college of music or private lessons?

[Swissward Flamtacles]

So you don't have a teacher yet? Then I'd look for a professional who's had a career that you could envision for yourself. He or she will know what matters and what you should work on.
If you consider college, sprinkle in some ear training on intervals and chords now. A free tool is GNU Solfege: https://www.gnu.org/software/solfege/
Also look at the requirements for auditions at colleges: sight reading, snare solos, basic piano playing and so on. Working on these things will help you no matter if you eventually go to college or not. But if you do, you'll be competing with some young kick ass players, so you don't want to have any big holes.
Look for "amateur" big bands in your area - some local bands play at a pretty high level and it will teach you lots of musical and social skills.
Go to jam sessions to meet local players and to discover where you are at compared to others.
There are some nice workshops in Europe where you can get together with different musicians for a few days.

 

[alex.56]

In my opinion, and I'm not a pro by any means, if you're young (22 or younger) than anything goes. That means (a) follow your dreams baby, and (b) any debt you accrue can readily be paid off over a portion of your lifetime, but at a rate you will hardly notice. But your profile says you're from Italy, so the cost structure for higher education may be different there than in the U.S. One of our members here - Pietro Valente - is from Italy and went to University of Music in Rome.

Also, what is your age? How long have you been playing? Have you played in a structured environment like high school symphonic band, or marching band? Have you had private lessons in the rudiments?

As for whether music theory is a waste of time for the gigging drummer, I think that's an invalid conclusion. In order to make it in today's challenging music business, you need to be well rounded music-wise. You need to be flexible to work both in a band on tour, as well as a studio musician being asked to sight read a new piece on the spot. Or a show drummer for a backing band that plays whatever piece a guest singer or musician brings up on stage, with little to no rehearsal.

EDIT: If that's your age in your userid, then all bets are off. Just being honest.

Thank you. I'm 16 years old, I've been playing for about 7 years and I joined some drum competition. I'm not really into the environment but I play in a band and we used to gig so I'm used to it. I had lessons for these 7 years with a jazz local teacher, the best local teacher, so I learned how to read music and I build up my style, but as I said I wanna go to the next step. I wanted to take private lessons from Alfredo Golino, If you don't know him check him out. For me he's the best Italian drummer.

 

[alex.56]

Drum lessons will give you advanced one on one tuition.
But they won’t give you all the other subjects, like playing in large or small ensembles, song writing, harmony and theory, listening and analysis classes, or recording studio techniques.
Its up to you to decide if these skills are important to you or not.

Thank you. As I said, I'm in a band so I know what does it means to play in it and we went gig during last summer. I think my teacher can't give me more, like I have to go to the next level. I think you get my point.

 

[rhumbagirl]

Thank you. I'm 16 years old, I've been playing for about 7 years and I joined some drum competition. I'm not really into the environment but I play in a band and we used to gig so I'm used to it. I had lessons for these 7 years with a jazz local teacher, the best local teacher, so I learned how to read music and I build up my style, but as I said I wanna go to the next step. I wanted to take private lessons from Alfredo Golino, If you don't know him check him out. For me he's the best Italian drummer.

Well that's refreshing. 56 must be the sum of the years in your current life and the 40 you spent in the previous one wishing you had taken up drums earlier. I was prepared to read your response as "16 yrs left to live and 7 yrs of skin lesions". I guess I take user ids a bit too literal . Anyway, the world's yours. I'm going to step away now and let the pros here give some insight. Good luck!

 

[alex.56]

Well that's refreshing. 56 must be the sum of the years in your current life and the 40 you spent in the previous one wishing you had taken up drums earlier. I was prepared to read your response as "16 yrs left to live and 7 yrs of skin lesions". I guess I take user ids a bit too literal . Anyway, the world's yours. I'm going to step away now and let the pros here give some insight. Good luck!

Well I used 56 because Alex the name was already used xd. Thank youu!

 

[alex.56]

So you don't have a teacher yet? Then I'd look for a professional who's had a career that you could envision for yourself. He or she will know what matters and what you should work on.
If you consider college, sprinkle in some ear training on intervals and chords now. A free tool is GNU Solfege: https://www.gnu.org/software/solfege/
Also look at the requirements for auditions at colleges: sight reading, snare solos, basic piano playing and so on. Working on these things will help you no matter if you eventually go to college or not. But if you do, you'll be competing with some young kick ass players, so you don't want to have any big holes.
Look for "amateur" big bands in your area - some local bands play at a pretty high level and it will teach you lots of musical and social skills.
Go to jam sessions to meet local players and to discover where you are at compared to others.
There are some nice workshops in Europe where you can get together with different musicians for a few days.

That's what I'm doing even tough with this lockdown will be so difficult to meet again and play

 

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

There are many routes to take and you could always get an education later or slowly add up to one while doing things if it's just for the papers.

I'm sure that in the general enviroment and clubs you'll be working in you'll also find the local professors on stage and in the audience regularly.

Also, though it's all about papers in my country, I know American professors that don't have a degree, but were hired because of unique skills.

 

[alex.56]

There are many routes to take and you could always get an education later or slowly add up to one while doing things if it's just for the papers.

I'm sure that in the general enviroment and clubs you'll be working in you'll also find the local professors on stage and in the audience regularly.

Also, though it's all about papers in my country, I know American professors that don't have a degree, but were hired because of unique skills.

Thank you!

 

[Paul Blood]

Yes, don't go into dept or put your parents into dept! But if your parent;s can send you to Berkeley, go for it! And even if a music career doesn't work out , having a degree in music may help get into other fields too. For example, maybe a company in Italy would be impressed that you studied overseas, and are bilingual. With a lot of jobs, you basically learn as you go, so companies look for people that can learn quick. You have to be a smart and hard working person to obtain a music degree and jump through all the hoops like music theory, form and analysis, music history, music technology, etc. You have to have some confidence to perform difficult music in front of your peers and professors. In other words, by studying music you'll develop other skills and gain the grit that will benefit you in other areas of your life.

 

[Paul Blood]

Todd said "College is not for intermediate level players, it's for people who want to make music their career"

I can tell you that I went to UNT 30 years ago, and some of the drummers were already sounding already like seasoned pros as freshmen. Some of my classmates have gone onto to working with Steely Dan, Toto, Sting, Rascal Flats, Smash Mouth, Foreigner, and the list could go on and on. Other drummers I know have gotten into recording , production, and composition. Some are drum teachers, high school band directors, drum line instructors. Funny thing is, some of those guys that have backed the big rock acts, I had never even thought of them as "rock drummers" while we were at school. They all played all the styles, and percussion instruments. Most of the guys I know from those days now play part-time and work either in a music related filed or outside of music.

One bit of good advice that symphonic percussionist Alan Abel (RIP) gave us at a clinic he did at UNT, was "try to develop some of your interests outside of music too" and he meant not just for job security but personal development. I was a total Latin music freak, so I thought it would be good to learn Spanish. I took all the Spanish classes I could almost every semester, studied a summer term in Puerto Rico and Mexico and was able to become fluent. After graduating, realizing the gigging life wasn't for me, I figured I could be a band director or a Spanish teacher. Band directing seemed why more of a heavy time commitment, so I've been happily teaching high school Spanish ,gigging, and have some private drum, and piano students. It's great having benefits, paid vacation, and I'm now actually eligible to retire at age 53 with a pension! Having that kind of job security would have been very difficult had I just stayed a "gigging drummer" But anyways, I think I'll wait awhile more to retire from teaching high school Spanish given these crazy Covid 19 times were living in now, and my 16 year daughter is wanting to also go on to get her music degree in violin performance or music education! She has lots of schooling ahead of her, and luckily we saved a bit, but absolutely no schools like Berkeley for her, unless she gets a really good scholarship. So study hard Alex, you have a tough road ahead of you, but you may enjoy the journey. I certainly did!

 

[No Way Jose]

Thank you. I'm 16 years old, I've been playing for about 7 years and I joined some drum competition. I'm not really into the environment but I play in a band and we used to gig so I'm used to it. I had lessons for these 7 years with a jazz local teacher, the best local teacher, so I learned how to read music and I build up my style, but as I said I wanna go to the next step. I wanted to take private lessons from Alfredo Golino, If you don't know him check him out. For me he's the best Italian drummer.

Can you take private lessons from Alfredo Golino? It sounds like that is what you want to do.

 

[alex.56]

Todd said "College is not for intermediate level players, it's for people who want to make music their career"

I can tell you that I went to UNT 30 years ago, and some of the drummers were already sounding already like seasoned pros as freshmen. Some of my classmates have gone onto to working with Steely Dan, Toto, Sting, Rascal Flats, Smash Mouth, Foreigner, and the list could go on and on. Other drummers I know have gotten into recording , production, and composition. Some are drum teachers, high school band directors, drum line instructors. Funny thing is, some of those guys that have backed the big rock acts, I had never even thought of them as "rock drummers" while we were at school. They all played all the styles, and percussion instruments. Most of the guys I know from those days now play part-time and work either in a music related filed or outside of music.

One bit of good advice that symphonic percussionist Alan Abel (RIP) gave us at a clinic he did at UNT, was "try to develop some of your interests outside of music too" and he meant not just for job security but personal development. I was a total Latin music freak, so I thought it would be good to learn Spanish. I took all the Spanish classes I could almost every semester, studied a summer term in Puerto Rico and Mexico and was able to become fluent. After graduating, realizing the gigging life wasn't for me, I figured I could be a band director or a Spanish teacher. Band directing seemed why more of a heavy time commitment, so I've been happily teaching high school Spanish ,gigging, and have some private drum, and piano students. It's great having benefits, paid vacation, and I'm now actually eligible to retire at age 53 with a pension! Having that kind of job security would have been very difficult had I just stayed a "gigging drummer" But anyways, I think I'll wait awhile more to retire from teaching high school Spanish given these crazy Covid 19 times were living in now, and my 16 year daughter is wanting to also go on to get her music degree in violin performance or music education! She has lots of schooling ahead of her, and luckily we saved a bit, but absolutely no schools like Berkeley for her, unless she gets a really good scholarship. So study hard Alex, you have a tough road ahead of you, but you may enjoy the journey. I certainly did!

Thank you a lot. I agree with you. I have time to think about, in the meanwhile, for sure, I'm gonna study hard and try to know what's the best for me.

 

[alex.56]

Can you take private lessons from Alfredo Golino? It sounds like that is what you want to do.

Yes I can. Obviously after this lockdown period I'm gonna get some info to study with him.

 

[Paul Blood]

Also if your really serious about studying music at the college level you better start taking piano/theory/ ear training now!

 

[Benfordrum]

school is great but the real deal is going out and getting lessons and doing it on your own

 

[dale w miller]

As a Berklee graduate I say go to regular academic school in NYC, LA, or Nashville, go to a academic university & get an academic degree that gets you some sort of certificate, take a few music theory courses they may offer, and study with a badass drum instructor outside of school. There will be plenty in those 3 cities, you’ll establish yourself in a worthwhile scene, and you’ll have a degree that’s worth something.

 

[rhumbagirl]

When I graduated from the University of Alabama in '95, I had $32K of debt that I paid off over a 20 yr period of small monthly payments. It was mostly Stafford loans. I used Pell grants and Work Study to pay for the rest of it. If I could do it all over again, knowing I had access to some of the great teachers the school had to offer at the time - Steve Sample, Larry Mathis - I would have included more music courses in those 5 yrs than just jazz ensemble. But that's all 20/20. Such is life.

We still don't know if Alex.56 is interested and able to come to the US to study. And isn't public college in Italy free?

EDIT: All of this advice is moot if the pandemic drags on and colleges remain closed, either as a preventative measure or worse, because of economic collapse. Maybe it's the online study option that's the way to go. Plenty of options there and at a decent price. Note that if you self study at your own pace, and put together a really sharp youtube presence and website, that might get you noticed much more than a piece of paper.

 

[dale w miller]

Just a thought: a 1 hour drum lesson is about $30 an hour or so. 1 lesson a week for a year is $1,560. After 10 years that's $15,600. Still way less expensive than a music school, and you get 1 on 1 instruction every single time.

I my mind that is money much better spent.

That is a ridiculously low cost drum lesson. If you’re comparing it to someone who has the ability and credentials to teach at a respected university, we are talking at least $100/hr.

 

[MrInsanePolack]

That is a ridiculously low cost drum lesson. If you’re comparing it to someone who has the ability and credentials to teach at a respected university, we are talking at least $100/hr.

I'm talking regular, weekly drum lessons. That's about the going rate in my area. We also have extremely cheap gas and one of the lowest costs of living in the country.

I sometimes think y'all music degree having folks forget that there are normal, no degree having people out there also who can play just as good as y'all and teach too. If a quality lesson started at $100, no one would get them.

 

[KamaK]

I sometimes think y'all music degree having folks forget that there are normal, no degree having people out there also who can play just as good as y'all and teach too. If a quality lesson started at $100, no one would get them.

I pay $100 per lesson, however:

The lesson is once every two months
The lesson is in my own studio (Teacher comes to me)
The lesson is 2h long.
One hour is dedicated to academic drumming, the other hour is dedicated to fixing brokenness in my everyday playing.

For the OP:

If you are going to a music school, the major should be an aspect of music that isn't playing, such as business or production. The playing should be a minor.

If you have been playing for a while, stop thinking of the instructor as a teacher and think of them as a trainer/coach. Even gold medalists have a coach.