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ORIGINAL: Miguel de Maria

Hey Daniel, I have loved some of the samples of playing you have uploaded here. You and your brother are quite amazing.

If you want to be a performer, you should not go to school for guitar performance unless you can do it very cheaply. The paper will not guarantee or even give you any significant edge on getting gigs or work in the music world (in my experience). I haven't noticed any connection between a degree and how much work you get.

If you want to teach, having a BA or master's will be required in most schools or government programs. Jobs like that can come with benefits and pensions, although it's rare. However, you could build up a private teaching practice without a degree.

We do have a strange setup here in the US where guys who started playing electric to get in a band and get chicks find themselves reluctantly studying classical guitar in college. They end up with degrees and an ability to play commensurate with the amount of serious practice time they have invested (in other words, not nearly enough!). The hordes of those type of players, along with other good players who have degrees, will be occupying the spots of teaching positions you might seek a few years down the line.

That being said, judging by what I have seen of your skills, you seem fully immersed in music and learn disgustingly quickly. Still, being in school where everything is dedicated to learning musical skill, history, knowledge, and surrounded by other seekers would probably have a beneficial impact on you. The question is--would it be enough impact to justify going in debt $100000 or whatever it could take?

Quick answer: Yes, if you can do it cheaply. No, if you cannot. Either way, keep gigging, jamming, and working with everyone you can on the side.

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I am curious what everyone thinks of majoring in music performance -- particularly guitar performance -- at a university. What do you think are the pros and cons? Is it worth it?

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ORIGINAL: machopicasso

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I am curious what everyone thinks of majoring in music performance -- particularly guitar performance -- at a university. What do you think are the pros and cons? Is it worth it?

Curiously, are you asking this as (merely) a theoretical question, or are you considering this as an option once you complete your degree in neuroscience?

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ORIGINAL: Erik van Goch

I like to add that when i entered conservatory i could only dream of playing at your level so i had way more to gain as you have. I know many students and even teachers who are less pleasing to the ear as you are. When you surged for sponsors for a new record project i was willing to contribute but unfortunately that was only possible with a type of credit card i don't (want to) possess. I don't now many players i would be willing to support in a similar way, maybe a handful of conservatory students of Paco, some of who can play at incredible levels. But you won't find any traces of them on the internet and outside the conservatory projects i've never seen them on stage. Conservatory offers a wonderful opportunity to work on your instrument for years (and enjoy others doing the same) but unless you share your playing with the outside world those activities can remain totally invisible for the general public.

Unless you find a cheap way to join in your'e time and money is probably better spend on self development/composing/arranging/performing/making records. All you need is a critical ear, good taste and a lot of passion, qualities you seem to possess anyway. Finding work as a musician has more to do with showing/promoting yourself to the world (work generates work) then with locking yourself in a classroom for years. The limited amount of projects know to me that contacted Rotterdam Conservatory for an actual guitar related job included the musical zorro (including life "flamenco" music mainly rumba) and a publisher who asked my father to make the transcription of a couple of songs of Vicente. My father showed no interest himself and passed it to one of his conservatory students (Max) who as a result became known in the publishers world and was recently commissioned with the Jeronimo Maya lesson book.

So when it comes to finding yourself employment as a teacher/musician just make sure you are visible to the public. Running your own school is more interesting as being employed by a music school and doesn't require any papers, nor does performing and recording. I recently showed interest in becoming a teacher on a huge guitar school with hundreds of students. But i was not allowed to use my didactic skills and was supposed to do it by their system, a system my father has always hated and which he never even mentioned to his conservatory students in guitar didactics (he lectured generations of future guitar teachers). If there is one thing he regrets it's that he never warned them to stay away of it as far as possible in stead of just trusting their good taste and instincts.

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ORIGINAL: mark74

....

What would El Payo say about a classical guitar degree?

No me jodaste chico

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ORIGINAL: Ricardo

Don't even understand your question.

Only reason for a performance degree is if you want to be a pro concertizing CLASSICAL guitarist. It looks good on your bio to have that degree for recitals and Master classes if you give them. I was assuming you want to play flamenco. You need to take your money and invest in serious Spain time. Humberto was great as a guide but as pointed out years ago, it appeared to me you have abilities way beyond him and need a Maestro of toque. If you are serious about wanting a classical guitar degree, then the next thing is to look for the teacher...there is no point to have that degree from a university with a no name professor. Again because of your bio and press kit info. In my area we have peabody with M. Barrueco...who never shows up to teach I hear but it's cool for you bio to have those credentials.


Ricardo

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ORIGINAL: guitarbuddha

Hi Daniel. I learned so little during my time getting my classical guitar degree that I don't feel I have much in the way of advice to offer. I wasn't going to chime in but I guess my fingers are itchy tonight, my apologies in advance.

I learned more and more deeply in the short time that I had with my last private teacher. He was a very very musical man. Neither of my tutors at music school had as good an ear. One wasn't, in my opinion, a very strong player and the other was pretty close to being unmusical although he was incredibly accurate and accomplished.

My first private teacher was a total bluffer and I ended up with some serious hand problems (now completely resolved) and he had absolutely nothing to offer in the way of help. I remember being confused that he didn't sound very good but assuming that I was missing something.......I wasn't.

He ended up teaching in the music school here (we've got either around a hundred or one, I say one), although thankfully only after I left. He had good connections and a degree from a famous sounding school in faraway America (the country not the catch all for two entire continents). Although the school here only took one to three guitarists each year I would say that each year had a better player than him in it. The ones who didn't arrive already better than him and had the misfortune to study with him left confused and full of wind.

I won't name names but there are quite a lot of famous professors of guitar who are either mostly absent/performing or patently winging it. But they all look good on paper and can convince the cloth eared who will cheerfully lionise them.

Anyway I would fit into the 'failed soloist' category that Miguel describes and was definitely NOT at your level when I completed my studies thirteen years ago although I was definitely in earnest. I got some reasonably good jobs on the strength of the degree but absolutely loathed spoon feeding teenage boys with little respect for music or what little talent they had.

Anyway I am rambling on, sorry I don't have anything positive to offer. I would recommend George Orwell's 'A Clergyman's Daughter' to anyone thinking of teaching.

D.