Jazz Studies or Performance Degree

[Crazy Finn]

[JakeTrumpet]

@CrazyFinn thanks for your input! Like it was said plenty of times on this thread, it's tough out there. I'm gonna "go for it" because I don't what to think "what if" one day. Once again thanks for your input and the story about your friend, it gives me a little eyewitness insight!

[roynj]

I think it's great that high school players have aspirations of playing professionally or teaching at a college level one day. I'm enthusiastic about young people with such passion and spirit for making music, trumpet music. I would like to recommend that you make an appointment for a trial lesson with one of the trumpet profs at one of your candidate schools. I think you may learn a lot from such an experience. Don't wait until you're going for auditions to find out what they might have to say (about you, about the trumpet world, about their jobs, etc.). I would bet you would find this experience very enlightening. Good luck!

[royjohn]

Academia is rife with this "adjunct" thing right now. I went back to school because of the free-tuition-for-seniors-at-State-schools in our State. My Italian teachers have been superb, but both of them are instructors and non-tenured. I have a friend who is "Interim Head" of a program in the English Department and is paid at an instructor level despite doing a ton of work and being extremely competent.

This practice seems partly a result of the squeeze on college tuition rates, which will only increase as on line alternatives make more inroads. Just another thing to consider as you decide what to do. Add to that what's happening with orchestra salaries, strikes, etc., and you have a lot to think about. Definitely a fall back position is a good idea.
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royjohn
Trumpets: 1928 Holton Llewellyn Model, 1957 Holton 51LB, 2010 Custom C by Bill Jones, 2011 Custom D/Eb by Bill Jones
Flugels: 1975 Olds Superstar, 1970's Elkhardt, 1970's Getzen 4 valve
Cornet: 1970's Yamaha YCR-233S . . . and others . . .

[JakeTrumpet]

@roynj Thank you so much for your kind words! I go to different camps where I'm looking to go each summer, so I do get private lessons with the profs. I will set up some lessons with the profs from some more of the target schools. I will be a junior next year, so I have time, but it's never too early to look and try things out.

[KRossum]

JakeTrumpet -

If you really would like to play full-time, learn how to play the horn as deeply and as thoroughly as possible. This means 125% commitment to the instrument during your collegiate studies. Do NOT concern yourself with a "backup" or "fall-back" plan. If you plan to fail, you will. Life has a way of working itself out, so stay positive and focused on your goal(s).

As far as the degree title (Jazz or Performance) that really is a question for the specific institution and their specific degree requirements. If you proceed as a jazz major, you will most likely have to study some classical trumpet to build your fundamentals; if you proceed as a performance major, you will have to study some jazz to fill out your portfolio as a professional musician. Go whichever direction inspires you to practice.

WARNING: Do not pursue a MuEd degree as a fallback! Even beyond the reasoning above, music education is a grueling and often thankless profession. Unless you have a true passion and calling for teaching, leave it be.

A secondary reason for entering into a music degree is to surround yourself with like-minded individuals. Your student colleagues will be your greatest resource, even after graduation. Of course, groups of like-minded musicians are easily found outside of academia as well; these are referred to as "scenes".

Lastly, a college education does not ensure employment; in any field. Frame your education as an opportunity to enlighten your mind, strengthen your resolve, discipline your behavior, while feeding your passions and dreams.

Remember, almost all true "Artists" have worked day jobs. There is no shame in that. Truly.

ONward...
-Kelly
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Website:
www.krossum.com

[JakeTrumpet]

@KRossum Thanks for your input and support! I can't see myself teaching K-12 so I don't want to do music Ed. That's true, the connections and networking you do in school will definitely help you later down the road. Whichever path I choose, (I still have 1 more year before I go to look at schools and audition), I can study academically or privately with a teacher to "stay fresh" with jazz or legit playing. I enjoy reading about some of the great pedagogues (Claude Gordon, James Stamp, Carmine Caruso), their methodology and the great students they had taught. I really enjoy playing jazz and legit things, as Wynton once said on 60 Minutes, "You have fun playing both jazz and classical, they are just different kinds of fun." So I'll do whatever I feel will be the best for me. When there's a will, there's a way. I know of many great players have worked day jobs just in case the gig scene has run dry, so there is no shame in that. Once again thanks!

[Adam V]

If I could do it over again, I would do jazz studies. Commercial music is my passion (not really "jazz"), and I feel that going through college as a jazz studies major would've helped me a lot more in the commercial realm, not only in terms of classes, but with connections and opportunities.
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1970 Bach 37 Strad
Yamaha 635 flugel

Marcinkiewicz E3/3C

[Nonsense Eliminator]

+1000 to Pat's post. Given that what you're pursuing is a career something like Pat's, and that Pat's job is helping people do exactly that -- well, listen to what he has to say.

I want to reiterate one of his points: Which course of study you should pursue depends on where you are, almost entirely. There is a huge variety in jazz programs, and enormous differences in how those jazz programs integrate with the rest of the music school. So there is no single right answer, other than, "It depends."

Secondly, from my perspective as a classical player, when I look at the opportunities for earning money playing jazz music right now (at least here in Toronto, which admittedly isn't New York but is a pretty big city with a vibrant artistic community) I would suggest that you want to make sure your skill set is as broad as possible. Many of the top players here earn the bulk of their income teaching and playing gigs that are much more "commercial" than "jazz" -- i.e. shows and the like. So make sure you are in a situation where you are really getting your chops together, not just "developing your own personal voice" or something like that.

Finally -- it is fashionable to tell people it's impossible to earn a living in this business. It's difficult, and you have to be good at what you do. But it's not impossible, and frankly, there are very few guaranteed meal tickets any more. If this is what you want to do and your teachers think you have the tools, go for it -- but REALLY go for it.
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Richard Sandals
NBO

[lipshurt]

Music Ed gigs are easy, fun, relaxed, rewarding, and often times very musical. If you get a job at a good high school you are doing music all the time with some pretty good players to keep you on your toes. Sure there is some extra stuff to do, but its easy. The paycheck is good and every year it goes up, and every year the gig gets easier. It's stable, musical, and easy. There you go.
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Mouthpiece Maker
vintage Trumpet design enthusiast
www.meeuwsenmouthpieces.com
www.youtube.com/lipshurt

[JakeTrumpet]

Yeah, the best thing is to go for the gold. I also really enjoy commercial music and playing. Most of my favorites players would be considered orchestral/symphonic, commercial, and jazz players. I don't like using labels to describe players because we all are trumpet players at the very root of it. I feel like if I majored in Jazz, I'd be well versed in more styles of music and I'd become a more versatile player. But it is very important to have a great solid classical foundation and background. A fellow player once told me, "You have a great sound, keep playing. If you can get a classical sound (plenty of core to it) with a jazz feel (for creativity and musicality) you'll be set."

[JakeTrumpet]

My favorite two players that I really enjoy listening to are Doc Severinsen and Jens Lindemann. Not only can they have a great classical foundation and sound, they can also be killer jazz and commercial players. Some of the Pops things and chamber things they do are astounding. Variety is the spice of life!

[EdMann]

My mother was a music major, taught in the schools (K-8th) and performed most of her life. She developed no jazz chops on piano, no real commercial chops on voice, practiced while in school and rarely practiced after getting her teaching credential and all the while helped support our family. She worked constantly.

After I got to UCLA, she told me to consider something else besides perfomance, even though I had won audition after audition at the school, getting in concert band, Jazz Ensemble 1 and found work in the funk band scene of the 70's, all as a freshman. "Don't do it!" So I went with Econ.

Every other trpt player in the jazz ensemble majored in music. One went on to Harvard Law and still plays, occasionally with the likes of Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, another became a big TV scoring man, another scored movies and will conduct the SF Symphony next month featuring his work, another did studio work and then real estate and still plays around town (we all keep in touch). I found radio and re-discovered music later, as in now, and don't depend on it for my livelihood, and I don't regret a second of any time I spent behind a voice mic on the air or a desk instead of teaching kids or gigging, which would have been lovely, but that's not where the river ran. There's so much to do in life that's rewarding, and much that each of us is capable of and I would not have discovered that had I lazer focused on perfoming. Food for thought.

ed

[bg]

[JakeTrumpet]

Brad,
Thanks for your encouragement! I definitely plan to finish off a Masters after I get a Bachelors. Then hopefully I can get a nice gig somewhere (I'm hoping military band), and eventually work on a DMA. If I go for a Masters, I'd like to be a teaching assistant, not only for the opportunity, but also for the experience. I'd like to teach one day, and I'm sure I'll take private students after I'm done college, and eventually (hopefully) teach at a university or college.

Just a thought, I could get a degree in both fields, like Bachelors in Jazz and Masters in Performance (or vice versa).

[pfeifela]

[JakeTrumpet]

Thanks Larry! It's something to consider; I still have time. My dad is a HS director and loves it. My brother is going for Music Ed. You never know what opportunities lie ahead! I'll keep an open mind and I'm sure good things will happen!

[zackh411]

Consider an education degree. You can still have an education degree and be an awesome trumpet player.
Musically, you can do anything with an Ed degree that you can with a performance degree. But with a performance degree, it is much more challenging to find employment playing your instrument. One of my best friends has a performance degree... he's working at a gas station saving money to go back for an Ed degree, and he's an excellent trumpet player.
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~Zack

Lead Piece: Custom PickettBrass
Jazz Piece: Custom Curry TC
Legit Piece: Yamaha Shew Jazz (18 Drill)

[royjohn]

I don't think of acquiring additional skills and qualifications as planning to fail or diluting your focus. You can only keep the trumpet on your face a finite amount of time each day. The rest can be spent in Music Ed., in some other music related field (composition, recording, musicology, etc., etc.) or in another field entirely. Information Technology, which has lots of links to music, is certainly a possibility. Even studying another instrument is a possibility. I have a friend who recently graduated with an MM in trumpet performance and took a job at Home Depot. She is having to turn down too many gigs on bagpipes, her real love, because of the full time job. Weddings, funerals, etc. Very popular and a few hundred a pop. So there are lots of options.

I don't think anyone can tell you where your life will go. We can only offer our individual perspectives and then you'll have to see what develops. You may be a Wynton type person whose fate is sealed after a few folks at school get to hear you. You will not need too many additional skills, although you may want to acquire them anyway. Or you may find yourself somewhere in the vast middle of pro ability levels. You can decide to work harder and smarter than everyone else, but you may also want additional skills. You do not need to lose your focus to do this. You just cut into your leisure time or take an extra semester or two to finish your Bachelor's degree.

Whatever you choose, good luck! I would be interested to see you come back to this thread in two or three years and tell us what happened.
_________________
royjohn
Trumpets: 1928 Holton Llewellyn Model, 1957 Holton 51LB, 2010 Custom C by Bill Jones, 2011 Custom D/Eb by Bill Jones
Flugels: 1975 Olds Superstar, 1970's Elkhardt, 1970's Getzen 4 valve
Cornet: 1970's Yamaha YCR-233S . . . and others . . .

[Nonsense Eliminator]