BMus?

I tried searching the forums but there wasn't much regarding this topic. So here goes: I want to be a media composer one day, composing music for films, games, television, jingles etc. And I've decided to take up a BMus degree after I complete high school. However, I have a few questions regarding this degree before I really take this up in university.

1. Will this degree help me if I want to pursue the path of a media composer? Or should I take other degrees?

2. What are the entry requirements needed before studying this degree?

3. I know BMus stands for Bachelors of Music degree, but is it for classical music only? Or are any other forms of music like jazz and pop taught in this course?

4. What will I learn in this course?

5. I want to study in the UK/America. Are there any universities/colleges that you would recommend?

Well, these are the 5 questions that have been bugging me for some time now, so I'd be pleased if someone could clear it up for me. Preferably someone with a Bmus degree himself.(Nikolas? QC?)

Thanks.

1. Will this degree help me if I want to pursue the path of a media composer? Or should I take other degrees?

BMus in what? Typically it will help you if you chose the correct BMus.

2. What are the entry requirements needed before studying this degree?

Which uni?

I know BMus stands for Bachelors of Music degree, but is it for classical music only? Or are any other forms of music like jazz and pop taught in this course?

Yes, there are also subgenres within them as well (Composition, Performance maybe some others)

4. What will I learn in this course?

General Music skills, more advanced composition techniques and you (if you chose the right course) will learn how to actually put music to media which is quite difficult without training.

5. I want to study in the UK/America. Are there any universities/colleges that you would recommend?

Dunno.

And I have a BMus and Cert degree. And I will be going for Honours/Masters next year.

Originally Posted by Nigel

1. Will this degree help me if I want to pursue the path of a media composer? Or should I take other degrees?

It will help - you'll meet/study with/work with the people who can (hopefully) steer you the right way. Some electives or a minor worth looking into might be some business or marketing courses.

2. What are the entry requirements needed before studying this degree?

For some schools: Can you afford tuition?
For most: Do you show some (however rudimentary) knowledge of music, and a desire to learn more.

They'll teach you by starting with the VERY basics (i.e. how to draw a treble clef).

3. I know BMus stands for Bachelors of Music degree, but is it for classical music only? Or are any other forms of music like jazz and pop taught in this course?

Some schools offer specialization in anything you can think of, jazz and classical are certainly the most common. A quick browse of the Berklee College of Music website finds 12 separate fields. Some, like the Business of Music stream, or Contemporary Writing might be right up your alley.

4. What will I learn in this course?

Ideally, everything you'd need to succeed...depending on your specialization. Generally you'll get private lessons, theory, history...

5. I want to study in the UK/America. Are there any universities/colleges that you would recommend?

Yes. Too many. You can look at the heavies (like: UNT, Berklee, Juilliard, NEC, MSM, RCM, Miami) Bigger schools might be more likely to give you the focus and streamlining you want...but definitely don't ignore smaller schools. Find a faculty and a city that works for YOU.

Best of luck with the search!

1. Will this degree help me if I want to pursue the path of a media composer? Or should I take other degrees?

As far as I know, there is no "film-music degree", but you can study composition and take film-music modules, if there are any (which is why you should choose a uni/consy that has modules like that, if you're interested in studying film music).

However, there are no rules about film music. There are composers like John Williams who have studied in top-class schools such as Juilliard, an there are composers such as Santaolalla who haven't ever studied music, and found their way through film composing by people they met, and people they met through these people.

I guess an important skill in the film-music industry (or any show-biz industry, really) (or all arts, really) (or anything in life, really >_> ) is good social skills. You can't be an anti-social freak like Jeff in Grandma's Boy (http://images.allmoviephoto.com/2006...lpaper_001.jpg) and expect to be liked by many people and asked to write music for their movies.

2. What are the entry requirements needed before studying this degree?

You have to check with each university/conservatory separately to see that.

3. I know BMus stands for Bachelors of Music degree, but is it for classical music only? Or are any other forms of music like jazz and pop taught in this course?

It depends on whether you want to go to a conservatory or a university and study music there. At a conservatory you'll mostly choose your subject (i.e. composition, an instrumental study, conducting, music therapy etc) and thus you'll do a BMus "Study" degree (e.g. BMus Composition), whereas if you go to a university, you'll probably do a BA in humanities/music, where you will study more general aspects of music, more like a musicologist degree (as far as I know).

4. What will I learn in this course?

Again, you'll have to contact each uni/consy separately and also talk with the head of Composition/Music department and the teachers.

5. I want to study in the UK/America. Are there any universities/colleges that you would recommend?

Why do you want to limit yourself to these two countries? There are many many other countries with very good places to study. Besides, as robin always says, find a teacher, not a uni/consy. Because you may go in the best uni in the world and have the worst teacher, or go in the worst uni in the world, but find a teacher you really like and work well with. So, contact the unis/consies, contact the teachers, ask them about what and how they teach, and find a place where you really want to go.

Also, just going to a uni/consy won't necessarily make you successful or a good composer. Going to university is much more than highschool, you have to work on your own, and not just do what they ask you to do, and you also have to grab as many opportunities as you can. Of course, you can do all of these without going to a college as well, it all depends on you.

Originally Posted by jujimufu

As far as I know, there is no "film-music degree"

Sure there is... there's pretty much any degree you can imagine nowadays. You just have to look for it.

At a conservatory you'll mostly choose your subject and thus you'll do a BMus "Study" degree (e.g. BMus Composition), whereas if you go to a university, you'll probably do a BA in humanities/music, where you will study more general aspects of music, more like a musicologist degree.

I disagree here. University music programs and conservatory programs are pretty much the same thing. I did my B.Mus in jazz trombone performance at a University.

Originally Posted by robinjessome

For some schools: Can you afford tuition?
For most: Do you show some (however rudimentary) knowledge of music, and a desire to learn more.

They'll teach you by starting with the VERY basics (i.e. how to draw a treble clef).

I browsed through most of the schools you posted. It seems like they all need an audition in some way or the other. How much proficiency in my instrument do I need to have? I'm just an ok pianist, nothing special. Will I manage?

Nigel, you're looking for a piano degree, or a composition one? I don't think it really matters if you're on "ok" or "very good" or "poor" pianist if you're after composition. Sure it helps, everything does.

In composition usually they require a few scores (2-4 usually) of different styles to prove that you actually know music and that you can actually write.

Film music is no different than any music. If you go to a classical music department, more than a filmy one, you'll end up with too much contemporary music. I find that this is good, because it opens your mind and ears. Study 3 years taking in all the bullshit, even if you don't like it and then do whatever you want. Film music does not exactly take huge amount of music, it just takes knowledge of writting as everyone else (<-ouch this sounds bad!)

What I mean is that you don't need special studies to do film music, you need to be able to compose and practice in visuals (like the CGEmpire competitions can be great practice, as well as getting trailers, animations, etc and underscoring them). I don't think that you can learn too much studying for film music. Sure there are degrees, etc, but I personally don't see the reason.

Since you are after studying "seriously" (whatever this may mean), a couple of thoughts:

* Avoid like the plague those music-tech-schools which offer a degree or diploma of some sort in 6 months. It's crap! Plain and simple. You won't get connections through there, no matter what they say, and you won't learn anything in 6 months that you wouldn't be able to learn on your own! MIDI? Samples? Come on! Ask me, ask Marius, go to cgempire and make tons of thread asking questions.

* In the end you will be getting a degree! This IS something great! Think ahead. you want to be a media composer, but how many people in YC do you know who are doing this effectively? 5? 10? No more! Composers living off composition? 0? 1? 2? A degree means that you went through a lot of trouble getting it. It means that you have a "certain amount of knowledge". It means probably that you can TEACH! It means that you can get a Masters afterwards. How many in YC have a BMus or going for a BMus? A few. How many have an MMus? Very few. A PhD? None (is there anyone?) More degrees mean that you can simply be "ahead" somehow. Even if it means 0.5% in the media business, since noone will care if you have a degree from LSE or something. Still I've found out that starting with "I'm blah blah and I have a PhD in composition" does force people to read and listen a bit. You get by the very first hurdle!

So what can you do with a BMus? Can you teach? Can you go further? Research on your options!

* Funding. Scholarship! I have a 3 1/2 year scholarhips. It covers tuition fees and a monthly stripend. If you want details I'll simply say that I'm covered for 3 years tuition fees ($18,000), plus $1,200 per month for 42 months! I am (still) being paid to study. Can you accomplish this? It's great! It's like working pretty much!

I got my scholarship from Greece, from the National Scholarship Foundation. Is there a simmilar place in your country? In the UK? In the USA? Can you get work once in the foreign? Can you work? Will you have time? Will you make it or have a nervous break down?

* BMus can be anything you want it to be really. You take modules so you can pick ethnic music for all they care, or performance, or composition, or musicology. Anything! It's up to you to build your course. Not completely but you do have some element of control.

That's all for now

Thanks for your detailed and lengthy input, nikolas, I appreciate your time and effort.

Well, I know getting a degree will not help me in getting jobs or making a living out of composition. The reasons I want to get a degree is to get connections. Being around musically educated people will also help me in my music composition, since most of them can offer criticism to you.
Another reason is to learn new things. For now all my compositions are mostly trial and error. If I learn in a formal way, I will get to learn composition more efficiently.

I know even after I get the degree, I will have to work hard to get connections and to get jobs. I know it won't be like "Oh I graduated, gimme a job" and up comes several projects waiting for me to collaborate with them. This I understand.
Another thing, if I do get the degree, but still can't manage to make a living out of composition, I think I could be a composition teacher, like you said in your post, if I have a BMus.

There's only one thing I'm afraid I couldn't cope with, and that's contemporary composition. But after your quote about "taking in all that bullshit for 3 years even if you don't like it", I think that problem is solved.

As for fundings, I'm thinking of getting a loan or scholarship from my country. If there's a will, there's a way. And even if I can't get any of those, there's always the option of borrowing from my richer relatives.

One last thing. I'm actually a little confused by your post, nikolas. You type in lots of exclamation marks and sound like you're trying to give warnings to me or trying to tell me that getting a degree isn't for me. Heh. Sorry for my misunderstanding.

Thanks for posting this, I'm also looking towards musical education.

Originally Posted by nikolas

Nigel, you're looking for a piano degree, or a composition one? I don't think it really matters if you're on "ok" or "very good" or "poor" pianist if you're after composition. Sure it helps, everything does.

Actually, yes it does. Im currently in the process of enrolling into college and what people dont know/look over is that to get into college you need grades. From there, you must AUDITION to get into the Music School on your particular instrument. So to get into a music school you have to be somewhat proficient in performance. For instance, here are the audition requirements to get into Georgia State University:

• All major and minor scales (natural, melodic and harmonic forms), 4 octaves, in 16ths; metronome speed of quarter note = 112.

• All major and minor arpeggios, 4 octaves, in 16ths; metronome speed of quarter note = 40.

• A two-part invention, three-part invention, or prelude and fugue from the "Well-Tempered Clavier" of J.S. Bach.

• A fast movement of a sonata by Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven.

• A work from the romantic period or the 20 th century.

• Intermediate-level sight-reading.

Now, please note, just because you can do the requirements does NOT mean that you'll get in. As a musician you're competing with other people to get into the music school, so you need to be good.

Since you are after studying "seriously" (whatever this may mean), a couple of thoughts:

* Avoid like the plague those music-tech-schools which offer a degree or diploma of some sort in 6 months. It's crap! Plain and simple. You won't get connections through there, no matter what they say, and you won't learn anything in 6 months that you wouldn't be able to learn on your own! MIDI? Samples? Come on! Ask me, ask Marius, go to cgempire and make tons of thread asking questions.

Good advice, there is no easy way to make it in music, period. You must be completely dedicated to your art.

* In the end you will be getting a degree! This IS something great! Think ahead. you want to be a media composer, but how many people in YC do you know who are doing this effectively? 5? 10? No more! Composers living off composition? 0? 1? 2? A degree means that you went through a lot of trouble getting it. It means that you have a "certain amount of knowledge". It means probably that you can TEACH! It means that you can get a Masters afterwards. How many in YC have a BMus or going for a BMus? A few. How many have an MMus? Very few. A PhD? None (is there anyone?) More degrees mean that you can simply be "ahead" somehow. Even if it means 0.5% in the media business, since noone will care if you have a degree from LSE or something. Still I've found out that starting with "I'm blah blah and I have a PhD in composition" does force people to read and listen a bit. You get by the very first hurdle!

Probably the best advice of this thread. Im going to tell you this- in the United States, if you want to go anywhere in music, a bachelor degree in Composition, Theory, Conducting even wont get you ANYWHERE.

You NEED to look into Music Education for the sheer fact that if you ever need a job- you can get one. I want to eventually be a Orchestral and Choral Conducting, but im not going to Major in Conducting because it is TOO limited. For your bachelor degree you need something broad so that you can there go to anywhere you want. After you complete that, THEN you can go and get your masters in Composition or what ever you want, but please listen to us- your first degree in Composition wont get you anywhere. At all. But if you're dedicated, and really want it- you can do it, it just might take another 2 years.

So now that i talked a little about that, ill answer your questions.

1. Will this degree help me if I want to pursue the path of a media composer? Or should I take other degrees? To be a film composer, id take all my "normal" music classes (which arnt normal at all) plus maybe a film class if you can. But as a music major, your schedule is going to be crazy, so it might not be possible. But if you can, take any kind of film class. Also - you need to get your work out. Just a degree isint going to do anything, say you've got a friend at the school you go to who is majoring in Film Studies and he/she needs a piece for the opening of a short - do it. The more experience you have the better.

2. What are the entry requirements needed before studying this degree? That depends from university to university. Check the Music webpage, it should have "audition information" somewhere which can help you with that.

3. I know BMus stands for Bachelors of Music degree, but is it for classical music only? Or are any other forms of music like jazz and pop taught in this course? This is also school dependent. I know that my school has a Jazz Studies program, which includes some pop elements, but primarily a BMus is for classical trained musicians. Oh and please know this- a BAM (Bachelor of Arts, Music) and a BSM (Bachelor of Science, Music) are differently weighted than a BMus. Many people hold a BMus in higher regard than a BAM or BSM, so make sure that your school is accredited with that particular degree.

4. What will I learn in this course? Completely dependent on the college and your other classes, but as a Music Education: Choral Conducting student I will be taking: Music Theory, Piano Proficiency, Opera Studies and Workshop, 3 other Chamber/large Choral Classes, plus any other classes like Math, Language etc... So you'll be learning EVERYTHING you can. Oh, another great part about the music education degree is that as an education major you are required to learn how to play every major instrument - you'd like that im sure.

5. I want to study in the UK/America. Are there any universities/colleges that you would recommend? If you are serious about this, then you'll go to the college that fits you best. Please remember, sometimes going to a smaller college is better because you're not just a number. Also - dont look into the conservatories etc.. unless you A- have money B- are extremely well versed with your instrument. How good you play your instrument will determine which schools you get into.

I hope this helps, please feel free to contact me or visit my schools website which is the link in my sig "Schwob School of Music"


Edit: sorry, you asked for somebody who already has the degree, but both my parents majored in music and im 4 months off from actually being a music major, so for what it's worth, hope it helps.