Training and Education
Are you thinking about taking time to develop your artistic practice? What would you gain from further education? How would it be useful for your career? Is it worth it? This section outlines some of the options available in further and higher education that can guide you in the development of your career.
Case Study: Scanner
Studying? Is it Worth it?
Studying is a big investment in both time and money. What you choose to study may determine the path of your career. Studying can range from technical, to more practice and research-based studies. Research carefully the various options that are available and spend time figuring out what would be most beneficial for you.
Sometimes it's better to wait to really know what you want to do before investing in further education. It is often up to you to make the most of your studies to get what you want out of it. Take time to understand what you will get out of studying and what you want to learn. Research schools, speak to students and professors to find out what it is like, and to know whether you will get what you are looking for.
Words of Advice
Choose a course that offers things that you don't currently have any idea how to do. Challenge yourself. Don't waste money on a course that isn't offering you any new skills, unless the contacts you will gain are impossible to obtain elsewhere.
– Mick Grierson, Lecturer, Goldsmiths' University of London
“It is certainly not essential to study music in further and higher education in order to pursue a career as a composer and there are plenty of examples of successful composers who have come to music via different routes. However, it is a fiercely competitive field to try and make a career in and there are many benefits to engaging with formal education.
– Mark Bowden, Composer
Make the Most of Your Studies
Whilst at Guildhall School of Music and Drama (in our own time) we did a lot of music and sound for video, film and animation with students from the RCA and London International Film School. We made full use of the resources available to us at Music College to make these extracurricular projects work.
A few of the filmmaker, animation and design contacts we had whilst at college started to become commercial projects shortly after graduating. These initial projects were what we based the business on.
– Tom Haines, Brains and Hunch
In many ways I wish I could do my degree again now, as I feel I am older and wiser now and would make more of the chance to study. After my degree (which was not focused on what I now do) I worked for nearly a decade before accepting a part-time fellowship. This offered me some chance to study again but very informally and there was no recognised qualification at the end of that period.
Study in music is a constant necessity and also a joy, as long as you have the sort of mind that is never satisfied with what you have just done. A common thread amongst conductors, soloists and composers I admire is that they never stop creating, revising, questioning, developing.
– Tom Hammond, Sound Collective
Reasons to Study
- To develop a technical skill or expertise
- To make connections with peers, professors and professionals
- To spend time to develop your work
- To gain access to facilities and resources you would not otherwise have
- To get mentorship and support from peers