Adrian

Is it necessary to have a university degree in music to become a successful trumpet player? Or can you get by by doing conservatory grades?

ScreaminRaider

Getting ahead in the professional music world doesn't rely on a degree. The guy with a performance degree has to play the same audition as the guy without the degree.

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Jonathan Wright

dizforprez

i believe it is hard to get the instruction( not just on the horn but all aspects of music) and ensemble experinces in any other way.

TangneyK

It really all depends on just what "success" means to you...

--Kevin

Tootsall

There is something else involved in obtaining a degree aside from the music. I've always felt that about 80% of what I learned getting my engineering degree had NOTHING to do with engineering. Rather it involved people skills, learning to live "on my own", discovering that it is fun to actually LEARN for the sake of learning, how to budget, how to shop for food, clothes, etc. (yadda yadda yadda).

You discover some of your own personal limitations and how to accomodate them while being successful at the same time. You discover how much about life you DON'T KNOW and, hopefully, develop a thirst to find out those things. You learn to THINK FOR YOURSELF.

Take a look at the music industry today... consider all of the "kids" with alleged "talent" who suddenly "become successful" by having someone pour money into their pockets because they are a "marketable commodity". Then look at the general longevity of their public performing "career", how poorly they manage their sudden wealth and fame. Consider how short their "relationships" last and also what proportion of them end up going down the drug road. Ask yourself "if they had been better schooled in LIFE would their own lives have turned out better for them?

They can't manage their own affairs (financial or otherwise) simply because they haven't been taught HOW.

Nope, with a mess of talent to "jump start" your career you might be ready for a 'short-term burn' at the top of the charts, but are you ready for what comes after that?