock band with couple of my friends and we gig around, and also jazz band at school. Okay, well College is right around the corner for me, and I got to make a decision to what to do with my life and i have to make it now, so i know what courses to take the rest of Highschool so it would benifit me of what I'm going to major in. And I want to make a living out of drumming, and i was thinking of going to Berklee (but yeah i know I'm not good enough right now to get in, but im sure by the time comes i'll be good enough). so i was thinking of taking Music Theory I, Music Theory II, and Music History in the rest of HighSchool so it would give me good information. But that would mean that..if i do that there's no turning back about try to make a living out of drumming, or else it would just be a waste of highschool courses when i could be taking other stuff like Calc and astrology..ect. so my question is...is that risk worth it? should i use the rest of highschool preparing myself to a music school? or should i take the secure way out and take those other classes and major something like astronomy and go to a normal university or college?


thanks everyone.


sorry it's so long. lol

i just want some opinion and adivice from expirience drummers like ya'll selfs.

[LiveGoat]

Originally Posted by CVdrummer

Okay, well let me give you a little back ground information before I get to the point. I just turn 16 years old june and i just started my Junior year in Highschool about three weeks ago. I started to play the drums about April of my eigth grade year, but not in a formal way. I just bought a kit and played out of ear until January of this year. I started taking drum lessons, and learn my rudiments..ect. Right now where I'm at, i wouldn't call myself a good player (i don't have low self esteem lol)..but I wouldn't call myself a beginner or that i suck. Right now im working out of The New Breed by Gary Chester, The Ultimate Realistic Rock book by Carmine Appice, and I just started Advance Technique for the modern drummer by Jim Chapin. I also play in a rock band with couple of my friends and we gig around, and also jazz band at school. Okay, well College is right around the corner for me, and I got to make a decision to what to do with my life and i have to make it now, so i know what courses to take the rest of Highschool so it would benifit me of what I'm going to major in. And I want to make a living out of drumming, and i was thinking of going to Berklee (but yeah i know I'm not good enough right now to get in, but im sure by the time comes i'll be good enough). so i was thinking of taking Music Theory I, Music Theory II, and Music History in the rest of HighSchool so it would give me good information. But that would mean that..if i do that there's no turning back about try to make a living out of drumming, or else it would just be a waste of highschool courses when i could be taking other stuff like Calc and astrology..ect. so my question is...is that risk worth it? should i use the rest of highschool preparing myself to a music school? or should i take the secure way out and take those other classes and major something like astronomy and go to a normal university or college?


thanks everyone.


sorry it's so long. lol

i just want some opinion and adivice from expirience drummers like ya'll selfs.

Good Lord, they're teaching astrology in high school now?! Seriously, though, I wouldn't be too stressed about the direction for your life at this point. I don't want to sound like the wise old man (cause I'm not) but you'll be a different person in your twenties with a different perspective on things and may want to change the direction in your life 180 degrees... or you may not. Anyway, in addition to your required courses, take classes that interest you. Find out what different interests you have. And even if you're sure that being a professional drummer is your calling, there's no need to go balls to the wall about it at this point. Play in bands, take lessons privately and just get your chops up to the best of your abilities and get the best grades possible. I know actors and musicians who never majored in drama or music in college and they have great careers. Some of my favorite actors and musicians have degrees in other fields. One is a professor of microbiology at Columbia and his band is starting to take off in a big way. And if you're still sure about going to school for music, you can get into Berklee, The Collective, PITor even Julliard at 30 as well as 20. Heck, some people have done it at 40. Am I saying be a slacker? No way! But my experience has been that whether you start right out of the gate or come to it later in life, it all evens out after awhile. As long as you've got the goods, the work ethic and the professionalism. One more thing. Learn to be as self supportive as possible. Don't force yourself to be in poverty if you can help it, but it's a great feeling to know that you don't need to run to the parents for every little crisis in your life, financial and emotional. A lot of people, actors especially, cruise through college as the star student and "hey everybody loves me and says I'm gonna have a great career", and then they get out into the field and find millions (literally) who've been told the same thing and after a couple of years struggling, they crack. Inner strength and Belief in one's self is half the battle. Yuck, I sound like Tony Robbins!

---LG

[Pacific Blue]

hey man, persue if its your passion. My roommates dad went to berklee. That guy can play 11 instruments (but mostly guitar). Hes an airplane safety inspector, making good money. Your life isnt over if rock star doesnt pan out as well as you may hope. Just my two cents

[Drumsword]

I liked Live goats reply, he is very wise.

[funked_up]

Yeah, he went to Berklee, and now he plays with aeroplanes, not instruments ><

Sorry to sound bitter, but none of the colleges in America I have talked to, have given me one piece of good advice, and basically no help at all. Screw schools in America man, go abroad, you get a better education, and a more sophisticated one.

Tim

[GRUNTERSDAD]

This months copy of Drum Magazine has an article about the top ten Music schools in the US. You may want to give it a look.

[Guillermo]

You are in junior high... how can college be "right at the corner"?... hmmm... you started taking lessons 8 months ago and you are practising to Gary Chester's book?... well... I think, adding to the solid advice given, that you probably need to absorve things a little more... don't worry your drums will not be going anywhere, they won't run away... you are doing good making the best out of the time you are dedicating to the craft, that is very good... but rermber thoroughness and persistence are keys to consistency... if you are playing on a band, make the best of it... don't try to absorve all things at one: band, practice, lessons, music school... make yourself goals and as you apporach them or achieve them, set new ones... don't expect to become Dave Weckl in a year... but keep doing what you're doing... good luck!

[wybasher]

Originally Posted by CVdrummer

...
Okay, well College is right around the corner for me, and I got to make a decision to what to do with my life and i have to make it now, so i know what courses to take the rest of Highschool so it would benifit me of what I'm going to major in. And I want to make a living out of drumming, and i was thinking of going to Berklee (but yeah i know I'm not good enough right now to get in, but im sure by the time comes i'll be good enough). so i was thinking of taking Music Theory I, Music Theory II, and Music History in the rest of HighSchool so it would give me good information. But that would mean that..if i do that there's no turning back about try to make a living out of drumming, or else it would just be a waste of highschool courses when i could be taking other stuff like Calc and astrology..ect. so my question is...is that risk worth it? should i use the rest of highschool preparing myself to a music school? or should i take the secure way out and take those other classes and major something like astronomy and go to a normal university or college?
...

First off, I'm sure you'll understand that it's near impossible to encapsulate all relevant factors of your life into 1 paragraph and then expect folks to give wise advice based on that. People can watch 3 hours of football on Sunday and the Monday-morning-armchair-quarterbacks still get it wrong. And this is your life which is a lot more complicated than football! So many questions... How smart are you...how are your grades? Do you have the disposition for college coursework? Do you have the disposition/personality to be a career drummer? Do you have the moral+financial support of your parents? Has anyone recognized your raw talent yet?

You don't need to answer these questions... these are just some of the extra factors that influence your decision.

Since I've already stated that I don't know much about you, I will go ahead and state some of my opinions based on my experience:

Make deliberate choices about the the educational resources you have; and take advantage of the right one: If you're not going to a special magnet school specifically for gifted musicians/artists, the "music theory" class at your typical high school will not be that great. Yes, you'll learn some things but you can also pick up quite a bit of music theory on your own by reading/listening to materials on the web. And/or buy some instructional videos to supplement this. However, calculus and other advanced math is near impossible to learn on your own (unless you're a prodigy) so use your high school for that. The calculus and advanced english classes should be standard caliber and will usually be higher quality than the music arts offerings. So in summary, learn the college related stuff at your high school (because they're good at it), and learn the music stuff on your own (because you can do better). This track keeps your options open and doesn't close the door to either the university or a music career.

[Beginer]

Drummer, as any other musician, is an artist.. Artistsn dont need an education where I live.. Of course if you study, you can become professional and it will bring new possibilities for you..i think you should always learn what interests you..

[BuddyLee87]

Originally Posted by CVdrummer

so i was thinking of taking Music Theory I, Music Theory II, and Music History in the rest of HighSchool so it would give me good information. But that would mean that..if i do that there's no turning back about try to make a living out of drumming, or else it would just be a waste of highschool courses when i could be taking other stuff like Calc and astrology..ect.

In addition to all the advice everyone else has given you, I just wanted to point out that you are far from a point where there's no turning back, no matter which courses you decide to take. Taking high school courses about the subjects you might end up studying certainly won't hurt, but I highly doubt it's going to affect what you'll be doing with the rest of your life and more importantly how well you do it.

I'm about to be a junior in college, I've switched majors since being here (neither were related to music), and I play weekly paying gigs at the bars and other places around town. Like others have mentioned, going into a certain field doesn't make it impossible to keep your options open to other things. Hope this helps.

[kung_f00]

To put things in perspective:

This Fall I'll begin studying at graduate school for English Education, and I plan on gaining my Ph. D. and becoming a professor. Will I still play drums, and gig with other musicians? Certainly. Will I be a rockstar? No, but the way my life is going right now, I prefer the stability of knowing I'll have a steady job with decent income, and I'll still be able to be the musician I've always wanted to be in my free time.

I think that if you're only playing drums, and have little interest in other instruments (percussion or otherwise), building your future towards studying music will probably have some level of disappointment. Before joining the music program at my college, and taking theory, aural skills, and other classes for the Music Performance Minor; I had taken piano lessons for several years, and was active in symphonic groups as a percussionist. Here's what I would suggest. Utilize the fact that you're getting accustomed to drumming and get into your school's instrumental ensemble or marching band. If those don't work out for you, then dedicating your educational path to music is probably a bad idea. The kids that go to Berklee aren't just good at their core instrument. They live and breathe music.

So consider this: even if you don't end up studying music in high school and college, you can still become a great drummer. You can be a doctor, or businessman or what-have-you and still play drums on the side.

[drumtechdad]

Advice: learn to use paragraphs.

Otherwise, some good (drum-related) advice here!

[abe]

I'm going to say something crazy...

Don't overlook Berklee! Berklee isn't = good career as a musician. It's great to get there; one of the best jazz and contemporary music colleges in US. But don't think that if you really work hard and with soul, you can't be among best drummers without Berklee diploma. If you look back at music history you will see some great musicians from great schools, but then there is a lot of musicians who reached there goals in different ways among them were Charlie Parker, Scott LaFaro (he even left college in his sophomore year), Elvin Jones, John Coltrane etc.
No matter what you decide at the end, just don't ''choke'' your passion for drums. You can reach you goals in many different ways!

[byebyepanda]

Originally Posted by Guillermo

You are in junior high... how can college be "right at the corner"?... hmmm...

"Junior year IN high school"

;]