Music education

[nikolas]

David, You are a classically trained violonist and conductor (as far as I know anyways). A lot of people seem to undermine the worth of music education, especially when discussing composition. I can imagine that knowing how to play violin and conducting is helpful when actually composing and I also can imagine that there probably isn't a specific reply to this but in general do you think that education in music is helpful in more commercial venues of music (film, computer games, media, etc), in regards to connections, communicating and getting more gigs (at least in the beginning of your career)?

[Marty Frasu]

Wouldn't you think that education is ALWAYS better? What is the alternative? Ignorance?
Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to be confrontational, writing in text on a message board isn't always ideal.
How about a smiley :-)

[David Newman]

How can training ever be bad? I am a huge believer in music education. I have an undergraduate degree in Violin Performance and a Master's degree in Conducting both from USC in Los Angeles. I played violin since I was 7 years old and played in orchestras (community, school, musical Theater, etc.) from the time I was 10 years old. I learned so much about music just sitting in orchestras, even when the music was beyond my capability at the time. My parents had me studying Theory, counterpoint, etc privately at age 12. All this was extremely helpful. However, I do believe that the act of composing has NOTHING to do with training. Training can enhance it and of course if you want someone else to play your music you have to write it down, but the actual act of composing is something beyond training. However, this does not negate the importance of training, especially if you have a career in music. It's hard enough as it is with training. I can't imagine how difficult it would be without.