Azusa Pacific University
This is the first college I went to. No, I do not have a degree from here. So why am I even talking about it?
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All experience is valuable experience. Everything a person does adds to the person they are. People change their minds. Sometime people realize they aren’t where they are meant to be, so they find something new. Sometimes a disaster hits and people are left with no other option than to leave something, even if they have put tons of effort into it.
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I went to APU for 2 semesters, in 2019-2020. The degree I was working on was a Bachelor of Music in Commercial Music with a focus on Music Technology. I know, that’s a mouthful; it was a mouthful every time I said it.
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There was a lot to learn in the 8 months I had here before COVID shut the world down. I got an incredible introduction to the study of music here. I participated in a few bands. I even got to take my first few super exciting general ed classes and live in the super fancy dorms.
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Lists make things look fancy and point out what people actually want to read so here’s a list of all the classes I took at APU:
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2019 Fall Semester
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First Year Seminar - Music
Christian Life, Faith, and Ministry
Classical Guitar Lessons
Jazz Guitar Lessons
Beginning Piano Lessons
Practical Musicianship I (Pitch & Ear Training)
Music Theory I
Jazz Ensemble (Trumpet)
Performance Forum
Intro to Music Technology
Symphonic Band (Trumpet)
Pop/Rock Band (Electric Guitar)
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2020 Spring Semester
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Yoga
Classical Guitar Lessons
Jazz Guitar Lessons
Elementary Piano Lessons
Music Theory II
Practical Musicianship II
Symphonic Band
Jazz Band
Performance Forum
Audio I
Pop/Rock Band
Writing I
I had a lot of fun at APU and I learned a lot there, but ultimately I am glad I transferred to another school. The friends I had weren’t a crowd I was proud to be in and my values didn’t align with those that the school focused on. Other musicians treated me poorly for not having a private instructor in high school and for not having all the fancy, expensive musical equipment that they had. To top it off, I was working toward a BM, not a BA or BS; this meant that my degree would pretty much only aid me in getting music-related jobs. This may have been a great idea for the passionate version of me who was dedicated to the idea of a career in music, but the logical side of me realized this wasn’t a good choice in case I decided not to focus on music any more and needed a backup plan.