what are the best colleges to study music

In a 1967 hitting song, Roger McGuinn of the Byrds stone band sang:

So you want to be a rock 'n' roll star?
And so listen now to what I say.
Just get an electric guitar,
Then take some time,
And learn how to play.
And with your hair swung right,
And your pants also tight,
It'south gonna be all correct.

The song was a satirical oversimplification fifty-fifty when it was written. Today, those wanting to pursue a career in popular music tin can take a more systematic approach with the help of colleges and universities with outstanding contemporary music programs.

Dr. David Lee Fish, a founding board member of the Association for Popular Music Education and director of Catawba College's pop music programme, points out an interesting statistic. While there are over 2,000 four-year colleges and universities in America, only nearly a dozen grant degrees in pop music studies. He adds that in that location are quite a few "pretenders" and suggests students keep two things in mind when assessing if a school has a true curriculum for gimmicky music.

"The first thing to consider is the types of ensembles it offers," says Fish. "The 2nd is whether they offer songwriting. Many schools say they have a commercial music program, but their ensembles are primarily jazz bands. As for the second indicate, it's hard to make the case for a pop music plan if there are no songwriting classes. Songwriting is central to pop music."

Below, we will look at five institutions with celebrated popular music studies programs that do meet these two criteria. At the end of the post, we follow it upwards with a list of notable programs at other institutions.

Academy of Southern California

The Thornton School of Music at USC has all-star faculty drawn from respected names in music. The overarching contemporary music program includes a range of areas for written report in popular music, jazz, the music industry, music engineering science, musical theatre, popular music, screen scoring, and studio guitar. USC's popular music section is inside the Contemporary Music partition. Founded by Christopher Sampson in 2009, it is chaired by composer, keyboardist, and four-time Grammy nominee Patrice Rushen.

USC's popular music degree track embraces rock, R&B, pop, folk, Latin, and country styles. Information technology emphasizes musical skills and the nuances of styles. Undergrads take classes in performance, songwriting and arranging, recording studio techniques, MIDI programming, music production, and entrepreneurship in addition to core courses in music theory, ear grooming, music history. Electives in contemporary music culture, movie music, world music, and general education courses are also among caste requirements.

Located in Los Angeles, USC enjoys a roster of faculty who are veteran composers, performers, and producers with impressive credentials. Among them are guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., bassist Alphonso Johnson, drummer Will Kennedy, pop music violinist Ginny Luke, songwriter Andrea Stolpe, and multi-instrumentalist and singer Adriana Balic. The department strives to foster a creative and collaborative environment for students.

At the nexus of America's music, movie, and Television set industries, USC is near major concert venues, record industry headquarters, famous recording studios, and more. The proximity offers many extra-curricular learning experiences and employment opportunities. Admission to USC's Thornton School of Music is competitive, with about a 20 percent credence rate. The popular music program has the reputation of being fifty-fifty more than competitive. (For more information, visit https://music.usc.edu/departments/contemporary-music/.)

Belmont University

 In 1979, Belmont Academy's Higher of Music and Performing Arts became the get-go in the nation to offer a Bachelor of Music degree in commercial music. The course of study includes commercial music, music technology, and performance, just also embraces traditional offerings in classical, church music, music education, and more.

The program is congenital on a foundation of classical music, jazz, and blues to inform student studies of contemporary forms. Those majoring in commercial music tin can choose from five areas of emphasis: performance, songwriting, composition and arranging, music business, and music technology.

Belmont actually fields a second higher dedicated to various aspects of pop music. The second is the Mike Adjourn College of Entertainment and Music Business. Founded in 2003, it bears the name of a legendary performer, songwriter, producer, and record company executive. The Adjourn College offers courses in songwriting, audio applied science, media production, music business, journalism, publishing, and more. Await inside its buildings, and yous will notice acme-notch studios and engineering science.

Like USC, Belmont is in a musical hotspot with proximity to Nashville'south iconic Music Row. Many Belmont faculty members have had notable careers in the manufacture, and networking opportunities grow for students. Belmont has a high acceptance charge per unit of 84 percent and prides itself on being the largest ecumenical Christian university in America. (Visit https://www.belmont.edu/cmpa/music/undergrad/index.html for further information.)

Berklee College of Music

The globe's largest establishment for music studies is the combined Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Information technology ranks at or about the peak of the list for all-time contemporary music colleges, with popular music being a central component in its expansive curriculum. Berklee grants undergraduate degrees in 12 majors and 30 primary instruments ranging from electric guitar, bass, and drums to orchestral instruments, banjo, electronic digital instruments, and more than. For decades after its founding in 1945, Berklee was the just selection for students to learn musical styles non taught at classical conservatories.

Berklee was the first school to offer studies in performance, composition and arranging for jazz musicians. Over the decades, it has burnished its outlier reputation by creating a very diverse curriculum. Berklee became the start institution in the nation to offer electric guitar as a principal musical instrument in 1962, a motion picture scoring major in 1979, music synthesis studies in 1984, and songwriting in 1987. Further innovations included establishing an audio recording department (1977), music business major (1992), music therapy major (1996), hip-hop curriculum (1999), American roots music minor (2006), Africana musical studies (2006), video game scoring (2009), an plant for creative entrepreneurship (2014), and a pop music institute (2016).

 In 2016, Berklee merged with Boston Solarium (founded in 1867), expanding its curriculum to include musical theater and dance as well as operatic and symphonic orchestra instruction. As a consequence, Berklee became a musical melting pot with a vibrant temper and teaching in many musical genres and styles. Numerous Berklee students have gone on to noteworthy careers as popular and jazz performers, pic composers, record visitor executives, hit songwriters, recording engineers, producers, and more. To date, its alumni have won a full of 310 Grammys in addition to many other industry awards. Berklee has a high acceptance rate of 54 pct. (Visit https://www.berklee.edu.)

Academy of Miami

The Frost School of Music at the Academy of Miami (Florida) offers an array of highly respected studies amongst its eight departments. In addition to instrumental and vocalization performance studies (which cover classical music, opera, jazz, and popular styles), other departments focus on music didactics and therapy, theory and limerick, studio music and jazz, musicology, and music media and industry.

Frost's Modern Artist Evolution and Entrepreneurship program (Yard.A.D.E.) is a comprehensive programme for those seeking a BM in pop music and music business. The program'due south approach allows students to tailor their studies for the career they envision. The school's motto reflects this accent: "Build Yourself at Frost." The One thousand.A.D.E. programme is designed for the business concern-minded musician; honing ane'due south musical craft is but 1 component needed for success in today'due south music industry. The curriculum covers operation, writing, arranging and orchestration, musical directing, marketing and promotion, copyright and licensing, creating business organisation plans, and more.

Yard.A.D.E. students who want to delve deeply into performing and songwriting tin can pursue a minor in the Bruce Hornsby Artistic American Music program (C.A.M.), named for an iconic singer-songwriter and UM alumnus. C.A.Thousand. is open to all Frost music majors past audience.

The overarching mission of the Thou.A.D.E. program, as articulated on its website, is to "provide the highest level of preparation for qualified performers and creatives to thrive in all aspects of the contemporary music industry." The Frost School has a moderate credence charge per unit of 40%.  (Visit https://bulletin.miami.edu/undergraduate-bookish-programs/music/music-media-industry/musicianship-artistry-evolution-entrepreneurship-bm/#textcontainer#text).

New York University

Like Belmont, the report of popular music takes place within two areas within New York Academy (NYU). The Steinhardt School of Civilization, Educational activity, and Human Development, with its Music and Performing Arts Professions Department, offers an expansive curriculum. Areas of accent include instrumental performance studies for orchestral players (contumely, woodwind, strings, and percussion) as well as vocal and jazz studies. NYU'southward popular music rails leads to a BM in Music Theory and Composition with a concentration in Contemporary Production and Songwriting.

In improver to typical undergraduate music courses in aural comprehension, music history, music theory, and general keyboard skills, popular music majors study songwriting, music engineering science, music publishing, contemporary scoring, orchestration, and jazz arranging. Songwriters receive input from accomplished kinesthesia members and songwriting professionals and interact with classmates as lyricists and composers. Liberal arts courses round out the degree.

For high school students wanting an advanced wait at its songwriting studies, NYU offers an intensive, two-calendar week songwriting seminar each summer.  (Visit https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/programs/songwriting.)

T he Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music presents its own comprehensive program of study. Information technology bears the proper noun an NYU alumnus and distinguished music industry executive who signed such superstars every bit Billy Joel, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, and others. The institute'due south mission is to equip students with the business and creative skills to become manufacture leaders in the art and commerce of recorded music. Amid its many offerings are studies in entrepreneurship, analysis of the contributions of various popular music artists and movements, and such current issues as music streaming. (Meet https://tisch.nyu.edu/special-programs/courses-for-not-majors/clive-davis-institute-of-recorded-music.)

With a campus located in 1 of the earth'due south great cities—another music industry hub—and proximity to many cultural happenings, NYU is an excellent destination for those serious about a range of music careers. Acceptance into NYU is competitive at sixteen%.

Fix for Your Next Step

The electric guitar and distinctive hairdo recommended past the Byrds may still have their place in rock stardom, but much has inverse since 1967. Developing a multifaceted talent and gaining practical cognition about the music industry at a college or university multiplies the options and increases the odds for developing a lasting career somewhere in the music business.

Boosted Colleges and Universities with Strong Pop (Commercial) Music Programs

Catawba College (Salisbury, NC)

University of the Arts (Philadelphia, PA)

Los Angeles College of Music

Middle Tennessee Land University

Fullerton College (Fullerton, CA)

Columbia College Chicago

The City College of New York

Also, visit the Association for Popular Music Education website at www.popularmusiceducation.org.

Mark Small

Marking Small-scale, classical guitarist, composer, and music journalist, has spent the bulk of his life in New England. He has composed classical, jazz, pop, and sacred music for chorus, wind ensemble, orchestra, piano, and guitar. He holds available's and master's degrees in classical guitar functioning from New England Conservatory and California State Academy, Fullerton. He besides studied guitar and composition at Berklee College of Music, and served for 26 years equally editor of Berklee today mag until his retirement in 2018.

An agile music journalist, Mark has written for Guitar Player, DownBeat, Acoustic Guitar, Soundboard, Classical Guitar , and other music publications.

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Source: https://insidemusicschools.com/2021/08/20/top-colleges-for-popular-music/

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