# Has anyone completed a Thinkspace online MA?



## jononotbono

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone on VI Control has completed an online MA with Thinkspace Education? I would love to know their thoughts on it. 

Thanks

Jono


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## DHousden

They didn't offer the MA when I began, but I took/am taking the Music for the Media and Cinematic Orchestration courses, and they're both very good indeed. I imagine the dedicated MA only improves on these.

Depends on if you're specifically looking for that qualification or if you just want to obtain the practical skills involved. In order to be eligible and recognised as an official MA there will more than likely be essay based assignments and a dissertation at the end, whereas the original courses they offer are all practical assignments. Depends what you're after I guess.


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## stonzthro

I could be wrong, but I think it is a relatively new program, as in it was introduced just last year - has anyone even graduated yet?


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## jononotbono

I'm not sure but I am actually very interested in doing one of their online MAs. The qualification, well, that is a great thing to have but it's always about the Practical skills and the thought of working with successful working Composers is very exciting to me. I'm constantly trying to suck up all knowledge I can find/buy and so I'm sure it would be a great thing to do especially when I can do it from my own Music Lab etc. Interested in opinions of anyone that has done any of the Thinkspace Courses to be honest...


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## jemu999

Hey Jono,

Im currently finishing the MA in Media Composition. I would definitely recommend contacting Guy at Thinkspace. He really is a great _Guy _and Im sure he will provide you with all of the information you need including the course breakdown for both the Media Composition and Film Orchestration MA degrees.

Im having a great time and am certainly glad I took the course. For the MA in Media Composition, depending on your level of skill, the course offers a great rundown of all of the main musical genres such as Emotive, Comedy, Action, Fantasy, etc. You can hear some of the music I did for the course at my soundcloud:




Videos are provided for all of these genres, including videos of Guy composing live from the start for each of the genres, as well as interviews with various composers, arrangers, orchestrators, mixers, etc.

There are videos of template setup. Recommendations of various libraries. Various technical assistance in setting up and controlling midi. Discussion of slave computers. A forum for students to share work and ask questions.

Then there is a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of film scoring from its inception up until today's contemporary composers through the analysis of select films starting from the silent film era. There are also a dozen or so webcam conferences with the students and Guy where everyone discusses the various films and the respective composer's musical approach. Research and written journals are required where you share your analysis of these scores and are due throughout the course.

The course begins simply enough and slowly progresses in difficulty. Assignments include scoring to a written brief, scoring to different genres, scoring for commercials, scoring for documentaries, and scoring for narrative film. 

Again, depending on your skill level, you may find that certain things you may already know. However, having everything in a well organized systematic manner, with all instructional videos and literature downloadable for future reference, is a great asset. Furthermore, you receive the practice of continual composing with deadlines and critical reviews from various industry composers and instructors.

Be sure to contact Guy and ask any questions to determine if this degree program is for you.

Hope this helps!
Jeton


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## jononotbono

Thank you for such a great reply. I have e-mailed Thinkspace. Sounds like a really good course. Do you feel it has helped in now being able to earn a living from being a Composer? Also, did you opt to work with a live Orchestra? I would just have to do that as that is surely a highlight of the course! At the end of the day, that's the main point of doing a course like this. You've nailed Fantasy by the way! Love it. Will listen to the rest later!


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## jemu999

No problem Jono! Sorry for this late reply btw. As far as earning a living from being a composer, I would say there certainly is a benefit from having a post-graduate degree in terms of legitimacy, however, in my opinion what is still most important is your actual music and the gradual building up of a network of contacts in the industry.

As for the live orchestral recording included within the course, this certainly is the highlight of the program and a tremendous opportunity!!

Finally, thanks for the compliments on my Fantasy composition! I wish you the best of luck with your possible decision to enroll!


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## jononotbono

I have decided to apply for an MA with Thinkspace. My deadline is Dec 1st and have been invited to the UK open day! Very excited! Now I just need to finish writing my application Music! Nothing like a dead line and pressure...


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## jemu999

Hey Jono! Congrats! Your gonna have lots of fun!


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## jononotbono

The Open day was great fun and now in the middle of filling out application forms. Not sure how I'm going to afford this yet but I guess the first step is seeing whether I get accepted first!


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## Mark Stothard

Hi Jono,

How are you getting on with this? I am thinking of enrolling too and would love to know your thoughts.

Jeton, some lovely music you've created there and that compounds my want to do this course.


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## jononotbono

Hey Mark,

Yeah, Loving doing the MA PMC. I'm learning a lot and glad I applied. I'm learning how to write in different styles of Music that I have never before attempted so I'm in a constant state of stress and swimming in the deep end! The Tutors are are so helpful and always an e-mail/phone call away if I need help. Many of the other students are such a great help as well as there are people from all over the World and from all sorts of different Musical walks of life. We are actually about to start doing private Student led Webinars just to teach the likes of me, Music Theory (Theory is by far my weakest link and I need to get it to a decent standard as I want to go from the PMC to the MFA as it will teach Orchestration and eventually get to work with a real Orchestra) which I am both worried and excited by! Worried in the sense "WTF is everyone talking about?" haha!

I've said a lot of this in another forum post about Thinkspace but for me, studying with them is the right thing to do at the right time in my life and not forgetting, Music Technology is the best it has ever been (it sucked when I studied a BA in Music Tech about 12 yrs ago) so regardless of anyone's negative views on Modern Film Music, the sheer scope of what is Musically possible at the minute is amazing especially when you have the guidance of working Professional Composers! They allow a payment plan so you can do the course over a period of what will be manageable to you and if Life gets in the way or you have a lot of work on, they will happily extend the course so you can do both! Very flexible.

Now, I had best get back to learning how to write Fantasy Music


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## Mark Stothard

Hi Jono,

Thank you for a very informative reply. I'm glad to hear you are enjoying it.

I guess the stress and swimming in the deep end you're feeling at the moment is preparing you for when you hit the big time.

I will definitely try enroll now, however the problem i have is one of the entry requirements is to have a bachelors degree and this is something i dont have. 

They say on the brochure they could take work experience into account. Ive got a couple of minor game tracks under my belt, so im hoping they will suffice as i really need to get onthis course to improve my skillset due to my music sounding samey and constantly getting writers block.

I bought the composer blueprints from think space last year and really enjoyed it. I could be wrong, but i think that is module 1 of professional media composition?

I need to get better at music theory too and have been reading up a lot on it and have subscribed to the ask video website where they have some good tutorials there.

I would love to hear some of your work, do you have a link?

Thanks again Jono, and wishing you the best of luck.

Mark.


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## jononotbono

Haha! Well, I'm not sure about hitting the Big Time. Although it's good to dream and just paying my bills solely with Music is a nice dream at the minute! 

I chose the PMC (although I really want to do the MFA) because I just looked at myself and thought honestly what I am good at and what I am incredibly bad at and the PMC was the one that suited me best because I am terrible with Music Theory and with the Orchestration courses, you need to be good with Theory. However, like I have said, it is possible to migrate to the other MA or MFA if you have the skills. Also some people want to do these courses for different reasons. I wanted to do them purely for knowledge, experience and meeting like minded people (the internet is wonderful, I love it and there is so much knowledge to learn from it - and so many amazing Musicians to learn from (many of which are on VI Control), but by god, there's a lot of misinformation spoken by so many people that don't really know what they are talking about as well so studying with people that are like minded with decent tutors and a decent course that is designed to fit in with actual real life was appealing to me. You obviously get to do this from your own studio (like the real world) and being online makes it cheaper than having to relocate somewhere. You really get out what you put in. I only started in January so am just a mere beginner but we all start somewhere right?

As far as not having a a BA or other degree, just talk to them about it. They certainly wouldn't turn away (for example) someone like Trent Reznor (Social Network, Gone Girl - and not forgetting NIN) if he wanted to do an MA and study!!! "No, sorry Trent. You don't have a piece of Paper. In the words of Forrest Gump's Bus Driver - Seats Taken." haha! Obviously studying isn't for everyone and that's cool. Choosing the right Course with the right Tutors is essential.

The Ask Video Site is great. I actually use it and buy Tutorials all the time. Groove3 is also good. Mike Verta's Tutorials are great. Man, there is just so much knowledge out there it's overwhelming. VI Control is also not bad haha! 

I have some Music online. I think you may be right in regards to the Composer Blue Print Course because I am in the middle of a Module called 'Writing in Styles'. I attempted Action Music and then Heroic Music and I'm currently attempting Fantasy. I had never written anything in these styles before so I've learnt alot from doing them. And obviously I have huge areas to improve on so I will revisit these pieces when I finish my current one and make them better with feedback I have received from the Tutors and a couple of people from here actually. Here's an Action Piece and I apologise if it offends your ears...


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## Mark Stothard

Thanks again Jono, i really appreciate your help and advice.

I'll get in touch and see what they say.

I listened to all three of your tracks and they were very, very good and my ears were very happy . If this is what you are producing now, its going to be very interesting to hear what you come up with once you've completed the course.


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## Will Blackburn

Hello guys been wondering about thinkspace for a while and im curious what are the exact requirements when applying? I finished an HND in Audio Engineering back in 2005 (technically speaking i should have a BA but i won't go into it!). I would say my forte is in mix engineering rather than orch composition at the minute.

Do you need to read music fluently / Be particularly competent in scoring already (etc)? Although i had a very musical childhood it's only in the last 3/4 years i have really started to delve back in to the Theory side of music and get into the orchestral scoring side of things. Inbetween then i was just a Cubase ninja making more pop/urban kinda stuff and sketching classical pieces without much knowledge at all. I have a great mock up template already  but im still not that good as a composer which i think is mainly down to my lack of knowledge on Harmony and my beginner piano playing skills. 

Just on the website now and i don't really understand why half the courses are only £50 and the others are £500-1000 when they pretty much all look similar content wise?

Ps = I have a serious case of loopitis. Would the courses help me to break the mould in any way? I guess if i had a real world project to work on it might force me to. Hmmm


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## Chris Richter

Hey Jono,

how is it going? I just saw your interview on the Thinkspace Site and accidently found this thread via google. Would you mind to share your thoughts on weather it was worth the time, money and energy after all?
Have you been able to pay your „student loan“ with real life work?

Would love to hear your opinion after some time has passed


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## jononotbono

Well, I’m one of those sick individuals that did an MA with TS and just before doing the “Final major Project”, I decided to migrate onto an MFA with them. So... I’m still studying with TS. Although I have temporarily paused my course for a few months. 

Regarding Student loans etc, I never took one out. Instead you can pay monthly. If this wasn’t an option there’s no way I could have afforded to study with them. It makes it manageable and they are very flexible. You can pay over many different time periods (although until you finish paying you won’t receive the qualifications etc).

Since studying at TS I have learnt a lot but more importantly, met a lot of good friends. Some of which outside TS has led to me working on feature films, getting a few Video Game Pitches and writing Library music (including writing for Universal).

Education is a tricky one. You have to make sure the courses are for you. And it depends on attitude. 

It is always worth the time, energy and money if you are going to put 100% into something. 

I’ll try and reply to this in a few days in more depth as I’m currently away in London meeting some people from universal and a few beers are about to go down range. I guess a good takeaway from this is...

No matter what courses you do, meeting people in real life is still the only real way to make friends. And friends hire friends. Even meeting people from a course is something you can’t do just by reading books and watching you tube videos. Even if said videos can sometimes teach you something you may or may not find in a syllabus! 

Jono


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## Chris Richter

Thanks a lot for that very fast answer!

The thing with meeting people is a something Guy also has said in a stream some time ago.

If you can afford to set some time aside I would love to read some more in-depth thoughts.
Anyway thanks again. That already has been helpful


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## robgb

What are the benefits of having an degree in music? I understand the personal benefits, of course, of having worked to get that degree and what you learn in the process, but what are the real world practicalities of having a degree? Will it open any doors musically other than a possible teaching job?

I only ask because I'm curious.


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