Is Music School Killing Your Creativity?

[@dav2796]

I’m a trombone player and music major in a tiny college town with extremely limited opportunities to play and create. It feels musically stifled. I’m constantly on the internet looking at KZbin lessons, listening to musicians/performances that inspire me, listening to podcasts, (other stuff just like this video) doing everything I can with the internet to have experiences that inspire my growth and broaden my understanding of music. It would be really cool to learn more about the artistic and creative sides of music and have spaces to explore that through the school. I have appreciated the focus on executing music properly and operating the trombone efficiently as it’s given me a greater range of tools for expression, but I got into music for a lot more than technical perfection and execution. This is a really interesting topic that should be talked about more. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@NickFinzer]

Wow thank you for this thoughtful response! This is exactly the sort of information we as professors need to hear! 🙏🙏

[@Roger-bw6te]

This is something iv been thinking about too, especially as a senior going into college. A big thing is balancing classical and jazz music and practicing both horns and just being ready for all the performances that always end up so close to each other lol. This definitely made sense to me though🙌

[@NickFinzer]

Good luck with your college search! Yes it’s a never ending battle between preparation and learning to enjoy the music…

[@mustafa1name]

I've never been to any kind of music school, but I know people who have. One major benefit is just being around contemporary musicians - a lot of bands, ensembles, networks, or other kinds of relationships emerge from that. Another is inspiration from extremely talented teachers (if you are lucky). I'm thinking of the extraordinary young saxophonist Emma Rawicz, who sometimes plays duets with the equally astounding pianist and composer Gwilym Simcock. He teaches at the Royal Academy in London, and she is in her last year of study there. That's an extreme example, but I'm sure many experienced teachers open their students eyes to musical possibilities they never knew existed.

[@NickFinzer]

Oh for sure there’s many great reasons to go. These ones included! I’ve just been thinking a lot about the best way to guide students through their experience