"Should I go to music school?" and other questions
Music Advice Column for February 2024
Today, we’re talking about developing habits as a music maker, going to music school, and wrapping up with some music recommendations in the inaugural edition of my monthly music advice column.
First off, thank you all so much for submitting your questions for this music advice column. Please, keep them coming! Send your music questions to zw.helps.you@gmail.com and I will get to them. I know I said that I would start this column next month but the response was so encouraging that it felt right to just get things under way.
I’m going to kick off this advice column by answering three questions from a subscriber named, John. Two of these questions are very related to one another and the final question gives me a chance to share some music that I’ve been listening to lately — which is great since I intended, but completely forgot, to share music at the end of last week’s post. John writes,
Yesterday, about an hour before I got your email announcing your advice column, a question popped into my head about developing as a music maker.
I thought to myself, "I want to ask ZW that." Next thing I know, you have a music advice column! Kismet!
I love the idea, very much looking forward to it!
Some questions:
1. If you had to pick one thing, habit, practice, skill, whatever (I know "one thing" is kind of ridiculous, but curious how you'd respond) that is most impactful for developing as a music maker, what would it be?
2. How much of your own musical development would you attribute to your schooling? What can you learn at music school? What can you not? What advice do you have for music makers who are curating their own education largely outside of "traditional" settings?
3. What's a piece of music that has deeply affected you in the last year or so?
I'll leave it there for now, but I'll be back!
With much gratitude,
John
I should note that John had a few more questions in this email but I have excluded them for now so that I can give more space to answering each question. I’ll absolutely get back to the rest of them in a later edition! Let’s dive in.
What singular thing will help me the most as a music maker?
1. If you had to pick one thing, habit, practice, skill, whatever (I know "one thing" is kind of ridiculous, but curious how you'd respond) that is most impactful for developing as a music maker, what would it be?
I think this is a great question and I don’t think it’s ridiculous at all! Of course, identifying “one thing” as a kind of musical panacea won’t actually be the end-all solution but, that being said, I do think it is a useful thought exercise for helping us to guide and re-center ourselves. So, I’m happy to rise to the challenge.
(Total side note but Ableton has an amazing video series on their YouTube channel called, “One Thing.” I can’t recommend it enough to everybody, regardless of the DAW you use. Each video is about two minutes and deeply inspiring.)
The key to answering this question successfully (or, as successfully as one can answer this question anyway) is context. Making music isn’t a one size fits all endeavor and development looks different for each of us. The developmental goals of a conductor are going to be distinctly different from those of a DJ. Considering the fact that the stated audience of this newsletter is “DAW-based producers and composers” I’m going to answer this question from that perspective and, honestly, it took me about three seconds to have my answer.
In the last two years alone, between my private students and my students at Point Blank Music School, I’ve had the privilege of teaching a little over 250 composers and producers. Regardless of whether these students were beginners or seasoned artists, my answer would be the same: they all need to finish and release more music.
Do you want to see the bigger picture?
Music production is a complex and multi-faceted process. The modern DAW rolls what was once several people’s jobs into one piece of software. Most DAWs have all the necessary tools built-in to carry out the entire production pipeline, from initial idea, to commercial recording. At the tail end of that pipeline are the two steps that music makers fear the most: mixing and mastering.
What results is a vicious ouroboros: you never try to mix and master your music because you don’t know how and you never learn to mix and master your music because you never try. The end result is the sonic equivalent of a weightlifter that avoids leg day: strong arms but no legs to stand on. The skill imbalance becomes obvious.
I am not advising that everybody become a mixing and/or mastering engineer by any stretch of the imagination. What I am advising is that you learn the basics of completing this process for yourself so that you can demystify it. When I talk with composers and producers that avoid trying out mixing and mastering for themselves, there exists in their mind some shrouded final ritual to get their music up to commercial standards that they don’t have to worry about. The engineer will worry about it.
What’s actually happening is they end up missing a critical step in their own understanding of the production pipeline. If you don’t understand the basics of mixing and mastering, you can’t produce and arrange your track in a way that’s informed by that process. You never learn how production choices affect the mix and vice versa. You run the risk of developing bad form in your composing and producing because you don’t know any better.
The importance of benchmarks?
There is a second reason for my answer, however. Finishing tracks and putting them out into the world is an act that builds self trust. I’ve run into many people who don’t believe they could ever finish their tracks so they don’t and then they quit. Or, they keep going and get frustrated that they’ve spent all this time learning to produce but don’t have any thing to show for themselves.
Finishing tracks and putting them out into the world is an act that builds self trust.
Furthermore, finishing tracks gives you a benchmark of your progress. When I work with my private students, I make them finish their tracks before we move on to new ones. Just this a few weeks ago, I was talking with one of my students about how much progress they’ve made since we’ve worked together and this week they came into their lesson telling me they went back and listened to those older track and they can hear the difference.
I won’t lie, your first finished track is probably going to be below the standard you want it to be. Your second and third might be as well. But, you’ll be putting in the hours needed to improve and it will become just another part of the production process to you, and cease being this barrier that keeps you from achieving your goals.
Should I go to music school?
2. How much of your own musical development would you attribute to your schooling? What can you learn at music school? What can you not? What advice do you have for music makers who are curating their own education largely outside of "traditional" settings?
School contributed greatly to my own development both positively and very, very negatively. Much of that can come down to the classrooms you find yourself in. My high school music teacher told me I would fail if I studied vocal performance so I never tried. On the other hand, my junior college music theory professor was deeply encouraging towards and supporting of my earliest compositions and here I am now working professionally as a composer today. I should also note: I don’t have a single music degree. I have an associate in arts, a bachelor in arts technology, and master of science in creative technologies degree.
My point is that you shouldn’t take it as a given that going to music school is necessary. Most of the time, I think people shouldn’t go to music school. In my mind, there are only three reasons why somebody should actually go to music school.
First, is that you actually enjoy going to school and learn better in that structured environment. Everything you can learn in any music school in America is available for free or far cheaper online. Before the internet, music schools were the keepers of knowledge. Now that’s no longer the case. The value of a music school now is in the accountability that comes from having structure and in how that institution and its faculty curate the knowledge. If you struggle with guiding your own education, school might be the best option.
Second, is that going to school will further your professional goals. If you want to be a professor, yeah, you have to go to music school. For the vast majority of other music jobs? You probably don’t need to. If you’re trying to work in the music industry then absolutely nobody gives a shit if you went to school or not. Clients and prospective employers care about your portfolio and your experience, not your diploma. Plus, the vast majority of music schools in America do no very little to prepare students for careers. There are some exceptions to this rule, of course. Berklee College of Music has proven to be a platform that elevates students into careers. However, that is partially because of my third reason as well.
The final reason I would recommend going to music school is for the networking opportunities. Berklee has so many success stories in part because of the education the institution provides but perhaps an even bigger reason is the connections and relationships students develop as a result of going to Berklee. It creates a feedback loop where students are being taught by and introduced to some of the biggest artists in the field and their networks begin to extend to the students as well. I mean, shit, electronic musicians at Berklee are literally being taught by fucking Daedelus.
I caution so heavily against going to music school in part because what you gain has to be weighed against the immense amount of debt that you’ll likely occur. If you’re trying to build a music career, debt is the last thing you want hanging over your head.
How can I curate my own musical education?
So let’s talk about curating your own education. This can be a hard thing to get a grasp on. How do you know what you need to know when you don’t already know it, you know?
I do think there is a way to work it out intuitively but it requires you to be honest with yourself and well organized. Open the session that you believe to be the best thing you’ve produced so far. Listen to it and take notes on where you think it needs the most improvement. It could be mixing or arranging or drum sequencing, whatever. Organize a list of topics and then seek out resources from there. Practice what you learn, produce a new track, and repeat the process. Let your interests guide you. You have to be diligent, organized, and honest but this approach works.
You can also seek educational resources outside of traditional college programs. Online courses, lessons, workshops, continuing education programs, tutorials, and non-degree programs are all great options. Sometimes dipping back into more formal education systems can help keep you energized and motivated without needing the life changing commitment of a degree program.
The goal is to develop a practice of constantly learning. I can tell you that I never stop learning about my craft as it’s a professional requirement. Music technology is always changing and it’s important to stay abreast of those changes. I can tell you that I’m at the point now that I’ve learned more on my own outside of school than I did in school. It’s a process worth falling in love with.
Let’s wrap up with a music recommendation.
3. What's a piece of music that has deeply affected you in the last year or so?
In the last year or so, I’ve really gotten into Ryuichi Sakamoto’s work and that interest really intensified with his passing. I’m fascinated by his career arc: innovative electronic musician becomes respected film composer becomes elder statesman of experimental music. I strive for half the career that man had.
But more importantly, his music is bold and interesting. It so effortlessly flouts the line between classical and experimental, electronic and completely organic. He considered the whole world music and it’s reflected in his art. I share deeply in this ethos and consider him a musical hero of mine.
There’s an amazing documentary about the making of his album async called CODA. I’ll leave you all with the trailer. It’s worth seeking out and watching. It’s very moving.
Until next time.
Want to submit your questions for the monthly music advice column? Send them to zw.helps.you@gmail.com and keep an eye out for them in a future edition.
Quick Hits
Listen to my new single “Run.” It’s a song about frustration, realization, and release. Glitchy drums, a string quartet, and big vocals. Listen here.
I’m on YouTube now. Check out instrument design tutorials, production breakdowns, and music videos. Subscribe here.
I currently have capacity to take on two more music production students. I offer private one on one lessons over Zoom. You can sign up for lessons here.