I saw on facebook they're closing down the BA(Hons) Music Composition course I did at Coventry University, along with the performance and other music courses. Yes, this sucks, and of course I signed the petition. But reading a few comments got me thinking. The girl who posted it is now a pretty successful freelance artist. Of course she was devastated as was I, but the term "freelance" means independent, a lone ranger. In any creative industry I've learned you want to work? You make the work! It's not going to find you! A degree is supposed to be a useful qualification to help you gain employment, right? Well...you want to be a musician? A painter? An actress? You're not going to find that 9-5 steady income job you were hoping for. You can forget singing Dolly Parton and saying all that "the words just speak to me" bullshit. Unless you want to teach, (which I'm not berating, I know there are plenty of people who enjoy it) let's face it, unless you live in London and are best friends with Simon Cowell there's not much else this country has to offer. After I graduated, set free into this glorious world of opportunity, I realised there was no opportunity at all. Record labels, theatre companies, operatic societies, no one was interested I had a degree in composition. It means nothing! It's really just an excuse to keep the creative side of your brain active for 3 years, when really it could have been spent networking and gigging every weekend. Because we all know, in this industry, it's certainly not about what you know, it's about who you know. And you know what makes me angry? I worked my ass off during my uni period. During my third year I don't think I slept. And not because I was out on the lash, because I was working! But was it a waste of time? Absolutely not! While I may seem biased, I did learn a hell of lot from that course. I consider myself way more technically challenged, and my musicality has broadened epically. Simple things like to transpose your key up a tone, ascend chromatically and use the dominant 7th and voila! A more satisfactory transposition. I wouldn't have known this technique if it wasn't for my amazing and highly supportive lecturers. Bob Ramskill (a musical legend who delivered countless arrangements featured on BBC'S Songs Of Praise and the like) taught me how to arrange. Any cover is an arrangement. We arranged orchestral ensembles and were given professional musicians to perform them, a fantastic opportunity and experience for any aspiring composer. This is not something you can just do any day, let alone pay for out of your own pocket. So in that sense, the opportunities and experience allowed us to grow as musicians, not to mention build our local network. If it wasn't for the deadlines I wouldn't have pushed myself to produce my first stage production, and probably wouldn't wouldn't have ended up as a writer. So yes, I am very sad to see them pull the plug on these courses. I feel sorry for the other thousands of other aspiring musicians out there who won't get to these opportunities and expand their musical knowledge. But at the same time, don't let it put you off. For creative artists, an education isn't everything. Get out there, expand your network, make a name for yourself, and most importantly, CREATE CREATE CREATE!!! Don't write a song, write 100 songs. Don't produce 1 short film and expect a call from Scorsese. Make 100 short films, write 100 scripts, enter competitions, festivals, charity events, or just showcase your work at a local pub (at least it's getting public exposure), get an agent, get a manager, move to LA, London, Manchester, Florida, just get yourself out there! Do stuff, then do a hell of a lot more of it!
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AuthorWell... I'm human just like the rest of you. But I suppose you're not all a woman approaching 30. Archives
January 2017
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